Bible Commentaries

The contrast between the end of chapter 4 and the beginning of chapter 5 is very marked. The children of Israel believed the words of God when they saw the signs, and they worshipped. Pharaoh heard the words of God with unbelief and replied with insolence.

The word to him was, "Let My people go..." Thus the Lord at once claimed the people as His, whilst for a century or two the Pharaohs of Egypt had regarded the people as theirs, and enslaved to them. So from the outset the issue was joined. Jehovah claimed the people that Pharaoh regarded as his own. Which claimant would prevail? The issue could not be in doubt for one moment.

It is evident that from the first Pharaoh boldly challenged the might of Jehovah. He knew very well the many gods of Egypt, but to him Jehovah, God of Israel was the unknown God, and he flatly refused to obey. He adopted the hard and stubborn attitude, which became characteristic of him under the government of God.

In reply to the further appeal of Moses and Aaron he simply increased the burdens upon the people, making their enslavement more thorough and more bitter. From this incident has come the common saying about "making bricks without straw," signifying having to undertake an almost impossible task. Their brick-making was to the end that Pharaoh might pursue his building schemes. Under the task-masters they were beaten into helping to consolidate the power of the king who tyrannized over them.

In 1 Corinthians 10:6; 1 Corinthians 10:11, we are told that the things that happened to Israel were "our examples," or, "types" for us, and at this point we begin to see the type taking shape. Pharaoh held the power of death over the children of Israel, and thereby kept them in bondage. He is thus a type of Satan as he is presented in Hebrews 2:14, Hebrews 2:15. Egypt with all its magnificence is clearly a type of the world, enslaving the people of God under the direction of the devil, and, ironically enough using them to increase the power and glory of the system that oppressed them. God was now setting in motion the power that was to deliver them.

But the first effect of this intervention was to increase the bondage and miseries of the people. They were made to realize that they were under a sentence of death, as verse Exodus 5:21 reveals. They had but little faith and hence their reaction was to blame Moses and Aaron, who had begun to act on their behalf. Even the faith of Moses shook under the strain and he turned to God with a complaint that had the character of a reproach, as the two verses, closing Exodus 5:1-23, record. How often it is the case that, when God begins to deal with a soul in grace, the adversary is immediately stirred up and his energy increases, so that, for a time at least, things are worse rather than better.

The first eight verses of Exodus 6:1-30 record, however, the gracious way in which the Lord answered this failure on the part of both Moses and the people. Let those verses be read with care and it will be seen that His answer was virtually to present Himself as, Jehovah, the I AM, faithful to the covenant of promise, made to the fathers. There are chapters in the Bible, such as Job 29:1-25, Ecclesiastes 2:1-26, Romans 7:1-25, marked by the constant repetition of "I," by foolish men. In the case of Job we listen to a self-satisfied "I," in the case of Solomon to a self-gratified, in the case of Paul to a self-condemned. God Himself is the only One who can rightly and truly speak much of "I," and here we find it repeated 18 times in the 8 verses.

Moses had just seen and been painfully impressed by what Pharaoh had done to the people, so Jehovah's word to him was, "Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh." As a result of what He was about to do, the strong hand of Pharaoh, which had been at work to keep the people in slavery; should be stretched forth to drive them out of his land. Pharaoh and his kingdom would be turned upside down.

Moreover God greatly emphasized the Name under which He had just revealed Himself. He had revealed Himself to Abraham and the fathers as God Almighty but not as Jehovah. They had known the name but the significance of it had been hidden from them. Now its meaning had come to light, and it was to be displayed in His dealings with the insolent man who had begun to defy Him. This furnished the occasion for God to display Himself as the great "I AM" — ever-existing, unchangeable, ever true to His purpose and word, supreme above all the power that would aim at deflecting Him from or thwarting His plan.

In verse Exodus 5:4 He specifically mentions the covenant of promise, under which He was going to act, in delivering them from Egypt and bringing them into the land He had purposed for them. Their redemption from Egypt, their establishment in Canaan which had been the land of their pilgrimage, when they were but strangers in it, all was to be under that covenant, which was made 430 years before the covenant of the law. Galatians 3:17 tells us this, as also that the law could not disannul the promise that had been made. Of course it could not, for Jehovah had made it, though the implications of that great name were not known to Abraham. God is true to what He is in Himself irrespective of what we may know Him to be. Great comfort comes to our souls when we-apprehend this. So this great statement begins and ends with the same words, "I am Jehovah" (verses Exodus 5:2; Exodus 5:8).

For the moment the anguish of the Israelites was so great that the recital to them of these wonderful words had no effect. Even Moses had lost heart and felt that Pharaoh would not heed anything he might say. Nevertheless the word of the Lord stood.

But before we proceed with the record of how it did stand we have a parenthesis. The last verse of the chapter repeats the words of Moses recorded in verse Exodus 5:12, and in verses 14-27 we are given genealogical details concerning the sons of Reuben and Simeon, and then more particularly of the sons of Levi leading up to Moses and Aaron and their immediate descendants. The identity of these two chief actors on God's behalf is thus established.

The dealings with Pharaoh were now to start in earnest, so the first seven verses of Exodus 7:1-25 give us the instructions under which Moses and Aaron were to act. Moses directly represented God before the king, and Aaron was to act as his "prophet," or, spokesman. God is invisible, so Moses was to be His visible representative. Aaron was to speak and act under the direction of Moses, though in point of fact he was the elder. Once more we see how the first has to give place to the second.

Pharaoh, who had no faith, was sure to demand some visible and miraculous sign to accredit Moses, so the sign of the rod of Moses becoming a serpent was given. Aaron performed this, but the magicians of Egypt showed that they also could bring this wonder to pass. Acting under the power of Satan, who is the serpent, they too could show that the casting down of authority produces what is satanic. The next move they did not expect and it was beyond them. Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods. Divine power, even if cast down, proved itself stronger than the power of the foe. But in spite of this there was no softening in the heart of Pharaoh.

So the first of the plagues in Egypt was scheduled to take place in the morning, when Pharaoh made his visit to the Nile. The demand for the release of the people was again to be made, and if refused the rod that had been turned to a serpent, and that had devoured the rods of the magicians, was to be stretched out over the river and its waters turned to blood. The river that was the very life of Egypt was turned into a river of death and stinking.

But again the magicians proved that they could similarly produce death and stinking, so that Pharaoh's heart remained hard. That Satan could produce death, or that which is symbolic of death, is not at all surprising, since he is the author of sin, and by sin death has come to pass. Though Pharaoh made light of this first plague, the common people felt the weight of it and it lasted for seven days. This, we suppose, is what the last verse of the chapter indicates.

At the end of that time the Lord through Moses reiterated His demand for the release of His people, and announced a second plague if the demand was refused. The demand was refused and the frogs in their millions appeared out of the waters that had been smitten (Exodus 8:5, Exodus 8:6). The magicians showed however that they too could produce frogs out of the waters, thus minimizing the effect of the miracle in the mind of Pharaoh. Those conversant with Egypt and its history tell us that a "red Nile" is something that used to happen annually and that the river was a breeding place of frogs; but what came to pass here was quite out of the ordinary both as to time and intensity, and the invasion of the whole land by the frogs was a dreadful affliction.

Again, we are told by Egyptologists that a special goddess was supposed to preside over the frogs, so as to protect the land from them. She was named Heki, and is represented on the monuments sometimes with the head of a frog. The Egyptians had to learn that Heki was as nothing before Jehovah. It illustrates the word, "Against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment" (Exodus 12:12). It is probable also that when the first plague fell, just as Pharaoh approached the river, he was going to worship the god that the Nile was supposed to represent.

While Pharaoh disregarded the first plague, as we saw in verse Exodus 5:23 of the last chapter, he was not unmoved by the second, as we see in verse Exodus 5:8. Out of every branch of the river, the irrigation canals, the reservoirs, as indicated in verse Exodus 5:5, the slimy creatures came, penetrating into houses, into their beds, their food vessels, their ovens, defiling everything. The magicians may have helped to increase their numbers slightly, but they could not take them away. He had to recognize the hand of the Lord was in this dreadful affliction. So he made pretence of yielding to the demand of God in order that the plague might be removed.

The removal was made the more impressive by Moses asking him to stipulate when the frogs should go. The words, "Glory over me," are rendered in the Septuagint "Fix for me." His answer was, "Tomorrow." Moses replied that Jehovah the God of Israel would prove His power by removing the plague just as the king had stipulated. It seems obvious that their removal in this fashion was an even more impressive miracle than their being brought up.

But even so, the effect of the plague was not yet over for, save in the river, the frogs all died that day in a miraculous manner, and gathered in heaps the land stank with their carcases. Yet even this was a respite, and directly Pharaoh saw it he hardened his heart and continued to defy God. The judgment had not produced any vital change.

Hence, without further delay or appeal to the king, Moses was to stretch out his rod and smite the dust, when it was to become lice throughout all the land. This was done by Aaron on behalf of Moses and the trying plague came to pass. At this point the magicians of Egypt were baffled. Out of the dead dust the living lice had come. The magicians could not imitate it, and they had to confess as much. Only God can bring life out of death. They could only confess, "This is the finger of God," and retire from the contest. From this point we hear of no more attempts to belittle the acts of God by satanic power.

From those who are experts in ancient languages we learn that the word translated " lice " is an unusual one, and in the Septuagint is translated by a word which means a kind of small mosquito. It is of small moment what exactly the word means, but it is of interest to learn that the difficulty is occasioned by the word not being a strictly Hebrew one. It is an importation from the language used in Egypt, and is one of the many internal proofs that the Pentateuch was not written about the time of Ezra, as the "higher critics" would have us imagine. It was written when these Egyptian terms were well known and quite intelligible to the Hebrew reader.

Darby's New Translation gives us "gnats" as the plague, which accords with what we have just written. We may well be thankful to God that He has caused to be woven into the very texture of the Scripture these little signs that Moses, who was so well acquainted with Egypt, its words and its ways, was indeed the writer under the inspiration of the Spirit of God. This fact is the more striking, as we shall see when we consider the fourth plague, since the word, used there for the "swarms" that came up, is again not a Hebrew one but rather one that was peculiar to Egypt.

There is no record here of the plague of lice being removed, but Moses is told by God to present again to Pharaoh His demand that the people, whom He claimed as His be released. He is again to intercept the king as he was going forth to the river early in the morning. Those who have studied the records of ancient Egypt have told us that the Nile was worshipped as representing one of the chief deities of that land of idols, and we remember that when the river was smitten under the first plague Pharaoh was going in the same direction in the morning (Exodus 7:15). It gives us the impression that he was going forth to worship the Nile-god, and just at that moment his god was smitten. So also there was a goddess, who was supposed to preside over frogs. This shows us how these judgments affected the gods of Egypt, as indicated in Exodus 12:12.

By the river, Pharaoh is threatened with the fourth plague. We notice that seven times it is described as "swarms" — to which word our translators have added "of flies" in italics, since the word in the original is evidently an Egyptian one and not Hebrew, and no one knows its exact significance. The Septuagint uses a Greek word meaning "dog-flies," and this is the word used in Darby's New Translation. Other authorities believe that it really signifies "beetles." If so, that would again bring in the thought of the gods of Egypt, for the beetle was venerated by them.

We pause here a moment to observe that Urquhart in his "New Biblical Guide," points out very forcibly that there are a number of words used that have their roots in the Egyptian language and not the Hebrew, as well as allusions to Egyptian customs and geographical details, which would only be known to people familiar with Egypt, and that these are introduced without one word of explanation. The unbelieving "Higher Critics" insisted that the Pentateuch was never written by Moses, but was the work of Ezra, or of someone else about his time — that it was a "pious fraud" perpetrated in the hope of making the people attach more weight to the law they were supposed to observe. But Ezra, or someone else, coming from Babylon, would never have had this intimate knowledge of Egyptian words and customs dating a thousand years before, and could he in some miraculous way have obtained the knowledge, he would have had to insert explanations to make them intelligible to the readers of his day. No, the hallmark of the Egypt of the time of Moses is plainly to be seen. It is as well for us ordinary Christians to know these facts, for we may occasionally be confronted by these infidel reasonings.

Another thing we must notice is that in this fourth plague Israel in the land of Goshen is exempted entirely from its effects. The "swarms" appeared punctually the next day, as the Lord had said, and this severing of Goshen greatly heightened the impressive force of the miracle. The land was "corrupted," or "destroyed" by these "swarms," which rather supports the idea that they were beetles, for in recent times travellers in Egypt have testified to the very destructive habits of the sort of beetles that are found there.

This plague evidently made a deep impression on the stubborn mind of Pharaoh and for the first time he made a show of yielding, but only by way of a small concession of a compromising nature. The Israelites might have a short release from their tasks and sacrifice to their God, but it must be in Egypt and not outside its borders. They might have a little bit of their religion so long as their links with Egypt were not cut. A type this, of the snare that has prevailed so largely in Christendom. The god of this age is content for us to carry on Christian observances, so long as we remain attached to, and controlled by, "this present evil world."

Moses at once rejected the offer, for the sacrifices of Jehovah were of a kind that would be a deadly offence to the people of Egypt and provoke murderous action. In this again we can see a typical significance, for that which lies at the root of all our worship is the unique excellence of Christ contrasted with the condemnation of Adam's race as fallen sinners. A doctrine which involves that judgment is an abomination to the world.

Pharaoh evidently had to acknowledge the force of this objection, for he at once altered his concession to giving permission for a very short journey into the wilderness, only not very far away. He wished to have them well within the reach of his arm, so that their separation from his land should be only nominal and temporary. Once more we see how this fits the type. If there is to be a breach between the church and the world, let it be only of a nominal sort, and one which lends itself to the Christian being still held in bondage.

With this concession the king asked for the intercession of Moses, which was granted with a warning against the deceitful line that he had been following. The Lord acted according to the prayer of Moses and another great miracle took place. On the next day the swarms departed so thoroughly that not one insect remained in the land. But, relieved of this infliction, in spite of the warning, once more Pharaoh hardened his heart and refused to allow the concession he had just promised. How true all this is to human nature! Under affliction people appear to become quite pious, the affliction is removed, and they promptly resume their godless ways.

Exodus 9:1-35. The fifth plague is now threatened by command of the Lord. The first three had occasioned terrible inconveniences upon Egypt, the fourth had corrupted their possessions; the fifth was to smite them in one of the chief sources of their wealth. Horses and asses are mentioned first, and for these animals Egypt was specially famed. A very grievous "murrain," or "plague," would come upon them and again there should be complete exemption for the Israelites. So it came to pass. On one side of the line of separation there was death, on the other not one animal was affected. This again was plainly the hand of God, but Pharaoh was unmoved, and remained hard and impenitent. Therefore, as we see in verse Exodus 8:8, Moses is instructed to act without giving Pharaoh any warning of what was coming. It is worthy of note that this feature also marked the third plague, and we shall find it again repeated when we come to the ninth. No comment is made in our chapters as to this feature, but it seems to be a part of God's ways to warn twice and if no attention is paid, then to strike the third time without any warning being given. Later on we do get the word, "God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not" (Job 33:14). That saying of Elihu was certainly exemplified here.

This time Moses was without warning to perform an act in the sight of the king, casting into the air handfuls of ashes from the furnace. Egypt had been "a smoking furnace" (Genesis 15:17), into which the children of Abraham had been plunged, and now ashes of the furnace were to recoil upon the heads of their oppressors, smiting them with boils and blisters. It is specially mentioned that the severity of the boils was such that the magicians, suffering from them like the rest could not stand before Moses. They were utterly discomfited. No hint is given here why this smiting of the magicians is specially stated, but it is known that great soundness and cleanliness was imposed upon these men, who were the very highest rank of idolatrous priests, and without it they were disqualified from exercising their office and their charms.

But in spite of all this Pharaoh remained obdurate, and in verse Exodus 8:12 we are plainly told that the Lord hardened his heart. Yet the dealings of God with him proceeded and even worse afflictions were threatened. Again Moses was to intercept him early in the morning, and warn him of further chastisement upon his realm.

This time the word of the Lord through Moses contained not only a plain threat of what was impending but also a revelation of how the hand of the Lord had been upon him in the past, raising him up to sit upon the throne of Egypt. Verse Exodus 8:16 is quoted by the Apostle Paul in Romans 9:17, as a striking example of the working of the sovereignty of God. Some of those who have studied the records of ancient Egypt have told us that in their opinion this Pharaoh of the exodus was not altogether of royal blood, but rather a son of the harem, who ascended the throne by being married to a princess fully of royal blood and in the line of succession. If this be so, it illuminates the position. He was "raised up" by God, not in the sense of being born into the world, but of being raised to the throne in an unusual way.

The sovereignty of God is one of the great foundation facts of Scripture: a fact that may well move our hearts to praise. If He were not sovereign in His omniscience and omnipotence, we might well tremble before the might of the great adversary. The responsibility of man, even though fallen, is another fact made plain in Scripture, and both facts we must maintain, though we may not feel able to correlate the two. Nebuchadnezzar, whose responsibility was undoubted, acknowledged the Divine sovereignty when he said, "He doeth according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What doest Thou?"

God knew the stubborn self-will and pride of this man, and working behind the scenes raised him up to where he could carry on and even intensify the ill-treatment of His people, and thus bring things to a head. The hour was now ripe for God to deal with him, and in doing so, display His power in such fashion that His name would be declared throughout all the earth. That in those days the name of Jehovah was so declared is borne witness to by such a scripture as Joshua 2:8-11. And even in our day, 3,500 years later, the fame of it has not died away.

We must take note of verse Exodus 8:17, for in it we find an early example of the principle that what is done against the people of God is accepted as done against God Himself. It came most fully to light when Saul of Tarsus was arrested by, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?" Again we see it in Matthew 25:40, Matthew 25:45, applying there to what is done for the Lord as well as against Him, but en both cases their attitude manifested in their treatment of His people. In exalting himself against the children of Israel Pharaoh was exalting himself against God, and thus hurrying on to his doom.

Verse Exodus 8:26 tells us that in this seventh plague the land of Goshen was again exempted. But there was also a new feature as regards the Egyptians in that; warning being given, there was an opportunity for any of the common people, who regarded the word of the Lord, to take action which would save them from the worst of it. The violence of the hail storm was so great that man or beast exposed to it would die. The crops were wrecked and even trees of the field destroyed. Verses Exodus 8:31-32 give explicit information, which shows us that the time of year must have been late February or early March, for then in Egypt the barley is in the ear and the flax in blossom (or, boiled), but the wheat and the rye not yet in the stalk.

The visitation was so terrific that Pharaoh was frightened and inclined to make some confession of wrongdoing, as verse Exodus 8:27 shows, and to promise to let the people go, if only there might be a cessation of this fearful scourge. Moses however was not deceived by this fresh profession of repentance and piety, and told him plainly that he knew he would not fulfil his promise, yet he went forth as an intercessor and spread his hands out unto the Lord, when the visitation ceased as suddenly as it began. Both in its onset and in its cessation it proved itself to be an act of God.

Sceptics have raised a difficulty as to cattle being slain by the hail seeing they had been smitten under the fifth plague. They overlook perhaps that the fifth was upon all "which is in the field" (Exodus 9:3), so there may have been a good number not in the field. And further the cattle of the Israelites were wholly untouched, and there was nothing to prevent the Egyptians, in the two or three weeks that probably elapsed between the fifth and seventh plagues, seizing many of them for their own use.

Under this seventh plague Egypt must have lost nearly all its glory and have been brought very low. Most of its livestock destroyed, its trees broken, barley and flax ruined - the latter especially a very valuable crop. But directly the chastisement ceased Pharaoh relapsed into his stubborn defiance, and not only he but his servants also. How all this should drive home into our hearts the fact that what is born of the flesh is still flesh, no matter to what treatment it is subjected; and that the mind of the flesh is enmity against God.