Exodus 8 – August 6th, 2009
Frogs??? Really?
I read the account of the plagues of frogs, and I have to wonder why God would choose to send frogs as a plague to Egypt. I mean, what do frogs do that are so bad? I have a friend that is deathly afraid of frogs – and we make fun of him for this issue! Funny, that most people see frogs as something that may be a bit weird, but not a plague.
Come to find out, there was a goddess that the Egyptians worshiped named Heqt – that was symbolizsed by a frog. There is some confusion as to what this frog goddess was about. I can find people that both say it helped in childbirth, and others that say Heqt was symbolic of resurrection. Either way, there was a representation of life in this particular goddess. All the 10 plagues of Egypt were specifically against different deities in Egypt’s polytheistic worship.
Imagine you worshiped frogs (I know it’s crazy). Imagine that you were just head over heels crazy about frogs. Then, a plague of frogs comes and there are billions (literally) of frogs. Frogs knee deep in the streets. There are so many frogs that you cannot walk in your home without smashing them each time you put your foot on the floor. There are so many frogs that it is all that you can see, and the sound is deafening.
This is probably more “frog” than you would ever want. In fact, now you are slave to the frog. You cannot cook without a frog jumping in your food. You cannot drink water, because there is nowhere to get away from them. There are frogs everywhere, in everything, and overwhelmingly in the way.
This is the way things are when we put things before God. Often times our idolatry takes the form of something we really like. I know that there have been things that I have placed before God, and they ended up consuming me. Sometimes God will give you what you want, in order to teach you that it isn’t actually what you think it is.
In this case, God takes the worship system they have, and overwhelms them with frogs. He does it to show that He alone is God, and that frogs are actually a nuisance – at least with that many of them. God is above all, and needs to be placed in His rightful position.
We can put many things before God, and often times, God will allow that to overrun our life for a bit. Eventually, we will realize that this isn’t what we need, and we are in need of God.
Do you want to worship God today? Or, would you rather learn your lesson the hard way?
Grace & Peace,
Jeff Ludington.
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