Frogs, Lice and Flies, Oh MY! Exodus 8

 

Exodus 8 - Frogs, Lice and Flies Oh My!

 

 

God is directing His attack against a people immersed in idolatry. The frog goddess is one of the oldest of goddesses. She was the goddess of fertility and rebirth. Frogs were in Egyptian bedrooms, kitchens, in every room in the house, in kneading troughs and in ovens. When they walked, they walked on frogs.  When they sat, they sat on frogs.  Of course, they were sacred and should not be killed. Once again the Egyptians magicians duplicated the plague of frogs. This reveals the power of Satan. The magicians cannot remove the frogs that God sent, nor the ones that Satan sent. Pharaoh was so upset by this plague that he was ready to promise anything. We are told that instead, he hardened his own heart.  God’s part in this was to bring to the surface that which was already there.

When God sent the lice the magicians finally acknowledged the finger of God in the plagues.  Gradually God was convincing the Egyptians that He was the One and Only God.  The lice could eventually rid the land of the frogs and could therefore become a blessing as well as a curse.  The plague of lice could not be duplicated by the magicians. God is beginning to level His judgment against life itself in the land of Egypt.

Up until this time the plagues had touched both the lands of Egypt and Goshen where the children of Israel lived. God then makes a distinction and does not send anymore plagues among the children of Israel. From now on the judgment will only fall upon the land of Egypt. The Egyptian flies spoke

of eternal life.  Imagine this most sacred thing becoming a curse to the people and a plague upon the land. Pharaoh said, “You may sacrifice, but stay in the land.”  This compromise says we can be Christians but not narrow ones.  Be a broad-minded Christian and do not change your life.  If your life does not change, how can you build on your relationship with  Jesus? If there were church members in the land of Egypt at this time, they may have been broad-minded in wanting to live like the world.  Moses did not accept Pharaoh’s compromise.  So, pharaoh’s, second compromise is to not go very far and to pray for him. This compromise says, Let us go to church on Sunday but adopt the ways of the world the rest of the week. Moses did not accept this compromise either.

Great experiences are no guarantee that one has grown spiritually.  It all depends on what happens to the heart.

 

Commentary by J. Vernon McGee and Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary.