God is Not Willing That Any Should Perish

 God had stated that part of his purpose was to make the Egyptians realize who God is.  The Egyptians had been using a trick to convince the people of their godlike powers.  God actually did what they had been pretending to do.  Unlike the Magician’s snakes, Aaron’s snake turned back into a stick when he picked it up, but Pharaoh ignored the difference.

 

The Egyptians worshipped the Nile river because it not only supplied the water to irrigate their crops but washed in fresh rich soil every spring, and provided a steady supply of fish and drinking water all year.  Wanting the Egyptians to realize he is more powerful than the Nile, God demonstrated his power over the river next, as Exodus 7:14-21 describes.  “And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh's heart is hardened, he refuseth to let the people go.  Get thee unto Pharaoh in the morning; lo, he goeth out unto the water; and thou shalt stand by the river's brink against he come; and the rod which was turned to a serpent shalt thou take in thine hand.  And thou shalt say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness: and, behold, hitherto thou wouldest not hear.  Thus saith the LORD, In this thou shalt know that I am the LORD: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood.  And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall loathe to drink of the water of the river.

 

And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone.  And Moses and Aaron did so, as the LORD commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.  And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.”

 

Using the same walking stick that had turned into a snake, Aaron stretched it out over the river and the water turned to blood, killing the fish in the water, both in the river itself and in the irrigation canals and ponds.  The magicians were able to do something that looked much the same, putting die or paint into a container of water, as Exodus 7:22-23 tells us.  “And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, neither did he hearken unto them; as the LORD had said.  And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, neither did he set his heart to this also.”  Once again, Pharaoh blew it off, as being the same thing his magicians had done. 

 

It wasn’t nearly as easy for the common people to blow it off, as Exodus 7;24-25 tells us.  “And all the Egyptians digged round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river.  And seven days were fulfilled, after that the LORD had smitten the river.”  It took a full week for the river to wash away all the pollutants.  During that time the people had to dig holes alongside the river and let the water filter through the soil into the holes where they could dip it out.  Since the Jews lived in Goshen and did not eat as much fish, they were less affected than the Egyptians by the pollution in the river than the Egyptians. 

 

Since amphibians such as frogs do not breathe through gills, the blood in the river did not affect them very much.  God would cause something to affect them next, causing them to leave the rivers in swarms.  Needing protection from the sun, they would invade the house along the river, as described in Exodus 8:1-6.  “And the LORD spake unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me.  And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs: 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 kneadingtroughs: And the frogs shall come up both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants.

 

And the LORD spake 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.  And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt.

 

The magicians were able to put something in the water that drove out even more of the frogs, convincing Pharaoh they still had similar powers.  Knowing that it would take several days for the pollution to wash away, and that the magicians could do nothing to speed it up, Pharaoh asked Moses to have God get rid of the frogs, promising to let them go and worship God, in Exodus 8:7-8.  “And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt.  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 do sacrifice unto the LORD.”

 

Pharaoh had servants to get fresh water and to sweep frogs out of his house so these were just minor annoyances to him, just as the Covid-19 have been for most of our political figures.  When asked when he wanted the infestation to end, Pharaoh said it could wait until tomorrow, in Exodus 8:9-11.  “And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Glory over me: when shall I entreat 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?  And he said, To morrow. And he said, Be it according to thy word: that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the LORD our God.  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.”

 

Like many political figures, Pharaoh had little understanding of the possible effects of their decisions.  When Moses prayed, the frogs started dying immediately, right where they were, as Exodus 8:12-14 tells us.  “And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh: and Moses cried unto the LORD because of the frogs which he had brought against Pharaoh.  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.  And they gathered them together upon heaps: and the land stank.”  It would be weeks before they could get rid of all the rotting frogs, and they would have to live with the smell.  As soon as Pharaoh thought the problem was over, the changed his mind, breaking his promise to let the people go, as Exodus 8:15 tells us.  “But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.”

 

While God could have easily wiped out the Egyptians or killed Pharaoh, he chose not to do it that way because as II Peter 3:9 tells us, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”  Living by faith requires us to understand that God has not broken his promise if things don’t go as we think they should, but that he is also concerned what is best for other people as well.  God was giving the Egyptians a chance to turn to him.  In the process, the Israelites would have to put up with some of the same inconveniences as the Egyptians.