Sun, Apr 23, 2023 – “Frogs, Gnats, Flies: This is the Finger of God” (Exodus 7:25-8:32)
Scott Wakefield
Part of Exodus: Freed to Worship and Serve—Jan 2023

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“Exodus: Freed to Worship and Serve”

Series Outline & Memory Verses

1. Prologue: Oppression in Egypt (Exodus 1:1-22)

2. Moses: An Unlikely Savior (Exodus 2:1-7:7)
Memory Verses (for sections 1 & 2): Exodus 6:7-8 – 7 “I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 8 I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.”

3. The 12 Miracles of the Exodus (Exodus 7:8-15:21)
Memory Verse(s): Exodus 15:2-3 – 2 The LORD is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. 3 The LORD is a man of war; the LORD is his name.

4. The Journey to God (Exodus 15:22-19:25)
Memory Verse(s): Exodus…

5. The Sinai Covenant (Exodus 20:1-24:11)
Memory Verse(s): Exodus…

6. The Worship of God (Exodus 24:12-31:18)
Memory Verse(s): Exodus…

7. Sin and Restoration (Exodus 32:1-40:38)
Memory Verse(s): Exodus…


Follow Along with Today’s Sermon Manuscript (sort of, mostly, kind of)

  • Our preachers don’t always follow word for word, (especially Scott, Lead Pastor), but it will help you follow the train of thought and prepare for your study below.
  • Scott


Daily Bible Readings
On Sun-Fri, the first passages listed (before the semicolon) are related to this sermon, while the second passages listed help you read through the whole book of Exodus each week. The Sat reading is for the next day’s sermon, to help you prepare.

Sermon Notes

“Frogs, Gnats, Flies: This is the Finger of God”
(Exodus 7:25-8:32)

Series Theme: Exodus is part of the ongoing unfolding of God’s promise to fight for the redemption of a people for His glory by freeing them to fulfill His intent for creation—to worship and serve Him as He deserves!

Memory Verse:
Exodus 15:2-3 – 2 The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. 3 The LORD is a man of war; the LORD is his name.


Exodus 7:25 – Seven full days passed after the LORD had struck the Nile.


Exodus 8:1 – 1 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Let my people go, that they may serve me.


Exodus 15:2-3 – 2 The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. 3 The LORD is a man of war; the LORD is his name.


8:2 – But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will plague all your country with frogs.


8:3-4 – 3 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. 4 The frogs shall come up on you and on your people and on all your servants.”’”


8:5-7 – 5 And the LORD said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the canals and over the pools, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt!’” 6 So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. 7 But the magicians did the same by their secret arts and made frogs come up on the land of Egypt.


8:8-9 – 8 Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, “Plead with the LORD to take away the frogs from me and from my people, and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the LORD.” 9 Moses said to Pharaoh, “Be pleased to command me when I am to plead for you and for your servants and for your people, that the frogs be cut off from you and your houses and be left only in the Nile.”

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8:10-11 – 10 And he said, “Tomorrow.” Moses said, “Be it as you say, so that you may know that there is no one like the LORD our God. 11 The frogs shall go away from you and your houses and your servants and your people. They shall be left only in the Nile.”


8:12-13 – 12 So Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried to the LORD about the frogs, as he had agreed with Pharaoh. 13 And the LORD did according to the word of Moses. The frogs died out in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields.


8:14-15 – 14 And they gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. 15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he hardened his heart and would not listen to them, as the LORD had said.


8:16-17 – 16 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, so that it may become gnats in all the land of Egypt.’” 17 And they did so. Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and there were gnats on man and beast. All the dust of the earth became gnats in all the land of Egypt.


8:19-20 – 18 The magicians tried by their secret arts to produce gnats, but they could not. So there were gnats on man and beast. 19 Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the LORD had said. 20 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh, as he goes out to the water, and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Let my people go, that they may serve me.


8:21-22 – 21 Or else, if you will not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants and your people, and into your houses. And the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand. 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.


8:23-24 – 23 Thus I will put a division between my people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall happen.”’” 24 And the LORD did so. There came great swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh and into his servants’ houses. Throughout all the land of Egypt the land was ruined by the swarms of flies.


8:25-27 – 25 Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God within the land.” 26 But Moses said, “It would not be right to do so, for the offerings we shall sacrifice to the LORD our God are an abomination to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice offerings abominable to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us? 27 We must go three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD our God as he tells us.”


8:28-29 – 28 So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only you must not go very far away. Plead for me.” 29 Then Moses said, “Behold, I am going out from you and I will plead with the LORD that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, tomorrow. Only let not Pharaoh cheat again by not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD.”


8:30-32 – 30 So Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the LORD. 31 And the LORD did as Moses asked, and removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one remained. 32 But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and did not let the people go.

Application Points

1. God plays second fiddle to no one, (even you.)

2. God’s purposes are His purposes, (not yours.)

3. Only what comes from God’s character and nature is worthy of your heart and trust.

Inductive Bible Study Questions

To prepare for Life Group, Pillar breakout groups, or personal use, answer the following inductive study questions based on the sermon and a few other resources we suggest (See “Mostly Trusted & Free Resources” below.)

Inductive Bible study is about going from particulars to principles by prayerfully studying the details—both in the text and the larger Scriptural context of a passage—and allowing them to determine meaning and application.

Observe: What does the text say?

  1. Read the passage at least once, preferably multiple times.

  2. Answer the 4 Ws: Where? When? Who? What? (Ex: author, location, original audience, cultural setting, etc.)

  3. Are there any literary cues worthy of note? (Ex: key words/phrases, transition, repetition, parallel, comparison, contrast, etc.)

  • It’s helpful at this point to consult a few resources: Study Bible notes, commentaries, Bible dictionaries/encyclopedias, etc.


Interpret: What does the text mean?
  1. How does the wider context help inform our understanding of this passage?

  2. Are there any other passages that help provide a framework for understanding?

  3. What are the passage’s main points?

  4. What is the one main principle God intends to communicate to the original audience?


Apply: What is the text saying to us?
  1. What doctrinal or theological truths does this text teach or reinforce?

  2. What questions does it elicit for you?

  3. Which of FCC’s 7 Habits (or a spiritual habit/practice) does the principle in “Interpret” #4 highlight most?

  4. What is the most important application of this passage to… the original audience? Our world? Our church? Your relationships, family, marriage, parenting, etc.? Your plans, career, schooling, etc.?

  5. What is God trying to tell you?

  6. What is your Next Step of “everyday boring faithfulness”? Or, when it comes to the 7 Habits (or the aforementioned spiritual habit/practice), what do you need to stop doing, keep doing, start doing?

For Further Study: Some Mostly Trusted & Mostly Free Resources
  • ESV Study Bible – Our #1 recommendation. The English Standard Version, which we use for preaching, has *really good* Study Notes, maps, introductions, mini-systematic theology, etc. Available in hardcopy at cost in *The Hub* at every campus (or for Logos Bible Software below.) The ESV Bible text is free on our app under “Bible” or at ESV.org, where the Global Study Bible Notes are also free.
  • NETbible.org – Free Bible (various versions, incl ESV with lots of helpful textual notes and a few decent resources and commentaries.
  • IVP New Bible Commentary – Good basic one-volume commentary. Available in The Hub at any campus.
  • Logos Bible Software – Download 40+ free resources here to get started, incl 6 Bible versions, ESV Audio Bible, Faithlife Study Notes, Lexham Bible Dictionary, and Easton’s Bible Dictionary, as well as some classics like Charles Hodge’s *Systematic Theology*, JFB Commentary (Critical/Explanatory on Whole Bible), Matthew Henry Concise Commentary, Spurgeon’s *Morning and Evening* Devotions, Bunyan’s *Pilgrim’s Progress*, Augustine’s *Confessions*. ESV Bible and Study Notes available for purchase at logos.com, along with basically any other important biblical and theological resource you could possibly imagine. (Scott’s favorite resource. He says, “I’m in and out of Logos two dozen times a day.”)
  • *Systematic Theology* by Wayne Grudem – Good overall and highly readable introduction to Christian doctrine. Available at cost in *The Hub* and also for Logos Bible Software. This is what Scott and Mark Liebert often use as a guide on our biweekly *Brown Bags & Bibles* podcast.
  • Free Online Whole Bible Commentaries (By Dead People) – Albert Barnes, John Calvin (missing some books), Adam Clarke, Matthew Henry (Concise), Matthew Henry (Complete), Alexander MacLaren, Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
  • Free Online Dictionaries/Encyclopedias – Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, Holman Bible Dictionary, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia