Exodus 8:16-19 (The Plague of Lice)

Exodus 8:16-19
The Plague of Lice

The day before typing this sermon, a friend on Facebook named Taylor posted to me something that I’d missed during my sermon on Exodus 3. I’m not going back that way again, but I hate not sharing everything about a passage that I can. So I’m including his words in today’s sermon because they fit with this sermon.

At the time that Moses stood before the burning bush, I gave several reasons for why the Lord asked Moses to take off his sandals. I then noted that the only other time this was seen in the Bible was in Joshua 5. I gave reasons for this and how the two accounts contrast and yet they confirm a message at the same time.

When Taylor watched that sermon, he thought about it and the Lord led Him to another picture, a prophetic picture, which I had completely missed. He noted that the first and second advents of Christ are pictured in these two accounts.

On His first advent, He came as the Giver of instruction (Torah) to redeem and separate his people from the world. The next time He comes it will be as the Lord of Hosts, to take His people into the Promised Land. And this is absolutely correct.

Moses was the human giver of instruction and redeemer of His people. Likewise, Joshua was the human commander of the armies of Israel who led them into the Promised Land. And so these two accounts provide a prophetic picture of Christ’s two advents.

I thought this was a great insight and it also fits well with the ongoing theme of the plagues of Exodus. Each of the plagues is designed to build upon the next and to lead to the ultimate redemption of Israel. When they are redeemed, they’ll go to Sinai to receive their instruction. And eventually they will head for the land of promise.

We as Christians have been redeemed. We have also received our instruction in the pages of the Bible. Eventually, we’ll be brought into the land of promise. Until we get there though, we should be learning all we can about the precious book He has given us.

Text Verse: “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12

What a true statement this is! Pharaoh had been given the word of God verbally several times. He has also seen the proofs of it realized in plagues upon His land. Today, no word will be given to him in advance of the plague, but the plague will speak for itself, proving its divine source.

But it will also be a source of hardening, not softening, of Pharaoh’s heart. I have to tell you, someone who can hear the word of the Lord, see it analyzed and reanalyzed and see something new come out of it every day, and still not have it change their heart is just asking for grief.

I missed those prophetic pictures of Christ in Exodus and Joshua, even though they were as evident as the nose on my face. Instead of hardening my heart, they make me want to believe the Lord even more. Pharaoh on the other hand, like so many people in the world today, takes just the opposite view. It is a view which can only lead to destruction.

Before that time comes, I would hope that many would open their eyes and see the glory of the Lord revealed in this precious superior word. Maybe somebody will today! And so let’s head to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. Stretch Out Your Rod (Verse 16)

16 So the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your rod,

This is now the third time that Aaron is instructed by the Lord through Moses to stretch out his rod. The first was over the waters of Egypt, over their streams, over their rivers, over their ponds, and over all their pools of water, that they may become blood. When he did, the waters became blood.

The next time was over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds. This caused frogs to come up on the land. Now something new will come about. As we saw concerning the frogs, they were a logical and natural outcropping of the waters having turned to blood. And yet, there was the miraculous involved as well.

This is especially so because the record shows that the frogs came when Aaron stretched out his rod and they departed at the time that Pharaoh had designated when requested by Moses. And so even if the plagues were natural, there is still the supernatural involved. Only the Lord could so minutely direct events such as these.

The next plague very well could be a natural result of the multiplication and then death of the frogs as well.

16 (con’t) and strike the dust of the land,

Instead of merely stretching the rod out over the waters, a forceful action is instructed – “strike the dust of the land.” It is a demonstration of purpose and intent and it signifies that this third plague will come not from the waters, but from the land.

This then is to be an attack on the Egyptian god Set, the god of the desert, and another god of Egypt I’ll mention in a while. It is then to be a lesson that Yehovah is not merely God over the waters, but He is also God over the land. Among the ancients, there was often a misperception concerning the nature of God. He isn’t just a mere god over one thing and not another.

He isn’t just a god over one group of people, but over all people. And he isn’t only a god over one location, but over all places. He is absolutely sovereign over all things. It was a common misperception which is highlighted throughout the Old Testament.

In 1 Kings 20, Ben Hadad, king of Syria, came against Israel in battle. He was sorely defeated by them and returned home to Syria. Upon his return, and in preparation for another battle, his servants told him why they thought they were defeated the first time –

“Then the servants of the king of Syria said to him, ‘Their gods are gods of the hills. Therefore they were stronger than we; but if we fight against them in the plain, surely we will be stronger than they. 24 So do this thing: Dismiss the kings, each from his position, and put captains in their places; 25 and you shall muster an army like the army that you have lost, horse for horse and chariot for chariot. Then we will fight against them in the plain; surely we will be stronger than they.'” 1 Kings 20:23-25

If you read the account, you’ll see that the Syrians found out that they were once again, incorrect. Rather, they suffered a second great defeat. Likewise, later in 2 Kings 20, after the exile of Israel from the land because of disobedience, the king of Assyria brought people into the land of Israel from other countries to settle there. However, when they were brought in, we read what occurred –

“And it was so, at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they did not fear the Lord; therefore the Lord sent lions among them, which killed some of them. 26 So they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, ‘The nations whom you have removed and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the rituals of the God of the land; therefore He has sent lions among them, and indeed, they are killing them because they do not know the rituals of the God of the land.’ 27 Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, ‘Send there one of the priests whom you brought from there; let him go and dwell there, and let him teach them the rituals of the God of the land.’ 28 Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the Lord.” 2 Kings 17:25-28

In the first account, there was the misperception that Yehovah was the god of the hills and not of the plains. In the second, there was the misperception that the Lord was only the Lord of the Land of Israel.

Misunderstanding God’s nature can lead to all sorts of problems. However, no matter whether He is misunderstood or understood, He uses the matter to effect His purposes. One more exceptional case such as these comes from the books of Isaiah, Chronicles, and Ezra.

Isaiah, writing long before the exile of Israel to Babylon, made a prophecy concerning their return. In one of the most profound prophecies of the Old Testament, he twice mentioned King Cyrus of Persia by name, even saying that it would be Cyrus who would rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. That is recorded in Isaiah 44 –

“Who confirms the word of His servant,
And performs the counsel of His messengers;
Who says to Jerusalem, ‘You shall be inhabited,’
To the cities of Judah, ‘You shall be built,’
And I will raise up her waste places;
27 Who says to the deep, ‘Be dry!
And I will dry up your rivers’;
28 Who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd,
And he shall perform all My pleasure,
Saying to Jerusalem, “You shall be built,”
And to the temple, “Your foundation shall be laid.”’ Isaiah 44:26-28

In the next chapter, he continues with his words concerning Cyrus and ends with this thought –

I have raised him up in righteousness,
And I will direct all his ways;
He shall build My city
And let My exiles go free,
Not for price nor reward,”
Says the Lord of hosts. Isaiah 45:13

It is believed that Cyrus was informed of this prophecy which bore his own name and it so moved him that he agreed to its terms, thus fulfilling the prophecy about him because it was a prophecy about him. The words of fulfillment are so important that they close out the book of 2 Chronicles and they are repeated at the beginning of the book of Ezra –

“Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying,
23 Thus says Cyrus king of Persia:
All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. Who is among you of all His people? May the Lord his God be with him, and let him go up!” 2 Chronicles 36:22, 23

Cyrus realized that the Yehovah is the God of heaven. He rules not only over portions of the earth such as the water, the hills, the land of Israel, or the Middle East, but He also rules over all of the earth and the heavens too. And not only does He rule over them in time, but beyond time. He rules over the future as well as the present.

The prophecy which named him showed him these things. Unlike Cyrus, a different approach is taken towards Pharaoh. God could have named Pharaoh in advance by the mouth of Abraham and explained what he should do. But a different course is taken in Egypt because a different outcome is needed.

Every detail of history is being carefully guided for a specific outcome. In the case of Pharaoh, it is to harden his heart so that the mighty deeds of the Lord might be magnified. And these deeds aren’t just given to show us how the Lord worked in the past, but how He will work again in the future.

16 (con’t) so that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.’”

As simple as these words seem, the one word which defines the plague, kinnim, translated here as “lice,” cannot be definitively identified. It is used only six times in the Bible. Five of them are in these three verses, and the sixth is in Psalm 105, which is speaking of these verses.

Because of the word’s difficult nature, it is viewed by scholars in a variety of ways – lice, gnats, mosquitoes, or ticks. Each view has its interesting possibilities. But to determine which, it would be good to look again at the natural order of how plagues occur.

The river turned to blood and frogs become prolific. If the frogs died out in an immense quantity, then there would be a logical outcropping from that. Again, this doesn’t deny the miraculous nature of the event. Rather, it follows the natural progression of what God has instilled in nature.

At the same time, the fact that God designed nature means that He would know when the plagues would come about. His instructions to Moses and Aaron are given at the time when these would occur. Thus, just as will be seen with the parting of the Red Sea, there is still a miraculous element to the plague.

With the river having been turned to blood, which in turn would lead to all sorts of unsanitary conditions, and that being followed with a plague of frogs which would lead to even worse conditions, it is not unthinkable that such a plague would arise.

The question is, “Which is most likely.” Although there is strong evidence for it being mosquitoes, it is known that they breed in the water, not on the land. Therefore, although some very great scholars have chosen this, I would shy away from it. Aaron was told to strike the dust of the earth, not the waters.

Adam Clarke gives a good argument for it being ticks, but he is a lone voice on that and it doesn’t seem like a natural outcropping of unsanitary conditions. Gnats do result from that though and so they seem like a good possibility. Unlike mosquitoes, their larvae are found on the land, particularly moist soils.

After they mature and begin to fly, they have been noted to appear as clouds of dust as they fly as well. Therefore, gnats are an acceptable possibility, but I do feel there is one which is better. What seems most likely is that it is, in fact, lice – just as the NKJV renders it.

Lice are small, as if they themselves were dust. In fact, when you look at them on someone’s head, they appear almost like sand or dandruff on the scalp, at least until you see them moving around. They are also extremely prolific. Adam Clarke notes that –

“In the space of twelve days a full-grown female lays one hundred eggs, from which, in the space of six days, about fifty males and as many females are produced. In eighteen days these young females are at their full growth, each of which may lay one hundred eggs, which will be all hatched in six days more. Thus, in the course of six weeks, the parent female may see 5,000 of its own descendants! So mightily does this scourge of indolence and filthiness increase!

Therefore, not only does their size appear as the dust, but their numbers can as well. A large plague of lice would appear as though the very dust itself had come alive. The 17th century Bible scholar Samuel Bochart gives several convincing reasons for the plague to have been just this, lice

“1. Because those in question sprang from the dust of the earth, and not from the waters. 2. Because they were both on men and cattle, which cannot be spoken of gnats. 3. Because their name comes from the radix כון kun, which signifies to make firm, fix, establish, which can never agree to gnats, flies, etc., which are ever changing their place, and are almost constantly on the wing. 4. Because כנה kinnah is the term by which the Talmudists express the louse, etc.” Samuel Bochart via Adam Clarke

His logic is certainly worthy of note and it will seem to be born out by the wording of the coming two verses.

Does God love me? This I want to know
Yes, He does, it is certain and true
But love is not all of who God is
There are things that He expects from me and you

There must be faith in Him and what He has done
In order for Him to reward us with His love
He asks us to trust in the work of Jesus, His only begotten Son
In order for us to walk with Him in the heavens above

If we refuse to receive this, and instead harden our heart
Should we expect Him to overlook such a thing?
His word teaches us such lessons, wisdom it does impart
And in following its words, happiness it will bring

II. Lice on Man and Beast (verse 17)

17 And they did so.

In obedience to the word of the Lord, and without any seeming hesitation or worry that the plague may not actually occur, they are noted as having followed through with the command. And, unlike the previous two plagues, this one has occurred without any given warning.

It can therefore be considered a direct judgment on Pharaoh for having hardened his heart after the plague of frogs. As absolutely sure evidence that it was the Lord that directed the frogs, Pharaoh himself was given the honor of choosing the selected time of their demise.

When it occurred, exactly as spoken, he should have humbled himself, but instead, when there was relief, he took the other path and further hardened his heart. Thus, this plague is given without warning as a penalty for his arrogant, hard heart, and for his failure to submit to the will of the Lord.

As was seen in an earlier sermon, the first nine plagues are divided into three distinct groups. Advance warnings are given in the first two of the plagues of the specific group, but when the third plague comes, it is without previous notice.

That is the case with this plague, which is the third. It will also be the case with the sixth plague of boils and the ninth plague of darkness.

17 (con’t) For Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod and struck the dust of the earth

Again it is noted that it is “the dust of the earth” which is struck. The specific details of this verse and the previous verse really seem to preclude the notion of mosquitoes. Further, we were told that after the plague of frogs, the frogs of the river still remained

As this is so, there were plenty of natural predators to consume the mosquito larvae. Although mosquitoes are considered at times horrendous along the Nile, they are water born insects, not land-born. Aaron is said to have struck the dust and the result follows..

17 (con’t) and it became lice on man and beast

As the Lord spoke, the plague occurs. Lice became so numerous that they literally covered both man and beast. Having read numerous articles on lice, it is evident that this is more than possible. There are various types of lice, and they are known to cover humans, clinging especially to any spot of hair on the body.

They also will cover household pets and outdoor animals such as horses, goats, and whatever other livestock they can cling to. They carry diseases and they can be a painful nuisance for any who are infected with them. What probably happened is that the millions of frogs ate whatever predators lice have and upset the life cycle, allowing them to bloom in great numbers

This plague would have been most unwelcome to the Egyptian people because they prided themselves on cleanliness. The writer Herodotus even notes that the “priests were wont to shave or scrape their whole bodies every third day, lest any lice should breed upon them.” (Benson)

Maybe they started this practice after the plagues we are seeing! To have these crawling all over them would be miserable. But it is not unlikely because of the immense lack of hygiene which would have resulted from the death of the frogs. Also, it is the wording of this verse which seems to indicate lice rather than gnats.

It says ba’adam u-ba’behemah – “in man and in beast.” The description is more readily identified with lice than it is with gnats. Lice cling and chewy chew. Gnats come and go and only stop to nibble. Regardless of which it truly is, they came in numbers beyond imagination, and they covered both people and animals.

17 (con’t) All the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt.

The term kal aphar ha’aretz, or “all the dust (of) the land” has to be taken as a form of hyperbole. This type of speech is more than common in the Bible. Both testaments, and in many varying contexts, use the term “all” to indicate a vast number, but not specifically meaning literally “all.”

When John the Baptist came, he baptized the people for repentance. In the Gospel of Mark, we are told this and it is noted in the hyperbolic form “all” –

“John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.” Mark 1:4, 5

Twice, in one account, it says “all.” First, “all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem” and then “all” were baptized by him. If taken literally, then all of the people from those areas, meaning every one of them, were baptized. But in Luke 7, we read this –

“And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John. 30 But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.” Luke 7:29, 30

The Pharisees and the lawyers, though being inhabitants of Judea and Jerusalem, were not baptized. Therefore, we always need to be careful to consider what words like “all” and “every” mean in their intended context. In the case of the ten plagues, it is not to be taken that literally all of the dust became lice. Rather, it is a superlative way of noting the immensity of the plague.

And there is a reason for this. The plague fell upon the earth which itself was considered a deity, even the father of the gods. They held sacred “the black fertile soil of the basin of the Nile, called Chemi, from which the ancient name of Egypt is supposed to be derived.” (Barnes)

Therefore, the Lord is exalting His name and power above this false god, Chemi, of the created order as well as Set, god of the desert, who I mentioned earlier. The Egyptians had come to worship the ground under their feet instead of raising their eyes to the Lord. Now that ground would appear to come alive with rage upon them for their spiritual harlotry.

Again, as I’ve said, I personally believe this plague is a natural outcropping of a logical sequence of events. It involves one plague leading to the next as nature unfolds in its normal way. And yet, there is still the note of the miraculous as well. Adam Clarke, based on the writing of an earlier scholar named Calmet, also discerned this process when he said –

“…it may be observed, that God never works a miracle when the end can be accomplished by merely natural means; and in the operations of Divine providence we always find that the greatest number of effects possible are accomplished by the fewest causes.” Adam Clarke

This is an important consideration because Pharaoh could perceive the natural and thus reject the supernatural. The same will be true in the plagues of the end times. Though they have been predicted in advance, they will probably come about by natural or man-made occurrences, radiation, chemicals, meteorites, and the like.

The miraculous is that God foresees the event and gives us advanced notice of it, just as He did with Cyrus, king of Persia. Cyrus could have said, “That is just four letters which could be speaking of anybody with a similar name!” Instead, he heard the word and he believed.

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Many, like Pharaoh also hear, and yet they refuse to accept the truth presented to them. In the end, such will suffer both regret and torment.

Once the dead frogs were gone and the stink faded away
We thought that things would again be pretty nice
But we sure thought wrong what we thought on that day
This is just disgusting! We’re all covered in lice

We itch all over and our animals are all covered too
Our beds are inundated with them as well
I guess shaving man and beast is what we have to do
We’ll all look a bit silly for a spell

But that sure is better than being covered with lice
It will be great when every one of them dies
We won’t be itchy and life will be so nice
Ikh! The only thing worse than lice would be a plague of flies

III. The Finger of God (verses 18 & 19)

18 Now the magicians so worked with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not.

The same expression is used here as was used in 7:22 – “and did so the magicians.” It doesn’t mean they actually were able to do so, but that they tried to do so. Saying something in a definite manner can mean “attempt to do this thing” as well as actually do it.

In Matthew 7:13, it says, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.” But in Luke 13:24, the same words are rendered as, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.”

Jesus uses the definite term in Matthew to indicate that an attempt should be made. In the case of the Egyptians, they did so, “but they could not.” What it means is that they did what Aaron did, but they didn’t achieve the same results as he did.

This also more clearly explains the “all” of the previous verse, which said, “All the dust of the land became lice.” If all of it had, then they would have no dust to try the same miracle. It is beyond credibility to think that they couldn’t perform the sign because there was no dust for them to try. If that were the case, the Bible wouldn’t have noted them trying.

One scholar went so far as to say that they made dust first by taking moist earth, drying it out, and pounding it until it was dust. That is an immense amount of thought to insert into a verse which is plain on its surface. The superlative “all” is used even though it doesn’t literally mean “all.”

18  (con’t) So there were lice on man and beast.

There is more than not being able to reproduce the miracle. There is also the reality of the lice which came forth. They covered both man and beast and the magicians had no control over them. They could no more get rid of them than they could produce them. The plague had begun and it would run its course without their ability to bring it to an end.

19 Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.”

With their inability to reproduce the miracle, they realized that they have been outmatched. In the past, they could reproduce the event that the Lord had originated, even if it was on a smaller level and even if they couldn’t end what He had begun. But now, they cannot even repeat the thing.

The tricks up their sleeves had come to an end. They may have assumed to this point that Moses and Aaron were just exceptionally good magicians, but now they see there is a difference in both magnitude and accomplishment. And so they proclaim to Pharaoh etsbah elohim hi.

Translations universally say “the finger of God,” but because these priests are polytheists, it doesn’t mean that they have yet accepted the premise of one God. Rather, they could be claiming Yehovah is merely “a” god, rather than “the” God. The word elohim allows either.

This God, Yehovah, who they have come to know is not one of their gods, but to them He may still be just another of many gods. All they know at this point is that what they have seen has come from a force greater than what they can conjure up on their own.

No matter what they were thinking though, the use of the word “finger” is notable for a few reasons. So far, 2500 years of human history have been recorded and yet this is the first time a finger is mentioned in the Bible. And even more, it is used in a metaphorical rather than a literal sense.

To us, the idea of a finger is that it accomplishes things, it points out things, and it indicates the source of power. The finger leads to the hand which is used for swearing. Swearing implies an oath and thus authority. It implies power, to both fend off and to hold.

The hand leads to the arm which is used to indicate strength – strength to destroy and strength to save. All of this, and much more is seen in the Bible concerning these body parts. The priests here acknowledge that the source of what has occurred is from another realm, represented by the finger.

This concept will be seen again in both testaments of the Bible, ascribing the sovereign and omnipotent power of God to the work of His fingers. In Psalm 8, we read this –

“When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained.” Psalm 8:3

And in Luke 11:19, 20, we find these words of Jesus –

“And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 20 But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.”

When the Ten Commandments were written, it was with the finger of God. And when the leaders of Israel were about to stone a woman for adultery, it was the finger of the Lord writing in the sand which withheld their intent for her demise.

The power of the finger is not to be underestimated, especially the finger of God. But for some, there is a lack of understanding the full implication of the work which is wrought by that awesome appendage of Yehovah.

The finger of the Lord is attached to a strong hand, and that in turn is attached to an outstretched arm, ready to work even greater miracles in the midst of Egypt. Pharaoh just doesn’t realize it yet. We see this as verse 19 continues…

19 (con’t) But Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them,

The words of his magicians do not reflect the certainty of one God. There is no definite article in front of the word God and there is no other descriptor attached to Him other than that the deed was by elohim’s finger.

Pharaoh has already seen two supposed demonstrations of the ability to replicate God’s miracles. Just because one attempt has failed is not enough to convince him that He is superior in all ways. Rather, for all Pharaoh knows, He may be inferior in other ways.

For him, it has probably been an uncomfortable plague, but not one of sufficient magnitude to cause him the loss of an entire group of people under his authority. The Lord has successfully worked in the life of Pharaoh in a way which has caused him to harden his heart to the things of God. And we know this is so because of our final words of today…

*19 (con’t) just as the Lord had said.

ka’asher dibber Yehovah – “as spoke the Lord.” These words along with the ones just before them are an exact repeat of Exodus 7:13 –

“But Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, just as the Lord had said.”

The heart of Pharaoh has been passively hardened by the Lord, not actively. That is what is implied here. He has shown His glory in small steps rather than in one great act. Because of this, Pharaoh has become more, not less, obstinate in his attitude toward Him.

It is true that the Lord may have prompted Pharaoh to hardening, but the fault and the sentence for the action remains solely with him. The magicians have acknowledged the finger of God in the matter, whatever that meant to them. And so, by rejecting what the plague has made plainly known, Pharaoh has now placed himself on the level of that same elohim.

This is what the antichrist will do in the future as he leads the world to inevitable destruction. And this is what many individuals willingly do every day of their lives. God has made himself known to His creatures through His creation. But we suppress that truth in our unrighteous minds.

Pharaoh only added to his guilt in this matter because he not only rejected natural evidence, but he has rejected three instances of supernatural evidence. And maybe there is someone like Pharaoh here today. We have been given not only the natural truths of God in the timing of the stars and in the intricacy of DNA, but we have been given the supernatural truths of God as well.

We have the evident truths of revealed prophecy. We have the Jew who, beyond all possibility, has survived and flourished, just as the Bible said they would. We have the evidence of God revealed in changed lives and restored families. And even more we have His sure word.

In every reasonable evidence for there being a God, there is only an unreasonable response by the unbeliever that there is no God. Let us not be like Pharaoh in this regard. Instead, let us soften our hearts and simply acknowledge His greatness.

Let us welcomingly receive the knowledge that He imparts to us. And let us bow our knee and receive His greatest Gift of all, the salvation of our souls through the work of His Son, our Lord Jesus. If you have never understood the need for Jesus in your life, please give me just another moment to explain it to you now…

Closing Verse: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.” Romans 1:18, 19

Next Week: Exodus 8:20-32 (The Plague of Flies) (24th Exodus Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. Even if a deep ocean lies ahead of You, He can part the waters and lead you through it on dry ground. So follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

Not so Nice, It’s a Plague of Lice

So the Lord said to Moses, as he had before spoken twice
“Say to Aaron ‘Stretch out your rod
And strike the dust of the land, so that it may become lice
Throughout all the land of Egypt, wherever people trod

And they did so, for Aaron stretched out his hand
With his rod and struck the dust of the earth
And it became lice on man and beast throughout the land
Surely anguished cries replaced any sounds of mirth

All the dust of the land became lice
Throughout all the land of Egypt
Things had turned not so nice

Now the magicians so worked with their enchantments
To bring forth lice, but they could not
So there were lice on man and beast
In all of Egypt, yes, in every spot

Then the magicians said to Pharaoh
“This is the finger of God, not just a trick instead
But Pharaoh’s heart grew hard as we know
And he did not heed them, just as the Lord had said

The plagues of Egypt were severe upon the land
But worse things are coming upon the earth
From the Bible, someday, we understand
That the world will be plunged into horrible dearth

There will be great plagues and famines too
War and death will be found everywhere
But to escape this terrifying time, I’ll tell you what to do
Call on Jesus to save you, and He will, right then and there

His coming judgment is because of a world gone astray
We ignore Him, like a radio – tuning Him out
And things cannot forever go on this way
Instead of faith and trust, there is only uncaring and doubt

People, let us turn our hearts back to the Lord
Let us give Him the rightful glory that He is due
He has shown us what is proper in His word
And He even sent Jesus to save me and you

Let us hold fast to Him, cherishing Him all of our days
And let us never fail to give Him all of our praise

Hallelujah and Amen…

 

 

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