So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. (Exodus 8:6 ESV)
Fear Not… Then Laugh
I realize that there is nothing funny about the plagues. They were God’s finger of judgment against Egypt. God’s wrath is not a laughing matter.
Yet the picture of this plague usually makes me smile. A horde of lions do not descend on Egypt, only frogs. Children rarely tell their parents of a nightmare that involved a frog. Frogs in fairy tales are pitiable, unimportant, and mundane.
On the one hand, God’s choice of plague here should induce awe. God even turns FRONGS into instruments of His wrath. There is nothing so small or so large that God does not take into His mighty hand. Jesus turns water into wine at a minor wedding feast. God uses a donkey to speak. Jesus expects roadside stones to sing and shout His Name.
But on the other hand, maybe this is an example of God laughing at His enemies. God is pre-fulfilling these words from Psalm 2, “He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.”
This is a key difference between the way God deals with His beloved people and His enemies.
He laughs at them… He laughs WITH us.
Fear not, then laugh.