And Jehovah said to Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy staff, and smite the dust of the earth, and it shall become gnats throughout the land of Egypt.
The third plague falls on Egypt with no warning. Aaron strikes the dust with his staff, and the ground itself becomes a torment for man and beast. Two questions follow. Why did God stop warning Pharaoh? And why did the magicians, who had copied Moses before, fail here?
This plague arrives without any warning. One writer ties that silence to what Pharaoh did after the frogs died.
Would Pharaoh then yield and obey the command of the Divine Being? He would not. The frogs died, and Pharaoh hardened, or made heavy, his heart. But "who has hardened himself against Him and succeeded?" (Job 9:4). So said Job, and Pharaoh was no exception... God was not going to trifle with the monarch. He was in earnest. Pharaoh was to know that. So now, without any warning, a fresh plague was to come.
Translations differ here — older versions read "lice," the ESV "gnats." The Hebrew word is uncertain. For one writer, a single detail settles it: where the creatures ended up.
Lice — in Hebrew, ken, kinnam. The dust of the land became lice in man and in beast. Some have supposed that the word means gnats, because the Greek Septuagint has skniphes, which some translate "mosquito-gnats." But gnats may belong to the next plague. More probably the word means the louse or the tick. The account describes them as "in man and in beast."
Egypt's magicians had matched Moses before. At the dust they stopped, and the reason lies in what this miracle was.
This was done by Aaron on behalf of Moses and the trying plague came to pass. At this point the magicians of Egypt were baffled. Out of the dead dust the living lice had come. Only God can bring life out of death. They could only confess, "This is the finger of God," and retire from the contest. From this point we hear of no more attempts to belittle the acts of God by satanic power.
This failure marks out something wider — how far evil power can go when God permits it, and where it hits a wall.
We may ask how far the devil can work miracles. If God allows it, as in Egypt, I know of no limit to his use of natural laws, or to his producing appearances... but beyond nature or deception they cannot go — create a louse, and Satan's instruments are at their limit (Exodus 8:16-18). God alone can create... Satan uses power by a lesser power, inside the created world. He cannot go beyond changing it, and he cannot even do that whenever he wants.
Egypt worshipped the earth as a god, so striking the dust attacked that god. Writers differ over the magicians' reply: some render it "the finger of God," others "the finger of a god."
Until now the magicians had successfully withstood Moses by imitating him. So they called on their gods, lifted up their rods, and struck the dust. But Seb, the Earth, could not help them — Seb, who carried on him the emblem of life-giving in the bird that lays the egg. Confusion covered them, and everyone could see their folly. "This is the finger of a god," they said — that is, of some being greater than the gods they had turned to. They admitted a power above their own.
Scripture links dust with death and with man's frailty. One writer reads God's choice of material as a verdict.
Dust is often connected in Scripture with death — "the dust of death" (Ps. 22:15). "Dust to dust" was the original verdict which stamped man with vanity... With this plague, we have a striking picture of what the world is — under Satan's rule, God cast off, corrupt through lust, death hanging over it! ... here (as the magicians say) is "the finger of God," and it writes on the dust itself, as Christ wrote on it for the Pharisees in later times, man's condemnation.
The plague settled on people themselves, and the magicians drew a conclusion from it. The king did not.
This was a personal contamination that would be almost unbearable... They had before brought up frogs, but the frogs were already there to bring up. Now dust itself had become lice, and they recognise that this was bringing life from a lifeless source. They could not do this, even in the case of the lowest form of life. But even after this, Pharaoh hardened his heart in blindness. So many do the same today, even when they face God's clear testimony to the gospel of His Son.
- Dust struck. God is in earnest. He sends no warning this time, because Pharaoh hardened himself after the frogs died.
- Dust into life. The miracle is a communication of life from a lifeless source — the very thing no created power can copy.
- Dust exposes. The imitators reach their limit and admit "the finger of God". After this they never try again.
- Dust condemns. The material chosen carries its own message: "dust to dust" is man's verdict, and the plague writes it across a whole land.
- Dust ignored. Pharaoh sees what his own experts admit, and still refuses. Many meet clear testimony today and harden in the same way.
And they did so; and Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff, and smote the dust of the earth, and there arose gnats on man and on beast all the dust of the land became gnats throughout the land of Egypt.
Egypt's third plague strikes with no warning given to Pharaoh. Aaron hits the ground, the dust becomes swarming insects on man and beast, and for the first time the king's magicians cannot copy what they see.
The change happened in the material itself. Lifeless ground began to move.
He now struck the ground with that same rod. The dust of the ground all over the land teemed with lice. Lifeless matter was alive. A living, moving mass appeared where dust had been before. Lice were upon man and beast (8:17). No one except Moses and Aaron was exempt. The person of the king was as open to this affliction as that of the poorest of his subjects.
The ESV calls them gnats. The older translations these writers use say lice. Commentators differ over which insect the word means.
Lice — ken, kinnam. The dust of the land became lice in man and in beast. Some have supposed the word means gnats, because the old Greek translation has skniphes, which some render 'mosquito-gnats.' But gnats may belong to the next plague. It is more likely that the louse or the tick is meant. Scripture describes it as being 'in man and in beast.'
The magicians copied the first two plagues. They could not copy this one. The reason lies in which way the change ran: from dead dust to living creature.
Out of the dead dust the living lice had come. The magicians could not imitate it, and they had to admit as much. Only God can bring life out of death. They could only confess, "This is the finger of God," and withdraw from the contest. From this point we hear of no more attempts to belittle the acts of God by satanic power.
One writer draws a wider rule from this failure. Satan can rearrange what already exists. He cannot create.
Beyond nature or trickery they cannot go. Ask them to create a louse, and Satan's instruments come to a halt (Exodus 8:16-18). Natural forces he can use, if allowed. God alone can create, or by His own will bring about what carries out His purpose. He disposes of nature as its Master and does what He pleases. Satan works by a lower power, inside the created world. He cannot go beyond changing what is there, and he cannot even do that whenever he wills.
The magicians did not just fail at a trick. They called on the god they credited with the ground and its life, and got nothing.
Until now the magicians had held out against Moses by copying him. So they called on their gods, lifted up their rods, and struck the dust. But Seb, the Earth, could not help them — Seb, who carried the sign of life-giving in the bird that lays the egg. Confusion covered them, and everyone could see their folly. "This is the finger of a god," they said. They meant some being greater than the gods they had turned to. They admitted a power above their own.
Each plague turned one of Egypt's own resources against it. The struck dust is the third in that line.
The river is turned to blood; the means of life and refreshment becomes a witness of judgment. Out of the river come unclean frogs; the source of refreshment spreads defilement. The very dust, the soil that grows rich crops, produces lice — the vile corruptions that thrive alongside the world's prosperity. The plague of flies is similar. It shows that everything the world values, once cut off from God, will in the end turn into plagues.
The dust settled on skin — a contamination no one could shake off. Even so, the admission that God's finger was at work changed nothing in the king.
The lice however did not remain on the ground, but in keeping with the character of dust, it settled on people and animals. This was a personal contamination that would be practically unbearable... They could not do this, even in the case of the lowest form of life. But in spite of this, Pharaoh blindly hardened his heart, as so many do today in spite of being faced with God's clear testimony to the gospel of His Son.
- Dust — Aaron struck the ground itself, and lifeless matter became a crawling mass on man and beast across Egypt.
- Life — the change ran from death to life. That is where the copyists failed: only God brings life out of dead dust.
- Limit — Satan's power can copy and alter what already exists. It cannot create. One louse marks the border.
- Gods — Egypt's earth god, credited with giving life, gave nothing when called on. Its priests confessed a greater power.
- Hardness — the proof came, and the magicians said it out loud, yet Pharaoh refused. Admitting God's hand is not the same as yielding to it.
And the scribes did so with their sorceries, to bring forth gnats; but they could not. And the gnats were on man and on beast.
The magicians of Egypt had matched Moses and Aaron step for step. This time their secret arts produced nothing, and their failure shows where their power ran out and what only God can do. (Older translations call these creatures "lice"; the ESV says "gnats," and the quotes below use the older word.)
The plague came out of the dust of the ground. That is where the copying broke down.
Out of the dead dust the living lice had come. The magicians could not copy it. Only God can bring life out of death. They could only confess, "This is the finger of God," and leave the contest. From this point we hear of no more attempts to belittle the acts of God by satanic power.
This plague touched people and animals directly, and the magicians had nothing already there to copy.
The lice did not stay on the ground. Like dust, they settled on people and animals. This was a personal contamination that would be almost unbearable. They had before brought up frogs, but the frogs were already there to bring up. Now that dust turned into lice, they saw that this meant bringing life out of a lifeless source. They could not do this, even with the lowest form of life. Yet Pharaoh hardened his heart in blindness, as so many do today, though God gives them clear testimony to the gospel of His Son.
The magicians never argued with Moses. They copied him, and the New Testament names them and treats that copying as a pattern.
The main ones are named in the New Testament. We read, "Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth." (2 Tim. 3:8.) That reference matters, because it shows the magicians were acting on one of Satan's own principles. What was its special character? In one word, IMITATION... If he can win by opposing the truth openly, he will not hide. But if that door is shut, he will transform himself into an angel of light.
The words "they could not" mark a line their arts never cross. One writer puts that line between changing what already exists and creating.
They cannot go beyond nature or deception. Ask them to create a louse, and Satan's instruments come to a stop (Exodus 8:16-18). He can use natural forces, if God allows it. God alone can create, or by His own will produce what carries out His purpose. He controls nature as its Master and does what He pleases. Satan works by a lesser power, inside the created world. He cannot go past changing it, and he cannot even do that whenever he wants.
God let them get as far as they did, and He fixed where they would stop.
God allowed them to keep pace with every step Moses took, until the simplest fact of all showed that their power had reached its end, and they could go no further. They could no more get life-giving power than Simon Magus could buy the power of the Holy Spirit.
Commentators differ on how much the magicians admitted. One writer reads their confession as a move to protect themselves, not to give God glory.
The very soil of Egypt was now turned into a curse. God now held back the demonic powers of imitation, and the wicked magicians had to confess, not for God's glory, but for their own protection, "this is the finger of God."
Another writer notes that they called on their own gods first, and that they owned a power greater than those gods.
Until now the magicians had stood against Moses with success by copying him. So they called on their gods, lifted up their rods, and struck the dust. But Seb, the earth god, could not help them — Seb, who carried on him the sign of life-giving, the bird that lays the egg. Confusion covered them, and their folly was plain to everyone. "This is the finger of a god," they said. That is, of some being greater than the gods they had turned to; they admitted a power above their own.
Their defeat was not the end of it. The plagues went on, and they were caught in them.
The folly of Jannes and Jambres was plain to everyone. They not only failed to copy what Moses and Aaron did next; they were caught in God's judgments themselves. This is a solemn point. In the same way, the folly of everyone who has only the outward form will be shown up. They will be unable to copy the full and proper effects of divine life and power, and they will come under the judgments that follow from rejecting the truth they have resisted.
- Imitation. The magicians never denied Moses openly; they copied him. That copying is the method Scripture points back to when it names Jannes and Jambres.
- Limit. Satan can change what already exists, and only as far as God allows. He cannot create. Dust turned into living creatures drew the line there.
- Life. The frogs were already alive and waiting to be brought up; the lice came out of lifeless dust. Only God brings life out of death — and the smallest creature was enough to prove it.
- Confession. They said "the finger of God" — read by one writer as self-protection, by another as admitting a power above their own gods.
- Exposure. Their folly became plain to everyone, and they ended up under the very judgments they had tried to mimic. A form without the power always runs out of road.
Then the scribes said to Pharaoh, This is the finger of God! But Pharaoh's heart was stubborn, and he hearkened not to them, as Jehovah had said.
Three plagues in, Egypt's magicians have matched Moses and Aaron sign for sign, even bringing up frogs. Then the dust turns to lice, their arts fail, and Pharaoh's own advisers name the power in front of them.
Their earlier trick with frogs used creatures that were already there. This plague asked for something else, and L. M. Grant marks the line:
The magicians tried to copy this with their spells, but they could not. They had to admit that "this is the finger of God" (v. 19). They had brought up frogs before, but the frogs were already there to bring up. Now, when the dust turned into lice, they saw that this brought life out of a lifeless source. They could not do that, even with the lowest form of life.
Some explain this plague away as an ordinary Egyptian pest problem at a convenient moment. William Kelly answers that such a person believes less than Pharaoh's own magicians did:
The sceptic counts at least the first of these "a natural phenomenon of the country." For him the wonder is that Aaron started it, and that the Israelites were spared. So he believes less than the magicians, who said to Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God" — not just a mix of unusual circumstances with a natural event.
After this admission the magicians stop rivalling Moses. Edward Dennett traces what happened to them next:
Three times these instruments of Satan "withstood" Moses. But the plague of lice raised the question of producing life from the dust of the earth. Here the magicians were powerless, and had to confess that it was "the finger of God." Life belongs to God; He alone is its source. So Satan's efforts are defeated here, and we read of no further attempt by his servants to block the force of the divine signs. In the next chapter we find that they "could not stand before Moses because of the boils." (Ex. 9:11) They themselves have fallen under the punishing hand of God.
Scripture later names two of these men, Jannes and Jambres, as the pattern for opposition to the truth. Their method was not contradiction:
The magicians of Egypt, who opposed Moses, show the character and methods of these opposers. Jannes and Jambres tried to resist the testimony of God, not by denying the truth, but by copying it. They tried to show that their power was as great as the power of God, and that they could match the results God produced by His word through Moses. They openly admitted that their power came from another source.
That method always runs out. Mackintosh presses the same warning on anyone who holds only the outward form:
The folly of Jannes and Jambres was clear to everyone. The folly of all who have only the outward form will be exposed in the same way. They will not only be quite unable to copy the full and proper effects of divine life and power. They will themselves come under the judgements that follow from rejecting the truth they have resisted.
The same phrase returns in the Gospels. Accused of casting out demons by Satan's power, Jesus answered, "But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you" (Luke 11:20). Kelly presses what that proves:
When the Lord was here below and showed His power over Satan, it was the kingdom of God. It could be called that because the King — the power of God — was there. So here, by casting out demons by the power of God, He proved that the kingdom of God had come. What better proof could anyone ask for? Man was completely unable to do such a work... But in the Lord's case it was not occasional, exceptional, or partial. It was always the same, and it covered every case.
The verse ends with a hardened heart. Kelly reads Pharaoh as the standing example of how that happens. Man refuses first; God's judicial act comes after:
He knows it is God. He is aware that he is doing wrong in refusing Him. Yet he still refuses, because he does not like God and dare not trust Him, since God's word interferes with everything he likes. So man gives himself up to unbelief. Then God may, at that time or later, and in His own wisdom, seal a person up in a judicial hardness. That is a distinct positive act on God's part... God hardens because man refuses His word.
- Copy — Satan's instruments opposed Moses by imitation, not denial. They matched him sign for sign three times.
- Life — the copying stopped when dust became living creatures. Only God is the source of life, and its lowest form beat them.
- Confess — the enemy's own experts named the power: the finger of God, not a lucky natural event.
- Collapse — they never opposed Moses again. By the next plague they were under judgment themselves, and every imitation of divine power ends there.
- Choose — the same finger of God later cast out demons and brought the kingdom near. Pharaoh refused clear proof, and God may seal such a refusing heart in its own hardness.