The Lord then spoke to Moses: Speak to Aaron: Stretch out your hand with your staff over the streams, the canals, and the ponds, and make frogs overrun the land of Egypt. 2 So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. 3 But the magicians did the same by their magic arts and made frogs overrun the land of Egypt. 4 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray to the Lord to remove the frogs from me and my people, and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.” 5 Moses answered Pharaoh, “Please designate for me the time when I am to pray for you and your servants and your people, to get rid of the frogs from you and your houses. They will be left only in the Nile.” 6 “Tomorrow,” he said. Then Moses replied, “It will be as you have said, so that you may know that there is none like the Lord, our God. 7 The frogs will leave you and your houses, your servants and your people; they will be left only in the Nile.” 8 After Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh’s presence, Moses cried out to the Lord on account of the frogs that he had inflicted on Pharaoh; 9 and the Lord did as Moses had asked. The frogs died off in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields. 10 Heaps of them were piled up, and the land stank. 11 But when Pharaoh saw there was a respite, he became obstinate and would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.
The second plague, like the others, demonstrates the sovereignty and power of the Lord over creation and the false gods of Egypt. In particular, this plague undermines the Egyptian goddess Heqet, depicted as a woman with the head of a frog. Heqet was associated with fertility and the renewal of life, and frogs were seen as sacred animals in Egyptian culture. By overwhelming Egypt with an infestation of frogs, the Lord shows His power over their false deities, emphasizing that He alone is the Creator and sustainer of life.
The plagues are not random but are structured demonstrations of the Lord's power over creation and the gods of Egypt. Each plague is tailored to challenge a specific aspect of Egyptian religion and culture. Besides being punitive, they also serve a redemptive purpose as they are intended to compel Pharaoh to release the Israelites so they can fulfill their covenantal obligation to worship the Lord (Exodus 3:12). Despite witnessing God's power, Pharaoh's resistance serves to underscore the depth of human sin and the necessity of divine intervention for true liberation.
The second plague foreshadows Jesus Christ's authority over creation and His mission to liberate humanity from spiritual bondage. In Mark 4:39, Jesus demonstrates His divine power over nature by calming the storm, revealing that He is Lord over creation, just as God displayed His sovereignty in Egypt.
The hardening of Pharaoh’s heart finds its ultimate theological resolution in Christ, who softens hardened hearts through the transformative power of grace (Ezek. 36:26; Heb. 3:7-15). Jesus, the new Moses, leads His people out of the bondage of sin into the true worship of God (Luke 9:31).
Almighty God, You alone are the Creator and Sovereign over all creation. Just as You displayed Your power in Egypt to free Your people, show Your might in our lives today. Soften our hearts to Your will, that we may worship You with faith and humility. Deliver us from all forms of bondage, and lead us into the freedom of Your grace. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Sources
- McSorley, Joseph. An Outline History of the Church by Centuries (From St. Peter to Pius XII). 2nd ed., B. Herder Book Co., 1944.
- Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
- Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
- Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition. Four Courts / Scepter, 2008.
- Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Prentice Hall, 1990.
- Charpentier, Etienne. How to Read the Old Testament. Translated by John Bowden, 1981.
- Komonchak, Joseph, et al., editors. The New Dictionary of Theology.
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