Bashan Ministries - One more night with the frogs

Our story is based in Egypt

God sent a deliverer to His people who were in Covenant with Him, but in bondage. It is possible to be in a covenant relationship, but not totally free! and, yes, I mean Christians! God’s covenant people were descendants of Abraham who had every covenant right and privilege you can imagine, but were slaves. This is a spiritual principle that affects every human being on the planet, because one man’s transgression let sin into the world, bringing bondage. Scriptures are very clear on this aspect. Every one of us has fallen short of the mark because of sin and the penalty is death. Thankfully, God sent a deliverer who brought us freedom. His name is Jesus.
God had another deliverer called Moses, who delivered a powerful message to an evil king, saying, “Let My people go!” This is a message that echoes down through time when Jesus preached it with the signs of his authority and mission accompanying him. Everywhere he went things happened! We need more such deliverers today and they are indeed here with us. What we need to do is to recognize them. Many of them are hidden in God’s quiver waiting for the day when they will suddenly emerge as if it was from the wilderness delivering their messages. They too are “Let My people go!”

Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.
He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read.
The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Luke 4:14-21

When John the Baptist sent his disciples to Jesus to make certain he was the promised one, Jesus did not answer them with a simple, “Yes”, he told them to observe what he did and form their own conclusions.
John’s disciples told him about all these things. Calling two of them, he sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?”
When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?’”
At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind.
So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard:
The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.
Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.”
After John’s messengers left, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind?
If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear expensive clothes and indulge in luxury are in palaces.
But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
This is the one about whom it is written: “’I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’
I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” Luke 7:18-28

In Acts 10:38 we see that Jesus had God’s approval on him and that he was anointed for speciﬁc tasks, all in line with the above references.
God clearly intends to do things that get our attention, change people’s lives, reshape their destinies and set us free from the penalties of sin of which sickness, disease, poverty, lack and death are the results. All of these things take place in the area of the supernatural, because God is a Spirit. He is a supernatural God who lives and moves in the dimension of the spirit.
We are spirit beings who have a soul and live in a physical body.
Our relationship with God therefore is not in the natural realm but in the spirit and it can ﬂow over into the physical.
Without this supernatural aspect of God, we have to provide a substitute and usually get into areas of religion, pomp and ceremony, tradition, superstition etc. This is where deception and bondage often occur.

The Egyptians had replaced God with an alternative and this is the sort of thing that is still happening today, even in “Christian” circles, sadly this is now including”full gospel” churches, but the Holy Spirit is quenched.
I often wonder if I am being harsh and critical, but based on the reply Jesus gave, these are the things that authenticated His earthly ministry and are often lacking today. If we do not have them, we must have something else and this is our problem. Once that happens we risk false religion entering the church.

Egypt’s false religion and idols were the very things God struck at though Moses and Egypt had many gods. Whenever judgment comes, it often strikes directly against these false gods and their emissaries. It seems from Exodus 12:12; 18:11and Numbers 33:4 that God intended to show his supremacy.

The ten plagues brought against Egypt were directly aimed at their manner of life and their forms of worship.

The Egyptians worshiped the River Nile under various names or symbols. To them, the river was sacred. It was the father of life and father of the gods. They also abhorred blood, so by turning the water into blood, God struck at their very manner of life, their belief structure and their false gods when the water turned into blood in Exodus 7:15-21.

It appears that the magicians of Egypt copied this feat, but was it “supernatural”? I think not. The devil is not a creator. He can only mimic! They dug for water away from the sacred river in the hope of obtaining fresh, pure water. Natural ﬁltering process of sand should have cleansed the underground water, but it too was like blood. Water previously stored in containers was also affected. God touched everything that they revered.

The Egyptians worshipped the frog god

The second plague was an infestation of frogs and frogs are mentioned in two places only in the bible— here and in Revelation 16:13, where it is associated with uncleanness (see Exodus 8:2-14; Psalms 78:45; 105:30).

The species of frog known as Rana Esculenta is the edible variety often found on the continent, but these were not. The Hebrew word for those frogs is tsepharde’a, which means marsh-leaper. They were not supposed to be abundant until December after the waters of the Nile receded but this was in August! With a reputation of being found near the marshlands of the Nile, it was extremely unusual for them to leave the Nile and invade the houses, courtyards and ﬁelds as per the bible narrative. They may have left because of the dead fish following the ﬁrst plague. There could have been many reasons, but the important thing to remember is that they did arrive when God’s man said so—and in the manner he said it!

The Egyptians said that these frogs had supernatural abilities or divine powers. One of their false goddesses was Heqet, having the form of a woman with a frog’s head. They believed that the breath of life came out of her nostrils to bring life to the animals that her husband Khnum created.
This sounds like a twisting of the creation story of Genesis.
Substitute religions can often be based on truth, but twist and warp it. Heqet supposedly helped women during childbirth, so frogs therefore were venerated and were not to be killed, as they were another of their deities that helped them.

God dealt directly with it.
Instead of being pleasant and helpful, frogs were everywhere, causing grief. Imagine going to bed and ﬁnding slithering, slimy critters croaking all night, getting inside the bedclothes with you and even jumping on your face during the night. Think of waking in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and treading on them, try to wash your hands and frogs slide out of the faucet or open the refrigerator for a drink of cold water and… “crooooak!” there is one staring out at you from a shelf. Imagine cooking a meal and ﬁnding them in your oven. Those ovens were often earthen pots that were heated and placed in a hole in the ground with the food inside them. Opening the lid of one would have been horriﬁc!

That would not be Grenouille (a French frog’s leg delicacy)! No sir!
Years ago, I was awakened by one of those “cute?” little green frogs that jumped through my open window and landed with a little, “plop”, on my face! Yechhhh! Thankfully it was not one of those ugly detestable toads. I know God made all the little critters, but did he really have to make those things?

The Egyptians had insect gods

The creation of millions of gnats and other insects out of dust was a direct blow by God at these false gods. See Exodus 8:16-19; Psalm 78:45. The creation of ﬂies in Exodus 8:24 exposed Beelzebub, the god of ﬂies, as being false.
Beelzebub supposedly protected the people from such insects and hence from disease. Cleanliness was necessary in worship, so the putrid conditions were a direct affront to their lifestyles.

Egyptians worshipped everything you can imagine, particularly various forms of nature:

As with many other cults and false religions, the sun, the moon, the stars and various planets in the universe were and are worshipped. People today are like the Egyptians, worshipping streams, rocks and rivers, trees or
the universe" in general See Romans 1:16-25.
Rams, goats, heifers, crows, ﬁsh, the ibis and cats were objects of worship and killing them was completely against their religious beliefs. They believed in reincarnation, teaching that loved ones would return in other forms, especially as animals. This is a common phenomenon today with Hindus, New-Agers, and others. Pestilences on their animals were therefore a direct blow to their false gods.

Boils and blains on man and beast were against gods that were worshiped to protect them from such plagues.

The hail and ﬁre was directed against Isis and Osiris, the gods of light, health, fertility, arts, and agriculture. Water, ﬁre, earth, and air were all objects of Egyptian idolatry. Instead of helping the Egyptians these elements became agents of destruction at God’s command. God demonstrated supernaturally that he was in charge of everything and thus Lord of all.

The god Serapis:
This false god supposedly protected them from plagues of insects, particularly locusts. God showed that this false god was helpless before him by sending a locust plague and removing it when he decreed so by Moses.

The sun god:
This was the god who sent light, warmth and fruitfulness and by sending such unusual darkness, God declared that this god was another false god.

Life itself:
Finally, God dealt directly with life itself and the gods that were supposed to preserve life—the choicest of life.
The lineage that was supposed to be preserved via the ﬁrstborn was struck.
Moses faced Pharaoh delivering an ultimatum and warned of the consequences of disobedience.

This is the summary of events in a nutshell and we shall now see a little more and how it applies to us today, starting with the scriptural accounts in more detail.

The application

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the LORD says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. If you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs. The Nile will teem with frogs. They will come up into your palace and your bedroom and onto your bed, into the houses of your officials and on your people, and into your ovens and kneading troughs. The frogs will go up on you and your people and all your officials.’”
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the streams and canals and ponds, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.’”

Please take note that the magicians of Egypt did likewise

So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land.
But the magicians did the same things by their secret arts; they also made frogs come up on the land of Egypt. Exodus 8:1-7

The original text states that they did so by reason of their enchantments. The Hebrew word is lāṭ this describes some activity that is furtive or done in secret. Some of the words mean covertly, enchantment, privily, secretly, mufﬂed, silently and softly.

Jesus said that the devil being a thief and a liar who likes darkness and that men’s deeds are done in darkness (see John 3:19-20). God works openly, not furtively. He sheds and reveals light and does not hide in darkness, but the magicians wrought their mystic arts in a secret fashion. This is in direct contrast with the way God does things.

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.
If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. 1 John 1:5-10

Moses plainly declared what God was going to do and it was done publicly. He made it so plain that everyone could understand it.

The reference to sorcery in the New Testament adds another dimension. In Revelation 21:7-9, we see-

He who is victorious shall inherit all these things, and I will be God to him and he shall be My son.
But as for the cowards and the ignoble and the contemptible and the cravenly lacking in courage and the cowardly submissive, and as for the unbelieving and faithless, and as for the depraved and defiled with abominations, and as for murderers and the lewd and adulterous and the practicers of magic arts and the idolaters (those who give supreme devotion to anyone or anything other than God) and all liars (those who knowingly convey untruth by word or deed)—[all of these shall have] their part in the lake that blazes with fire and brimstone. This is the second death.
Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven final plagues (afflictions, calamities) came and spoke to me. He said, Come with me! I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife. Revelation 21:7-9

The word sorcerer in the original language is pharmakeus from which we get the words pharmacy or pharmacist.
It relates to drugs, spell giving potions, a poisoner, anyone who practices magic arts especially when associated with drugs etc. We are witnessing an explosion of this today, so many of those bible references and stories are applicable to us now.
It is not restricted to substance abuse. It has infiltrated the medical profession by big pharmaceutical companies.

When those frogs came by Moses’ hand, the enemy tried to counterfeit it. We can see this in things like seances when the medium “summons up” spirits from “the other side” to tell something that may be “factual”, but is really a well camouflaged lie. The person wanting to hear from a lost loved one for example is succeptible because they have opened their spirits up and so an evil spirit who knows what they have been through shares this information with another evil spirit who in turn passes thaton to the medium. We see terms like “familiar spirit” and “opportune spirits” operating in such areas.

You will never ﬁnd a counterfeit-three dollar note, because there is no genuine. The devil is NOT a creator and he does not have any real power or authority over us. He is a created being and a defeated foe—a master con man, so all he can do is attempt to deceive us, sometimes by “counterfeits”, lying signs and wonders. If you know the truth according to Jesus you are free and if you know the truth you can avoid the lies and deception.

We are living in the close of this age, in days that are heralding the return of Jesus. Shortly before he does return, the bible tells us that there will be lies and deception, rebellion and disobedience. The word of God also says that there will be false apostles and prophets and pretend churches, but we need not be worried, because we can tell the difference when we are led by the Holy Spirit and have God’s word in our hearts, minds and in our mouths. Paul said-

For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds. 1 Corinthians 10:13-15. See Romans 16:17-18

The frogs arrived

The frogs came in their thousands, hopping and croaking slithering and sliding, jumping on your face in bed at night; getting into the water for a swim when that water happens to be your only drinking water. They are in everything.

You prepare dinner and have to shove armfuls of the things off the table before you can eat. You swing your legs out of bed to go to the bathroom and step on them and then once in the bathroom… well! There is no escaping them and it all happened because one person was responsible. If you were there, not Pharaoh, then you would have to be half brain dead not to realize that something is wrong! Worse still, realizing that your own actions, decisions and beliefs have led to all this! All your counselors and advisors cannot help you. You can’t deny the truth. Refusing to accept responsibility cannot change the obvious. You can drink yourself to oblivion to escape the guilt and sleep, but the thing is still there in the morning. There are several key issues here.

A whole nation was suffering because of one man’s rebellion and disobedience
A whole nation was suffering because one man refused to listen to God
Millions of people were suffering because one man tried everything but God’s way of doing things. They were suffering and in lack because of idolatry and false religion
A nation of people in covenant relationship with God was being denied the fullness of God’s promised blessings because of one man’s action.

We can have all the promises of God imaginable, but they could be held up for all sorts of reasons, such as those above.

A man of God can give us the solution and there are but two outcomes. Repent and do it God’s way or suffer the consequences.

Finally, when the situation had gotten out of control and no one could help, pharaoh called for Moses. It is intersting that only when things get out of hand that people turn to God. Much hurt and heartache could be avoided if we call on Him beforehand. The king stopped turning to the magicians or the religious people for answers because he knew in his heart that they would not and could not help. Church cannot help you. Being charitable cannot help you. Doing good deeds cannot help you. Your righteous acts do not cut it with God. He alone is the one with the answers that really work.

My friend, when the going gets tough and there is no answer in sight, you can do what you will and go everywhere else, but get no answers. On the other hand, if you turn to a man of God—a spirit ﬁlled believer, a man of prayer who knows the word of God—a man of God who is tuned in to the Holy Ghost and knows the mind and will of God, the solution is a split second away.

Do it now

The problem was that this man postponed the blessings.
One man held up deliverance. One man caused disappointment, heartache, suffering and death when the answer was staring him in the face.

Pharaoh found that God was the one true God and that His servant had the answer, not his priests or his prophets or his magicians and asked for help but help never came from them! It comes from God and help from Him is a prayer away. Peter was sinking in the waves and cried out, “Lord save me” and Jesus reached out in the twinkle of an eye and rescued him. There was no magic formula, no ritual, no religious rite to perform but a cry from the heart, “Help” and it came.

Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, “Plead with the Lord to take away the frogs from me and from my people, and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.” Moses said to Pharaoh, “Be pleased to command me when I am to plead for you and for your servants and for your people, that the frogs be cut off from you and your houses and be left only in the Nile.” And he said, “Tomorrow.” Moses said, “Be it as you say, so that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God. Exodus 8:8-10

God gave him the choice to determine when deliverance would come.

There are times when our destiny is in our own hands!
Is it not strange that when God offers people a choice that they postpone the day the blessing comes?

You may not know what is around the corner. You may not know if you will ever have another opportunity like the one facing you right now. “Oh, I’ll do it tomorrow” is a common saying, but there may not be a tomorrow! It is procrastination and that is putting off something to tomorrow that may have already put off from yesterday.

Do it now! You may never get a second chance and miss it altogether.
A pastor friend shared how a man came to one of his meetings and a man gave his heart to the Lord. There was rejoicing in Heaven that night. The pastor dismissed the meeting and as that man was walking to his car, he was hit by a truck and instantly killed. What would have happened if the man had not acted then, when the timing was right?

If he had said, “I will think about it” or “Not tonight... some other time” he would now be in a Christ-less eternity!

The man answered Moses and in so doing answered God, “Oh well, tomorrow will do. Pray for me tomorrow”.

What if Moses was killed that night? God had no one else. What if the king’s horse rolled on him and killed him?

There may not have been any “tomorrow”.

He would rather sleep one more night with those frogs than listen to Godly advice, repent and obey.

When he set the time, God answered accordingly and two things happened to produce the results.

One was what he said. It was his confession.
The other was the word of God’s servant Moses. Moses stated what would happen where and when and God performed the word of his servant.

You may not realize it, but you do have enormous word power available to you right now. The power of death and life certainly is in the tongue (Proverbs 18:21). I hope you use it wisely and well.

Despite the king’s “confession”, there was a speciﬁc plan and purpose in the heart and mind of God. He had made a covenant with Abraham and Abraham’s seed and he was going to bless his people regardless and He was going to show that he was the only one true God in a showdown with religion and false gods, doing so with great effectiveness.

By telling Moses to pray for him tomorrow, he put off the day of his visitation and he cheated millions of others from theirs.

We might not be in a setting quite like that today, but the needs are as real and the answers are just as real. The contrast between religion, falsehood and the truth is real.

You and I can change our destiny and we may be able to change the destinies of other people. You and I can set the stage for when release comes and when the blessings arrive.

If Jesus returned in 30 seconds from now, would you be ready?

Please, do not postpone your deliverance. If you are not sure of your future, you can ﬁnd out today.
Email us. Visit our salvation pages. Do something.

Be blessed,

Robert