Bullfrog Obedience an Exodus Bible study

Obey or the frogs will come. That was the message from the King of the Universe to the King of Egypt, Exodus 8. Ultimately, the mighty Pharaoh would ignore God's call; lowly frogs would not.

Marching out of the waters onto land, the amphibians invaded homes, beds, kneading bowls and ovens. More than an inconvenience, the affliction bombarded the senses. No door could shut them out. Croaking filled the air as croakers filled the beds and bowls. Sleep was gone. Food became repulsive. Hunger and fatigue amplified chaos. Clearly, a nightmarish stage had already been set. Why mention the ovens? Wouldn't a few less frogs in the world be a good thing?

To the Egyptians, frogs were linked to divinity, fertility and blessing, as well as darkness and chaos. At least initially, harming the creatures would have been unthinkable. Still, the frogs themselves moved out of water, past bowls and beds, and into the ovens to their annihilation. Flames offered no enticement. Egyptian ovens were not cool, damp, dark or anything else the animals craved. But...God called. Bullfrogs obeyed, and images of Egyptian idolatry were destroyed. Scripture calls us to remember not only the pain in the plague, but the obedience in the oven.

That call to unwavering obedience did not end with an Exodus Bible study. Centuries later, sin would once again lead Israelites into bondage. An idol was built. Idolatry was ordered. Once again, an oven would provide evidence of obedience, Daniel 3. Out of a captive nation, three Hebrew boys stood alone. Only three obeyed the Lord. Only three were faithful. Refusing to submit to the sinful demands of a wicked ruler, bullfrog obedience carried the faithful trio into the furnace. Three went into the flames, but a fourth stood in the inferno preserving them.

God's children do not venture into the flames alone. He is always there. Even in the midst of the ovens, the Lord proves His covenant promise true. "I am with you always," Matthew 28:20, Deuteronomy 31:6-8. I'm Julie West and that's Worth Remembering.