Exodus 8:1-15

Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go to Pharaoh and say to him, “Thus says the Lord: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. If you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs.¹ The river shall swarm with frogs; they shall come up into your palace, into your bedchamber and your bed, and into the houses of your officials and of your people, and into your ovens and your kneading bowls.² The frogs shall come up on you and on your people and on all your officials.”’ And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Say to Aaron, “Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, the canals, and the pools, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.”’

So Aaron³ stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. But the magicians did the same by their secret arts,⁴ and brought frogs up on the land of Egypt.

Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron, and said, ‘Pray to the Lord⁵ to take away the frogs from me and my people, and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.’⁶
Moses⁷ said to Pharaoh, ‘Kindly tell me when I am to pray for you and for your officials and for your people, that the frogs may be removed from you and your houses and be left only in the Nile.’
And he said, ‘Tomorrow.’
Moses said, ‘As you say! So that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God,⁸ the frogs shall leave you and your houses and your officials and your people; they shall be left only in the Nile.’⁹

Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh; and Moses cried out to the Lord concerning the frogs that he had brought upon Pharaoh. And the Lord did as Moses requested:¹⁰ the frogs died in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields. And they gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank.¹¹ But when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite,¹² he hardened his heart,¹³ and would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.¹⁴

1 Why “frogs” as a plague? It doesn't seem very plague-like to me.

2 Emphasizes the pervasiveness of the plague.

3 Aaron still has to act for the timid Moses.

4 Again, what kind of secret arts does that?

5 Pharaoh's first acknowledgment of God!

6 He finally states that he will let the people worship!

7 Moses takes initiative in response, rather than acting through Aaron.

8 Both the plague and the removal of the plague are signs of God's power

9 Nile still seems to be getting special judgment.

10 Moses and Aaron are following God's directive, and God is listening to Moses's prayer

11 Even the removal of the plague still leaves a stench

12 Just like us, Pharaoh stops believing once it's no longer necessary.

13 The onus for Pharaoh's hardening of heart still seems to be on Pharaoh himself

14 God's prophecies/predictions are all coming to pass

Take-home: Pharaoh is starting to acknowledge God's hand in the plagues, but hardens his own heart and goes back on his word once the plague has passed. God's power is shown in the plagues, in the removal of the plagues, and in the fulfillment of his word. Moses starts taking more initiative, and God, Aaron, and Moses are working as a team, listening to each other.