Response to Frogs – Hard Heart
Exodus 8: 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 sacrifice to the Lord.”
9 And Moses said to Pharaoh, “Accept
the honor of saying when I shall intercede for you, for your servants, and for
your people, to destroy the frogs from you and your houses, that they
may remain in the river only.”
10 So he said, “Tomorrow.” And he
said, “Let it be according to your word, that you may know
that there is no one like the Lord our God. 11 And
the frogs shall depart from you, from your houses, from your servants, and from
your people. They shall remain in the river only.”
12 Then Moses and Aaron went out from
Pharaoh. And Moses cried out to the Lord concerning the frogs
which He had brought against Pharaoh. 13 So
the Lord did according to the word of Moses. And the frogs died out
of the houses, out of the courtyards, and out of the fields. 14 They
gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. 15 But
when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did
not heed them, as the Lord had said.
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Frogs were everywhere. Pharaoh begged Moses to pray to the
LORD to remove the frogs. He said he would let the people go if the frogs went
away. Moses prayed to the LORD and GOD did what Moses said.
My Observations:
- Pharaoh
was in trouble and said whatever it would take to get out of trouble.
- Pharaoh
did not ask his magicians to get rid of the frogs.
- GOD
revealed HE listened to Moses.
Seeing his land become overrun with frogs, Pharaoh lied to get
his way. We have done the same thing when we told GOD “I will never do that
again.” Moses prayed to the LORD and may have even specifically said, “Leave
the frogs in the house and let them die there.” GOD listened to Moses’s prayer
and killed the frogs.
Pharaoh, who made additional work for the Hebrews, now had
to clean up frogs. The Egyptian people had to have seen the futility in praying
to the frog god. They also had just spent an entire week digging for water that
had turned to blood. They were tired and their houses and land stank with dead
frog smell. Pharaoh’s response was a hard heart, which meant he did not care
that his people were tired, nor would he let the Hebrews go.
Challenge
- Why
did GOD remind Moses about Pharaoh’s response to the frog plague?
- Have
you ever promised something to GOD and took back your promise when you got
relief?
- Can
you see the value in keeping your promises to the LORD?
