ONE MORE NIGHT WITH THE FROGS

ONE MORE NIGHT WITH THE FROGS

When “Tomorrow” Is One Day Too Long

There are moments when I am reading my Bible and I have to stop and think : Really?! Exodus 8 contains one of those moments for me. Egypt has frogs. Not a few frogs hopping peacefully around the Nile.

Frogs everywhere.

God had told Moses to go to Pharaoh again and say: “Let my people go, so that they may worship me.” — Exodus 8:1

Pharaoh refuses. So the frogs come. The Nile teems with them. They come up into the palace. Into the houses. Into the bedrooms.

Into the beds. They are in the ovens. They are in the kneading bowls. They are on Pharaoh, his officials and his people.

Just imagine it.

You pull back your blankets… 🐸 You go to make breakfast… 🐸 You open the oven… 🐸 You reach for the mixing bowl… 🐸 You walk across the floor…🐸 Ribbit. Ribbit. Ribbit.

At this point Egypt isn’t experiencing a small inconvenience.

Egypt is celebrating:

WORLD FROG DAY — EGYPT EDITION

And apparently everyone has been invited. 🤣🐸

“When Would You Like Them Gone?”

Eventually Pharaoh has had enough.

He summons Moses and Aaron and asks them to pray to the LORD to take the frogs away.

Finally!

And then Moses does something interesting. He lets Pharaoh choose when. In Exodus 8:9, Moses essentially asks:

When shall I pray for you, your officials and your people so that the frogs will leave?

Now perhaps I am missing something… but surely there is only one sensible answer.

NOW. Immediately. This minute. Please, Moses. Before another frog gets into my bed. But Pharaoh looks at this frog-infested nation and answers:

“Tomorrow.”— Exodus 8:10

TOMORROW?! 🤣🤣🤣

Every time I read it, I wonder the same thing.

Why would you choose one more night with the frogs?!

And it wasn’t only Pharaoh who had to spend another night with them. His officials did. Their families did. The Egyptian people did.

An entire nation got one more night of frogs because Pharaoh said: Tomorrow.

I can almost imagine Egypt hearing the announcement: “Good news! Moses can ask his God to remove the frogs.”

Wonderful! “Pharaoh has selected the time.”

Excellent! When? “Tomorrow.” ……

HE SAID WHAT?! 🐸 Ribbit.

And God Did Exactly What Pharaoh Asked

Moses answered: “It will be as you say, so that you may know there is no one like the LORD our God.” — Exodus 8:10

That part matters. God wasn’t struggling to remove the frogs. God wasn’t waiting until He could figure out what to do with them. The timing itself would become part of the demonstration.

Pharaoh named the time.

And the LORD showed that He alone had authority over what was happening. Moses cried out to God, and God answered him.

The frogs died. In the houses. In the courtyards. In the fields.

And then comes another little detail that makes Pharaoh’s decision to wait until tomorrow even worse. They gathered the dead frogs into heaps. And Scripture says: “The land reeked.” — Exodus 8:14 🤢

Oh, Pharaoh. You really should have said NOW.

🐸 But Then the Frogs Started Preaching to Me

It is very easy to sit comfortably with my Bible and laugh at Pharaoh. And I do. Because… Tomorrow?! Really?! 🤣

But somewhere between the frogs in the bed and the heaps of dead frogs… the story becomes uncomfortable. Because suddenly I hear another question. Mimi, have you ever said “tomorrow”?

Oh.

Perhaps I shouldn’t laugh quite so loudly at Pharaoh. Because there are different kinds of frogs. Not literal ones crawling through my kitchen, thankfully. But things God has already been speaking to me about.

Something I need to surrender. Something I need to change. Someone I need to forgive. Something I need to stop postponing.

An act of obedience I already know I should make. A conversation I know I need to have. Something I keep telling God: Tomorrow.

And suddenly Pharaoh’s ridiculous answer doesn’t seem quite so foreign anymore.

Why Do We Choose Another Night With the Frogs

Perhaps because tomorrow feels easier than today. Tomorrow doesn’t require obedience now. Tomorrow lets me keep control for another day. Tomorrow lets me postpone surrender. Tomorrow sounds close enough to obedience that I can almost convince myself I have obeyed.

But intending to obey God tomorrow is not the same thing as obeying Him today.

And sometimes our “tomorrow” doesn’t affect only us. That is something I hadn’t really stopped to think about before. Pharaoh’s decision affected an entire nation. His tomorrow became their extra night with the frogs. And while our decisions may be nowhere near Pharaoh’s scale, there is still a principle worth noticing.

My stubbornness can affect other people. My refusal to forgive can affect my family. My unwillingness to admit I am wrong can affect a relationship. My procrastination can place burdens on someone else. My insistence on getting my own way can make other people live among frogs they never chose.

That thought isn’t quite as funny.

And Then Came Relief

There is another important moment in the story. God removes the frogs. Pharaoh gets what he asked for. Relief comes. And Exodus 8:15 tells us: “But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart.”

There it is. When things hurt, Pharaoh calls for Moses.When the pressure lifts… Pharaoh goes straight back to being Pharaoh.

And I wonder how often we do something similar. “Lord, please help me.” “Lord, get me through this.” “Lord, if You change this situation…”

Then God carries us through. The pressure lifts. Life becomes comfortable again. And somehow the urgency we felt in His presence disappears with the frogs. That may be an even greater warning than Pharaoh’s tomorrow.

It is possible to want God’s relief without wanting God’s rule.

The God Behind the Frogs

And yet I don’t want to finish this story looking only at Pharaoh. Because Exodus isn’t ultimately a story about frogs. It is a story about God revealing who He is.

Moses tells Pharaoh exactly why this will happen: “So that you may know there is no one like the LORD our God.” — Exodus 8:10

The frogs obey Him. The timing obeys Him. Creation answers to its Creator. Pharaoh may sit on Egypt’s throne, but Pharaoh is not sovereign.

God is.

And perhaps that is why this strange, funny, slightly disgusting little moment in Exodus has stayed with me.

Because behind Pharaoh’s ridiculous: “Tomorrow.”

I hear God’s invitation: Why not today?

If I already know what He has asked of me… why another night? Why another day? Why another:

I’ll deal with it later. I’ll forgive eventually. I’ll surrender when I’m ready. I‘ll obey when circumstances are easier.

Tomorrow, Lord.

Perhaps sometimes faith sounds much simpler:

Today, Lord. Yes, Lord. Your way, Lord.

🐸 One More Ribbit…

I still think Pharaoh’s answer was crazy. 🤣

If Moses had asked me when I wanted thousands upon thousands of frogs removed from my bed, kitchen, oven and house, I wouldn’t have said tomorrow.

I probably wouldn’t even have said NOW. I would have shouted:

“YESTERDAY, MOSES! YESTERDAY!” 🤣🐸

Please. Before I find another one in my bed.🤣🐸

Pharaoh: “Tomorrow.” Mimi: “YESTERDAY, MOSES!!!” Egypt: “THANK YOU!” Frogs: ribbit… 🐸🤣

But perhaps I shouldn’t be too hard on Pharaoh without first checking my own heart. Because the next time I hear myself telling God:

“Tomorrow…”

I hope I remember Egypt. I hope I remember the beds. I hope I remember the ovens. I hope I remember the kneading bowls. I hope I remember the heaps. 🤢 And I hope somewhere in my spirit I hear one tiny… Ribbit. 🐸

And remember:

If God is asking me to obey today, why choose one more night with the frogs?

A Prayer

Father,

Thank You that Your Word can make us smile and still reach deeply into our hearts.

Thank You for the wonderful little details in Scripture that cause us to stop, wonder, laugh — and then think again.

Show me the places where I have been saying “tomorrow” when You are asking for my obedience today.

Show me anything I am holding onto simply because I want my own way.

And please show me when my choices are affecting the people around me.

Give me a willing heart.

Not merely a heart that calls for You when life becomes uncomfortable, but one that remains surrendered to You when relief comes.

I don’t want merely Your help.

I want You. Teach me to say: Today, Lord. Yes, Lord. Your way, Lord.

And thank You, Father, for joy.

Thank You that we can laugh while reading Your Word and still reverence You deeply.

Even when the lesson comes… through frogs. 🐸

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

19 August 2026

© Jesus & Mimi 2026