SERIES C --- EXODUS FROM BONDAGE --- LESSON 06

FROGS, GNATS, AND FLIES

THE HEART OF THE KING

From Exodus 8

[Take a message to Pharaoh for Me,] Adonai told Moses. [Tell him that he must let My people go to worship Me. If he refuses, I will fill the whole land with frogs. They will infest the Nile River and come up into the Egyptian houses. They will go even into the bedrooms of the Egyptians and their servants and jump into bed with them. The Egyptians will find frogs everywhere, even in their ovens and kneading bowls.] But Pharaoh would not let the people go to worship Adonai. Adonai told Moses what Aaron should do. [Point your rod toward the rivers, canals and pools of Egypt so that frogs will come to every part of the land.] When Aaron obeyed, frogs covered the land. But the magicians of Egypt used their secret magic and also caused frogs to come upon the land. Pharaoh was alarmed and called for Moses and Aaron, begging them to take the frogs away. [Ask your YHVH to remove the frogs and I will let your people go to worship Him,] he promised. [When should YHVH remove the frogs?] Moses asked. [You set the time and then I will pray for YHVH to destroy the frogs at that time. They will remain only in the Nile River.] [Take them away tomorrow!] said Pharaoh. [It will be done as you say,] Moses replied. [Then you will know that there is no one like our Elohiym. Tomorrow the frogs will die, except in the Nile River.] When Moses left with Aaron, he begged Adonai to destroy the frogs as Pharaoh had asked. Adonai answered Moses’ prayer and the frogs throughout the land died. The people piled the dead frogs into heaps and a terrible smell came over the land. But as soon as the frogs were gone, Pharaoh’s heart grew hard and he refused to let the people of Israel go, just as Adonai had said. Once again Adonai Commanded Moses. [Tell Aaron to hit the dust of the ground with his rod,] Adonai said. [When he does, the dust will turn to gnats throughout Egypt.] As soon as Moses and Aaron obeyed, the land was infested with gnats. They covered the Egyptians and their animals. Pharaoh’s magicians tried to do the same with their secret magic, but this time they failed. [This is the finger of YHVH!] the magicians cried out to Pharaoh. But Pharaoh was so stubborn that he would not listen to them, just as Adonai had said. [Go to meet Pharaoh early tomorrow morning,] Adonai told Moses. [Meet him at the Nile River as he comes to bathe. Tell him to let My people go or I will send swarms of flies upon him and his people. The houses of Egypt will be filled with flies and the ground will be covered. But from now on, I will make a difference between the homes of the Egyptians and the land of Goshen, where the people of Israel live. There will be no flies in Goshen and Pharaoh will know that I am Adonai over all the earth. Tomorrow he will realize that I am treating My people and his people differently.] The next day Adonai did exactly as He had said. There were flies everywhere; from Pharaoh’s palace to his servants’ houses and the flies were ruining the land. Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron. [Go,] he said. [Take your people to sacrifice to your YHVH. But stay in Egypt.] [No,] said Moses. [We can’t stay in Egypt. Your people hate our sacrifices. If they see us, they will kill us by throwing stones at us. We must make a three-day journey into the wilderness to sacrifice there to our YHVH as He Commanded.] [Then go!] Pharaoh ordered. [But don’t go too far. Now ask your YHVH to take away these flies.] [I shall ask Adonai to take away the flies,] said Moses. [But you must never deceive us again after promising that we can go to sacrifice to Adonai.] When Moses left Pharaoh, he prayed for Adonai to remove the flies. Adonai answered his prayer and took the swarms of flies away from Pharaoh and his people. But Pharaoh became stubborn again and refused to let the people of Israel go.

COMMENTARY

ISRAEL: EGYPT’S BUILDERS

Imagine swarms of frogs in your home, your bedroom, your bed itself! Pharaoh was repelled by the plague of frogs, but when they were removed, he hardened his resolve not to let the Israelites go. How would Pharaoh respond as YHVH brought other plagues to prove His power over all the powers of Egypt? Why was Pharaoh so reluctant to let the Israelites go? He may not have liked the Israelites very much, but they were certainly needed to get a lot of Pharaoh’s work done. The Israelites were used for the hardest backbreaking labour; brick making and building construction. The Egyptians wanted to be spared work like that, so slaves and prisoners of war did it for them. If the rulers needed more workers, they would take away the privileges of a group of foreigners living in the country and use them for slave labour. The Israelites did much of building the store-cities. Since taxes were paid in grain, flax and farm animals, places were needed to store them before they could be used or sold by the government. The store-cities were used for that purpose. They were very important in the life of the country. Driven hard by the taskmasters who supervised them, slaves were doomed to a life of unending labour for as long as they lived. Only someone very powerful could help them, and that happened very rarely. There was one good thing about the Israelites’ labour. When they arrived in Palestine, they already knew how to construct buildings and houses to shelter themselves. They had been forced to learn it in Egypt. No wonder Pharaoh didn’t want to let them go. They were the cheap labour that helped keep the country going!