Chapter 8

Frogs.  This verse:

5 And the LORD said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the canals and over the pools, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt!'" [Exo 8:5 ESV]

So the frogs came from the water.  The water that had been blood now spawns frogs in great numbers.  But interesting that the phrasing of what God "struck" to bring the plague is the same. 

2021 - Note also that this time, Moses staff is not used.  It is Aaron's hand and staff that bring up the frogs, from both the Nile and from all the waters of Egypt.  And as I have noted elsewhere, the Magicians of Egypt can duplicate the "miracles" of God on the land, but they seem completely powerless to remove those plagues.  The first went away of itself after 7 days.   But Pharoah has to ask Moses to take away the frogs.

The magicians also make frogs.  They duplicate what God did, but they cannot undo what God has done.  So Pharoah asks Moses to get rid of the frogs, not the magicians.  He knew the truth.  Pharoah says that if Moses gets rid of the frogs, he will let the people go and sacrifice.  So he makes a promise.

Moses upholds his end.  The frogs die out from every place but the Nile.  There are so many dead frogs that the people rake them up into piles, and all Egypt stinks of frogs rotting in the hot sun.  And once the frogs are gone, Pharoah makes himself a liar.  He had changed his mind and agreed to let them go, and now he recants that promise.  This is the first time he's done this.

Fourth plague is gnats from the dust.  So God touches the earth this time, and not the water, and the magicians could not duplicate this.  This verse:

19 Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God." But Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the LORD had said. [Exo 8:19 ESV]

Those whom Pharoah had relied upon to "equal" God in what God was doing are now convinced that it is really God who is doing this.  They can't even come close.  But those he relied upon before Pharoah now ignores.  He is off on his own in continuing to doubt and refuse.

2021 - For this third plague, Moses staff is again not involved.  This time, only Aaron's staff, not his hand and staff, is required to initiate the plague of gnats.  Interesting that the Magicians could duplicate what Moses and his staff did, what Aaron and his staff and hand did, but then, as things seem to get easier for God - requiring only Aaron's staff this time - the magicians are stumped.

Flies come next in great swarms.  You can't walk for crushing the files you step on.  This happens to Egypt, but this time God sets his people apart from the plague.  This is the first time this has happened.  Here is the verse:  24 And the LORD did so. There came great swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh and into his servants' houses. Throughout all the land of Egypt the land was ruined by the swarms of flies. [Exo 8:24 ESV]  No staffs, no hands, not even a verbal pronouncement.  When Egypt and Goshen are separated for plaguing, God alone brings that plague.  I note also that once we got passed the blood, no time frame has been given for the other plagues.  They could have been a day, they could have been a decade.

Flies everywhere except in the land of Goshen.  Pharoah tells them they can make sacrifices to God, but they must stay in Goshen to do so.  He tries negotiating.  Moses is firm.  If they offer abominable sacrifices in the land, the Egyptians will try to kill them.  Moses says they must leave Egypt to sacrifice.  Pharoah says they can go three day's journey into the wilderness, and asks Moses to "plea for him".  Moses says he will, but warns Pharoah not to "cheat" again, and recant, once the flies are gone.  But Pharoah does.  He recants again, and this is the second time he has made himself a liar.

2022 - So the false god worship of the Egyptians required them to kill any who worshiped otherwise.  Reading closely, it says the offerings they would offer would be abominable to the Egyptians.  Maybe this goes all the way back to the occupation of shepherd being an abomination to the Egyptians.  Perhaps they had something against sheep.  Much like the Jews considered the sacrifice of a pig to be an abomination, provoking AE IV to sacrifice one in the temple - as a provocation, as a demonstration of his disdain for the God of Israel.  Egypt would have seen the sacrifice of sheep in that same light - as a provocation, and a disdain.  An "in your face" act of aggression.  And they would have killed the Hebrews because of it.  At first, I thought this was like Islam, where non-believers can/should be/ought to be killed.  But on closer reading, it is not really like that.