Exodus 8 — Sketch

Pharaoh Lies

Big Idea:

• Aaron stretches out his staff, and God sends a plague of frogs to fill Egypt.

• Even though Pharaoh’s magicians can reproduce this plague, Pharaoh agrees to let the Israelites go worship God if Moses will call off the frogs.

• Moses asks God to take the frogs away, and He does.

• But Pharaoh goes back on his word.

• Then Aaron stretches out his staff, and God turns all the dust in Egypt into a plague of gnats.⁠

• Pharaoh’s magicians cannot reproduce this plague.

• Pharaoh’s heart is hard.

• Then God sends a plague of flies to Egypt, but the Israelites are spared.

• Pharaoh tries to bargain with Moses, and agrees to let the Israelites go.

• But once God removes the plagues, Pharaoh goes back on his word again.

Jesus in This Chapter:

• The plague of the Frogs was a direct affront to Heqet, Egypt’s frog-headed fertility goddess. Turing the dust of the earth into gnats was a direct affront to Geb, the Egyptian god of the earth. And the plague of flies is an affront to Khepri, Egypt’s bug-headed god.

• Khepri is an interesting case. He was supposed to be the god of “rebirth, renewal, and resurrection.” But through this plague, God is showing Khepri to be a fraud. Jesus is the resurrection and the life. And it is only in Him that we find rebirth and renewal.

• Whether they were looking for fertility, good earth, or renewal, the Egyptians were seeking salvation of one kind of another from their false gods and not from the one, true God. The message is clear: God is the only God.

(Originally drawn September 15, 2010)