It never fails when my children and I study the ten plagues of Egypt, they always want to stop and discuss the second plague. My critter-catching country boys just can’t imagine why an overabundance of frogs would be a bad thing. “We wouldn’t even have to hunt them!” they always exclaim with amazement.
I have to admit, I’ve also wondered why God sent frogs, of all things. Now don’t get me wrong, I couldn’t tolerate frogs invading my home and the horrific stench left behind, but a frog is not the worst thing that comes to mind. In my opinion, spiders or snakes would be far more terrifying. But as we dug a little deeper into our study recently, we found that our all-knowing God didn’t pick each plague at random and He wasn’t just trying to strike fear into the hearts of these people. He was proving in a mighty and unforgettable way to Pharaoh, the Egyptians, and the Hebrews that He is the one and only living God.
Although I’ve been taught about the plagues since childhood, I’m ashamed to say I never knew each plague chosen by Yahweh was to blatantly defy the various Egyptian gods and goddesses. He proved time and time again how superior He truly was in contrast to this idolatrous culture as He affected the Egyptian’s physical senses as well as their hearts.
In the case of the second plague, it’s interesting to note that the ancient Egyptians saw frogs as an object of worship. Every year after the Nile River flooded, droves of frogs would appear. The sound of the frogs created rejoicing amongst the people as it meant the land was fertile and ready for planting. To the Egyptians, the frog was a sacred symbol of fertility and the killing of frogs was strictly forbidden, which would add greatly to their misery with the infiltration of millions of frogs sent by God!
Another interesting fact is that the Egyptians highly worshipped a goddess called Heqet, who God was specifically addressing in this second plague. She was depicted as a lady with the head of a frog and represented fertility and childbirth. Egyptian women religiously wore amulets, jewelry thought to have magical powers, portraying Heqet. They believed she had the power to help them produce children and offer protection during pregnancy and labor.
Since God chose the “sacred” frogs for the second plague and we see the Egyptians’ devastating reaction to the Death Angel during the tenth plague, we know that they were a people who wished to be fertile and loved their children. In fact, most Egyptian families had over five children and each child was cherished, highly educated, and well taken care of.
With that being said, how could this Egyptian nation who adored children and worshipped a goddess of childbirth condone the wicked Pharaoh drowning countless male babies born to the Hebrews eighty years prior? Did the people as a whole agree with his horrific decision to pluck helpless babies from their homes and feed them to crocodiles? Did they even attempt to take a stand and protect the weak or were they too afraid of the opposition they would face? Did they ever stop to see the desolation of the broken-hearted parents or were they too busy with their own everyday dealings? Did they remain quiet because they felt there was no way they could make a difference? Did they turn a blind eye and refuse to call the mass baby slaying what is really is … murder?
Obviously, every Egyptian didn’t want the babies murdered because the Pharaoh’s own daughter rescued one and loved him as her own. However, when we read this story, we automatically feel that the Pharaoh’s actions were a representation of the people as a whole.
Tragically, as gut-wrenching as it is to read of the Pharaoh killing the innocent babies, it’s far more breathtaking to realize our country has killed more babies than the Pharaoh ever dreamed of. Over 60 million precious babies who were made in the very image of Jehovah God have been deliberately murdered in our United States of America, the land the Pilgrims founded with the purpose of giving their children and unborn children a better life and freedom.
In the 1860s, our country was forever changed by the Civil War and the impact of its death toll. Hundreds of thousands of grief-stricken American mothers were forced to bury their children far too soon. Sadly, today we find ourselves divided again and in the throes of another “Civil War,” though it seems much more “civilized.” However, this time it’s not against our countrymen, but politicians and mothers against the defenseless. In contrast to 150 years ago, hundreds of thousands of American mothers are now fighting for the right to kill their own children. Our sinful nation has come to another pivotal moment that could change the course of history and we must take it personally.
Let us resolve to be a nation that genuinely loves the lost and teaches that babies are not burdens. Instead, they are the most supreme blessings. Let us be a nation that chooses to respect Elohim, our strong creator God, and appreciate His most treasured masterpieces. God forbid we remain a rebellious, unrepentant nation with blood on our hands and subsequently experience His judgment as the reticent Egyptians did.
May we have the courage and the faith of the Pharaoh’s daughter. Well aware that she could face death for defying her father, she chose life…and that life became one of the greatest leaders of all time.
God has a powerful plan for every baby, whether they’re in the womb or in a basket. They have a right to be saved!
Eighty years from now, will American children study this era and assume our nation as a whole condoned the murder of the unborn or will the history books state that this generation put an end to the nation-wide infanticide?
For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil (Ecclesiastes 12:14) and we will each give an account of ourselves to God (Romans 14:12).
