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Bible Study Online ArticleLocated at the Bottom of Page In the last article we learned that God had unleashed the "plague of frogs" upon the Egyptian kingdom. Keep in mind that this would be God's third blow against the Egyptians, and the second of the "ten recorded plagues." I had also placed this divine challenge by God against the Egyptian frog-headed deity that was known as "Heket the goddess of Fertility & Rebirth."
I also pointed out that this current "plague of frogs" was a step-up from the "bloody plague" that the Lord had wrought before it. For the Sacred Record reveals to us the true intensity of the "plague": "But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all your territory with frogs. "So the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into your house, into your bedroom, on your bed, into the houses of your servants, on your people, into your ovens, and into your kneading bowls. And the frogs shall come up on you, on your people, and on all your servants." -- Exodus 8:2-4 Also keep in mind that this "plague" wasn't designed to break Pharaoh - but it would bend him just enough, to where he'd asked Moses to intercede to the "Most High God" on his behalf: "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.'" -- Exodus 8:8 And of course, Moses would keep his word and do what Pharaoh had asked of him: "Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh. And Moses cried out to the Lord concerning the frogs which He had brought against Pharaoh. 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. They [Egyptians] gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank." -- Exodus 8:12-14 But after Pharaoh had found relief from the "plague of frogs" - we would soon learn that he'd reneged on his word: "But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not heed them, as the Lord had said." -- Exodus 8:15 Now personally, I often wonder what was on Pharaoh's mind when he reneged on his promise to Moses at this point. Perhaps now that Pharaoh could find some relief from the "plague" that the Lord was bringing against the Egyptian kingdom - maybe he thought that this was the worse that God could do and that this "plague of frogs" would be God's final blow against him? Or perhaps, by submitting a prayer request through Moses - Pharaoh maybe, discovered how easy it was, when it came to gaining mercy from the "God of Israel"? I mean after all, if all he had to do when he wanted to gain mercy, or find some type of relief from a "judgment" that the Lord was bringing upon the Egyptian kingdom - was to simply ask Moses to pray to the "God of Israel" on his behalf. Then why should he keep his word, if he believes that he can survive, or endure, the "judgment process" that the Lord was enacting upon him? Remember that when Pharaoh had asked Moses to pray for him, Moses in return asked Pharaoh: "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." -- Exodus 8:9 And what did Pharaoh say to Moses after hearing this: "So he [Pharaoh] said, 'Tomorrow.' And he [Moses] said, 'Let it be according to your word, that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God. And the frogs shall depart from you, from your houses, from your servants, and from your people. They shall remain in the river only.'" -- Exodus 8:10,11 And after Pharaoh had witness this, he probably thought: "Wow! This is all I have to do when it comes to avoiding God's judgment - Is to have Moses pray for me?" This is why we see Pharaoh later on during the very next plague, asking Moses to once again - pray for him: "And Pharaoh said, "I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. Intercede [pray] for me." -- Exodus 8:28 But I'm getting ahead of myself, and please excuse me for digressing. I just simply wanted to make a point. However, whatever Pharaoh had on his mind, he would soon find out, that gaining mercy, or relief, from God's judgments wouldn't be so easy after all. He would also learn that God wasn't done shaking his kingdom to its knees. For we now find that once Pharaoh had reneged on his word, God would immediately enact another plague against the Egyptians. And know that this plague would come fast and fierce; and without warning: "So the Lord said to Moses, 'Say to Aaron, "Stretch out your rod, and strike the dust of the land, so that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt."' And they did so. For Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod and struck the dust of the earth, and it became lice on man and beast. All the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt." -- Exodus 8:16,17 Now this blow would be God's fourth against the Egyptian kingdom, and the third of the "ten recorded plagues". Also, I'm placing this particular "divine challenge" against the Egyptian deity that's known as "Geb the Earth god". I do believe that this deity falls within the consensus of opinion when it comes to this subject. Be that as it may, the Egyptians believed that "Geb" was over all things that involved the earth, even its dust. So when Moses had Aaron to strike the earth's dust, therefore causing it to bring forth enough "lice" that would cover and swarm the entire Egyptian kingdom. It would've been Geb's job to have kept that from happening. But as we can see by what the Sacred Text had revealed when it came to this particular plague, Geb simply didn't show up. However, we must also keep in mind, that this move by God was so quick and unexpected, that Pharaoh's magicians didn't have enough time to prepare themselves properly, in order for them to try to imitate this event, like they did with the ones previously, and because of this, they had to finally admit to Pharaoh - that he was now witnessing the "finger of God.": "Now the magicians so worked with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not. So there were lice on man and beast. Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, 'This is the finger of God.' But Pharaoh's heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, just as the Lord had said." -- Exodus 18,19 And of course, Pharaoh didn't want to hear that the "God of the Israelites" had bested another one of his precious deities. And to make matters worse, the magicians couldn't even mimic, or create an illusion that showed that they were able to reproduce similar results like they had done in the past. Also note, that this latest move by God was a clear indication that He'd taken things to a much higher level, so-much-so, that Pharaoh's own magicians had no choice but to recognize this fact openly. But what will Pharaoh do - now that God has bested one of his deities once again? Will the Egyptian ruler finally give in to Moses and Aaron's demands? Will Pharaoh at last, admit that the "God of Israel" is the "One True God"? Or, will he continue on a prideful path that will eventually lead him and his kingdom to an embarrassing "state of brokenness"?
**YOUR CURRENT BIBLE STUDY ONLINE SERIES WOULD BE HERE**
156) Pharaoh Makes the First Move Against God 157) The Egyptian Deities that Reaped the Wrath of God 158) Pharaoh the Unjust & Unreasonable 159) Moses Has a Talk with God 160) What's Going On God 161) Moses Know that I Am Jehovah 162) Moses And The Desolate Souls 163) Moses Do You Know Who You Are? 164) Moses the God amongst the Egyptians 165) The Battle for the Souls of Humanity 166) Moses & the Egyptian Magicians 167) God vs. Hapi the Water god 168) For Seven Days the Nile River Bleeds 169) God vs. Heket the goddess of Fertility 170) <-CURRENT BIBLE STUDY ONLINE PAGE-> 171) God Releases the Swarms of Flies 172) Israel Set Apart 173) How Far Are You Willing to Go 175) Although Exempted - The Israelites Still Had to Endure 176) Go & Serve Your God - Wait A Minute... 177) The God of Israel vs The Egyptian Bull Cults 179) The Plague of Boils 181) God tells Pharaoh - You Owe Me Everything! 
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