Sermon Notes: Exodus 8:16-32 – Gnats and Flies

Let’s read Exodus 8:16-32

The Lord is Holy. His ways are perfect, and he does no wrong. 

The Lord will not give his glory to another, and he will save all who come to him in repentance/faith.

In the signs of gnats and flies, we are going to see mercy and holiness on display in some stark ways.

How do we see these? 

See the Lord’s mercy in a sign with no warning. V. 16

1. Grant me a moment to give you a help if you ever need it to justify the Lord’s activity in dealing with Pharaoh and Egypt.
   1. It can be a stone some folks like to throw who want to accuse the Lord of being unjust and thus justify their unbelief.
      1. Accusation: “He didn’t give a warning. He’s unfair. I refuse to follow a God like that.”
   2. Let’s remove that stone from hands that want to accuse the Lord of wrongdoing. 
2. Signs 1, 4, and 7 come after sending Moses in the morning to deliver a warning.
   1. Signs 1 and 4 are warned as Pharaoh is going out to the river. 
   2. Sign 7 does not mention Pharaoh going out to the river, but it is still in the morning, and likely at the river as there is no mention of going “in” to Pharaoh and thus insinuating that they are going into either his residence or a government building. 
3. Signs 2, 5, and 8 come during the day when Moses is sent “in” to Pharaoh, presumably at his residence or another government building to issue the warning.
   1. It is interesting to note that Moses had access to Pharaoh to enter his residence.
      1. Either Pharaoh had granted this entrance because of Moses’ status or his potential relationship to Moses or it’s the Lord’s sovereign favor placed on Moses that Pharaoh had to honor simply because the Lord made it be.
         1. It could be a combination of all of these.  
         2. Either way, Moses had access to go to Pharaoh at will. 
4. Signs 3, 6, and 9 come with no warning. 
5. Signs 1 and 2 (blood and frogs) affected the Nile. 
6. Signs 3 and 4 (gnats and flies) are insects. 
7. Signs 5 and 6 (livestock and boils) are both diseases. 
8. Signs 7 and 8 (hail and locusts) affect agriculture. 
9. Signs 9 and 10 (darkness and death of the firstborn) involved darkness as a felt reality and death occurring in the darkness of midnight.
   1. The patterns are fascinating, and it says to me that the Lord works and even speaks in patterns that are rich with his merciful and gracious kindness evidenced in that there is an overt warning and implicit warning through patterns that speak to all parts of the human.
      1. The Lord withholds no manner of warning so that there is no excuse and no accusation that can be leveled against the Lord for not allowing sinners to repent. 
      2. He warns explicitly in sending a prophet with a message, and he warns implicitly through patterns to be perceived so that the entire being of a human is warned.
         1. The Lord knows how he wove us together to hear and perceive, and he spares no means of communication. 
         2. It’s Pharaoh’s hardness and sin that keep him from seeing, perceiving, or even caring that the Lord’s patience is running out.
         3. There is no failure on the Lord’s part to offer mercy. 
      3. The perceptive person not only pays attention to the explicit verbal warnings, but they should be paying attention to the non-verbal patterns of life.
         1. Since the Lord is Lord over them all, he does not fail to give Pharaoh every possible opportunity to repent. 
         2. And, the Lord has spared no expense in making his offer of salvation to the whole of humanity.
            1. Hell is deserved when mankind has to walk over an empty bloody cross and pass by an empty tomb and still refuse that kind of love in order to enter hell. 
   2. So, after verbal warnings and a repeated pattern of a morning warning and a daytime warning, this third sign comes with no warning at all.
10. Pay attention! Don’t miss the grace of God. 

The Lord continues to show himself to be holy as he works his way through the Egyptian pantheon of “gods” defeating them handily. V. 16, 21

1. With the frogs in the second sign, the Lord showed his power over Heqet, the goddess of fertility who was personified as a person with either a frog head or frog limbs. 
2. In signs three and four, we continue to see the Lord display his power over these rebellious hosts who deceive Egypt and receive worship from them.
   1. What “gods” are being defeated by the Lord in signs three and four?
      1. Gnats: Geb – “god” of the earth.
         1. Geb was believed to be the “god” of the earth, and thus the Lord continues showing his power over his creation by de-creating it in making the dust of the earth become bugs and then making those bugs be all over people and animals all over the land. 
         2. The word “gnat” is an ok translation, and for some reason, most of our English translations stick with “gnat”.
            1. The actual first and most common translation of this Hebrew word is “lice”. 
            2. Whether it’s lice or South Georgia sand gnats, it’s pretty gross and annoying. 
      2. Flies: Uatchit or Kheprer or Beelzebub
         1. Identifying the deity in the Egyptian pantheon associated with the flies is a challenge.
            1. Uatchit: A particular fly that deposited its eggs on living things (ichneumon) is associated with Uatchit. 
            2. Khprer: Some say these “flies” were possibly beetles called “Scarab” and Scarab are depicted on Egyptian jewelry and monuments and mummies.
               1. These little beetles could transform animal dung into round balls they’d roll into their holes in the ground.
                  1. The Egyptians made the connection of round balls of dung to the sun, thus the Scarab became an emblem of the sun, and the sun represented eternity, then the abiding life of the soul, and eventually that led to connecting these dung balls to resurrection, and that “god” was the “god” Kheprer. 
            3. Beelzebub is “lord of the flies”.
               1. Some worshiped him as their guardian since he protected the land from flies and other natural disasters.
                  1. The New Testament identifies Beelzebub as the “prince of demons” in Luke 11:15.
                     1. Luke gives us a glimpse into Satan’s power over Egypt represented in the “lord of the flies” being worshiped as their protector and a “lord” over other demonic hosts.
      3. What is happening here in the Lord sending gnats and flies?
         1. The Lord is destroying Satan’s dark kingdom one demonic entity at a time for judgment on Egypt and Pharaoh, and for subsequent humanity to take notice that there is only One Holy Creator of all who is worthy of worship. 
3. The Lord is also shaking the faith foundation of the Egyptians by showing that Pharaoh is no “god” at all.
   1. In his de-creation of bringing chaos out of order, the Lord is coming after the misplaced faith of the Egyptians.
      1. “The Egyptians believed that Pharaoh had the power to maintain cosmic order, which they called maʿat. Maʿat was universal equilibrium, the cosmic force of harmony, order, stability, and security.”⁷ J. A. Wilson, The Burden of Egypt (Chicago: University of Chicago, 1951), p. 48. CITED IN Philip Graham Ryken and R. Kent Hughes, Exodus: Saved for God’s Glory (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2005), 241.
      2. The Lord is showing through these signs that Pharaoh is no “god” at all. 
      3. All mankind exercises faith. The question is what is the object of a person’s faith.
         1. For naturalists, their faith is rooted in themselves, money, security, and a host of other tangible items.
            1. This is just an example you can use as a pattern to help you see the objects of faith people hope in. 
         2. The Lord is displaying that he is the true God and he alone keeps order and even creates Chaos for his glory and the salvation of people if they will come to him in faith.
            1. The Lord is shaking that foundation as he reveals himself. 

The Lord shows himself holy through the limited power of the dark forces. He placed those limits on them, and they can’t surpass them. V. 18-19

1. Believe the dark forces have power and exercise it through their magic, but that power is limited.
   1. The Lord is holy. He is the creator of the hosts who rebelled against his rule, and he has them on his leash to accomplish his ends. All things living and non-living serve the Lord.
      1. Psalms 119:89-91 (ESV) 89 Forever, O LORD, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens. 90 Your faithfulness endures to all generations; you have established the earth, and it stands fast. 91 By your appointment they stand this day, for all things are your servants.
2. 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10 (ESV) 9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.

1. Make no mistake, the enemy and his dark forces of evil in the heavenly places wield a real power to perform false signs and wonders that intend to deceive. 
2. Make no mistake, they do signs and wonders, but they are false in that they can only manipulate creation. They can’t create ex nihilo and make creation obey their decrees.
   1. Satan and his dark forces have the power to rebel (Isaiah 14:12-14). 
   2. Satan and his dark forces have the power to deceive (Revelation 20:10). 
   3. Satan and his dark forces have the power to accuse (Zecharaiah 3:1). 
   4. Satan and his dark forces have the power to hold sinners captive to do his will (2 Timothy 2:26). 
   5. Satan and his dark forces have sometimes have power granted by the Lord to be a thorn to us as a means of accomplishing the Lord’s purposes (2 Corinthians 12:7; Job 2:1-7). 
3. However, Satan is not the all-powerful.
   1. The dark forces cannot create. 
   2. The dark forces cannot be omnipresent. They must travel. 
   3. The dark forces cannot redeem. 
   4. The dark forces cannot love. 
   5. The dark forces cannot be humble. 
   6. The dark forces cannot keep Israel under Pharaoh’s power. 
4. The Lord is holy, and he has creative restraints on darkness. 

A general acknowledgment of “God” is not enough. As holy, the Lord demands he be known by name not by general reference. V. 19

1. The magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.”
   1. The Magicians at least acknowledge that this sign is beyond them. That’s a good start.
      1. The Lord stated that among his purposes the Egyptians are going to know he is Yhwh. He makes this explicit in Exodus 7:5.
         1. Here, the magicians attribute this sign to the “finger of Elohim”.
            1. This is not a profession of faith.
         2. They can mean one of three things by this:
            1. Elohim is plural and is the general name used in the Old Testament to refer to the Lord by OT authors talking about Yhwh and it’s also used of other “deities”. One only knows that the authors are referring to Yhwh by context of the writing.
               1. The magicians are not referring to Yhwh. 
            2. These magicians may mean this is the work of their two brother “gods” Seth and Osiris who are constantly struggling with Horus, the “god” of heaven, for world domination in which Seth uses his finger to try and poke out Horus’ eye. (Ibid. p. 217)
               1. So, they could be attributing this sign to another of their “gods” in their pantheon.
            3. Or, they could be acknowledging this sign to be far beyond them and the work of some “higher power”. 
            4. But they are not yet acknowledging this work to be the work of Yhwh.
               1. They are still blind and deaf to the truth. 
   2. To acknowledge that they were in over their heads is good, yet it is not enough.
      1. The Lord has a name, and to attribute his work to some lesser created being is not going far enough.
         1. “God” talk without being specific is not truthful talk.
            1. It’s like if I called everyone “Chief” because I don’t know their name. 
            2. That’s not sufficient.
               1. To know someone means you get to know their name and who they are. 
            3. The Lord demands we know him, and he is near and available to be known if we will trust Jesus and follow him. 

The Lord shows puts his holiness on display in making a “redemption”. V. 22-23

1. Verse 23 says, “Thus I will put a division between my people and your people.”
   1. We translate this Hebrew word “division” like we do because it’s technically accurate and helps make sense in English as we read the story.
      1. However, this word’s first and most literal translation is redemption.
         1. It would read like thi:
            1. “Thus I will put a redemption between my people and your people.”
            2. “Division” gets more at interpretation than translation, and that’s okay.
               1. By redeeming his people, the Lord is making a division or a distinction between Egypt and Abraham’s descendants, but the Lord is doing more than just drawing the distinction.
               2. The Lord reminds them and us of something more grand. 
      2. What does this mean that the Lord made a “redemption”?
         1. Israel is just as sinful as Egypt.
            1. They are difficult and stubborn. 
            2. They are idolatrous. 
            3. They are going to want to turn around and choose slavery over freedom so they can have fish and leaks in just a little while.
         2. But, the Lord made a promise to Abraham, and his covenant with Abraham is that he will save the children of the promise, the children who are of faith (See Romans 9:8; Galatians 4:23-28).
            1. Their salvation is rooted NOT in their performance or physical descent. 
            2. This is the basis of the “division” thus “redemption”.
               1. The Lord will make another “redemption” in the desert as the people of the promise will stand out from those of the flesh as Joshua and Caleb will make clear. 
            3. Their salvation is anchored to the oath and promise of the Lord that he will save a people of the faith of Abraham and that saving is not because they had faith on their own, but because he made a promise, granted saving faith to those who chose to trust him, then saved them while they were yet sinners.
               1. The Lord’s rescue of Israel from the flies is not because they are good and will obey his word. 
               2. The Lord rescues by grace alone through faith so that salvation is never a payment for labor done, but a gift that we receive and simply give thanks for. 
         3. This means that the Lord does all the saving with no help from the one being saved.
            1. God’s sparing Israel from the flies has nothing to do with how good they are.
               1. They are a mixed crop of wheat and weeds. 
         4. This means the Lord draws a line between those who believe and those who do not believe.
            1. There are people in this building, in our city, in our state, in our nation, and in the nations of the earth who are not the Lord’s people because they have not bowed their knees in faith to Jesus. 
            2. Some belong to the Lord and some don’t.
               1. Metaphorically, there is an Israel of God and an Egypt.
                  1. The Israel of God is those Jews and Gentiles (including Egyptians) who are of the faith of Abraham because they have trusted in Jesus.
                  2. The metaphorical Egyptians of the earth are those who fall under the ownership of the dark forces of evil, are dead in their trespasses and sins, and live according to the Prince of the Power of the Air as children of disobedience, and refuse the grace of God by not believing and insisting on doing it all their way. 

As holy, the Lord will not bargain because his fame and our salvation IS at stake. V. 25-28

1. Bad subject-verb agreement, yet accurate.
   1. God’s glory and our salvation are inextricably linked. Let me explain. 
2. Pharaoh is so burdened by these signs he’s willing to let them go worship, but not leave the land as the Lord has demanded.
   1. And the Lord is not okay with Pharaoh’s offered deal.
      1. The Lord doesn’t make deals.
         1. What Pharaoh is doing is trying to hold on to his slave workforce while alleviating his pain and the pain of his people and probably saving face. 
         2. That’s not how the Lord works.
            1. He said they would know he is “I AM”, the true and living holy God of all, and leaving any room for anyone to think Pharaoh is anything other than a creature under Yhwh’s rule is unacceptable.
               1. He doesn’t get to let there be a perception he is on any place of equality with Yhwh.
               2. That would rob Yhwh of glory. 
            2. To allow for anything short of unmasking Pharaoh and the “gods” of Egypt is just not an option.
               1. For there to be anyone or anything to be allowed to falsely receive from humans any allegiance that belongs to the Lord would be to violate reality because there is no other holy Creator, and allowing such a lie is just not how the Lord works. 
            3. What is at stake is the Lord’s name and fame and our salvation.
               1. Acts 4:12 (ESV) 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
               2. Pharaoh’s option is to let Israel go. 
            4. The Lord allowing anyone or anything to stand as worthy of worship other than himelf would result in no real offer of salvation because it’s only by him and his name that people can be saved.
               1. He would be allowing a lie that would mislead people and offering no real salvation. 
               2. Therefore, when the Lord crushes false ways of salvation, he is doing a merciful thing in exalting his name and thus making the way for us to be saved.
                  1. We cannot be saved if the Lord does not exalt his name and fame and just and justifier of the one who has faith in him (See Romans 3:21-26). 

Pharaoh “cheats” again when the pain goes away. V. 29-32

1. Moses knows the pattern already.
   1. Pharaoh’s suffering eases, and his promise to let them go is taken away. 
   2. Moses prays. The Lord relieves. Pharaoh cheats. 
2. Pharaoh hardened his heart to the Lord and thus stored up more wrath for himself and his people. 

Application

1. Don’t miss the grace of God because of sin and blind, foolish unbelief.
   1. The Lord has revealed himself in creation so that people would seek his special and saving revelation of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. 
   2. The Lord revealed himself to Egyptians and Israelites alike, and some of both will resist him.
      1. A general knowledge of God is not enough. 
      2. They all saw and knew something of the Lord.
         1. Yet knowing God is mighty is not the same as bowing the knee of our wills to the heart-transforming gospel of the glory, grandeur, majesty, holiness, love, and power of Creator God Jesus Christ and living a life of repentance and faith that refuses to give up or give in to sin and rebellion. 
   3. Don’t walk over the cross in sin and unbelief to the justice of hell.
      1. There will be Israelites who experience the Passover, and the Red Sea, and will refuse to go into the Promised Land because of Giants, will want to go back to slavery for the sake of a belly full of fish and leaks, and resist the Lord’s prophets.
         1. And they’ll die in sin for their sin. 
         2. Don’t sit in this room, have fellowship with the people of God and love sin more than the Lord Jesus and one day lift your eyes in torment. 
      2. Some people will hear the good news and turn away because of some perceived injustice or wrong or misunderstanding they refuse to be set straight about.
         1. Plead with sinners to come to Jesus and live, and don’t be one who hears and walks away. 
         2. The Lord will make a “redemption”, a distinction, and it won’t be based on your church affiliation, your knowledge, your ethnicity, or your good works.
            1. The Lord will make a “redemption” based on whether or not you received his free gift of the righteousness of Jesus Christ as your own in exchange for your sin. 
      3. Repent of sin and unbelief and follow Jesus.
         1.  Hebrews 3:13-19 (ESV) 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. 15 As it is said,

“Today, if you hear his voice,

do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

16 For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? 17 And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? 19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

2. What used to be fringe conversation and speculation regarding supernatural phenomena has become mainstream cultural belief.
   1. I’ve been drawing TRC’s attention to this for years as we engage our domains, and now it’s not only mainstream it’s accepted mainstream. 
   2. As usual, Christians are tardy to the party.
      1. We live in a supernatural world with devils filled that threaten to undo us, as Martin Luther wrote in his hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”. 
      2. Satan and the forces of darkness are not myths written about in an outdated book of myths called the Bible.
         1. God’s eternal and true word has laid out the framework of the Christian worldview since he inspired it, and we should not be taken by surprise at the enemy disguising himself as an angel of light and wooing the hearts of humans into deeper allegiance to himself through petty displays of power.
            1. As naturalism/materialism breathes its last breath in the West, you can bet that more of the magician’s feats of Egypt will take the stage, and you need to be aware and call it what it is: demonic. 
   3. Know and believe that the Lord Jesus rules his supernatural world, and the most supernatural miracle of all is available to experience for free.
      1. The transformed human heart that goes from sin to righteousness or the dead heart that springs to life is new creation resurrection magic that is unparalleled.
         1. By all means, don’t deny Jesus’ magical world.
            1. Study it, enjoy it, know it, and call out the dark forces for their lies and misdirections that keep sinners in bondage to hell. 
         2. And by all means, take captive every thought and idea to destroy strongholds of false belief and make them all obey Christ. (See 2 Corinthians 10-11)