John Calvin Commentary Exodus 8
John Calvin Commentary
Exodus 8
John Calvin Commentary
Exodus 8
"And Jehovah spake unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith Jehovah, Let my people go, that they may serve me." — Exodus 8:1 (ASV)
And the Lord spoke. Again, as if the matter were only now begun, God demands of Pharaoh His own unique right, namely, that His people should serve Him, but out of the land of Egypt, so that His worship might be separate and pure from all defilement. For He desired (as was said before) by this separation of His people to condemn the superstitions of the Egyptians.
Meanwhile, there was no excuse for the tyrant when, with sacrilegious boldness, he presumed to deprive God of His just honor. Therefore, in refusing to let them go, he was declared not only to be cruel but also a despiser of God.
Threatening is also added, so that at least he might, however unwillingly, be driven to obey. For this is how the stubborn must be dealt with, who are never brought to duty except when forced by fear or punishment. Indeed, God sometimes also threatens His own servants to stimulate their laziness, but He is especially more severe towards the perverse and disobedient. Thus it is said (Psalms 18:26):
With the pure you will show yourself pure; and with the froward you will show yourself froward.
This is the reason why He sanctions His command with threats92 when He addresses Pharaoh. In this second plague, there are, besides, two things we should note:
- God shows that the Egyptians had until now held their lives by a precarious tenure, as it were, because He had protected them from the invasion of frogs by His special mercy. We know that Egypt, on account of its many marshes and the sluggish and almost stagnant Nile, was full of frogs and venomous animals. Now, when great multitudes of them come forth suddenly, cover the surface of the fields, penetrate even into the houses and bedrooms, and finally ascend even into the royal palace, it plainly appears that they were previously only restrained by God’s hand. Thus, the God of the Hebrews was the guardian and keeper of that kingdom.
- God chose not only to inflict a punishment upon the Egyptians but also to expose them to mockery by its ignominious nature. Nor can we doubt that their pain must have been much embittered by this humiliation, when they saw that they were thus mistreated not by some victorious army, but by filthy reptiles. Besides this, their calamity had its origin in the Nile, which enriched their country with so many advantages.
But let us learn from this history that many deaths are mixed up with our life, and it is only lengthened for us because God restrains the dangers that everywhere surround us.
Again, although He may not openly strike us with lightning from heaven, nor arm His angels for the destruction of men, still, at His slightest nod, all creatures are ready to execute His judgments. Therefore, we must attribute it to His kindness and long-suffering if the wicked do not perish at each moment.
Finally, if we are ever pained by ignominy or disgrace, let us remember that this happens by design, so that the shame itself may mortify our pride.
92 In the Fr. the word here used is . the word here used is miracles, probably a misprint for , probably a misprint for menaces..
"And Jehovah said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thy hand with thy rod over the rivers, over the streams, and over the pools, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt." — Exodus 8:5 (ASV)
And the Lord spoke to Moses, Say to Aaron. It is questionable whether God thus instructed Moses in a continuous address, or whether He waited until Pharaoh stubbornly despised His command. It is probable, indeed, that after Pharaoh had paid no attention to the threats, the execution of the punishment was commanded.
Meanwhile, we must remember what I said before: Moses did not move even a finger but, as he had been commanded, transferred the active measures to his subordinate minister, so that Pharaoh might be treated more contemptuously. Thus, he overwhelmed the whole land, as it were, by a breath. But although in this way God cast down the fierce tyrant in his swelling pride to be trampled beneath their feet, still the wickedness of the magicians did not rest. Thus, it was necessary that the servants of God should be tested by constant struggles one after another.
"Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Entreat Jehovah, that he take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may sacrifice unto Jehovah." — Exodus 8:8 (ASV)
Then Pharaoh called for Moses. Pharaoh at last appears to be softened and to lay aside some of his fierceness, but it will soon appear that he was not really tamed. It may indeed have been that, seized with terror, he seriously took refuge in cries for pardon. But that he lied to God and to himself is plain from his very inconsistency; because, as soon as a reprieve was granted, he returned to his natural disposition. Indeed, he effectively showed that his malice was only repressed by fear, since it soon began to vent itself again.
Thus hypocrites act: when they are beneath God’s afflicting hand or tremble under the dread of His chastenings, they humbly and submissively implore His mercy. But when the evil has been withdrawn for a little while, this short truce puffs up their hearts, as if they had attained an eternal peace. The Prophet complains in the psalm that this also happened with the Jews:
“When he slew them, then they sought him; and they returned and inquired early after God. And they remembered that God was their rock, and the high God their redeemer. Nevertheless, they did but flatter him with their mouth, and they lied unto him with their tongues; for their heart was not right with him, neither were they steadfast in his covenant” (Psalms 78:34–37).
In short, this is a disease common to all hypocrites. Having found by experience that their stubbornness is destructive to them, they feign penitence to obtain pardon, because they cannot escape God’s judgments. But when they imagine they have escaped, they hasten back to the same pride, kick against God, and even wantonly insult him. In a word, it is only their trouble that humbles them, and that only for a short time.
But although Pharaoh’s fear compelled him to seek Moses to plead for him, and he was anxious to appease God, yet it was a sign of his deceitful and double mind that he made it, as it were, a bargain: that the frogs should be taken away before he would let the people go. His impiety, therefore, lay concealed in his heart as long as he thought that he could not defy God with impunity; but, relying confidently on impunity, he manifested his deceit and treachery.
Although it was not with any sincere feeling of repentance that he now humbly speaks of Jehovah by name, yet it shows that the stubbornness of his spirit was broken—the spirit mentioned before, when he inquired in mockery, “Who is the Lord?”
"And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Have thou this glory over me: against what time shall I entreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, that the frogs be destroyed from thee and thy houses, and remain in the river only?" — Exodus 8:9 (ASV)
And Moses said to Pharaoh. Commentators differ as to the meaning of this passage. Some are too speculative, explaining it to mean that this honor was granted to Pharaoh, allowing him to fix the time when Moses was to pray. Again, there is a flatness in the explanation that Pharaoh might glory because the frogs were to die. Those who explain it as meaning that Pharaoh should be freed from the frogs, so that he might glory in safety, express part of the meaning, but not the whole.
It rather appears to me that there is an implied antithesis between the perverse boasting with which Pharaoh had exulted, and that pious glorying which he should seek in the mercy of God; as if Moses had said, “Thus far you have exalted yourself improperly, trusting in your power, and afterwards when bewitched by the enchantments; now rather glory, because you have an intercessor and patron to plead for you to God.”
For it was necessary that the arrogance, which had so falsely elevated him that he dared to contend with God, should be crushed, and that no hope should be left him, except in the mercy of God. But to “glory over” Moses means that he should seek his glory in the advocacy of Moses, and should consider it a very great happiness that Moses would condescend to intercede for his reconciliation with God. For the particle על,93 is often understood this way.
Yet Moses by no means wished to detract at all from the glory of God; but (as I have recently said), desiring to humble the pride of the haughty king, he told him that nothing would be better and more glorious for him than to have a good hope of pardon, once he had obtained as his advocate the servant of the living God, whom he so cordially hated.
He only affirms that the frogs should “remain in the river;” meaning that they should be content with their ordinary dwelling place and boundaries. For we know that frogs, although they sometimes jump out on the bank, still do not go far from the water, because they are nourished by humidity. Thus he hints that they were let loose by God’s command to cover the ground, and that it was still in His power, should He choose, for them to invade the fields and houses again in new multitudes. He also implies that it must be ascribed to His blessing if they remained in the waters and did not make incursions beyond their own boundaries.
93 על. Instances in which this particle has the meaning attributed to it by C., may be seen in Psalm 37:4, first clause; and in Job 27:10. Noldius has also observed that עלי, the form in which it here occurs, has the meaning of mihi curae, mihi incumbit, in Judges 19:20, Psalms 116:12, Proverbs 7:14, and 2 Samuel 18:11. Concord. particularum, על, 34. — W
"And he said, Against to-morrow. And he said, Be it according to thy word; that thou mayest know that there is none like unto Jehovah our God." — Exodus 8:10 (ASV)
And he said, Tomorrow. If you refer this to Moses, there is ambiguity in the meaning; but, since it is probable that these were Pharaoh’s words, I think that he is asking for a respite until tomorrow before he lets the people go.
For those who think that he asked Moses to drive away the frogs by his prayers on the next day fall into an absurdity, as if Pharaoh went quietly to sleep and postponed the remedy for the evil.
There is, then, no basis for understanding it to mean that Pharaoh, as if his mind were quite tranquil and unmoved, desired to have his land delivered from the frogs on the following day. Rather, it means that if he were released from this difficulty, he promised the release of the people, but yet suspended it until the next day, for the purpose of deceit.
For there was no other reason for this delay, except that, having obtained what he wanted, he might go back on his commitment, as he actually did. But Moses, satisfied with this promise, undertook to bring it about that God would disperse the frogs; and this, I doubt not, was performed on the same day.
For this was the reason the tyrant changed his mind: because, with the passing of the night, his fear departed. And certainly, it is gathered from the following words that the frogs were soon after removed, for it is said that Moses and Aaron prayed after they had gone out; which would be but little in accordance with the idea that the next day was waited for.
It is not by any rash or presumptuous impulse that Moses affirmed that Pharaoh would obtain his desire, because it appears from his success that he was assured of its being God’s will. Thus, prophets, though no spoken revelation may intervene, are nevertheless often directed by the secret inspiration of the Spirit.
In this confidence, also, Moses declared that Pharaoh should know that there is no other God to be compared with the God of Israel. This, moreover, is the true knowledge of God: when whatever lifts itself up to obscure His glory is reduced to its proper level, and every high thing yields or is cast down, so that He alone may be exalted.
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