Exodus 8:1-15
It is good to have you join us for today’s teaching from Exodus. We hope our study in Exodus will remind you that there is no God like our God. Our God is at work during every time period. I am sure the Hebrew slaves at the beginning of Exodus were wondering, “Where are you, God? Can you hear us? Do our prayers make a difference?” We ask the same questions. “God, do you see? Do my prayers matter?”
The answer for the Israelites is the same as God’s answer to you, which is the answer He always gives His children. It’s a resounding YES. God knows, and God sees. He is involved in the details of His creation. He doesn’t sleep, He’s never on vacation, and His people are special to Him; He cares about us and is with us. It might not seem like it, but the story isn’t over. Just like God showed up for the Israelites in Egypt, we trust Him with our story. We don’t know how it’s going to end, but He does, so we trust Him.
Thanks again for joining us on Hope for Today. This program is brought to you by Heralds of Hope. We are a small radio ministry serving a great big God. Let’s go with Bible teacher J. Mark to Exodus for today’s teaching.
There are many religions in the world. Are they all the same? The obvious answer is NO. They are too different in their beliefs and practices to be the same or even to originate from the same God.
I believe God has revealed Himself in His Holy Book. I believe there is, in fact, only one Holy Book: the Bible of the Old and New Testaments. And I believe that there is only one true God: the God of the Bible. He is the One who has revealed Himself in His Holy Book.
Do you know God? Have you had any conversation or communion with Him? I want to show you that there is NONE LIKE GOD. That truth is clearly set forth in Exodus 8:1-15.
1. And the LORD spoke unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, thus saith the LORD, let my people go, that they may serve me.
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 kneading troughs:
4. And the frogs shall come up both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants.
5. And the LORD spoke 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.
8. Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Intreat 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 do sacrifice unto the LORD.
9. And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Glory over me: when shall I intreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses, that they may remain in the river only?
10. And he said, tomorrow. And he said, be it according to thy word: that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the LORD our God.
11. And the frogs shall depart from thee, and from thy houses, and from thy servants, and from thy people; they shall remain in the river only.
12. And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh: and Moses cried unto the LORD because of the frogs which he had brought against Pharaoh.
13. And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and the frogs died out of the houses, out of the villages, and out of the fields.
14. And they gathered them together upon heaps: and the land stank.
15. But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them as the LORD had said.
In this text, we see how God provided OPPORTUNITIES to demonstrate the fact that there is none like God. You can’t find any other religion quite like this in the world. Christianity stands in a unique position among all religions. God provides us in this brief Scripture the opportunities to see how He demonstrated that He is the only true God.
In the first opportunity He gave Pharaoh
The Choice of Obedience
Moses went to Pharaoh and said, “The Lord has said, let my people go that they may serve me.” Then Moses went a bit further and added, “And if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all your borders with frogs,” God put before Pharaoh the opportunity to make the choice of obedience. His free will was not violated. This way, God proves that He is the only true God.
Moses set before Pharaoh the choice of obedience: you can let God’s people go that they may serve me; or, if you do not let them go, then I will bring frogs upon your land. They will come out of the river in such abundance that they will be in your house; they will be in your bedroom; they will be on your bed; they will be in the house of your servants; they will be in your ovens; they will be in the troughs where you knead your bread dough. They will be everywhere.
The Nile River was normally a source of blessing to the Egyptian people. But if Pharaoh refused to make the choice of obedience, this river would become a curse to them.
God operates that way even today. He provides the choice of obedience to every person because God has made us with the free will to choose. In this message, you are being presented with a choice: the choice of obeying the God who is the true God. No other god is like Him. Just as Pharaoh faced this opportunity with the choice of obedience many years ago, so you are facing that choice now.
Another opportunity that is demonstrated in this Scripture is
The Desire of Entreaty
The frogs came because Moses instructed Aaron to stretch out the rod of God over the streams, rivers, and ponds. Try to imagine how this must have been because frogs are cold-blooded and slimy. Picture throwing back the covers to get into bed, and there are several frogs. You walk out into the next room, and there are frogs. Frogs everywhere. They were in the house, in the bedchamber, in the bed, in the house of his servants and upon the people, in the ovens, and in the kneading troughs.
Suppose you are mixing up bread dough and PLUNK! here comes a frog right in the middle of it. Or you are ready to put the bread in the oven, and OOPS! there goes a frog right into your oven. What a disgusting time it must have been!
It is not surprising that after this, Pharaoh called for Moses and said, “Intreat 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 do sacrifice unto the LORD.”
Then Moses made a bargain with Pharaoh. He said, “You choose the time.” Notice, the magicians were able to bring up frogs unto the land of Egypt, but they were not able to make them go away. The magicians imitated the miracle, but they could not control the frogs. So, when Pharaoh wanted relief from the frogs, he asked Moses to entreat the LORD.
Moses replied, “Well, when do you want this to happen? You choose the time.” And Pharaoh said, “Tomorrow.” You would have thought he would have said, “Immediately!” But, no, he was willing to wait overnight, so he said, “Tomorrow is the time.”
Moses answered, “It will be exactly as you have said. The LORD will hear and do exactly like you have spoken. Then you will know that there is none like the Lord our God.” God is able to act within a split second of the exact time which has been set. And He will. Now you have the first two opportunities – the choice of obedience and the desire of entreaty.
The third opportunity is seen in
The Prayer of Moses
“Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh: and Moses cried unto the Lord because of the frogs which he had brought against Pharaoh.” There was a beautiful opportunity for prayer by the man of God. God hears the prayers of His servants. If you want answers to your prayers, then you must first be in touch and communion with God and serve Him like Moses served Him.
Notice that Moses cried “And the Lord did according to the word of Moses.” I can bear testimony to the fact that when you cry unto the Lord, if you are in touch with Him, He does answer your prayers.
Is there another God like Jehovah God? No, there is not. There is none like Him. That is the point and purpose of this entire experience because Moses said, “You are going to know that there is none like unto the LORD our God.” There are plenty of gods who claim deity and supernatural powers, but they do not perform. They make their proclamations, but they cannot carry them out. So let us praise the Lord that we have the opportunity of praying to a God who hears when we pray in sincerity and in truth.
The incident closes with the picture of what happened when God acted to control the frogs. The frogs died out of the houses and out of the villages and out of the fields, and they gathered them into heaps, and the land really stank. There must have been thousands, perhaps millions, of these frogs everywhere.
Unfortunately, when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, when there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not listen to Moses and Aaron, as the Lord had said he would do. But this experience was to demonstrate that there is no God like the Lord God of the Bible. God gave them opportunities to prove that there is none like Him.
Let me remind you that today you have the choice of obedience, the desire of entreaty, and the opportunity of prayer. These opportunities should convince you to trust in the God of the Bible. He is the God who is above all. There is none like God.
Thank you, Pastor J. Mark, for sharing this with us. Isn’t our God incredible? I like how Isaiah put it, “Behold, the nations are like a drop in the bucket, and are counted as dust on the scales.” In our eyes, nations and politics look big and very important, but to God, kingdoms and nations are very small. And if we look at the big picture, we can understand this.
What happened to Pharoah? Where is Babylon? What about the Greeks and the Romans? Governments come and go; they are “a drop in the bucket.” God’s plan is not threatened by them; He actually uses each of them to accomplish His purposes, He did it with Pharoah, and He does it today. He is the great one, and we humble ourselves in worship before His greatness.
Blessings to you as you walk with our great God. If you have any questions or if you would like today’s teaching, just ask for it by title or passage. We also have a study guide available designed to help you learn more from each of these lessons in Exodus. It is called the Hope Herald, and if you would like one, we would be happy to send you one.
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Thank you for staying with us till the end; we look forward to being with you again next week as we continue this study in Exodus. Till next time as Paul told the Philippians, “May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.”
*This episode is an exposition of Exodus 8:1-15 by J. Otis Yoder, re-recorded by J. Mark Horst, with an opening and closing by Arlin Horst.
**Read more about The Plague of Frogs.