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| Exodus 8:16-19 |
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Lesson # Exodus 8:16-19 Study Material - Exodus 8:16-19 You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth. Ex. 8:16-19 16 Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Say to Aaron, 'Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, that it may become gnats through all the land of Egypt.' 17 And they did so; and Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff, and struck the dust of the earth, and there were gnats on man and beast. All the dust of the earth became gnats through all the land of Egypt. 18 And the magicians tried with their secret arts to bring forth gnats, but they could not; so there were gnats on man and beast. 19 Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, 'This is the finger of God.' But Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, as the LORD had said. The pattern of the plagues has already been established. Moses no doubt conversed with God, or as we understand it in our current day, he prayed regularly and daily, searching for guidance. In accordance with Gods timing He would communicate with Moses, and through Moses, Aaron, giving them instructions. This third plague, is of small insects. Some versions of the Bible state gnats, some state lice, some state fleas. The word used is 'kinnnim', a non specific word for small insects. It could very well be that since these insects were a nuisance to both man and animal, then all of these insect references were produced from the dust of the earth. We should note that these insects generally propagate out of stagnant moisture of sorts. These came from the dust of the ground. They did not come from the tainted water that had been changed to blood, then cleared up. They did not come from the rotting frogs which were probably buried or burned. Moses would have directed the request again to Pharaoh. This is the pattern which God has already demonstrated. Pharaoh's heart was hardened again, but as a result of the relief of the tiny insects. Only a brief account of this third plague is given. We infer as to its entirety. God is consistent and fair. The difference in this plague ins that people and animals are more directly affected - bugs bites, itching and so forth. The level of annoyance is increasing. The magicians are unable to reproduce the effect. And this is an important difference too. Magicians are able to do various things because they have practiced them before hand. Magicians design their magic, perfect it, then perform it. Here the context is that the magicians are unprepared. They hold their sticks over dust and nothing happens. Why would they hold their sticks out knowing that they would fail? Well Pharaoh would command it, and Pharaoh is getting increasingly angry with all of this annoyance. What Pharaoh commands they better do. So what is their excuse? 'This is the finger of 'a' god'. They do not state that it is the work of the God of Israel, but they excuse themselves by attributing the miracle to a god or a god like entity. Something higher than they. How could Pharaoh argue with that??? Thus they save their necks. Pharaoh would have called for Moses, made his request for relief, then again changed his mind as to releasing the Hebrews. Thus the hardened heart again. The first three plagues increase in their level of annoyance to man and animal. The first being an inconvenience, the second being a nuisance, the third being an irritation on a more personal level - bug bites, itching, etc. Gnats and lice bug people, fleas and mosquitoes harass both people and animals. So there is plenty of scratching to go around o make everyone uncomfortable. Discomfort is the key again. The greater the discomfort the greater the need to discover the origin of that discomfort and therefore solve it. God in this case is the problem, or the lack of interest in God, that is. Often in our lives we will face the inconveniences that the world has to throw at us. The weather here in Oregon is rain, rain, rain this time of year. We'll be lucky to see a dozen days of daylight before Spring. The weather affects all of us - rich and poor, young and old, believer or unbeliever, positive people and negative people alike. Your attitude toward life, your capacity toward life will direct how you adapt to the world and its problems. Bible doctrine is the only real difference for people on planet earth with respect to how they deal with problems. Moses handled the problems well. Certainly he was surrounded with the insects. Thus far, everyone is affected by these plagues. Pretty soon we will see only the Egyptians being affected. That is another lesson and principle. There are problems common to all and there are additional problems which apply only to negative peoples. Arrogance in Pharaoh is manifesting itself as a powerful master. Pharaoh being the real slave in this scene. A slave to his own attitude. Don't be like Pharaoh and in your own stupidity of arrogance, enslave yourself, thus condemning yourself. 
Now is the time to post a prayer. End Of Lesson Study to show thyself approved (mature) unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (studying/discerning), the Word of truth. |
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