Gnats Unite!
Notes
Transcript
Unannounced
Unannounced
plague came with no warning, no confrontation with Pharaoh
categorize the plagues into three groups
Moses to Pharaohs in the am (1,4,7)
Confronts Pharaoh @ palace (2,5,8)
w/o warning or confrontation (3,6,9)
This puts emphasis on the tenth plague
the one that brought an end
Gnats?..really?
Gnats?..really?
Old Rabbis text says Lice. Could be gnats, lice, or mosquito.
first century writer Philo of Alexandria said the insects crawling up people’s noses and into their ears.
From the dust of the ground
Once again God created out of the dust.
first it was mankind, now gnats.
De-creation
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.’ ”
When God created the world, he separated light from the darkness (Day 1; Gen. 1:1–5); but in the ninth plague light was blotted out (Exod. 10:21–29).
When God created the world, he gathered the water into one place (Day 2; Gen. 1:6–8); but in the first plague the water was turned to blood (Exod. 7:15–25).
When God created the world, he made vegetation grow on the land (Day 3; Gen. 1:9–13); but in the seventh and eighth plagues he destroyed Egypt’s crops (Exod. 9:18–10:20).
When God created the world, he put two great lights in the heavens (Day 4; Gen. 1:14–19); but with the ninth plague, the sun ceased to shine (Exod. 10:21–29).
When God created the world, he made the waters swarm with creatures of the sea (Day 5; Gen. 1:20–23); but the first and second plagues ended with the death of fish and frogs (Exod. 7:15–8:15).
When God created the world, he made land animals and people (Day 6; Gen. 1:24–31); but the third through sixth plagues afflicted both man and beast with pestilence and disease (Exod. 8:16–9:17), until God finally killed every first-born son in Egypt (Exod. 11–12).
The plagues brought such chaos that Currid concludes that God was “de-creating” Egypt.1
1 Philip Graham Ryken and R. Kent Hughes, Exodus: Saved for God’s Glory (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2005), 240–241.
this time the animals had dominion over the people and then creation was reversed
Egyptian god
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.’ ”
The third plague may have been intended to humiliate the earth-god Geb. By turning the dust into bugs, God was claiming authority over the very soil of Egypt and thus over the god of the ground. God’s strategy for gaining glory over the gods of Egypt was to defeat them one at a time by demonstrating his control over the creatures that the Egyptians worshiped.1
1 Philip Graham Ryken and R. Kent Hughes, Exodus: Saved for God’s Glory (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2005), 240.
It was Pharaoh’s responsibility to maintain maʿat by controlling the climate, regulating the seasons, and generally preserving order in the world. A good example of the Egyptians’ faith in Pharaoh to do this comes from an ancient text called “The Prophecy of Neferti.” The text, which describes the accession of Amenemhet, promises that when the king begins to reign, “Then Order will come to its place, and Chaos will be driven out.”1
1 Philip Graham Ryken and R. Kent Hughes, Exodus: Saved for God’s Glory (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2005), 241.
Application
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.
One way to apply this lesson is to ask ourselves what our foundation is. What is the source of our equilibrium? Some people base their sense of security on their jobs or their investments. Others depend on their intelligence, charm, beauty, or physical stamina. But in the day of disaster, when chaos reigns, none of these things will be able to hold our world together. What happens when there is a correction in the market? Or when our department gets downsized and we have to send out our résumés? What happens when we go to university and start getting C’s instead of A’s, or when our parents file for divorce, or when we end up in the hospital? When our world gets turned upside down, we discover that our abilities and possessions cannot save us.1
1 Philip Graham Ryken and R. Kent Hughes, Exodus: Saved for God’s Glory (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2005), 241.
Finger of God
Finger of God
The magicians could not replicate
General word “Elohim” used in plural as if to say finger of the gods
Seth and Osiris fighting with Horus the god of heaven
Seth’s finger is constantly threatening to poke Horus eye out destroying him
Also used in
attack the moon god “Thoth” made on “Apophis” the snake
They could have been talking about their own gods here, not the one true Holy God YWH
using the general term Elohim and not the covenant name YWH, which means Lord.
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.
Not only were they unable to produce any more bugs, but they were completely covered with them, and there was nothing they could do about it. It was utterly humiliating, especially because the religious leaders of Egypt prided themselves on their physical purity. Before performing their daily rituals, they bathed thoroughly and shaved off all their hair. Therefore, according to John J. Davis, it is “rather doubtful that the priesthood in Egypt could function very effectively having been polluted by the presence of these insects. They, like their worshipers, were inflicted with the pestilence of this occasion. Their prayers were made ineffective by their own personal impurity with the presence of gnats on their bodies.”1
1 Philip Graham Ryken and R. Kent Hughes, Exodus: Saved for God’s Glory (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2005), 242.
Satan has limitations. He could not replicate the gnats because God would not allow it.
Exodus—Saved for God's Glory Exodus 8:16–19
Satan is very powerful, but his powers are limited. Consider all the things he is unable to do or to be: He cannot create; he can only destroy. He cannot redeem; he can only be damned. He cannot love; he can only hate. He cannot be humble; he can only be proud. Most crushingly of all, he was unable to keep God’s Son in the grave. God broke the devil’s power by raising Jesus from the dead. The Bible says, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:8b), and the way Jesus destroyed it was through his crucifixion and resurrection. In the end, Satan will be utterly vanquished.
Satan is very powerful, but his powers are limited. Consider all the things he is unable to do or to be: He cannot create; he can only destroy. He cannot redeem; he can only be damned. He cannot love; he can only hate. He cannot be humble; he can only be proud. Most crushingly of all, he was unable to keep God’s Son in the grave. God broke the devil’s power by raising Jesus from the dead. The Bible says, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:8b), and the way Jesus destroyed it was through his crucifixion and resurrection. In the end, Satan will be utterly vanquished.1
1 Philip Graham Ryken and R. Kent Hughes, Exodus: Saved for God’s Glory (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2005), 243.
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.
When faced with spiritual opposition, we must remember, Satan is limited. There is so much he cannot do. So when we are embattled in spiritual warfare, and it seems that the Devil may have victory, know he is limited and thus he is already defeated.
A limited Devil cannot win against the unlimited God.
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