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A Frog under the Tree
By arnelle | December 14, 2010
There is a remarkable story in the old testament about frogs. God told Pharaoh that if he refused to let His people go, He would “plague all your country with frogs.”
One version says, “Warn the king that the Nile will be full of frogs, and from there they will spread into the royal palace, including the king’s bedroom and even his bed. Frogs will enter the homes of his officials and will find their way into ovens and into the bowls of bread dough. Frogs will be crawling on everyone–the king, his officials, and every citizen of Egypt.”
Ugh!
You know the story; Pharaoh refuses and God sends frogs. Frogs everywhere. I picture a couple in Pharaoh’s lap and one on his head. Frogs gathered by the hundreds in his throne room until the entire floor seems to be hopping like popcorn. The Prime Minister has already stepped on one of them, skidded about three feet across the floor before falling and breaking his tailbone. Pharaoh bites into his sub sandwich and finds a small and very dead frog in the multi-grain bun.
Something has to be done! Call the magicians, the best and wisest that Egypt has. Tell them the problem – no, wait – they are picking frogs out of their underwear drawers, too. Surely, with all their knowledge, experience and magical powers they can do something!
They will prove that the power of God through Moses is not greater than the power of evil that works through them! Clearing a frog from his throat and stretching forth his warty hand, the chief magician hops on the band wagon and orders more frogs to cover the land!
Sure enough, God decides to let that one be granted. Now there are big frogs filling the chairs, snuggling into every inch of Pharaoh’s bed, and laying on his left foot. There are middle-sized frogs in his shoes, all over the baby in his crib, and squatting in the food on the serving plates. There are little frogs in his drinking cup, in the basin where he washes his face, and in the towel that he dries it with. He lays his head back in exasperation against the back of his throne, and a dozen frogs are squished from behind his neck onto his shoulders. Perhaps those particular frogs – a tiny one is hopping into his ear – are the ones brought by his own magicians. I guess that showed Moses! He’s not the only one who can trouble Egypt with frogs! Ha!
Frog slime, frog poop, frog blood from squashed victims – Pharaoh’s world is slathered with frog residue. Yuck!
The game is over; there is nothing to do except to agree to Moses’ demands and have him get rid of the frogs.
Moses agrees, and then says a curious thing: he asks Pharaoh, “When do you want me to get rid of them?” Then, an even stranger thing happens.
Pharaoh sweeps several frogs off the arm of his throne, casually flips a couple out of his hair, tries to ignore the one that has just fallen down the neck of his garment, and says imperially, “Tomorrow.”
Tomorrow! Just let me have a couple more meals with frogs sloshing through my food. Just one more quiet evening of hearing frogs croaking constantly all around and over me. Just one more night with dozens of frogs in my slippery bed. Just one more bath with the water coated with frog slime. Just one last frog fling, Moses, and then I will let you take the frogs away forever.
Trying to keep a straight face, I’m sure, Moses answers, “As you wish.”
Tomorrow! Are you kidding me?! I can’t think of any other possible answer than Right this minute! Hurry up, Moses!
But I know that Pharaoh is not so different than the rest of us, and I began to wonder if there are any frogs in my life that I am asking God to remove. A frog is something that hinders, discourages, can harm health, makes you repulsive to the world, interferes with relationships, disrupts work, eats up profit, and generally lowers the enjoyment of life in all areas.
We spot such things in our own lives. Maybe it’s procrastination, perhaps obstinacy. Laziness, surliness, ingratitude, grudges, criticism, selfishness, stinginess, a sharp tongue, haughtiness, unforgiveness, petulance, foolishness, a superiority complex, an inferiority complex, impatience, pettiness . . . frogs. All of ‘em. Frogs.
So God shows us these things spoiling our lives, and the first thing we do is try to handle it ‘in house.’ We call out our own magicians to take care of the problem. We try to do less of all the bad habits and add a little more of the good traits which are so glaringly missing. And, like Pharaoh’s guys, we end up making the problem even worse. We try hard to hide an unrepentant procrastination problem, but we only succeed in adding to it pride and judgmentalism. More frogs. Man, there are a lot of these critters!
Fortunately, like Pharaoh, we have been offered deliverance. God will remove the frogs from our lives just as He did from Pharaoh’s. He has promised that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. But the really big promise is in the rest of the verse: He will also cleanse us of all unrighteousness. In other words, He doesn’t just forgive us – again and again and again and again and again until the day we die and we finally stop doing it, He forgives us and then He takes away the drive to do it.
So when you are under a plague of frogs, God can and will deliver you. When would you like Him to do it?
Please don’t say, “Tomorrow.”
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