OUT OF frustration, anger and even in sickness we all have broken down and said; “I can’t handle this one more night!” More then likely, we have said we couldn’t handle it for one more minute. Most of us are short on what we can handle and long on what we desire. Never have we ever said, when filled with anxiety, just give me one more night and I can lick this! If we haven’t licked it, waiting for one more night, doesn’t give us much hope!
IN LISTENING to a preacher recently, the topic began with Moses, the plagues in Egypt, and Pharaoh. Remember the plagues? “He sent Moses his servant, and Aaron whom he had chosen. They wrought his signs among them, and miracles in the land of Ham. He sent darkness, and made the land dark; they rebelled against his words. He turned their waters into blood, and caused their fish to die. Their land swarmed with frogs, even in the chambers of their kings. He spoke, and there came swarms of flies, and gnats throughout their country. He gave them hail for rain, and lightning that flashed through their land. He smote their vines and fig trees, and shattered the trees of their country. He spoke, and the locusts came, and young locusts with number; which devoured all the vegetation in their land, and ate up the fruit of their ground. He smote all the first-born in their land, the first issue of all their strength. Psalms 105:26-36
IN READING the story of how God delivered Israel from Egypt, we discover God’s plans for the journey. First by man’s instruments; second by overcoming Pharaoh’s resistance and thirdly, by circumstances which gave Israel their wealth and health to travel, along with respect and joy. However, getting Pharaoh to agree was a feat like no other.
I WAS struck with the story of the frogs! Pharaoh’s response when Moses asked him; “When do you want me to get rid of the frogs?” Pharaoh said; “Tomorrow.” Exodus 8:9-10 Why didn’t he want them gone immediately? The frogs were everywhere! The waters swarmed with them; they were in their beds; their houses; in the ovens and dishes; they were jumping on the people and everywhere they walked; getting squashed under feet!
ONE MORE NIGHT with the frogs was an ‘out of the mind’ request! It could be that God put that in the Pharaoh’s mind because Moses’ response, showed that God was going to make it perfectly clear to Pharaoh, that there is no one like the Lord our God! God permitted the word of Moses to stand, and all the frogs died; “And they gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank.” Exodus 8:14 I remember the smell of the skunks, and that smell still makes me feel sick!
EVEN THOUGH the frogs were gone, along with the remaining odor’s, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened once again, and he would not listen to Moses, and to what the Lord had to say! His heart was like stone! Pharaoh demonstrated the obstinacy of the rebellious human heart which remains unconvinced and unchanged even after hearing the truth of God’s Word; even in the face of overwhelming evidence. One more night with the frogs, is unthinkable; don’t you think?
A FEW YEARS ago a movie came out called “One Night with the King!” A story of Esther!
The movie was not the biblical story, but the people will remember it and think she won the king, because she read to him one night. Once you have the read the true story, I think it would be hard to get caught up into the romance of Hollywood!
ONE NIGHT of reading God’s Word is not enough to get a picture of God and His majesty.
One night hearing about His love for the world would not be enough to cause us to love the world. It takes many nights of studying to show ourselves approved unto God and to be believed by others. God changes us by transforming us from the inside out. We not only will need more than ‘one more night’ but we are going to want many more nights to live in Christ, so that we can become all that He has created us to be! We have a choice to spend one more night with the frogs or to spend eternity with God. I know what my choice is, and it has nothing to do with frogs. By Jane Ann Crenshaw 2/14/14
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