When I was in kindergarten, living in Montgomery, AL, I caught a frog. I played with it in my Little Peoples airplane. I kept it in a shoebox. I was going to take it to Bible class and show my Bible class teacher – but it used the bathroom in my shoebox and I was disgusted with it and let it go.
Frogs are not my favorite animal. When we are at the zoo, I happily pass by the displays of frogs – even if they are the poison dart frog variety. I could not imagine having frogs all over my house. I had a friend – my 4-H advisor in junior high school – who was in college at the University of Georgia and his roommate had a snake. One morning he woke up with the snake curled on the pillow beside his head. I’m not a fan of that…
Ribbit! Croak! Peep! – 8:2-4:
God warned Pharaoh: Exod. 8:2–4. Pharaoh refused, although his response is not recorded.
Moses used the same word that God used on the fifth day of creation: “Let the water teem with living creatures” (Gen. 1:20). This is exactly what happened in Egypt. Frogs are not particularly dangerous, but they can be a nuisance. Some of the frogs ended up in the “ovens and kneading troughs” (Exod. 8:3). This plague hit Pharaoh as well. Even the Pharaoh himself was not immune to the frogs!
The Frog-Goddess
The Egyptian goddess Heqet was pictured with a frog’s head. She supposedly controlled the frog population by protecting crocodiles. She also assisted women in childbirth. This suggests that there may be a connection between the second plague and Pharaoh’s sin against the Hebrew midwives: 1:15-16, 22.
It is still dangerous to give birth: miscarriages, birth defects, even post-birth health issues. No wonder people worshipped gods of fertility (like Heqet or Baal). But Jesus is the Only True God who has the power of life and death in His hands (Rev. 1:18).
Standing in the Need of Prayer
Pharaoh realized the power behind the frogs was Jehovah God, the God of Israel. He ordered Moses and Aaron to return to the palace so he could ask for prayer: 8:8. This will not be the last time Pharaoh asks Moses to pray for him: 8:28; 9:28; 10:17.
Remember the first time Pharaoh encountered Moses, he said “Who is the Lord …?… I do not know the Lord” (Exod. 5:2). Now, he is asking for the Lord’s blessings!
However, rather than asking God to take away his sins, he asked God to take away the frogs. Pharaoh wanted relief from the punishment for his sin without being willing to repent of the sin itself!
The Power of Prayer
What was weird in this situation was Pharaoh’s request to put the fulfillment off until the next day: Exod. 8:9–11! What was Pharaoh thinking? From Moses’ perspective, it simply gave him an opportunity to show Pharaoh that Jehovah God was in control (8:12-14).
A Little Breathing Room
Moses prayed, God answered, and then Pharaoh broke his promise (8:15). Pharaoh wanted an immediate relief from his troubles, but he did not want to “walk” with Jehovah God. He changed his mind, changed his behavior, and further solidified his destination!
Prayer, alone, does not have the power to remove sin. Prayer does not put us into contact with the blood of Christ. Baptism is when sins are washed away. But Christians need to live by prayer.
Paul Holland
