Exodus 8:12-15 "And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh: and Moses cried unto the LORD because of the frogs which he had brought against Pharaoh. 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. But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said."
Moses demonstrated great trust in God when he told Pharaoh to choose the time when the frogs would be destroyed (Exodus 8:9-10). Moses also showed great compassion when he agreed to pray to the LORD on Pharaoh’s and Egypt’s behalf. His attitude could just as easily have been “Why should I pray for you to be delivered when you have enslaved my brothers and sisters?” Finally, he showed great faithfulness in going out from Pharaoh and praying for him as he promised.
Moses did not wait for the appointed hour to begin to pray to God. He and Aaron left Pharaoh’s court and Moses immediately began to beseech God. Moses surely desired that the LORD would hear him. This desire went beyond his personal stake in the matter. His desire was for God to be recognized as being above all other gods.
It seems likely that Pharaoh expected the frogs to simply diminish and return to the waters. Remember that Moses said the frogs would depart and only be left in the river. However, he did not tell Pharaoh how they would depart. The frogs did not simply go back to where they came from. While they died outside the houses, villages, and fields, they still died and had to be disposed of. Had they merely vanished, the people may have thought it to be some sort of “enchantment” like Pharaoh’s magicians used.
The dead frogs were left laying about on the land. There were so many that great mounds of them were everywhere. Egypt was filled with the stink of rotting frogs. It was impossible to deny the truth of what the LORD had done.
As soon as the land had relief from the plague, Pharaoh hardened his heart against God and the children of Israel. This was no surprise since God had told Moses this was exactly what he would do. The LORD was not finished showing His might to both the Egyptians and the children of Israel. Deliverance was coming with a mighty hand.
Dear ones, we should always be willing to pray for our enemies. Moses was doing something that Jesus Himself would instruct us to do hundreds of years later (Matthew 5:44). Our requests should always be made in a way that gives God the glory and keeps none for ourselves. Never expect God to life His judgement in such a way that we might say it was not real. Remember that nothing is hidden from Him with whom we have to do (Hebrews 4:13).