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.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 7:13-14

13 And he hardened Pharaoh’s heart, that he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said.

14 And the Lord said unto Moses, Pharaoh’s heart is hardened, he refuseth to let the people go.

I have discussed previously these passages that say the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart. I will repeat here that I don’t believe it is accurate that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and if you would like more explanation why I feel that way, you can refer back to my original post.

I will just add one point to what I have already said before. The fact is that the biblical record is itself divided on whom, exactly, hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and so I feel that one of the interpretations must be discarded. Here in verse 13 it is clearly stated that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, but at other times it explicitly state that Pharaoh is the one hardening his own heart. We will see this in Exodus 8:32 where it states, “and Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also.” Note that the “also” suggests that not only was he the one that hardened his heart at the time of Exodus 8:32, but also at this previous instance as well.

I do not believe there is anything heretical in acknowledging that the Bible is a record compiled from many accounts, some of which disagree in particular details, and which cannot therefore all be entirely true. Of course extreme prudence and caution is to be taken when holding to one version compared to another, and in some cases it better to just say “whether it was just as this record states, or just that one states, I do not know, I accept the spirit of them both.”

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 7:10-12

10 And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the Lord had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent.

11 Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.

12 For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.

There is much speculation as to how the wise men and the sorcerers were able to turn their rods into serpents. Some suppose that it might have been sleight-of-hand, where they somehow replaced the rods with serpents. This explanation would suggest that even the author of Exodus was fooled, though, for it is written “and they became serpents.” Some see this as an actual power effected by a perverse connection to the devil. Without a doubt, Satan does have a real power in and over this world, just ask any person who has been driven by fear, anger, jealousy, or lust.

In either case, whichever way the wise men and sorcerers did their miracle, God allowed it. Whatever their method, God could have frustrated it, but He didn’t. The reason seems to be evident: He let the sorcerers have their moment and show their power, so that then He might kill, break, and consume their work with his own serpent. God let the mystics show their full power so that He could show that He had greater. He was showing to Pharaoh a clear picture of what was coming, and that the Pharaoh did not have the power to prevent it. Would Pharaoh regard the sign and comply with the Lord to avoid the full fruit of this disastrous prophecy? We will see in tomorrow’s verses.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 7:8-9

8 And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

9 When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Shew a miracle for you: then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent.

Moses had seen the miracle with the snake in Mount Horeb, and had been instructed to show it also to the Israelites, and now he was prepared to do the same for Pharaoh.

God foretold that Pharaoh, himself, would be the one to ask for this sign, presumably as evidence that the Lord had sufficient power to demand that Pharaoh let the Israelites go into the wilderness. Of course, asking for a sign is often treacherous in the Bible. Those who say they will not believe except for a sign, typically do not believe with a sign either, and so God turns the sign into a curse against them. The disbelieving stake their plans on God not being to deliver on His promises, and so He breaks their plans to keep His word. Since they sought to call the Lord’s bluff, their own is called instead. This is, indeed, how things would go for Pharaoh, too. He will, in fact, see many wonders and miracles, but all of them to his own detriment!

Another small detail that other commentators have observed is that Moses says “take thy rod” to Aaron. Assuming that this was the shepherd’s staff that Moses had used in Midian, it would seem Moses had now given it to Aaron.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 7:6-7

6 And Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded them, so did they.

7 And Moses was fourscore years old, and Aaron fourscore and three years old, when they spake unto Pharaoh.

We do not know exactly how old Moses was when he left Egypt for Midian. While in that strange land he got married, had two sons, lived as a shepherd, and all the Egyptians who wished to condemn him died. It’s entirely possible that he left Egypt as a young man, and had spent as much as sixty years living this other life. And while we do not know any details for Aaron, other than that he had raised his own family, he too had lived a whole life before this major turning point.

In short, the two men had already lived an entire life, and were quite possibly expecting a quiet sunset to their lives, yet now they were stepping into their greatest undertaking yet. Moses would live another forty years, thus only a third of his life would be spent leading Israel, but it would be the third that defined the whole.