Context No. 2520 of 4322 · Exodus

Exodus 8:1-7: in context

1The LORD spoke to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, and tell him, ‘This is what the LORD says, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. 2If you refuse to let them go, behold, I will plague all your borders with frogs. 3The river will swarm with frogs, which will go up and come into your house, and into your bedroom, and on your bed, and into the house of your servants, and on your people, and into your ovens, and into your kneading troughs. 4The frogs shall come up both on you, and on your people, and on all your servants.”’” 5The LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your rod over the rivers, over the streams, and over the pools, and cause frogs to come up on the land of Egypt.’” 6Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt. 7The magicians did the same thing with their enchantments, and brought up frogs on the land of Egypt.

The second plague descends on Egypt: frogs, swarming out of the Nile into houses, bedrooms, beds, ovens, kneading bowls, covering the land. Aaron stretches out his hand and the frogs come. And then a strange detail: Pharaoh's magicians do the same by their secret arts, and bring up still more frogs.

Consider what the magicians could and could not do. They could imitate the plague and even add to it, producing more frogs; what they could not do was remove a single one. Their power ran only in the direction of multiplying the misery, never relieving it. That is often the mark of counterfeit help. It can mimic, escalate, add to the trouble, but it cannot heal or lift what is already there; only God, in the story, can take the frogs away. When I reach for a false solution, it tends to do exactly this, matching or worsening my problem while leaving me no way out.

Am I turning to solutions that only multiply my trouble, when the relief I actually need can come only from God?

Sources

Exodus 8:6: Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt.
Exodus 8:7: The magicians did the same thing with their enchantments, and brought up frogs on the land of Egypt.
Exodus 8:8: Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Entreat the LORD, that he take away the frogs from me.