TODAY IN THE WORD
On November 30, 2009, a man in Kingsport, Tennessee, went to Krispy Kreme and ordered a doughnut for $1.49—which he paid for with a $100 bill. Suspicious employees called the police, who confirmed that the bill was counterfeit and arrested the man. As it turned out, his wife had been arrested the week before for the same crime.

We might understand the impulse to counterfeit money, even though it’s illegal. In today’s story, however, we see Pharaoh’s magicians duplicating something unpleasant, which served only to magnify the plagues God had sent upon them. Like a classic screwball comedy, the magicians thought they were standing up to Moses and his God, when in fact they were only hurting the Egyptians and making themselves look foolish.

Today’s passage introduces the third attempt by the sorcerers of Egypt to replicate a miraculous plague from God. In chapter 7, they turned their staffs into snakes—which were promptly devoured by Aaron’s staff-turned-snake. They also turned water into blood, as the Lord had done. A week later, Moses again confronted Pharaoh with an ultimatum from God: “Let my people go. . . . If you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs” (vv. 1-2).

Pharaoh refused. God sent frogs. To be sure we understand how completely the frogs overran Egypt, Scripture paints the picture of frogs on the bed and frogs in the oven. The frogs even jumped into their food while they tried to cook (v. 3). From Pharaoh to peasant, the land and the people were covered with frogs.

The sorcerers of Egypt appeared. And to prove their power they brought still more frogs on the land (v. 7)—the last thing Egypt needed at that moment! Even Pharaoh seemed to understand the limited helpfulness of his own magicians; when he asked for relief from the plague of frogs, he beseeched Moses and Aaron to intercede before God rather than request the magic of Egypt. The sorcerers could only produce counterfeit power. They could not deliver the land from the plague.

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TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Do we ever settle for a spiritual counterfeit rather than seek the blessing and power of God? Spiritual counterfeits include trusting in your own goodness rather than the person and work of Jesus Christ, seeking an emotional experience rather than a spiritual transformation, or focusing on the good gifts rather than on God the Giver. “There is no one like the Lord our God” (v. 10)—we should trust, worship, and praise Him alone!

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