Exodus 8:8-10
There is something to be said for resolve, but there is another, less flattering thing to be said for stubbornness. Resolve is good because it stays with a task regardless of the pressures to quit or the opposition. Stubbornness forges ahead despite repeated warnings to stop. One brings eventual success while the other leads to frustration.
When Moses dealt with Pharaoh in the famed showdown over the fate of the children of Israel, both of these characteristics are in full detail. Moses shows great resolve; determined to see God’s people freed in spite of the repeated rejections of Pharaoh. Moses’ resolve is based upon his faith in the spoken word of God. The Lord had told him that Pharaoh would reject his demands, but that Moses should persevere, for eventually Pharaoh would give in. With doggedness and determination, Moses stayed the course and we know the outcome.
Pharaoh on the other hand, shows a different kind of resolve that is best described as stubbornness. Determined to keep the Israelites as his slaves in the land of Egypt, he rejects the demands of Moses repeatedly. At first this rejection costs him very little, as the rod is turned to a snake and the river is turned to blood, but soon his own people begin to die as a result of the plagues of God upon the land of Egypt.
After the fourth confrontation, God brings another judgment upon Egypt; this time with frogs being brought upon the land. Not only does God bring frogs, but Pharaoh has his magicians bring frogs upon the land as well, just to prove that they can do what God can do. The problem is not in bringing the frogs but in getting rid of them. Pharaoh calls for Moses and Aaron to entreat the Lord to get rid of the frogs and Moses says, “Glory over me: when shall I entreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses, that they remain in the river only?” (Exodus 8:9) In other words, “You tell me when you want the frogs to be gone”.
Surely Pharaoh says, “Right now!” Who would want to sleep in a bed full of frogs for one night longer than they have to? Apparently Pharaoh doesn’t find it so unpleasant, saying, “Tomorrow” (Exodus 8:10). Resolve will not quit because it believes in its cause, while stubbornness will not quit because it believes in itself. Pharaoh could have had all of the frogs out of the land and back into the rivers where they belong but he chose one more night with the frogs.
The 8th chapter of Exodus marks the first usage of the word “frogs” in the Bible, but it is not the last. It is repeated twice in Psalms (78:45; 105:30), both times in reference to the events of the Exodus. It then surfaces only once in the New Testament, in a prophetic passage in Revelation 16:13 as John sees three unclean spirits, “like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet”. He then describes that they are “the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty” (Revelation 16:14). Using this as a guide, we see that the frogs of the Exodus are the workings of the enemy to convince man that he is able to take care of himself without the help of God. The kingdoms of the earth rally to fight Jesus at Armageddon convinced by evil spirits that they can win. Man tends to lean to his own abilities long before he listens to the Lord, and Pharaoh is a shining example of that.
Why choose one more moment of depending on your own strength when you can rest in the finished work of Christ right now? It is your choice every moment of every day. Choose wisely.
There is something to be said for resolve, but there is another, less flattering thing to be said for stubbornness. Resolve is good because it stays with a task regardless of the pressures to quit or the opposition. Stubbornness forges ahead despite repeated warnings to stop. One brings eventual success while the other leads to frustration.
When Moses dealt with Pharaoh in the famed showdown over the fate of the children of Israel, both of these characteristics are in full detail. Moses shows great resolve; determined to see God’s people freed in spite of the repeated rejections of Pharaoh. Moses’ resolve is based upon his faith in the spoken word of God. The Lord had told him that Pharaoh would reject his demands, but that Moses should persevere, for eventually Pharaoh would give in. With doggedness and determination, Moses stayed the course and we know the outcome.
Pharaoh on the other hand, shows a different kind of resolve that is best described as stubbornness. Determined to keep the Israelites as his slaves in the land of Egypt, he rejects the demands of Moses repeatedly. At first this rejection costs him very little, as the rod is turned to a snake and the river is turned to blood, but soon his own people begin to die as a result of the plagues of God upon the land of Egypt.
After the fourth confrontation, God brings another judgment upon Egypt; this time with frogs being brought upon the land. Not only does God bring frogs, but Pharaoh has his magicians bring frogs upon the land as well, just to prove that they can do what God can do. The problem is not in bringing the frogs but in getting rid of them. Pharaoh calls for Moses and Aaron to entreat the Lord to get rid of the frogs and Moses says, “Glory over me: when shall I entreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses, that they remain in the river only?” (Exodus 8:9) In other words, “You tell me when you want the frogs to be gone”.
Surely Pharaoh says, “Right now!” Who would want to sleep in a bed full of frogs for one night longer than they have to? Apparently Pharaoh doesn’t find it so unpleasant, saying, “Tomorrow” (Exodus 8:10). Resolve will not quit because it believes in its cause, while stubbornness will not quit because it believes in itself. Pharaoh could have had all of the frogs out of the land and back into the rivers where they belong but he chose one more night with the frogs.
The 8th chapter of Exodus marks the first usage of the word “frogs” in the Bible, but it is not the last. It is repeated twice in Psalms (78:45; 105:30), both times in reference to the events of the Exodus. It then surfaces only once in the New Testament, in a prophetic passage in Revelation 16:13 as John sees three unclean spirits, “like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet”. He then describes that they are “the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty” (Revelation 16:14). Using this as a guide, we see that the frogs of the Exodus are the workings of the enemy to convince man that he is able to take care of himself without the help of God. The kingdoms of the earth rally to fight Jesus at Armageddon convinced by evil spirits that they can win. Man tends to lean to his own abilities long before he listens to the Lord, and Pharaoh is a shining example of that.
Why choose one more moment of depending on your own strength when you can rest in the finished work of Christ right now? It is your choice every moment of every day. Choose wisely.
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