And Jehovah said to Moses and to Aaron, Take to yourselves handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses scatter it toward the heavens before the eyes of Pharaoh.
This blow against Egypt comes with no warning. God tells Moses to take ashes from a furnace and throw them into the air while the king watches. The act looks small. So why ashes, why in front of Pharaoh, and why sores?
God gave Pharaoh no warning this time. He simply told Moses what to do.
In this case there was no previous warning. The Lord told Moses to take ashes from a furnace in his hands and to scatter them toward the heavens in the sight of Pharaoh. He was evidently to toss them upward, so that the wind would spread them in every direction. As he did this, the ashes became a fine dust. It carried such infection that it brought boils on people and animals.
The choice of material carried a message. Egypt had worked Israel at its kilns. Now the ashes of a furnace fall back on Egypt itself. Where the ESV says "soot from the kiln," older translations read "ashes of the furnace," and the commentators use that older wording.
The word "furnace" comes from a word meaning "to subdue." Some think it was a lime-kiln, or a furnace for smelting ore. It was connected with those public works in Egypt where Israel had to labour so cruelly. Egypt itself had been such a furnace for the people of God, and so it had earned righteous retribution for itself. This seems a very natural explanation of Moses' significant action.
Commentators differ on which furnace is meant. Another view links the ashes to Egypt's own worship, and looks ahead to worse.
The ashes of the furnace have a double meaning. Egypt in its fiery persecution of Israel is called a furnace. Divine retribution now came upon them in the boils, which must have burned like fire. But the furnace may have been the altar in Egypt on which sacrifices were offered to their god Typhon. Most likely the Egyptians brought such sacrifices to stop the plagues. Now the very thing they trusted in becomes a plague. This plague was the first that put human life in danger. So it pointed ahead to the death Pharaoh would bring on himself and his people by his wicked opposition.
God told Moses to do this where Pharaoh could see. That rules out any thought of a magician's trick.
Obedient to God, they acted as directed. Moses sprinkled the ashes towards heaven in the sight of Pharaoh. Clearly this was no trick of magicians, such as Jannes and Jambres might have played. Pharaoh saw what Moses did. Pharaoh heard no muttering of spells; Moses used none. He probably spoke no word; certainly none was needed. Pharaoh knew that in the ordinary way such means could do no harm to man or beast. But when God works, the results are certain, and they may be immediate.
The dust settled on Egypt's magicians too. Their loss here was the third in a row.
The burning was evidently connected with a religious rite, since the ashes falling on the priests left them unfit to serve before their gods. Boils and sores broke out over them. Three times Jehovah had struck them. He had taken away their rods of authority. He had taken away their power of enchantment. Now He had taken away their ability to carry on with their religious rites. We hear no more of the magicians after this; they "could not stand before Moses" (v. 11).
The sores fell on a people who prized cleanliness. The outbreak on the skin also pictures what sin does when it works its way out.
All commentators note that the uncleanness caused by such an attack must have been especially hard on a people like the Egyptians. They were very careful about personal cleanliness, and this was part of their religion. As a picture, the plague speaks well of the corruption of sin. It is the breaking out of that moral disease which Isaiah describes in words that might have been drawn from it: "From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but bruises and sores and raw wounds" (Isa. 1:6).
The plague also shows how God deals with settled rebellion.
The boils breaking out from the dust of the furnace show that God will leave man to his own corruption if he persists in his rebellion.
- Furnace. Egypt made Israel labour at its kilns. Now the furnace's own ashes fall back on Egypt as righteous retribution.
- Handfuls. A handful of ashes has no power to harm. The disease comes at once, because God is behind it, not a spell.
- Sight. Moses acts in front of Pharaoh, with no muttered spells. The king cannot mistake it for a magician's trick.
- Sores. The sores picture the corruption of sin breaking out. God leaves man to that corruption when he keeps refusing.
- Silence. The magicians lose their rods, their spells, and even their rites. They cannot stand before Moses, and we hear no more of them.
And it shall become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and shall become boils on man and on cattle, breaking out [with] blisters, throughout the land of Egypt.
The sixth blow against Egypt comes with no warning. Moses throws ashes into the air in front of Pharaoh, and God turns that small act into a plague on the skin of a whole nation.
The Lord's instruction was simple. The wind did the rest.
In this case there was no previous warning. The Lord told Moses to take ashes from a furnace in his hands and to scatter them toward the heavens in front of Pharaoh. He was clearly to toss them upward, so that the wind would carry them in every direction. As he did this, the ashes became a fine dust, and it carried an infection that brought boils on people and animals.
It all happened in the open, in front of the king. There was no trick to point to.
Pharaoh saw what Moses did. Pharaoh heard no muttering of spells; Moses used none. Probably he said no word; he certainly needed none. Pharaoh knew that in an ordinary way such means would do no harm to man or beast. When God works, however, He brings about results that are certain, and that may be immediate.
The material itself carries a message. Writers link the furnace to what Israel suffered in Egypt.
Egypt had been "a smoking furnace" (Gen. 15:17), and the children of Abraham had been plunged into it. Now the ashes of that furnace were to fall back on the heads of their oppressors, striking them with boils and blisters.
That wording follows an older translation of Genesis 15:17. One writer sees a double meaning in the ashes.
The ashes of the furnace have a double meaning. Egypt in its fiery persecution of Israel is called a furnace. Divine retribution now came upon them in the boils, which must have burned like fire. But the furnace may have been the altar in Egypt on which sacrifices were offered to their god Typhon. Most likely the Egyptians brought such sacrifices to stop the plagues. Now the very thing they trusted in becomes a plague itself.
The Hebrew word behind "boils" is shechin. The same disease appears elsewhere in Scripture.
The Hebrew word shechin means a common swelling on the flesh, with inflammation. The boils were no doubt malignant when God sent them as a plague in Egypt, Ex. 9:9-11; and they were severe in the case of Job when Satan struck him. Job 2:7.
Egypt made personal cleanness part of its religion. This plague hit Egyptians where they cared most.
All commentators note the same thing. Such an attack left people unclean, and that must have been especially severe on the Egyptians. They were so careful about personal cleanliness, and they made it part of their religion. As a type, this fits the corruption of sin. It pictures the outbreak of that moral disease which Isaiah describes in words that might have been drawn from this plague: "From the sole of the foot even to the head there is no soundness in it, but bruises and sores and raw wounds" (Isa. 1:6).
The plague did not put something new into Egypt. It brought what was already there to the surface.
This exposes the inward condition of the world. As already said, these plagues only show the true state of things before God... And who is exempt? Only the one whose heart holds Christ as its object, and whom the "precious and very great promises" deliver from the "corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire."
Another writer, discussing a later plague of sores, points back to this one.
The plague here referred to as "an evil and grievous sore" reminds us of the sixth Egyptian plague (Ex. 9:10-11). This was the first of the plagues that attacked the persons of the Egyptians... It was a disgusting and loathsome disease (see Deut. 28:27, 35).
- Handful. Moses throws ashes from a furnace into the air in front of the king. He says no spell. Only God explains what follows.
- Furnace. Egypt had been the furnace that burned Israel; its own ashes now fall back on the oppressor. It may also have been an altar where Egypt sacrificed to stop the plagues.
- Flesh. The dust becomes shechin: a swelling on the flesh with inflammation. This is the first plague to strike Egyptian bodies, and the same disease Job suffered.
- Filth. A nation that built its religion on physical cleanness is made unclean; as a picture it speaks of the corruption of sin, "no soundness in it."
- Fully exposed. The plague adds nothing new. It brings the real state of things into the open. Only the one whose heart holds Christ escapes the corruption in the world.
And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it toward the heavens; and it became boils [with] blisters breaking out on man and on cattle.
In the sixth plague, Moses takes soot from a kiln and throws it into the air while Pharaoh watches. The dust settles into painful sores on people and animals across Egypt. Two questions follow: why ashes, and why does this plague silence the magicians for good?
Pharaoh watched the whole thing from start to finish. What he saw was ordinary dust doing what dust cannot do.
They obeyed God and did as they were told. Moses sprinkled the ashes towards heaven in front of Pharaoh. Clearly this was no magician's trick, such as Jannes and Jambres, Egypt's magicians, might have played. Pharaoh heard no muttered spells; the men used none. Probably no one spoke a word; certainly none was needed. Pharaoh knew that in the ordinary way such means would produce no harm to man or beast. But when God works, the results are certain, and they may come at once. Straight away, boils breaking out into sores (perhaps pustules or ulcers) struck man and beast.
The material is not random. A furnace is what Israel had been laboring at, and what Egypt itself had been to them.
The word "furnace" comes from a word meaning "to subdue." Some think it was a lime-kiln, or a kiln for smelting ore. It was linked with the public works in Egypt where Israel had to labor so cruelly. Egypt itself had been such a furnace for the people of God, and had earned for itself righteous retribution. This seems a very natural explanation of what Moses did... As a picture, it fittingly speaks of the corruption of sin, the breaking out of that moral disease. Isaiah describes it in words that might have been drawn from this plague: "From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but bruises and sores and raw wounds." (Isa. 1:6.)
Commentators differ on the furnace. Another reading adds a second layer: the ashes may have come from an altar.
The ashes of the furnace have a double meaning. Egypt in its fiery persecution of Israel is called a furnace. Divine retribution now came upon them in the boils, which must have burned like fire. But the furnace may have been the altar in Egypt on which sacrifices were offered to their god Typhon. Most likely the Egyptians brought such sacrifices to stop the plagues. Now the very thing they trusted becomes a plague.
Until now the plagues had struck other things. This one struck the Egyptians themselves.
The plague here referred to as "an evil and grievous sore" reminds us of the sixth Egyptian plague (Ex. 9:10-11). This was the first plague to attack the Egyptians in their own bodies. The magicians, or wise men, suffered under it especially. It was a disgusting and loathsome disease (see Deut. 28:27, 35).
The sores also carried a warning of something worse ahead.
This plague was the first which endangered human life. So it pointed forward to the death Pharaoh would bring on himself and his people by his wicked opposition.
The magicians lost three things, one after another. The third loss ended them.
Three times Jehovah had struck them. He had taken away their rods of authority. He had taken away their power of enchantment. Now He had taken away their ability to carry on their religious rites. We hear no more of the magicians after this; they "could not stand before Moses" (v. 11).
These men were Satan's tools, and their collapse teaches readers today.
More than this: if we hold steadily to God and His truth, the workings of Satan will be exposed in due time. Three times these instruments of his "withstood" Moses. But the plague of lice raised the question of producing life from the dust of the earth. There the magicians were powerless, and had to confess that it was "the finger of God." (Ex. 8:18-19.)... In the next chapter we find that they "could not stand before Moses because of the boils." (Ex. 9:11) They themselves had fallen under the punishing hand of God. So we may rest confidently, whatever success the evil one seems to have now; for "the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet." (Rom. 16:20.)
- Furnace — The ashes come from the kiln Israel slaved at. Egypt had been a furnace to God's people, and now the furnace falls back on Egypt.
- Open — No spells, nothing hidden: Pharaoh watched dust leave Moses' hand, and knew dust does not do this.
- Flesh — This is the first plague to reach the Egyptians' own bodies: a disgusting and loathsome disease, and the first to put life in danger.
- Silence — God took their rods, then their spells, then their religious rites. The magicians cannot stand before Moses, and are never heard of again.
- Hope — Satan's work is exposed in the end, so believers can rest while evil seems to be winning: God will soon crush Satan under their feet.
And the scribes could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boils were on the scribes, and on all the Egyptians.
The sixth blow against Egypt lands on the bodies of the Egyptians themselves — including the court magicians who had spent the earlier plagues copying Moses. Their collapse raises the question the whole contest has been driving at: who can stand when God acts?
Their defeat came in two stages. First they lost the contest in front of the king. Then the judgment reached their own bodies.
Shortly before that the magicians had owned their defeat. Aaron's rod struck the dust of the land, and it became lice. The magicians tried to produce lice too, but they could not. Defeated in front of the king, they told him that what Aaron had done was by the finger of God. The God of the Hebrews could do what they, with their incantations, could not. Already defeated, they now had to feel the power of God in their own bodies. The boil broke out on them, and "they could not stand before Moses because of the boils." God was triumphing, but Pharaoh stayed stubborn. Other plagues would follow, making clear what was already evident: the God of Moses and Aaron was the God of the whole earth. The Creator had absolute rights over His creatures, and no one could overturn them. How true the word is: "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."
The text singles out the magicians, and one writer links this to what their office as priests required.
The account makes a point of it: the boils were so severe that the magicians, suffering like everyone else, could not stand before Moses. They were completely defeated. We are not told why this striking of the magicians is singled out. But we know that these men, the very highest rank of idolatrous priests, had to be sound in body and clean. Without that they were not allowed to carry out their office or use their charms.
One writer explains what the ashes did to these priests, and counts what God took from them.
The burning clearly had a connection with a religious rite, and the ashes falling on the priests made them unfit to serve their gods. Three times Jehovah had struck them. He had taken away their rods of authority. He had taken away their power of enchantment. And now He had taken away their ability to carry on their religious rites. We hear no more after this of the magicians; they "could not stand before Moses."
The disease struck at two things Egypt trusted: its ritual purity and its skill at healing.
Then came the sixth judgment: a boil breaking out with blisters on man and beast in all Egypt. It fell above all on the magicians, who could not stand before Moses. Such a festering eruption defeated their careful avoidance of impurity. The emptiness of their gods was as clear as that of their own arts of healing.
One writer traces how these men worked and how they were silenced.
that they "could not stand before Moses because of the boils." They themselves have fallen under the punishing hand of God. So we can rest in confidence, however successful the evil one seems now, because "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet."
One writer marks out what was new about this plague.
This was the first of the plagues which attacked the persons of the Egyptians, and the magicians, or wise men, suffered under it above all. It was a disgusting and loathsome disease.
Another writer sees a moral picture in the sore.
This plague is typical of the personal moral corruption that results from resisting the truth of the Word of God.
- Imitation. The magicians began by copying Moses — imitation is Satan's method.
- Confession. At the lice they ran out of power and had to admit, "This is the finger of God."
- Affliction. The judgment reaches their own bodies. The boil is on their own skin.
- Silence. God took their rods, their enchantments, and their fitness to serve their gods. They are never heard from again.
- Warning. Every power that sets itself against God ends the same way: unable to stand. "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."
And Jehovah made Pharaoh's heart stubborn, and he did not hearken to them, as Jehovah had told Moses.
The sixth plague hits without warning: Moses throws ashes into the air, boils break out, and even Egypt's magicians cannot stand before him. Here, for the first time, the hardening comes from the LORD Himself — so how can God harden a man and still judge him fairly?
One writer links the ashes to what Egypt had done to Israel. He also explains why boils shut the magicians out of their work.
This time Moses was to act in front of the king without any warning. He threw handfuls of ashes from the furnace into the air. Egypt had been "a smoking furnace" (Gen. 15:17), and the children of Abraham had been plunged into it. Now ashes from that furnace were to fall back on the heads of their oppressors and strike them with boils and blisters. The account makes a point of saying that the boils were so severe that the magicians, suffering like everyone else, could not stand before Moses. They were completely beaten. It gives no hint why the striking of the magicians is singled out. But we know these men were the very highest rank of idol priests, and they had to be sound and clean in body. Without that they could not carry out their office or work their charms.
The boils also carry a meaning, and even they left the king unmoved.
The magicians did not even try to copy this miracle, because they were struck with boils themselves... This plague is a picture of the personal moral corruption that comes from resisting the truth of the Word of God. But even this did not move Pharaoh to turn from his stubborn refusal of God's Word to let His people go.
The order matters. Up to this point the record has read the other way round.
It is true that God hardened Pharaoh's heart. But He did so only after Pharaoh had shown extreme and incredible arrogance by saying, "Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice…?" (Ex. 5:2), and only after Pharaoh had hardened his own heart again and again. In fact the Spirit uses two different words in the original language. No fewer than seven times He says that Pharaoh hardened his heart (Ex. 7:13, 14, 22; 8:15, 19, 32; 9:7) before saying that God hardened the heart of Pharaoh (Ex. 9:12).
The verse ends by pointing back to what God had already said. The Hebrew also keeps a distinction that English hides, and the order of the two words is the point.
God had already said He would harden Pharaoh's heart, back in chapter 4:21. Eighteen times we read of the hardening of Pharaoh's heart. But the Hebrew uses different words to show an important distinction. One means to "make firm" or "strong." The other, "to make stubborn."... Pharaoh hardened himself, then God hardened him. Pharaoh had his opportunities. He refused them and went on in unbelief, so God made him stubborn. God hardens as an act of judgment because man refuses His Word. God never hardens first, and He never forces a man to be an unbeliever.
The verse does not make God the author of Pharaoh's sin. The same order shows up elsewhere in Scripture.
God did not make Pharaoh wicked. God leads no man to sin; but when Pharaoh had proved himself wicked and stubborn, God hardened his heart in judgment. But this hardening never happens until a man has proved himself wicked. Fallen man, as Romans 1 describes him, gives God up first; only then does God give him up.
No one needs to soften the statement. God also had an end in view.
There is no need at all for anyone to try to escape the full, plain sense of this very solemn statement. If a man resists the light of God's testimony, he is shut up to blindness and hardness of heart as a judgment. God leaves him to himself, and then Satan comes in and carries him headlong to destruction... the real disposition of his heart was to act against God, and therefore God left him to himself, and made him a monument for the display of His glory "through all the earth."
Pharaoh is one case in a series, and each one follows the same order.
There are five outstanding cases of this very solemn hardening on God's part: the non-Jewish nations, Rom. 1:28; Pharaoh or Egypt, Ex. 9:12; the kings of Canaan, Joshua 11:20; Israel, Isa. 6; Christendom, 2 Thess. 2. This hardening comes before destruction. But it comes only after much patience on God's part, and after man's incurable unbelief and stubborn refusal of God's testimony have shown that this judgment is necessary.
- Warning. Boils picture the moral corruption that follows when a man resists God's Word. Not even Egypt's magicians could stand.
- Refusal. Seven times Pharaoh hardened his own heart before this verse says God hardened it. The order is never reversed.
- Patience. God's hardening comes only after long patience, repeated warning and repeated mercy. It never comes before His testimony, only after a man refuses it.
- Judgment. God did not make Pharaoh wicked. He left a man to himself who had already chosen to fight against Him.
- Glory. The stubbornness God let ripen became the stage for His power, so that His name would sound through all the earth.