Here a Gnat, There a Gnat, Everywhere a Gnat

O.T. #151  "Here a Gnat, There a Gnat, Everywhere a Gnat"
Oct. 19, 2013
Exodus 8-Part 2
Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God; and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.  Exodus 8:19

LET IT GLOW

Plague #3 Gnats

When we lived in the flatlands of our state, in rice country where water was standing in the fields, mosquitoes were everywhere, especially at dusk and evening time. They were so bad at biting us, the boys at our church could not play basketball outside because of them. If you mowed the lawn, you better spray repellent on you. We did not have outdoor evening activities or picnics because of them. In fact, trucks would spray the ditches of standing water to kill them. What a nuascience(misspelled). Their bites would itch until something was put on it. How terrible it must have been for the Egyptians. Here a gnat, there a gnat, everywhere a gnat or mosquito.

The first plague upon Egypt was water turned into blood for a week; the second plague was frogs for one day. The first two plagues had warnings, but the third plague was not. There was no forewarning before the third, sixth, and ninth plagues.

The third plague was that of turning the dust of the land into lice. The word lice is generally taken to be a type of stinging gnat quiet common to the vicinity of marshlands near the Nile River. (Falwell)

The Hebrew word translated "gnats" or "lice" was used to name a tiny, black insect that would penetrate the nostrils and ears of its victims and sting them. They covered man and beast. (Swindoll)

These tiny, stinging gnats were barely visible to the naked eye. The Egyptian deity was called Hathor, and/or Nut. (MacArthur)

What a horrible thing for the people to endure. Remember, Jehovah God was showing His power is stronger than the Egyptian gods.
Are there little things, sins, that we do that keep us from serving God to our fullest?


LET IT GROW

When the Egyptian magicians could not duplicate this, they exclaimed to Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God." Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not listen to anyone. The Word doesn't say how long the gnats lasted.

David Guzik had this to say about the third plague:

This plague struck at the heart of all the Egyptian worship, especially the priests. They were extremely scrupulous about hygiene and ritual cleansing and an infestation of lice made them unable to worship their gods.

This plague was also upon every beast. The gods of Egypt would not receive the sacrifice of lice-infested animals, so this stopped their sacrificial system.

Satan's power was limited when the magicians would not duplicate the plague. They knew there was a power greater than their own, yet it wasn't a power they honored nor served.

Pharaoh did not even heed the analysis of his own advisers.

Do we take advice from our preachers, from the Word of God?
Do we recognize when the hand of God is on our life?

Another time someone saw the hand of God was in Daniel 5 after Belshazzar took the vessels from the sacred Temple of God.

LET IT GO

Look for the hand of God in my life.

Don't let little things bother me.

Confess those "little" sins.