Sunny with a Chance of Raining Frogs Quiz

The description of the first plague is found in Exodus 7:14-24. After having already approached Pharaoh and being rebuffed, the Lord sent Moses to confront Pharaoh again, and said (verses 16-18), "The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, "Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness." But so far, you have not obeyed. Thus says the Lord, "By this you shall know that I am the Lord: behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood. The fish in the Nile shall die, and the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will grow weary of drinking water from the Nile.""

But, Pharaoh's magicians were able to replicate what Moses did, turning water into blood, and Pharaoh refused to let the Hebrew people leave.

The Plague of Frogs is described in Exodus 7:25-8:15. Just one week after the Plague of Blood, God instructed Moses to approach Pharaoh again, and he said (in verses 3 and 4), "The Nile shall swarm with frogs that shall come up into your house and into your bedroom and on your bed and into the houses of your servants and your people, and into your ovens and your kneading bowls. The frogs shall come up on you and on your people and on all your servants." And then Moses had his brother Aaron stretch his hand and staff over the waters to make the frogs arise.

Once again, however, Pharaoh was able to have his magicians replicate the same feat. Even so, they were not able to make the plague end, so Pharaoh pleaded with Moses and Aaron, promising that he would release the Hebrews. But after all the frogs died, Pharaoh reneged on his deal.

Exodus 8:16-19 tells of the Plague of Gnats. After Pharaoh went back on his promise to release the Hebrews after the Plague of Frogs, Moses instructed Aaron (at the behest of the Lord) to strike the earth with his staff and cause every particle of dust to turn into gnats. "The magicians tried by their secret arts to produce gnats, but they could not. So there were gnats on man and beast." (v. 18)

With their failure, Pharaoh's magicians simply declared to their master that "This is the finger of God," but it was not enough to soften Pharaoh's heart.

With the fourth plague (in Exodus 8:20-32), Moses was once again instructed to ask Pharaoh to let the people go into the wilderness to worship God, and that if it didn't happen, He would send a plague of flies. But this time, there was a difference, in that the plague affected ONLY the Egyptians, and not the Hebrews, as seen in verse 22, "But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth."

Again, Pharaoh pleaded with Moses for a respite from the plague, promising that he would let the Hebrews go... and again, Pharaoh's heart was hardened and he reneged on his agreement.

The first seven verses of Exodus 9 tell of the fifth plague against Egypt. Once again, Moses approached Pharaoh and relayed God's demand that he let the Hebrew people go, and warned that the next day, all of the livestock in Egypt would die. And, just as with the plague of flies, God had a different result for His people, "But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing of all that belongs to the people of Israel shall die." (verse 4)

And the stubbornness of Pharaoh continued, as he once again refused to let the Hebrew nation depart.

Exodus 9:8-12 relates the sixth plague, which was a lovely visual demonstration of God's power by both Moses and Aaron. They were instructed to take handfuls of soot from the kiln and to throw it up in the air in the sight of Pharaoh and his magicians, and it became a fine dust that spread over the land of Egypt. "And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils came upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians." (v. 11)

And, once again, Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he would not listen.

The seventh plague (Exodus 9:13-35) was preceded by a lengthy message from the Lord to Pharaoh in verses 14 to 16: "For this time I will send all my plagues on you yourself, and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth. For by now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth. But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth."

Then, the Lord described the vicious hail (and fire) that would fall on the land of Egypt (except for Goshen, where the Hebrews lived). The hail was the largest that had ever been seen before in Egypt, and Pharaoh relented (verses 27 and 28): "Then Pharaoh sent and called Moses and Aaron and said to them, "This time I have sinned; the Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. Plead with the Lord, for there has been enough of God's thunder and hail. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.""

But when Moses caused the hail and thunder and fire to stop, Pharaoh would not let the Hebrews go.

In Exodus 10:1-20, the eighth plague came upon Egypt, only this time when the Lord promised to send locusts to strip the land bare, Pharaoh actually came to do a little bargaining. "So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. And he said to them, "Go, serve the Lord your God. But which ones are to go?" Moses said, "We will go with our young and our old. We will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds, for we must hold a feast to the Lord." But he said to them, "The Lord be with you, if ever I let you and your little ones go! Look, you have some evil purpose in mind. No! Go, the men among you, and serve the Lord, for that is what you are asking." And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence." (verses 8 to 11)

So, even though Pharaoh was ostensibly willing to let the Hebrew men go, it was not what the Lord was demanding. Consequently, as described in verse 14: "The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled on the whole country of Egypt, such a dense swarm of locusts as had never been before, nor ever will be again."

And Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he did not let God's people go.

Exodus 10:21-29 relates the ninth plague of darkness, as the Lord sent a darkness over just the land occupied by the Egyptians. After three days of such darkness that it could be felt, Pharaoh (mostly) relented: "Then Pharaoh called Moses and said, "Go, serve the Lord; your little ones also may go with you; only let your flocks and your herds remain behind."" (v. 24)

But, since the Hebrews needed their flocks and herds to be able to make sacrifices to God, Moses and Aaron insisted that they also be allowed to have their animals. Pharaoh was incensed: "Then Pharaoh said to him, "Get away from me; take care never to see my face again, for on the day you see my face you shall die." Moses said, "As you say! I will not see your face again."" (verses 28 and 29)

In Exodus 11:1-10, Pharaoh received the warning of the deadly tenth plague that would come - the death of all the firstborn in the land. In spite of the warning, Pharaoh refused to let the Hebrews leave.

Before the angel of death came to deliver the plague, the Hebrews were given instructions on how to protect their households, which would cause the angel to pass over without harming the firstborn. This has since been memorialized through the 'Passover' celebration of Jewish tradition.

Chapter 12:29-32 described the plague: "At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians. And there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where someone was not dead. Then he summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, "Up, go out from among my people, both you and the people of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as you have said. Take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone, and bless me also!""

It would still not be enough, as Pharaoh would soon decide to chase after the Hebrews with his army, but that is a story for another time...