The frogs will leave you and your houses, your officials and your people; they will remain only in the Nile." – Exodus 8:11

Today's Scripture Reading (November 8, 2024): Exodus 8

One of the strange news stories from the last decade is the danger our steaks and hamburgers hold for our environment. Yes, it is about the methane produced by the burps and farts of our bovine companions, the cow. Welcome to the strange world that is emerging all around us. The problem is that few of us are willing to trade our steaks for a good salad or a bowl of beans (not to mention the methane that the beans might produce in us). I live in a meat-eating world. Yes, I know several vegetarians and vegans, but I know more meat eaters. A while back, I met with a vegan, or maybe I should call him a prisoner of the vegan culture, and all he wanted was to go for a nice juicy burger without his wife finding out. What she didn't know, he could enjoy. I have to admit that I enjoyed our lunch much more than I expected when I thought we would eat at the local vegan hotspot.

But if we are going to solve global warming, one of the things we need to do is figure out how to change the problem of cow farts without getting rid of the cow. I have some automotive enthusiasts in my circle of influence who insist that we need to work on our bovine problem before we work on our car problem. After all, cow methane equals the annual emissions of 24 million automobiles, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists. But the reality is that fixing our environment probably means addressing both problems, not just one of them. The problem is that it is very unlikely that we will be willing to go without either our beef or our cars.

Egypt had a similar problem. The people of Egypt worshiped the goddess Heqet, who was often pictured as a woman with the head of a frog. The problem was that the frog was sacred because it was a part of Heqet, and because the frog was plentiful, it reproduced rapidly and was understood to be residents of two worlds, living as parts of the water world and as land creatures.

And because frogs were sacred, they could not be killed. As a result, Pharaoh had a big problem. He needed to get rid of the frogs without destroying them. That is the solution that Moses offered to the Pharaoh. He is willing not to destroy the frogs but to move them from the houses and the palace back to the area surrounding the Nile, where the frogs would typically live. The frogs would still exist, and yet they would not cause the problem they were currently causing in the nation. It would have been the perfect solution if only the Pharaoh had allowed the people of Israel to go and worship in the wilderness.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 9