'Thereupon the Lord spoke to Moses: Speak to Aaron: Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, and it will turn into gnats throughout the land of Egypt. They did so. Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and gnats came upon human being and beast alike. All the dust of the earth turned into gnats throughout the land of Egypt. Though the magicians did the same thing to produce gnats by their magic arts, they could not do so. The gnats were on human being and beast alike, and the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” Yet Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said (Ex. 8:12-15).’
This was the third plague of the first triplet of plagues. The battle with Pharaoh, his gods, and his magicians continued. This time, God does not give Pharaoh warning before the plague. Aaron struck the dust of the earth and the dust turned into lice all throughout Egypt. The lice were on both man and beast. Geb is the ancient Egyptian god of the earth and this time neither Pharaoh’s god nor his magicians were able to turn the dust into gnats. At creation, God formed man out of dust; “The Lord God formed the man out of the dust of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being (Gen. 2:7).” Now, God showed his total control over the dust of the earth by creating a destructive force, gnats, out of the dust. He showed his superiority over Pharaoh, his magicians, and his gods when they were not able to duplicate what God did. In the book of Tobit we read, "Blessed be God who lives forever, because his kingship lasts for all ages. For he afflicts and shows mercy, casts down to the depths of Hades, brings up from the great abyss (Tobit 13:1-2)." Pharaoh's magicians confessed, "This is the finger of God." This made Pharaoh more stubborn. He has to prove that he and his gods are superior.
Almighty God, we resist many things in life and many times we stubbornly resist your will for us. Grant us the grace and wisdom to discern what is best for us in all situations and the strength to follow your guidance. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Reference:
Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, & Roland E. Murphy, (Eds.). (1990, 1968). The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentis Hall, Inc.
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