Beginning of the End

The Plagues Strike Egypt

Moses and Aaron were directed to go to the riverside the next morning. Because the overflowing of the Nile was the source of food and wealth for all Egypt, the river was worshiped as a god, and the monarch came to its banks daily for his personal devotions. The two brothers again repeated the message to him and then stretched out the rod and struck the water. The sacred stream turned to blood, the fish died, and the river smelled bad. The water in the houses and the supply in the cisterns was also changed to blood. But “the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments,” and “Pharaoh turned and went into his house. Neither was his heart moved by this.” For seven days the plague continued, but without changing Pharaoh’s mind. BOE 127.5

Again Aaron stretched out the rod, and frogs came up from the river. They overran the houses, occupied the bedrooms, and even got into the ovens and kneading troughs. The Egyptians regarded the frog as sacred, and they would not destroy it; but the slimy pests now swarmed even in the palace of the Pharaohs, and the king was impatient to have them removed. The magicians had seemed to produce frogs, but they could not remove them. BOE 127.6

When he saw this, Pharaoh was somewhat humbled. He sent 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.” They asked him to choose a time when they should pray for the plague to be removed. He chose the next day, secretly hoping that the frogs might disappear on their own and thus save him from the bitter humiliation of submitting to the God of Israel. The plague, however, continued until the specified time, when across all of Egypt the frogs died. But their smelly, decomposing bodies remained and polluted the atmosphere. BOE 128.1

The Lord could have caused them to return to dust in a moment, but He did not do this, so that the king and his people could not declare it to be the result of enchantment like the work of the magicians. The frogs died and were then gathered together in piles, evidence that this work was not accomplished by magic but was a judgment from the God of heaven. BOE 128.2

“When Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart.” At the command of God, Aaron stretched out his hand with the rod, and the dust of the earth became lice throughout all the land of Egypt. Pharaoh called for the magicians to do the same, but they could not, admitting that “This is the finger of God.” But the king was still unmoved. BOE 128.3

Another judgment followed. Flies filled the houses, so that “the land was corrupted because of the swarms of flies.” These flies were large and poisonous, and their bite was extremely painful. As told ahead of time, this plague did not extend to the land of Goshen. BOE 128.4