EXODUS 4:71
Sometimes when things go badly for an authoritarian they don’t admit it but just turn their backs and sulk! That is exactly what Pharaoh did, he hardened his heart, turned his back, and went home to sulk! The magicians, on the other hand, weren’t quite so impressive, so all they had going for them was their magic tricks. When they felt defeated, they lost their brains and tried to prove their power by turning the rest of the pure water into blood. Those Egyptians magicians, so eager to outdo Moses and Aaron they intensified the plague on their own country.
The really good thing that come out of all this is that this time it is not recorded that Moses got angry. So we don’t think he did. Evidently, because the Lord had told him this would happen, he just accepted the Pharaoh’s rejection. It seems that is when the Egyptians had to learn to dig wells. They dug all around the Nile for drinking water because the Nile was no longer friendly to them. Seven days later the Lord sent Moses back to Pharaoh to tell him, The Lord said, “Let my people go that they may worship me.”
And this time Pharaoh was told, if you refuse your whole country will be plagued with frogs. The Nile shall swarm with frogs, and they shall come up and enter your palace, your bed chamber, and your bed, the houses of your courtiers, and your people and your ovens and your kneading bowls. And can you even guess what god this plague was attacking? Why, it was the frog headed lady god named Hekt! And then to stretch your imagination, Hekt was thought to assist in childbirth. That points to the possibility that this plague may be a second instance of retribution for the killing of the Hebrew male newborns.
We may not be quite so enamored with frogs, but the Egyptians were. Each September, after the summer flooding by the Nile River, frogs would become very numerous in the small bodies of water left from the flooding. The Egyptians loved to hear the croaking of all of these frogs. It meant that the gods had done their duty and given the Egyptians enough water for a very fruitful next year.
The Egyptians believed the frog was the symbol of the life-giving power-goddess, Hekt. She was the goddess who oversaw the women, the mid-wives, who helped women have babies. She was thought to blow the breath of life into the nostrils of the new babies. Her husband, Khnum, was the god who made the bodies of babies on the potter’s wheel from the dust of the ground. Hekt was represented in paintings as a woman with the head of a frog. She was so important that she is pictured in one place as helping the god Anubis rebuild the body of Osiris after the god Seth had killed him.
So when the One True God gave Moses and Aaron the power to bring forth frogs by the millions, He was showing His power over Hekt. Scripture tells us: They served their own gods but did not fear the Most High God and were carried away into destruction. Why don’t people learn the lessons of the past? Why would they give their allegiance to a god made up in their own minds, and reject the One True God. Yet, the world likes to tell us what we know about God is too far-fetched. So in answer to their rejection they make up their own gods.
Actually there are TEN top gods that people today worship.
When we define the term “false god” it is someone or something that is highly revered, followed devoutly, sacrificed for, and looked to for meaning in life and deliverance from problems, there seems to be a list of the top ten.
10 – Education. Education is the answer to every woe in society and we spend thousands of dollars we may not have to obtain an education we may never use.
9 – Beauty. Attractive people are sought after. Not-so attractive people are not. We would all be amazed if we learned how much money is spent on cosmetic surgeries, cosmetics and hair products all to look beautiful to be with the “in” crowd.
8 – Comfort. We loooove to take it easy!
7 – Substances. A little or a lot, and the lot is growing. All to take away our cares or be in the “in” crowd.
6 – Family. Yes, families are wonderful. God made them. But do we put them above our pursuit to learn more about and to worship God?
5 – Religion. Believe it or not! Some people trust in God – other’s trust in religion. But it is at least in the middle of the list.
4 – Science. Remember, scientists know more about creation than God does!
3 – Sex. I am old enough to remember when proper people never talked about sex, religion or politics. Now sex is an open topic and you can shout your personal habits from the rooftops without repercussions. Now only religion and politics are forbidden.
2 – Money. That’s a pretty important god. We forget that God said, “Money is the root of evil.”
1 – Self. Why what’s more important than me? People are inherently self-centered and self-focused.
So, maybe we should be less critical when we look at other society’s false gods and look back at ourselves. Is God first in our lives, or not? Remember, the Egyptians did not put themselves first. First they worshipped their false gods! Is it ignorance or arrogance on their part, on our part? Or is the one true God too powerful and too independent for the world to accept and follow?
⇛ continue reading Exodus – Part 21
⇛ return to Exodus