8:1-2 God prepares Moses as He plans to deploy his second move against Pharaoh and injustice in Egypt. If Pharaoh refuses to release God's children, frogs will infiltrate the land of Egypt.
8:3-4 Out from the river the frogs will come. Keep with the metaphor from the previous chapter. Out from the source of corruption will come plagues. The frogs will invade all aspects of life in Egypt; they will not discriminate between social statuses. The frogs represent and declare injustice and evil-action invaders of every level of society. Without discrimination, evil influences and corrupts the lives of everyone; no title or position is untouchable.
Injustice encroaches and no matter how powerful Pharaoh believes he and his unjust philosophy is, he and it cannot escape the repercussions of it.
8:5-7 Moses instructs Aaron, after getting the go-ahead from God, to call forth the symbolic frogs from the water. Once again, the magicians (people who make a living out of fooling people through craftiness) work to discredit the incredibility of Moses and Aaron's actions on behalf of God.
8:8 The frogs overwhelm Pharaoh and the lives of the Egyptians so much that Pharaoh calls for Moses and Aaron. Pharaoh tells them that he will relent to the commandment of their God if they will remove the plague of the frogs.
8:9 Moses answers Pharaoh and tells him to choose the when he wants the frog multiplication to stop. Pharaoh chooses the very next day and Moses assures him that the frogs will remain in the river.
8:10-11 There are conditions: Pharaoh has promised not only to relent to the release of the children of Israel but also to accept that Moses' God is the true God.
8:12-15 Moses and Aaron brought Pharaoh's words to God. God followed through with his end of the deal but Pharaoh did not. As soon as there was relief, Pharaoh returned to cruelty and denial. If this Pharaoh, a corrupt man and firm non-believer let his faith dwindle so easily... we must ensure that we never do. Remember God in times of weakness but also strength. Sadness as well as happiness.
8:16-17 The third plague: Lice. This is representative of corruption crawling even into the crevices of a person, invading their entire person.
8:18-19 The magicians are this time unable to reproduce the same effect and they tell Pharaoh. Even the magicians are convinced at this point that a Higher Hand is at work through Moses and Aaron. God's plan for spiritual awareness is slowly sweeping into Egypt.
8:20-22 The fourth plague: Flies. Flies regurgitate when they land. They pester and distract while they fly. These plagues are examples of how injustice is chaotically filling Egypt. Perhaps the Egyptians cannot see all of the ways their actions are polluting their lives but God can, and with these plagues He's making it visible to them too. Evil is a distraction from purpose and potential. Every product of evil is regurgitation: vomit being brought up again and again because evil is figuratively indigestible. It never goes through the body and soul neatly and productively like true sustenance does (honor, compassion, love, joy).
8:23-24 Egypt is afflicted by flies. Tangible, visible, physical evidence of their actions is manifested into their lives. God has more comprehensive eyesight than we do. These plagues already existed in Egypt before taking figurative form as flies, lice, frogs, and red-waters. The people were just too corrupt and unaware to realize.
No glitter, rainbows or unicorns do not come forth out of our kind actions but there is still energy created by those actions. God is showing Egypt that their actions have impact and presence in their lives: the root of their every frustration, discontentment and anger is their corrupt behavior. They do not understand that lesson without frank evidence.
8:25-28 Pharaoh begins to panic or at least reveal his frustration. He asks Moses and Aaron to intercede for him and have a conversation with God about making these plagues stop. Moses and Aaron explain that they cannot worship God inside of Egypt as the Egyptians will harm them. Pharaoh gives them a longer leash and allows Moses and Aaron to worship further away (3 days journey).
Moses and Aaron cannot even pray in Egypt without threats on their lives. It becomes increasingly clear to us that Egypt is in dire need of this correction and presentation from God.
8:29 Again, Moses explains that the swarms of flies will stop being produced if Pharaoh stays true to his word.
8:30-32 Moses speaks with God and true to form, God keeps up His end of the deal: not one fly remained. Egypt however, was not yet ready to be loosed from God's instruction so Pharaoh's heart was hardened and he again refused to let the people go.
Notice that the children of Israel are kept captive by the Egyptians at this point for the benefit of the Egyptians. They were received first hand, first class teaching from God. He was working powerfully to correct the misalignment of their lives. He wanted them to discover a more peaceable lifestyle.
