The Second Plague

Exodus 8: 1-15

“1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: Let my people go, so that they may serve me. 2 If you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs. 3 The Nile shall swarm with frogs; they shall come up into your palace, into your bedchamber and your bed, into the houses of your officials and of your people, and into your ovens and your kneading bowls. 4 The frogs shall come up on you and on your people and on all your officials.’ ” 5 And the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, the canals, and the pools, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.’ ” 6 So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. 7 But the magicians did the same by their secret arts and brought frogs up on the land of Egypt. 8 Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray to the Lord to take away the frogs from me and my people, and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.” 9 Moses said to Pharaoh, “Kindly tell me when I am to pray for you and for your officials and for your people, that the frogs may be removed from you and your houses and be left only in the Nile.” 10 And he said, “Tomorrow.” Moses said, “As you say! So that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God, 11 the frogs shall leave you and your houses and your officials and your people; they shall be left only in the Nile.” 12 Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried out to the Lord concerning the frogs that he had brought upon Pharaoh. 13 And the Lord did as Moses requested: the frogs died in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields. 14 And they gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. 15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he hardened his heart and would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.”

The magicians of the Pharaoh could, supposedly, make the frogs appear in the same way that God made them appear.  But they could not make the frogs go away.  Only God could make them go away.

The “divine” Pharaoh was forced to ask Moses to pray for the removal of the frogs.  Pharaoh, who was supposed to be the intermediary between the people and the “gods”, asked Moses to intermediate between Egypt and the one true God.

God was gradually bringing the Pharaoh to an understanding of who He was and who he, the Pharaoh, was in relation to the one true God.

There are people who exist today who feel and act as if they are god.  But there is no position, power, or material wealth that a human being can ever hold or possess that will elevate them to that level.

And the Pharaoh was being taught this lesson.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)