Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 8:18-19

18 And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man, and upon beast.

19 Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said.

With every sign and curse performed by Moses and Aaron the magicians of Egypt repeated its effect. By this they had shown the ability to increase the affliction, but they never showed any capacity to remove it. Only God could do that.

Here, though, God completely left the magicians behind. They did try to bring forth lice of their own, but they just couldn’t. Presumably they had done all of their enchantments to try and dispute the power of the Lord, to show that their own gods were just as powerful as He. But with this one failure they changed from critics of God to ones that would testify of His sovereignty! They told Pharaoh that “truly this is the finger of God.” They were telling Pharaoh that the power that stood behind Moses was the genuine article, and they were powerless to answer it. And so it would be for all other curses that followed. We will not hear of the magicians repeating any more of the afflictions that God set upon Egypt.

But even with the testimony of his magicians, Pharaoh still hardened himself. Sometimes after a curse he would seek mercy, but at other times God would just escalate to the next afflictions until he relented. Pharaoh could hold out for a while, and so can we, but God is perfectly able to outlast and outpower any of us. He may move gradually and accumulatively, but He can go as far and as high as He needs until He breaks our pride and we humble ourselves before Him. As it has been written, sooner or later, “every knee shall bow” and “every tongue confess.”

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 8:15-17

15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said.

16 And the Lord said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.

17 And they did so; for Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man, and in beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt.

No sooner did Pharaoh get what he wanted than he abandoned his promises and went back to being the same as before. This is an excellent example of a false conversion. Many come to God for what they want, but they do not actually love Him or want to be His obedient child. Their journey to God is entirely self-serving, and as soon as they get what they want—or don’t get what they want—they drop all pretenses of devotion.

God can be patient through such acts of betrayal, though. He does not lose any bargaining power by removing the pressure, for He is able to bring it right back in a multitude of ways! And, since the faithless did not respond to the first pressure, the second most often comes back even worse!

And that was certainly the case with Pharaoh. God did not return the same plague of frogs, he escalated it to something worse. The lice would have been a more intimate, invasive, and infuriating affliction. The frogs had been inside the Egyptian’s rooms and kitchenware, but now lice were living directly on their bodies! Wherever they went, the unpleasant, itching, disease-carrying lice would remain right on their person!

Pharaoh had tried to cheat during his wrestling match with the Lord, but God simply put him in a deeper hold.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 8:11-14

11 And the frogs shall depart from thee, and from thy houses, and from thy servants, and from thy people; they shall remain in the river only. 

12 And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh: and Moses cried unto the Lord because of the frogs which he had brought against Pharaoh. 

13 And the Lord did according to the word of Moses; and the frogs died out of the houses, out of the villages, and out of the fields. 

14 And they gathered them together upon heaps: and the land stank.

As extensive as the curse had reached in Egypt, so too did the cure. From every place and from every people the frogs ceased to spread and multiply. But it does not seem that the frogs left those places, rather that they died within them. The people still had to do the work of gathering them from every nook and cranny. They placed them in large piles which spread the stench of dead amphibians across the land.

I mentioned earlier that the effects of the curse seem symbolic of how a people will adopt false and harmful philosophies. The lies and deceit spread into every place and affect every person, whether they personally believe the falsehoods or not. They corrupt every home and every public square. And so, too, even after the madness has been dispelled, when society returns back to basic truth and reason, there is still a period of labor where the vestige of the old lie must be eradicated wherever it is found. And, for a time, there is still the lingering stench of old prejudices and wrongs that hang in the air. The curse is gone, but not the memory of it.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 8:8-10

8 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Entreat the Lord, that he may take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice unto the Lord.

9 And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Glory over me: when shall I entreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses, that they may remain in the river only?

10 And he said, To morrow. And he said, Be it according to thy word: that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the Lord our God.

The priests of Pharaoh had also been able to summon frogs, just as they had turned water to blood and staffs into snakes. Somehow, they were able to do all of these things, but there was one thing that they apparently couldn’t do. They couldn’t undo what Moses and Aaron had already done. They could be just as destructive as the Lord—so far—but that really wasn’t what Pharaoh needed!

If the priests really had power over God they would have shown it by reverting His plagues. This was the difference between God and the priests. When God commanded a plague upon Egypt, only He could recall it. It seems that Pharaoh came to that same conclusion, and finally had to go to Moses for relief.

We often talk about the signs and wonders that took place in Egypt, but typically only mention the destructive side of them. Creation, restoration, and healing are far more difficult than destruction, though. More significant than God sending the frogs, the lice, the flies, the boils, and the locusts was when he miraculously cleansed Egypt of the frogs, the lice, the flies, the boils, and the locusts. This is the power that we truly ought to remember, the greater power that separated Him from any other, the power that proved to Pharaoh “that there is none like unto the Lord our God!”

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 8:5-7

5 And the Lord spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt.

6 And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt.

7 And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt.

God instructs Moses what miracle to perform, Moses and Aaron tell Pharaoh what it will be, and then it happens. The works of God typically follow this three-step process. He tells His servant, His servant tells the world at large, and then the fulfillment of the prophecy occurs. This establishes two principles that are largely consistent in God’s interactions with man.

1) God will speak to us indirectly, through His chosen prophet.
2) God will alert us to what He will do before He does it.

Thus we do not have to guess at what God will do next. It is knowable, though we do have to recognize who it is that speaks with his authority.

Presumably, the Egyptian magicians doing their enchantments to also bring up frogs was another attempt dispute who truly had that authority. Repeating the wonders of the staffs-to-snakes, water-to-blood, and summoning of frogs were likely meant as an argument that the Hebrew God was no more powerful than the Egyptian ones. It was to reassure Pharaoh so that he wouldn’t feel that he needed to give any regard to the words of Aaron and Moses.

This might have worked in the previous two instances, but as we will see in tomorrow’s verses, this wouldn’t be good enough for Pharaoh any longer. Whether by forces of darkness or subterfuge, the magicians were able to do some things, but they weren’t able to do the one thing Pharaoh actually needed. Only God could.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 8:2-4

2 And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs:

3 And the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into thine house, and into thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed, and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thine ovens, and into thy kneadingtroughs:

4 And the frogs shall come up both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants.

For the second curse, a plague of frogs was sent throughout Egypt. I think the thing that stands out most from Moses and Aaron’s pronouncement is the complete invasiveness of this curse. In the house, in the bed, in the ovens, and in the dough. Among the royal, among the citizens, and among the servants. In short, there was nowhere that the frogs would not be found. And as we will see, this same invasive quality would also apply to every other curse as well.

So, too, when we disregard God and give in to our vices and sins. Disobedience invites all manner of plagues today: violent altercations, sexually transmitted diseases, depression, heartbreak, guilt, long-lasting consequences, broken relationships, cynicism, criminal records, and more. And, like the frogs, each of these can invade every aspect of our lives, perhaps manifesting in one place first, but then splintering to every part of our lives. No part of life is content until the whole vessel is pure.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 8:1

1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Let my people go, that they may serve me.

Now begins the back-and-forth exchange between God and Pharaoh. There is a basic pattern that these discussions will follow:

  • God demands that Pharaoh let the Israelites go serve Him
  • Pharaoh refuses
  • God sends a plague upon the land
  • Pharaoh begs Moses to take the curse away, promising to let the Israelites go
  • Moses beseeches the Lord and the curse is removed
  • Pharaoh reneges on his promise

There might be some variations on that pattern here and there, but that’s generally how it will continue until Pharaoh finally relents. And this, of course, is the pattern that we so often see in our own lives. God calls us to live a better life, but we turn down those impulses to maintain our hedonistic pleasure or quiet complacency. Something goes wrong in our lives and we ask God to take it away, in the moment dedicating ourselves to Him, body and soul. God shows us grace, and we are grateful…but we don’t make good on our promise to better serve Him. We go back to our old ways and so it repeats. Our instinct might be to shake our heads at the strange actions of Pharaoh, but he is a representation of our own faithlessness.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 7:22-25

22 And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, neither did he hearken unto them; as the Lord had said.

23 And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, neither did he set his heart to this also.

24 And all the Egyptians digged round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river.

25 And seven days were fulfilled, after that the Lord had smitten the river.

The turning of the rod into the snakes had been a show of power and superiority from God, but turning the river into blood was truly a throwing down of the gauntlet, a challenge that actively hurt the people of Egypt, but also indicated greater suffering soon to come if Pharaoh would not relent.

Given that, Pharaoh’s response was incredibly arrogant and foolish. Pharaoh had his magicians repeat the same transfiguration, apparently turning some other vessel or body of water into blood like Aaron and Moses had. In essence, Pharaoh was accepting the challenge! He showed that he intended to literally return blood for blood. He was inviting God to continue His campaign against Egypt, and Pharaoh would most assuredly get what he asked for!

In the following verses we learn that the curse continued for a full seven days, a symbolic and holy number, a full measure of time. A week without water is fatal, and we hear how the people resorted to digging in the soil around the river, looking for something fresh. One can only imagine the crowding, the physical discomfort, and the loss of production and stability in Egypt during that time.

We are not told if, or to what extent, the Israelites were also affected by this plague. One might assume that leaving the Israelites a fresh pond of their own would only invite the Egyptians to overrun their land to reach it. I suppose God could have instructed the Israelites in ways to cure the tainted water, but we have no indication that this happened. It does seem likely that at least for some of the plagues the Israelites suffered collateral hardship. At least it was suffering for the purpose of their eventual freedom.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 7:19-21

19 And the Lord spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone.

20 And Moses and Aaron did so, as the Lord commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.

21 And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.

It turns out that the curse of blood was more far-reaching than just the water that was in the Nile. It would make sense that any river or stream that flowed from the river would receive the same curse, but we are told that even isolated pools, ponds, and water-carrying vessels became corrupted.

The water of Egypt had been tainted years ago by the casting of innocent children into its depths, and the people had all drawn from that tainting and brought it into their homes, and now all that seed of evil was turned to blood at once. This is, of course, a symbol of how corruption at the core of a society tends to spread into all the homes and the minds of the individuals that dwell there. A falsehood in one place creates logical fallacies in every place that draws from it.

Too often we draw all our sustenance from one source: society. We take our doctrines, ideologies, and perspectives from that singular well, and we drink in all the corruption that grows there. We, like the Egyptians in these verses, need to find another source to drink from. We need to find a well that is pure and clean.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 7:15-18

15 Get thee unto Pharaoh in the morning; lo, he goeth out unto the water; and thou shalt stand by the river’s brink against he come; and the rod which was turned to a serpent shalt thou take in thine hand.

16 And thou shalt say unto him, The Lord God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness: and, behold, hitherto thou wouldest not hear.

17 Thus saith the Lord, In this thou shalt know that I am the Lord: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood.

18 And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall lothe to drink of the water of the river.

When Moses showed the miracle of water turning to blood to the Israelite elders, he had merely scooped some water from the river and poured it out on the soil. This time he was to turn the entire river red, causing the land to literally flow with blood. As discussed earlier, this blood is both the blood of the innocent Israelite sons who were cast into the river, and also a sign of the future Egyptian blood that would be shed in retribution.

Of course this miracle would also be mirrored in the future by Jesus turning the water into wine, and wine is a very similar image to that of blood. Thus, the miracle that Moses performed for Pharaoh had direct application to the situation in which it was conducted, but the fact that its same imagery appeared in entirely other contexts shows us that there must also be a larger, more universal interpretation of it also.

One possible interpretation is that of God creating life. The water to blood shows how the Lord is able to turn base material into part of a living thing. And not just living, but also dying. Blood is, after all, both an emblem of life and death. Thus it is God creating the entire mortal experience, from one end to another, birth to death. God draws this existence out of the base materials: dust to body and water to blood. Just as God created the Earth with its bodies of continent and veins of river, he authored the human body of flesh and vein of blood as well.