INTRODUCTION:

(Deuteronomy 4:2 [KJV])
Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.

(Proverbs 30:5, 6 [KJV])
Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.

(Isaiah 28:10 [KJV])
For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:

(Isaiah 28:13 [KJV])
But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.

(2 Peter 1:20 [KJV])
Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

All of the studies found here, whether book studies or topical studies, are done with research with mainly two things: The KING JAMES BIBLE and a plain old, 1828 Webster's Dictionary. Why? Outside of actually studying secular and Jewish history, archaeology, one needs nothing more. You do not need foreign, dead languages that no one speaks, nor lexicons, nor concordances, nor commentaries, because they differ not only with one another and with the KING JAMES BIBLE, they create division, confusion, debate, and unbelief, apostasy, and a falling away from God Himself. We do not need them. That Word of God written and preserved for us in our own language is supposed to be enough, like the Old Testament was for the Jews, and as the New Testament was for the early Christians in Greek, Latin, Italian, Spanish, German, etc.

Tyndale Bible
Coverdale Bible
Matthew's Bible
Great Bible
Geneva Bible
Bishop's Bible
King James/Authorized Bible

There are studies within as tangents on words, subjects found within the two testaments, as to broaden the scope of the study, to learn more, deeper truths. This is not an intellectual site with PhDs, theologians, and no worldly wisdom.. Check everything out, everything. Not just here, but with everything you read and see and hear. Be Bereans:

(Acts 17:11 [KJV])
These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

(1 Thessalonians 2:13 [KJV])
For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

Always research for yourself, use all of the context, and never privately interpret!

Start of study

Exodus Chapter 8: THE PLAGUES OF FROGS, LICE AND FLIES

Frogs Coming From the Nile (Heket)
Lice From the Earth's Dust (Geb)
Swarms of Flies (Khepri)

In this chapter, God sends frogs, lice and flies into the land, again attacking the false, pagan gods of Egypt and especially Pharaoh. This is only the beginning of seeing how hard Pharaioh's heart is, that this goes from "ye are idle, ye are idle..." to "OK, I will let you go (sort of)". It can be said that, if anyone in history outside of the Jews themselves ever saw signs directly from God, stronger and more evident, clear, overt, visible to anyone, it was Pharaoh himself, without excuse.

(Revelation 16:13 [KJV])
And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.

(Romans 1:20 [KJV])
For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

(Exodus 8:1-2 [KJV])
And the LORD spake unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me. And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs:

Every river near what is now Cairo would have frogs, every stream, lake, pond
On top of that, God would create more, or let them multiply profusely
This is what God means with the "smite", just a ton of frogs all over Egypt

(Exodus 8:3-4 [KJV])
And the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into thine house, and into thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed, and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thine ovens, and into thy kneadingtroughs: And the frogs shall come up both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants.

There would be no place safe from frogs in all of his kingdom, inside or out, but especially inside where they would live, sleep, eat, breathe
God is saying, "You like your frog god? Good, you'll love more frogs, here ya go!"

(Exodus 8:5 [KJV])
And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt.

This is not a special power of Aaron, nor the rod, but the God of Aaron, Moses, the Israelites, God's people, doing this
This is not a natural migration of frogs, not a good breeding season; this is instaneous
In Pharaoh's eyes, Aaron is doing this, so he calls in the magicians

(Exodus 8:6 [KJV])
And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt.

Aaron merely obeys Gopd; God does the bringing of frogs
They, Moses, Aaron and maybe the men of Pharaoh, would have walked place to place with the rod, lifting ot over the waters, one at a time

(Exodus 8:7 [KJV])
And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt.

The devilish behavior was simply allowed but restricted by God to bring frogs, not to remove any of them, again God showing Pharaoh Who is LORD, Who is Sovereign over the affairs of men
In the Greek this enchantments is pharmakeía, φαρμακεία, from which we also get sorcery, magic, enchantments, charms, PHARMACY", "PHARMACEUTICALS", "PHARMACIST"; it is the same case in Hebrew with the word "Kashaph" being translated into Greek pharmakeia as "sorcerers", "enchanters", magicians, poisons, etc. and that exact the Greek is the word where we get the words in English, "PHARMACY", "PHARMACEUTICALS", "PHARMACIST".

pharmakeia

The use or the administering of drugs
Poisoning
Sorcery, magical arts, often found in connection with idolatry and fostered by it
Metaphorically the deceptions and seductions of idolatry

(Exodus 8:8 [KJV])
Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Intreat the LORD, that he may take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice unto the LORD.

"Alright, all right, all right, I have had enough for now!"
Halfheartedly, with a little but oflie mixed into the truth, Pharaoh slightly humbles himself
He is not letting be free from captivity, but he expects them to come back

(Exodus 8:9 [KJV])
And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Glory over me: when shall I intreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses, that they may remain in the river only?

As Matthew Henry says it, "This was designed for Pharaoh's conviction, that, if his eyes were not opened by the plague, they might by the removal of it. So various are the methods God takes to bring men to repentance. Pharaoh sets the time for tomorrow, "
Moses is saying to Pharaoh, "We can end all of this, you ready to humble yourself before ther LORD God of ISrael?"

(Exodus 8:10 [KJV])
And he said, To morrow. And he said, Be it according to thy word: that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the LORD our God.

This was the lesson for Pharaoh, worshipped as a god in Egypt, to show him he was but a man
This is a truth given, which Pharaoh will either accept or reject, like the world, "THERE IS NONE LIKE THE LORD OUR GOD!"
He and the rest of this earth, this world, have that as a truth, to accept or reject

(Exodus 8:11 [KJV])
And the frogs shall depart from thee, and from thy houses, and from thy servants, and from thy people; they shall remain in the river only.

How will they depart? A little toil, labor, work. You will be raking the dead bodies out, that's how!
The people of Egypt would not have been happy with Pharaoh to have to do this

(Exodus 8:12 [KJV])
And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh: and Moses cried unto the LORD because of the frogs which he had brought against Pharaoh.

Moses and Aaron, showing that they will do what they say they willdo
Pharaoh, showing he never really means exactly what he says, like the world, like the enemy

(Exodus 8:13-14 [KJV])
And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and the frogs died out of the houses, out of the villages, and out of the fields. And they gathered them together upon heaps: and the land stank.

Houses, servants, people, outside the houses, in and through the streets, in the fields, gardens, every place Egyptians lived and breathed
God got them out by letting them die and letting them rake, shovel out the houses themselves, to see how much sin stank and stinks.
So, no more frogs themselves, now the odor of them same frogs, now dead in very large piles they were forced to amass, because God knows Pharaoh is not done, so He is not done

VIL'LAGE, n. A small assemblage of houses, less than a town or city, and inhabited chiefly by farmers and other laboring people. In England, it is said that a village is distinguished from a town by the want of a market. In the United States, no such distinction exists, and any small assemblage of houses in the country is called a village.

(Exodus 8:15 [KJV])
But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.

We pray in hard circumstances, then when the world steps back pressing in on us, when God eases, we simply do not pray as hard, meaning that it is what it takes to teach us to pray often
This is when we learn to pray for supplications

(1 Timothy 2:1-3 [KJV])
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;

(2 Corinthians 4:8 [KJV])
We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;

(2 Corinthians 7:5 [KJV])
For, when we were come into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side; without were fightings, within were fears.

(Exodus 8:16-17 [KJV])
And the LORD said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt. And they did so; for Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man, and in beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt.

Anyone who has had children bring home lice from other children, etc. knows full well that they are disgusting, itchy, blood sucking parasites, hard to get rid of, and that is only a few, not all over everything
In animals, beasts which you have, which you tend for, is bad enough, but in them and you is worse, and in your offspring

(Exodus 8:18 [KJV])
And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man, and upon beast.

This was God's line drawn in the sand, just enough to deceive and be deceived into what they wanted to believe was in their own power
The rods turning into snakes, water into blood, just enough to allow them to deceive themselves
If one wants to go into the occult, God will let them, and let them be deliberately self-deceived

(Exodus 8:19 [KJV])
Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.

Pharaoh got angry with the wrong Person, the One True God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the God of Moses and Aaron, the God of the Israelites, not his own false, pagan idol gods, for not being real, not being able to do this miracle, because he thought himself to be a god, and was worshipped as such, now seeing he was not one, still believing it, though
This is not a battle of flesh and blood, of earthly men, this is a spiritual battle the enemy and enemies of God can never win
This is a spiritual battle that no king, queen, Pharaoh or anyone else will ever win against God, unlike what Pharaoh thought

WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!

(Jeremiah 13:18 [KJV])
Say unto the king and to the queen, Humble yourselves, sit down: for your principalities shall come down, even the crown of your glory.

(Romans 8:38 [KJV])
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

(Ephesians 3:10 [KJV])
To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

(Ephesians 6:12 [KJV])
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

(Colossians 1:16 [KJV])
For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

(Colossians 2:15 [KJV])
And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

(Titus 3:1 [KJV])
Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,

(2 Corinthians 10:3-5 [KJV])
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

(Exodus 8:20 [KJV])
And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; lo, he cometh forth to the water; and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me.

"I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice unto the LORD."
So far, Pharaoh has been lying through his teeth
He thinks he is able to play games with God, Moses, Aaron, and will soon find out that this does not work

(Exodus 8:21 [KJV])
Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are.

Not to mention the smell of the dead frogs is still lingering in the houses, on the floors, etc., so those flies will not be leaving of their own
These are flies from God; therefore they are pernicious, persistent
This is the worst, and flies can be breathed in

(Exodus 8:22-23 [KJV])
And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth. And I will put a division between my people and thy people: to morrow shall this sign be.

For any person, this is basically a huge miracle, having flies stay only on one kingdom, with the groups inside of that having no flies, since flies are called that because they fly, and they fly to smells, indiscriminately and, massu=ive swarms invade and scatter around any area
This is a miracle of miracles, a lesson for all of them on both sides, and for us today

(Exodus 8:24 [KJV])
And the LORD did so; and there came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants' houses, and into all the land of Egypt: the land was corrupted by reason of the swarm of flies.

Grievous....

GRIE'VOUS, a. [from grieve, or grief.] Heavy; oppressive; burdensome; as a grievous load of taxes.

Afflictive; painful; hard to be borne.
Correction is grievous to him that forsaketh the way. Prov 15.
Causing grief or sorrow.
The thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight, because of his son. Gen 21.
3. Distressing.
The famine was very grievous in the land. Gen 12.
Great; atrocious.
Because their sin is very grievous. Gen 18.
Expressing great uneasiness; as a grievous complaint.
Provoking; offensive; tending to irritate; as grievous words. Prov 15.
Hurtful; destructive; causing mischief; as grievous wolves. Acts 20.

(Exodus 8:25 [KJV])
And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land.

"In the land" means here, not away, forever, to another land
"You can go, but stay close. We need the workers to come back for me"

(Exodus 8:26 [KJV])
And Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the LORD our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us?

This is what exactly is wrong with the "in the land" sacrifices
What is a sacrifice to the LORD for the One True God is an abomination to the world
This is the same today with the world looking at us, not liking that we do not run with them

GOD, THE BODY OF CHRIST, ISRAEL IN THE SPIRIT, ISRAEL IN THE FLESH, THE WORLD, THE ENEMY VERSUS US

This is how things are at present, growing more evil, more bold, daily worldwide

(1 Peter 4:4 [KJV])
Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you:

(1 John 2:15-16 [KJV])
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

(1 Peter 2:11 [KJV])
Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;

(Exodus 8:27 [KJV])
We will go three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the LORD our God, as he shall command us.

God wanted them to be out of this place, not near Egypt, to sacrifice to Him, not stay near Egypt, as three days walk is a far distance
In addition to that, God wanted them never to return; not to merely go, sacrifice, come back
This is all on God's timing, schedule, moment by moment, piece by piece, slowly revealing, slowly doing, preparing these pagan Egyptians, their king and their armies to be destroyed, as they had clearly rejected God and put Pharaoh in the place of God, worshiping him
Nothing has changed, as today we have movie stars, sports figures, singers, dancers, bands, famous leaders, etc, in the place of God by mankind

(Exodus 8:28 [KJV])
And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: intreat for me.

_Pharaoh has a fear of the escapees being lost as his workforce
It is "the LORD YOUR God", not the "LORD OUR God". because Pharaoh does not worship the God of Israel, so he is playing games-again

(Exodus 8:29 [KJV])
And Moses said, Behold, I go out from thee, and I will intreat the LORD that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, to morrow: but let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD.

The flies will be removed, but Pharaoh will be held to his word and words, as he has been exposed playing games, trying to deceive Moses, Aaron into thinking that he will allow them to fully leave, and not come back, not really meaning it
It must be seen here that the only reason that Pharaoh is relenting in any way, even actually making believe that he is, is to get the flies removed, this plague stopped
He is just getting started playing games, and God is just beginning the lesson, the judgments on Pharaoh's false, pagan, idol gods
Pharaoh is unaware of the next few plagues coming, progressively worse
This set of evil plagues in judgment against Pharaoh is why God said that, in the end, they would loot the Egyptians, not just leave, because this was a hard man and people behind him, who had to be crushed by God to do this, God allowing him to hrden his heart

GOD'S COMMAND ON OUR OATHS TO HIM AND OTHERS

We are to swear to Go only if we mean it all, to fully perform it, not half heartedly but, if we say we will do it, if we say, "I swear to God!" we had better mean it. It has to be understood that Pharaoh is "swearing an oath" to himself, convinced by himself, that he himself, is a god. That said, God always does what He says, and this includes the Gospel saving us eternally. If God was not true, we would be lost. If God was not true, He would be a liar like we are. Pharaoh is a sign of the world

(James 5:12 [KJV])
But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.

(Matthew 5:33-37 [KJV])
Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

(Leviticus 19:12 [KJV])
And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.

(2 Corinthians 1:17-19 [KJV])
When I therefore was thus minded, did I use lightness? or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be yea yea, and nay nay? But as God is true, our word toward you was not yea and nay. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea.

(Hebrews 6:13 [KJV])
For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,

Later...

(Hebrews 6:16-20 [KJV])
For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

(Numbers 23:19 [KJV])
God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

(Exodus 8:30-31 [KJV])
And Moses went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the LORD. And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; there remained not one.

God means everything He says; man, not so much

(Exodus 8:32 [KJV])
And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go.

Pharaoh, unlike the One true God of the Israelites, at this point and forward, means NOTHING he says
God hardened his heart, because he himself wanted it hardened
As they say, "Hey Pharaoh! You ain't seen nuthin' yet!"

Links to studies by book or topic are on the top menu.

Exodus Chapter 9