CAN YOU EXPLAIN EXODUS 8:9, “GLORY OVER ME…?”

by Shawn Brasseaux

Yes, indeed!

To gain the context, we begin Exodus chapter 8 at verse 1 and continue to the end of the pericope (passage): “[1] 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. [2] And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs: [3] 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: [4] And the frogs shall come up both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants.

“[5] 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. [6] And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt. [7] And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt. [8] 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. [9] 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? [10] 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. [11] 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.

“[12] And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh: and Moses cried unto the LORD because of the frogs which he had brought against Pharaoh. [13] 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. [14] And they gathered them together upon heaps: and the land stank. [15] But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.”

Moses converses with Pharaoh about the LORD’S second judgment on Egypt. This plague of frogs is most disgusting, one of the 10 punishments for Egypt because its king relentlessly holds Israel hostage (really, it is Satan working through Pharaoh). Also, God is using these pestilences to judge the Egyptians’ gods (see Exodus 12:12; Numbers 33:4). We draw our attention to the phrase in question, Exodus 8:9: “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?” In other words, “Pharaoh, you have the honor of deciding what time you prefer I pray to the LORD to take away the frogs.” The King of Egypt, not the LORD or Moses, has been given the power or privilege to determine just how long he wants to suffer this type of judgment. Pharaoh’s answer is verse 10, “To morrow.” In his stubborn pride, the king makes a poor decision. He is willing to let the plague continue just a bit longer before he considers releasing Israel. To wit, “I would rather tolerate these unpleasant frogs one more night before I think about submitting to the God of Israel!” Willful Pharaoh has no one to blame but himself for his misery. The Egyptians have no one to blame but their defiant monarch for their suffering.

Also see:
» Why did God kill the Egyptians’ firstborn sons?
» What is “the botch of Egypt?”
» Did Pharaoh drown in the Red Sea?