The helplessness of the lice plague

Exodus 8:16-19; 2/15/2026; BCBC/IOUC; Rev. Paul Wang

Introduction

Once the pain is gone, we forget the lesson. This seems to be a typical trait of Adam’s descendants.  The frogs were gone, and Moses had left Pharaoh to pray to the LORD to remove the plague of frogs.  When Pharaoh saw that the problem was gone, he thought to himself, ‘Maybe the frogs left because of my royal authority—perhaps they were scared off by the name of Pharaoh.’  So Pharaoh hardened his heart and refused to listen, continuing down a path of self-destruction.   Now let us look at our first point.”

Striking the dust with the staff

Gnats may be small, but there are a lot of them—and that’s what makes them unbearable.  In fact, in our daily lives, we usually look down on gnats and don’t take them seriously, right?  If you walk through the fields and open land in Texas, it’s almost inevitable that you’ll get bitten by gnats.  And then what happens?  We start to feel annoyed. Maybe even resentful.   At the very least, we complain a little—don’t we?  First, thanksgiving before God.  That sounds strange, doesn’t it?  Giving thanks in all circumstances includes even being bitten by gnats.  Big things are easier for us to understand and to pray about with gratitude.  But faith is actually made up of thousands of small things—would you agree?  Daniel sitting unharmed in the lion’s den—that sounds glorious.  It’s powerful to share, impressive to tell.  But Pharaoh never imagined that the God of Moses would use something as small as gnats to confront mighty Egypt—and even the supreme Pharaoh himself.  And what about the elders of Israel?  Would they also forget to give thanks and praise to God because of something as small as gnats?  This is exactly what Scripture means when it says: if we are unfaithful in small things, we will not be entrusted with great things.”

Second, striking the dust of the ground.  When a person is proud in heart, he cannot see the work of God.  Perhaps the Israelites were still waiting for the LORD to move mountains and part seas.  They never expected to see Moses instruct Aaron to strike the dust of the ground with his staff.  Dust is the lowest and most insignificant thing in this world.  And yet, people so easily forget that God created man from the dust.  Human beings are either ignorant or forgetful—we constantly forget God’s grace and His power.  When David looked at the heavens and all that God had made, he said, “What is mankind that You are mindful of them, human beings that You care for them?” (Psalm 8:4)  Perhaps this is one of the greatest ironies of human life:  God does not despise us because of our smallness, yet people despise God because of the way He works.

Finally, it was all by God’s command.  One thing the Israelites might have still overlooked is this:  striking the dust and bringing forth the gnats—it was God’s work!  This is not my opinion; the Bible plainly says it: “This is what the LORD commanded Moses.”  You might ask, how do I know it was God’s doing?  We know it today simply by reading Scripture.  But if God had placed you or me in Moses’ time, how would we know?  The prophet Micah gives us the answer: “He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)  Now, let us look at our second point.

Turning the dust of the ground into gnats

Who can tell me, where do gnats come from?  Scientists might give us a biological explanation, but today the Bible gives us the answer: the LORD ‘made the dust throughout the land of Egypt become gnats.’  First, the power of obedience.  We might overlook something very important: the essence of dust turning into gnats depended on the obedience of both Aaron and Moses—neither could be missing.  Why?  Think about it: dust becoming gnats is completely irrational, isn’t it?  First, the LORD spoke to Moses.  Moses didn’t doubt; he believed, he fully trusted without hesitation.  If Moses had any doubt, or even a small lack of faith, he could not have carried out his mission to Aaron.  If Moses spoke hesitantly or uncertainly,  Aaron would have thought, ‘If even Moses doesn’t believe what the LORD says, how could it be true?’  Then Aaron’s execution would be weakened; he might just go through the motions, lift the staff halfheartedly, and maybe not even strike the dust.

Second, it came to pass just like that.  We can see from Scripture that Moses did not cut corners, and Aaron did not hesitate.  God said it, they did it—and it happened exactly as commanded!  And it was completely unreasonable: “He struck the dust of the ground, and it became gnats on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt.”  Someone might ask, “How does striking dust make gnats appear?”  Even more incredible: these gnats obeyed God—they went wherever He told them. How is that even possible?  No matter who you are, in that moment, seeing this scene, who could fail to give glory and praise to God?  What’s terrifying is this: “the dust throughout all the land of Egypt became gnats.”   Goosebumps, right?

 

Finally, the sorcery failed.  Pharaoh’s reliance was his pride and his magicians and sorcerers. What were they doing?  Of course, they were just trying to imitate!  Their logic was: “Whatever Aaron and Moses can do, we must be able to do too.”  In the first two plagues—water turning to blood, frogs covering the land of Egypt—the magicians were able to replicate the acts, and Pharaoh took pride in them.  But this time, their magic failed.  The Bible says: “The magicians tried to produce gnats by their secret arts, but they could not.”  At this point, Pharaoh should have felt uneasy.  He must have been thinking: “Why is my source of power powerless?  The God of Moses can do this, yet our Egyptian gods can do nothing!”  Now, let us look at the third point.

Pharaoh hardened his heart

Regarding Pharaoh’s hardened heart, you might have questions or feel confused—but really, there’s no need. We can receive it simply by faith.  First, the testimony of the magicians.  The failure of Egypt’s magicians was a direct blow to Pharaoh’s pride.  At the critical moment, the Egyptian sorcery could not produce gnats.  The magicians were anxious, but there was nothing they could do.  They had to report back to Pharaoh.  So the Bible says: “The magicians said to Pharaoh, ‘This is the finger of God.’”  This was the ultimate verdict.  It showed the incomparable difference between Egypt’s false gods and the LORD God.  The magicians finally admitted their own smallness and powerlessness. “This is the finger of God” meant: whatever we Egyptian magicians do is human effort at best, or at most the work of evil spirits. The implied message was clear: “Pharaoh, don’t get proud—you’re defeated!”

Second, the essence of a hardened heart.  Pharaoh didn’t fail to understand—he simply refused to admit it, and even less, refused to accept his inevitable defeat.  Why?  How can anyone be so foolish?  Actually, the Bible calls this kind of person a fool.  The Bible has different ways of describing fools, so we can’t just lump them together.  If you are simply ignorant, you can be called naive.  A fool, as the Bible mostly describes, is someone whose nature is foolish.  If it reaches the point of stubbornness, the Bible calls you a reckless person.  Those who resist God are obstinate.  For someone like Pharaoh—proud and arrogant—the Bible calls him a blasphemer.  Pharaoh’s foolishness came from not knowing God.  He even said to Moses: “Who is the LORD?”

Finally, within God’s omniscience.  After Pharaoh showed Moses that he refused to acknowledge God, his fate was already set.  The order of events doesn’t really matter, because God knows everything!  From the Bible’s account, Pharaoh indeed refused God first, and God’s declaration came afterward: “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart” (Exodus 7:3).  This was both a declaration and a forecast: “But Pharaoh will not listen to you, and I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders, and bring out my people, the Israelites, from Egypt” (Exodus 7:4).  Even so, God still gave countless opportunities for Pharaoh to know Him.  Even while He stretched out His hand to punish Egypt,  God left a chance for grace: “the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD” (Exodus 7:5).

Conclusion

Praise the Lord!  So far, the first three plagues have been gentle and limited—God is still waiting for the Egyptians to repent.  Aaron striking the dust with his staff, producing countless gnats, depended entirely on Moses’ authority and Aaron’s simple obedience—neither could be missing!  Also, giving thanks in all things helps us understand God’s heart even in the small and humble details.  Gnats may be tiny, but within them we see God’s great plan, God’s grace, God’s omniscience, and opportunities for the growth of our spiritual life!

 

Let us pray together……

 

16 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, so that it may become gnats in all the land of Egypt.’”

17 And they did so. 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 in all the land of Egypt.

18 The magicians tried by their secret arts to produce 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 would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.