Mo'ses again directed Aa'ron to wave his staff, and suddenly great numbers of frogs came out of the waters of the land and infested the whole country. The houses of the people and the palace of the king were soon made loathsome by these slimy, croaking creatures. There was no way to escape or resist these afflictive and pestilent "marsh-leapers."
Pha'raoh had been contemptuous and unrepentant under the first plague; the sign of God's power in the torrents of blood which flowed throughout the land seems to have left him unmoved. But now that his own home was made miserable by the frogs, which infested even his bedchamber and dining room, his stubborn resolution began to weaken. He had no way of protecting himself from these contemptible creatures; they were more numerous and irresistible than any army of soldiers invading the land of E'gypt. His pride was humbled, and he was forced to give in before the army of pests sent by the LORD. He sent for Mo'ses, and asked his aid in freeing the country from the ugly creatures which seemed to have taken possession of it. Mo'ses asked when the king wished him to intercede with God to remove the frogs, and was told to make his prayer on the following day. The prayer of Mo'ses was granted at once; all the frogs died, and had to be piled up in great heaps all over the land.
The apparent repentance of Pha'raoh was short-lived and deceitful. He had promised that if the plague of frogs was removed he would let the children of Is'ra-el go out into the wilderness to worship God in their own way. As soon as all the frogs were dead, however, Pha'raoh took back his promise, and refused to let the Is'ra-el-ites go out into the wilderness.
A third plague came upon the land without any warning whatsoever. Mo'ses told Aa'ron to wave his rod over the dust of the earth, and the whole land became infested with lice. They covered both man and beast, and the very dust of the ground became a bed for these annoying insects. The magicians of E'gypt tried to do the same, but were unable to turn the dust of the ground into lice. They then told the king that the miracle just performed by Mo'ses and Aa'ron must have been caused by the finger of God, but Pha'raoh would not take the advice of his own servants.
It is not quite clear whether these three plagues also affected the Is'ra-el-ites in the land of Go'shen, but we are plainly told that they were spared from the plagues which followed. This was an exception to the usual method of Divine Providence in dealing with the world, for as a rule both good and evil persons suffer alike in the calamities of nature. All people are subject to the laws by which the LORD instructs His children, and good conduct does not always save one from a part in the judgments which fall at times upon the world.
The punishments which the LORD permits are intended to turn sinners into saints, and to transform saints into even more Heavenly beings. It is true, however, that good character often shields one from misfortune, and that those who love the LORD are saved from the trials which come to those who are too proud to call upon His name. In the further plagues upon E'gypt God showed the wicked king He was able to protect His own people, and that the sufferings brought upon Pha'raoh and his country for refusing to let the children of Is'ra-el go out into the wilderness should not afflict the He'brews.
