parashat vaera Like Frogs
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The Torah portion read in synagogues around the world this week is parashat vaera. Parashat vaera runs from Exodus 6:2 to Exodus 9:35. You might suppose the advantages of freedom are self-evident, but experience demonstrates the contrary. The institution of slavery has such a powerful grip that both the slaver and the slaves require serious arm-twisting. People are scared silly of freedom.
You’ve heard the story of the poor Jewish sharecropper who lived under the rule of a miserable landlord in Europe. The landlord provided minimal shelter in exchange for a large percentage of the profits. The sharecropper and his wife toiled from dawn to dusk under the worst conditions to support their family with a cow and a few chickens. Time took its toll, and hardship became the norm. The farmer and his wife had long since settled into their bitter routine and stopped hoping for a better life. One day the farmer came back from market all upset.
“What’s the matter?” cried his wife, “You look as if the worst calamity had befallen us.”
“It has,” sighed farmer. “At market they said Mashiach’s on his way. He’ll take all the Jews to Eretz Yisrael. Who do we know in Eretz Yisrael? A family our size — who can we move in with? What will become of our cow? Oy! What are we going to do?”
The farmer’s wife, who was more simple than her husband, but stronger in faith, wasn’t so easily upset. She answered calmly, “Not to worry, Dear Husband. HaShem has always provided for our people. He saved us from Pharaoh in Egypt. He saved us in Persia from Haman, may his name rot! He has saved us from the evil decrees of the Gentiles in every generation. He can save us from this Mashiach fellow too when he shows up!” [Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzki]
God has to be just as persuasive with those he’s planning to liberate as with those he’s pressuring to let them go. The victim needs straight talk as bad as the perpetrator. In parasha vaera God sends Moshe and Aaron on a mission to address both parties. God commands both the children of Israel and Pharaoh. Reading from Exodus 6:13.
“And HaShem spoke to Moshe and to Aaron, and commanded them to the children of Israel and to Pharaoh King of Egypt to bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt.”
In parashat vaera the spiritual contest between God and the forces of darkness breaks out into open and visible warfare. God initiates a campaign, which the forces of darkness resist at every turn. Reading in our parasha from Exodus 7:1-13.
“And HaShem said to Moshe, ‘See, I have made you god to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother will be your prophet. You shall speak everything that I command you, and Aaron your brother shall speak unto Pharaoh and he will send the children of Israel from his land. And I shall harden the heart of Pharaoh and I shall multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt. Pharaoh will not listen to you, and I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring out my armies, my people, the children of Israel, from the land of Egypt with great judgments. And the Egyptians shall know that I am HaShem when I stretch out my hand on Egypt and bring out the children of Israel from among them.’ And Moshe and Aaron did as HaShem had commanded them, so they did. Moshe was the son of eighty years and Aaron the son of three and eighty years when they spoke to Pharaoh. And HaShem said to Moshe and to Aaron, ‘When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, ‘Perform a wonder for yourselves,’ you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and throw it down in front of Pharaoh, and it will become a crocodile.’ So Moshe and Aaron came to Pharaoh and did so just as HaShem had commanded, and Aaron threw down his rod in front of Pharaoh and in front of his servants, and it became a crocodile. But Pharaoh also summoned the wise men and the wizards, and they also did the same, the sorcerers of Egypt, by their secret arts. Each one threw down his rod and they became crocodiles. But the rod of Aaron swallowed their rods. And Pharaoh’s heart became hard and he would not listen to them, just as HaShem had said.”
What is the point of the sorcerers’ imitating the miracle with the rod of Aaron? The sorcerers are attempting to neutralize the impact of the miracle. They want Pharaoh to think that their own gods are every bit as powerful as HaShem. The sorcerers don’t want the children of Israel to go free. This initial imitation is effective, because Pharaoh remains unconvinced to listen to HaShem.
In parashat vaera God begins to strike the blows that will force Pharaoh to release the children of Israel. Reading in our parasha from Exodus 7:14-22.
“HaShem said to Moshe, ‘The heart of Pharaoh is heavy, he refuses to send the people. Go to Pharaoh in the morning, when he comes out of the water, and you shall stand to meet him on the bank of the Nile. And the rod which turned into a crocodile take in your hand. You shall say to him, ‘HaShem, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, Send my people that they may serve me in the wilderness. And behold, up to now you have not listened. Thus has said HaShem, by this you shall know that I am HaShem. Behold, I am hitting the water which is in the Nile with the rod in my hand, and it shall turn to blood. The fish which are in the Nile shall die, and the Nile shall stink, and the Egyptians shall be weary of drinking water from the Nile.’ And HaShem said to Moshe, ‘Speak to Aaron, Take your rod and stretch your hand over the water of Egypt: over their rivers, over their Nile, over their lakes, and over all their pools of water, and they shall become blood. And there shall be blood throughout the land of Egypt, on wood and stone.’ And Moshe and Aaron did so, just as HaShem commanded. He raised the rod and hit and water which is in the Nile in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of his servants and all the water which is in the Nile turned to blood. The fish which are in the Nile died, and the Nile stunk, and the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. And there was blood throughout the land of Egypt. But the sorcerers of Egypt did the same by their secret arts, and the heart of Pharaoh was strengthened. And he did not listen to them, just as HaShem had spoken.”
We’ve read where Pharaoh’s heart becomes hard and he wouldn’t listen. We’ve read where Pharaoh’s heart is heavy and he refuses to send the people. We’ve read where the heart of Pharaoh is strengthened and he doesn’t listen. Who’s hardening Pharaoh’s heart anyway? Does the fact that God is said to harden Pharaoh’s heart mean our Torah teaches predestination? Does God force people into bad decisions?
The rabbis, who wanted to emphasize the possibility of repentance for all human beings, even the most wicked, wrestled with the problem of Pharaoh’s heart. Rambam provides a thoughtful explanation.
“There are many verses in the Torah and in the prophets which seem to contradict the principle of freewill, and many persons have stumbled over them. They imagine that the Holy One, blessed be He, causes a person to commit good or evil. I however, shall clarify a cardinal principle by which you will know how to interpret all these verses. It may happen that a person’s sin is so great that before he has opportunity to give final account he is denied reversal and is no longer given permission to turn from his evil ways, in order that he dies in sin…In other words, he continues to sin of his own freewill until he forfeits the remedy.” [Rambam, Mishna tractate Avot, Introduction, chapter 8]
Now let me explain Rambam in my own words. God knows where Pharaoh’s life is heading. God knows the consequences of Pharaoh’s decisions. God knows that if Pharaoh continues to have his evil way, the children of Israel will all be exterminated.
God never forces human decisions. But at times God may accelerate the consequence of bad decisions. Instead of encouraging someone to turn away from bad decisions as he normally does, under certain circumstances God may actually speed a bad decision along its course.
By allowing the magicians to deceive Pharaoh, God is accelerating the course of evil. God allows Pharaoh to be deceived into precipitous development as it were, so that he can incriminate himself, be brought to trial, convicted, and punished quickly, all before he has time to carry out his program of genocide. This is what Rambam means by Pharaoh being denied reversal.
Let’s continue with description of God’s second strike against Egypt. At this point in the story God is still allowing the sorcerers to imitate his miracles and to deceive Pharaoh. Reading in our parasha from Exodus 8:1-3 [in English this is verses 5-7].
“And HaShem said Moshe, ‘Say to Aaron, Stretch out your hand with your rod over the rivers, over the Nile, and over the lakes, and bring frogs up over the land of Egypt. And Aaron stretched out his hand over the water of Egypt and the frog came up and covered the land of Egypt. But the sorcerers did the same by their secret arts, and they brought frogs up over the land of Egypt.”
The big difference comes with the fourth strike against Egypt. Notice the difference in the fourth strike against Egypt from the three preceding miracles. Reading in our parasha from Exodus 8:12-15. In English this is verses 16-19.
“And HaShem said to Moshe, ‘Say to Aaron, stretch out your rod and hit the dust of the land and it will be lice throughout the land of Egypt.’ And they did so. Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod and hit the dust of the land and it became lice on man and beast. All the dust of the land became lice throughout the land of Egypt. But the sorcerers did the same by their secret arts, to bring forth lice, and they could not. And the lice were on man and beast. The sorcerers said to Pharaoh, ‘This is the finger of God.’ And the heart of Pharaoh was strengthened. He did not listen to them, just as HaShem had spoken.”
When was the last deception? Back at the frogs. The frogs mark the last deception. No more sorcerers’ tricks after the frogs! You want to remember that. In the Torah, frogs spell the last deception.
Parashat vaera is not the only story in Scripture where God permits a determined king on the wrong course of action to be deceived so that can be put to death. In the Book of 1Kings the king of Israel wants the king of Judah to join him against Syria. The king of Judah is reluctant to go to war without a word from HaShem. The king of Israel arranges for the king of Judah to get his prophetic mandate. The king of Israel assembles four hundred prophets to prophesy victory. But one stubborn prophet, Mikhayhu ben Yimla, insists on saying nothing but what HaShem tells him. Mikhayhu ben Yimla relates what he’s seen in vision. 1Kings chapter 22 from verse 19.
“Therefore hear the word of HaShem. I saw HaShem sitting on his throne and all the hosts of heaven standing by him to his right and to his left. And HaShem said, ‘Who will entice Akhav that he may go up and fall at Ramot-Gilad?’ And this one said one thing, and that said another thing. And a spirit stepped out and stood before HaShem. It said, ‘I will entice him.’ HaShem said to him, ‘By what?’ He said, ‘I will go out and I will be a spirit of falsehood in the mouth of all his prophets.’ He said, ‘You will entice and you will prevail. Go out and do so.’ Now behold, HaShem has put a spirit of falsehood in the mouth of all these your prophets. And HaShem has spoken ill concerning you.’”
In the continuation of the story, the two kings choose to ignore the warning and instead to believe the mouth of the four hundred prophets. As a result the king of Israel dies in war he wasn’t supposed to fight.
We don’t normally think of God as sending a delusion. HaShem, after all, is the God of truth. 1Kings 22 presents us with the startling concept that in order to lead someone who’s chosen to ignore his word to death, God sends him a delusion. God entices the king to get himself killed.
Our frogs turn up again. In the last book of the Bible, prophecy speaks of another series of terrible blows. Like in our parasha, these blows are all about forcing oppressors to release God’s children. The frogs figure in the description of the seven last plagues against the coalition of darkness. Revelation chapter 16:12-14.
“The sixth angel poured his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the rising of the sun. And I saw issuing from the mouth of the Dragon and from the mouth of the Beast and from the mouth of the False Prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. They are the spirits of demons performing miraculous signs, and they go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty.”
What do frogs indicate in the Torah? The frogs symbolize the last successful counterfeit. The frogs symbolize the last deception.
The Dragon, his alter ego the Beast, and his agent the False Prophet, send three unclean spirits like frogs. Their mission is to deceive the kings of the whole world. This is the art of psychological warfare played by demonic masters. The three unclean spirits like frogs assemble the kings of the whole world for battle on the great day of God Almighty.
Notice that the spirits of demons are said to be in the mouth of the Dragon, the mouth of the Beast and the mouth of the False Prophet. This is like the spirit of falsehood in the mouth of the prophets in 1Kings 22.
We live in a materialistic world conditioned to accept what can be seen and what can be touched. People say, “I’ve gotta see it for myself; show me, and I’ll believe it.” Whatever the exact form the final deception takes, you can be sure that those demonic frogs will exert a deceptive power on all those who trust their senses more than they trust God’s Word. This is going to be Satan’s last fight, and you’d better believe he’s been saving his best trick for last!
The good news is that the end-time deception needn’t have power over you. God doesn’t want one soul to perish. You can have immunity from Satan’s last lie. God has made that provision. Let’s look at 2Thessalonians 2:8-12.
“And then the Lawless One will be revealed, whom Jesus HaShem will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his appearance. The coming of the Lawless One will be in accordance with the power of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs, and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they did not receive the love of the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie, so that all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
Did you notice in 2Thessalonians why every sort of evil deceives those who are perishing? Some of the more recent Bible translations paraphrase 2Thessalonians 2 verse 10, but I think the particular wording of the original is highly significant. They perish, the text says, “Because they did not receive the love of the truth and so be saved.” God would much rather send you the love of the truth than a deception, but if you won’t receive the love of the truth, the day will come when he’ll send you a powerful delusion instead. One way or the other, God is going to bring you to a decision. Either you will receive the love of the truth or you will be taken in by the last lie.
You see, love of the truth is a gift on offer. The love of the truth can be received or refused. The fact that you’ve come to this place where the Torah is proclaimed in Jesus’ name indicates that you already have a basic love of the truth. God has planted that love of the truth in you. As we bless whenever we finish the Torah reading: “Blessed are you, HaShem our God, King of the universe, who has given us true Torah and planted eternal life among us.” God is calling you to secure that truth he has planted in you.
In making the most important decision in life, it’s perfectly possible for a person to agree to the facts and figures, but to not accept the inescapable conclusion. You see, not every person has the currency to pay for the truth.
Truth can be very costly. The reception of truth requires us to give up everything that is false and wrong. The reception of truth can be very challenging. Truth may require you to face the ridicule of your friends. Truth may require you to change the way you earn your living. Truth may require you to reevaluate your values. Truth may require you to face ostracism from those you love.
But the people who’ve sacrificed the most for the truth prize it the most. They’d be the first to tell you truth is worth the cost.
Count the cost, and ask God for the love of his truth right now. He’s not about to turn down a request like that. You can receive the love of the truth on the spot. The frogs in parashat vaera are losers. Don't let the unclean spirits like frogs fool you into fighting against God. Instead, receive the love of his truth.
