One More Night

Occasionally, I come across a line while I am reading that stops me in my tracks. It happened again recently while reading a familiar story from the Old Testament. I’ve read the story many times, but this time a line jumped out at me as if I were reading it for the first time.

God is ready to relocate His people after years of slavery in Egypt, but Pharaoh stands in the way. Moses and Aaron go to Pharaoh asking him to let their people go. Pharaoh says no and gets angry, making life harder for the slaves. Moses and Aaron return with the first plague turning the water in the river to blood.

After a week, God sends Moses and Aaron back to Pharaoh; this time they are instructed to offer Pharaoh grace if he lets the people go, and if he doesn’t, then the next plague is coming. This time, frogs.

3 So the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into your house, into your bedroom, on your bed, into the houses of your servants, on your people, into your ovens, and into your kneading bowls.         Exodus 8:3

I’m going to go ahead and speak for everyone here when I say that I don’t want frogs on my bed, in my oven or anywhere else except in the river.

After a visit from the frogs Pharaoh relents. “Enough” he says. Moses responds by giving Pharaoh the option of choosing when he wants God to call off the frogs. It’s like a gun fight in an old western movie. A pair of gun slingers stand in the street with their coats pulled back ready to draw. One looks at the other and says, “say when.”

Moses is saying to Pharaoh, look pal, I can do this now, or 7:15 pm, or 11:04 pm, just whenever you want. You choose the time I ask God to remove the frogs and that is when He will do it. That way you know it was God who did this. God doesn’t want you to have any doubts that it was Him.

Okay, here it comes, the line that stopped me in my tracks. How does Pharaoh respond?

So he said, “Tomorrow…”                 Exodus 8:10

Excuse me, did I read that correctly? Tomorrow?

Pharaoh answered Moses by saying Tomorrow.

Are you kidding me…Tomorrow?

What makes a person choose another night of this horror when all he had to do was tell Moses to ask God to remove the frogs NOW? No one wants another night with the frogs. If I’m Pharaoh, I’m offering to hit my knees with Moses right here and now so we can get this whole frog situation behind us.

Why would you hold onto an unhealthy thing? And why would you hold on to it for another night when you could get rid of it now? I stopped reading there. I needed some time to think about Pharaoh and his choices.

From my perch here in the 21st century Pharaoh looked like a madman. He could have changed the entire history of Egypt. My God is so powerful and mighty that if Pharaoh had softened his heart and let the people go God could have still written the redemptive story of His people, but He could have also written a new future for Egypt.

We humans are funny creatures, aren’t we? I looked down my nose a few thousand years into the past feeling smug. I would have never made the same mistakes pharaoh made. As I continued to ponder pharaoh and his misguided decisions God quietly asked me a single question.

Terry, what are you doing about your frogs?  My frogs, Lord? What do you mean my frogs? Lord, I don’t have any frogs. I’m not like Pharaoh. I would never allow frogs in my life Savior.

There I stood; the little boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar. I couldn’t explain my guilt but deep inside I knew He was right. Finally, I asked the question. Okay Lord, I know I have frogs, you said I did. Show me my frogs Savior, I need to know.

In case your wondering, this is when I became jealous of Pharaoh. His frogs were just frogs. My frogs were something altogether different. My frogs were ugly things like bitterness, anger, and resentment. My frogs smelled of jealousy and pettiness. My frogs were unforgiveness and grudges that I refused to let go.

Here I was criticizing Pharaoh while my heart was hardening just like his did. But because of grace I recognized my distress and threw myself at the mercy of my Savior. It was as if Moses himself asked God to remove my frogs. Frogs that had lingered in my life for years. Frogs that festered and grew stronger and more powerful over time were gone. Frogs that I couldn’t see and didn’t know were there; God saw them all and when I asked, He went to work.

Where does this day find you? Are there frogs in your life? Of course, there are.

I know where mercy and grace are found.     Jesus.

-Terry

A Wounded Pastor