PASTOR’S NOTES
If you refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all your territory with frogs”.
Plague two reads as a confusing and almost comical punishment after what just went down with the Nile river being turned to blood. As we read about this plague, one could almost envision God laughing as the frogs jump over ever square inch of the palace. The scriptures say that the frogs were even in the ovens, kneading bowls, and in the Pharaoh’s bedroom. The scriptures even read as a comedy.
However it may read to you, the truth is that the second plague is not funny and carries a very powerful message. Remember last week, “God hates idols.” The frogs that God sent were not meant to be funny; it was a message of, ‘be careful what you wish for.’
The God of Egypt went by the name of Heqet. This god was half human with the head of a frog. In Egypt there were statues and carvings all over the country. Heqet was the god the people prayed to for life, literally. When it came to child birth and health, the people pleaded to the frog god for provisions.
So if the people love frogs, God had no problem giving them frogs! ‘Be careful what you wish for.’
The second plague is a powerful sermon for you and I today. Today, the things that we wish for, desire, depend on, and seek comfort from outside of God are dangerous to our wellbeing. We often think, “If I only had…” then everything would be better. If I had, if I were, if they only, then life would be better. The problem with that desire is that not all perceived blessings are blessings. What the human heart desires could very well be our demise.
The people of Egypt prayed to the frogs and that’s exactly what they got. Blessings came in the package of a curse!
God is the only God worthy of praise and worship. All glory goes to our creator. Anything that stands next to Him drowns us in sin and punishment, if we turn our attention to it. Through Christ we are given freedom and provisions. We are made new and blessed by the One who took sin on for us. There are no needs outside of what He has already given and supplied. God is enough!
SCRIPTURE TO GO ALONG WITH THE MESSAGE
Read Matthew 21:28-31 on a story that reminds us of what we see in the Pharaoh.
HIGHLIGHT IN YOUR BIBLES
Highlight verses 8:12-15 in Exodus as we will be diving into the Pharaoh’s response and heart through plague 2.
