“Another Night With the FROGS”
Exodus 8:1-15
One of the biggest conflicts a person has within themselves is procrastination.
Procrastination means: to put off intentionally or habitually the doing of something that should be done. Procrastination literally is a thief of time. The dictionary says: Time is a period during which a process or condition exist. A process is something that is marked by gradual change that leads to a particular result. So when we think of time we understand that it is a period within our life that there is a process going on which is leading to a particular result. However, procrastination robs you of time, which means that for that period in your life when there should be progress due to the process there is nothing going on.
Because of procrastination people have missed out on an abundance of things that if they would have stopped procrastinating then things would have worked out differently. How many times have you heard someone say or been one that has said if I only would have done this or that, but because I keep putting it off I missed out on that. If I only would have done it yesterday I could have had it by now. Because of procrastination they missed out.
In the spiritual procrastination can cause you to miss out on your blessing. It can cause you to even loose your life. Procrastination can even cause you to spend eternity in hell. Many people feel that they have a long time to live. They feel that oh I’m young I don’t need to give my life to Jesus just yet I have plenty of time, but they better stop procrastinating because you don’t know where death is at. Death doesn’t care about age, sex, or color, it doesn’t care if you’re saved or not, it doesn’t care if you’re the bishop or the janitor, when it comes it comes so don’t procrastinate.
Exodus 8:1-15 And the Lord spake unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Let my people go, that they may serve me. 2 And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs: 3 and the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into thine house, and into thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed, and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thine ovens, and into thy kneading troughs: 4 and the frogs shall come up both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants. 5 And the Lord spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt. 6 And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt. 7 And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt. 8 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Intreat the Lord, that he may take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice unto the Lord. 9 And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Glory over me: when shall I intreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses, that they may remain in the river only? 10 And he said, Tomorrow. And he said, Be it according to thy word: that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the Lord our God. 11 And the frogs shall depart from thee, and from thy houses, and from thy servants, and from thy people; they shall remain in the river only. 12 And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh: and Moses cried unto the Lord because of the frogs which he had brought against Pharaoh. 13 And the Lord did according to the word of Moses; and the frogs died out of the houses, out of the villages, and out of the fields. 14 And they gathered them together upon heaps: and the land stank. 15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said.”
“Another Night With the FROGS”
We find in our text the part of history when the children of Israel are in bondage down in Egypt land and God told Moses (as the song says) to go down and tell Pharaoh to let my people go. Well you are familiar with the story Pharaoh harden his heart and would not let the children of Israel go. Therefore God caused plagues to come up against and afflict Egypt in order that Pharaoh would see that God is God and would let the children of Israel go free.
There were a total of ten plagues that God brought upon Egypt, the number ten means divine order. Even though it was chaotic for the Egyptians, it was the divine order of God. I want to talk to you not about all ten plagues, but about just the second plague, because there is something that happened in this plague that did not happen in any of the other plagues that came up against Egypt.
The second plague that came upon Egypt was the plague of frogs. Moses had did what God said do and told Pharaoh to let the people go, Pharaoh refused so God told Moses to tell Aaron to stretch forth his rod over all the water, the river, ponds, streams, and fountains and turn them to blood. In so doing Pharaoh’s magicians, whom we believe to be Jannes and Jambres also turned some water into blood. Don’t think the devil doesn’t have power, but he is not omnipotent. The devil can only deceive you into thinking that he is able to do the things that God can do, but I am going to show you how that is a lie. In turning the water, which is the life-source into blood all the creatures in the water died and caused a great stench in Egypt and after seven days God sent Moses to Pharaoh and Moses said unto Pharaoh God said let my people go so they can worship me and if you don’t let them go that He is going to bring upon Egypt a plague of frogs.
This plague of frogs will be loathsome, the frogs will extend from border to border, the Nile River will swarm with them, and they will come into your houses and into your bed chambers, and in your beds. The frogs will be in your ovens and in your kneading bowls. Every corner of the land will be covered with frogs. Once again Pharaoh’s heart was hardened and he refused to let the children of Israel go. So God told Moses to tell Aaron to stretch forth his rod and the frogs came millions of millions little green frogs called dofda’s covered the land. The devil saw his opportunity and used his methods of deception and caused Jannes and Jambres to also bring upon Egypt frogs. Everywhere Pharaoh and Egypt turned there were frogs. At the dinner table there were frogs. In the bed there were frogs, in the clothes there were frogs, in the food there were frogs. When you try to go to sleep at night all you heard was the croaking of the frogs, frogs on their body, in their hair, nothing but frogs. There were frogs to the left of them, frogs to the right of them, every place was covered with frogs.
The frogs began to be too much so Pharaoh called Jannes and Jambres to get rid of the frogs, but Jannes and Jambres were not able to get rid of the frogs and said surely this is the finger of God. Yoe see the devil caused them to be deceived by causing frogs to appear upon the land also, but when it came time to get rid off the frogs the were not able to do so, they had been deceived.
Pretty soon Pharaoh got tired of the frogs and he called for Moses to plead with God and remove the frogs and he would let the people go to worship God. Moses did something here that he didn’t do at any other time during the plagues. He asked Pharaoh when do you want the frogs to go, you Pharaoh set the time, Pharaoh said tomorrow.
Why in God’s name would he want to spend another night with the frogs. How dumb can you be, here is his opportunity to get rid of that thing that has been troubling him for some time. That thing that has been keeping him awake at night, that thing that caused him not to be able to eat. That thing that is literally sapping every bit of strength from his body. It was stealing his and his people’s joy, it was stealing their peace, and it was causing them to literally loose their ever loving mind. He had the opportunity to get rid of it right then and there and he said get rid of them tomorrow. But before we rush to put Pharaoh in a mental institution, before we call 911 to have him taken away in a straight jacket let us look at the frogs in our own life. When do you want the frogs in your life to go.
You know the ones, the frogs of troubles, the frogs of disappointments, the frogs of discouragements, the frogs of anxieties, frogs of sorrows, frogs of sickness, frogs of grief, loneliness, and discontentment that plague us morning, noon, and night. Many people are holding on to these things when the Bible says in 1st Peter 5:7 “Casting all your cares upon Him for He careth for you.” You don’t have to wait until tomorrow you can be free of your frogs right now. God is ready to remove the frogs in your life. He is saying you set the time I’ll do it now, but it’s up to you.
The Bible says in Isaiah 53:3-5 “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”
Surely he hath borne our griefs . The word “borne” means to carry.
The word griefs in Hebrew means sickness. I don’t have to be sick, that’s a frog and I don’t have to spend another night with the frogs.
Sorrows are anything that steals our joy, peace, and happiness. I don’t have to have a joyless life, I don’t have to live in an unmerciful situation, and I don’t have to not be happy. God said I don’t have to spend another night with the frogs.
The word stricken is to be afflicted or burdened with. He did all of this for you and I so we don’t have to spend another night with the frogs.
WATCH THIS: The 13th & 14th verse says “And the Lord did according to the word of Moses; and the frogs died out of the houses, out of the villages, and out of the fields. And they gathered them together upon heaps: and the land stank”.
That literally means in mounds and the land stank. There may be in a mountain of stinking mess in your life. It may seem as though there is not any way out, but God said I came that you might have life and have it more abundantly; therefore, if you want to have life and have it more abundantly then you don’t need to spend another night with the frogs.
Don’t wait until tomorrow, because tomorrow never comes. Tomorrow just might be too late. Why would you want to spend another night with the frogs. Why would you want to stay in that same old mess any longer then you have to. That habit that you thought you could not break you don’t have to spend another night with it. That burden that you have been carrying around for so time you don’t have to spend another night with it. That sickness that the doctor said is fatal you don’t have to spend another night with. You can get rid of that frog in your life right now. Just like the woman with the issue of blood she made up in her mind that she wasn’t going to spend another night in that same old condition, so she touched the hem of His garment and was made whole, because she refused to spend another night with the frogs. Blind Bartimaeus, who was told to keep quite, refused to spend another night in that same condition, he said to himself I refuse to spend another night with the frogs, so he cried out with a loud voice Have Mercy on ME.
Elder Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr
Boanerge Ministries
