Moses was eighty, and Aaron was eighty-three, as they began their work together to persuade Pharoah to let the people of Israel go (Exodus 7:7). We saw in yesterday’s reading that Moses was trying out various excuses to talk God out of giving him this assignment; it is interesting that he did not try “I’m too old for a job like this.” And surely it was a hard and frustrating job, because time after time when Moses and Aaron brought God’s message to Pharoah, “Pharoah’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them” (Exodus 7:13).

There had been two early miracles – turning a staff into a snake, and turning the Nile to blood – yet both of these were imitated by the local Egyptian sorcerers (7:10-11, 20-22), so Pharoah was not convinced that he needed to comply. The third miracle was a plague of frogs. There would be frogs everywhere, Moses explained to Pharoah; they would come “into your bedchamber and your bed, into the houses of your officials and of your people, and into your ovens and your kneading bowls” (8:3). Aaron stretched forth the rod of God, and the land of Egypt was covered with frogs (8:5). Once again the local sorcerers did the same (8:7) – but wait! How would making even more frogs help, when there were already too many?

Then Pharoah relented: “Pray to the Lord to take away the frogs from me and my people, and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord” (8:8). At last! “And they all lived happily ever after.” Oops, no: once the frogs were gone, Pharoah again refused to let the people go (8:15).

I actually have a lot of sympathy for Pharoah here. I’ve been there, the same way: recognizing I’m in trouble, repenting and promising to change as I ask God to relieve me of this problem: and then, once the problem is gone, I end up right back in the same stubborn defiance I had before.

* * * * *

Help us, O Lord! Change our hearts: for we are stubborn people, wanting to repent and then not living up to our own best decisions, turning back to rebellion. Turn us to yourself, so that we may live in the light of your good purpose, day by day.