As soon as the plague of frogs was over, Pharaoh’s servants gathered the dead frogs together into heaps. This reminds us of how quickly people try to forget some terrible catastrophe which God has allowed. Instead of being warned by it, they try to forget all about it. They will cover the casket of the dead with flowers, as though they wished to forget the solemn fact that they, too, may die, and that there is judgment after death for those who die without Christ. Do not be deceived, but listen to God’s warnings and prepare to meet Him while He is acting in grace and not as a judge.
The Plague of Lice
When the frogs were gone, Pharaoh soon forgot his promises, and went on in the same way as before. So God spoke again, and the next plague was lice. What a horrible thing to have lice everywhere: on your body, in your hair, and on all the animals. The magicians could not imitate Moses in this, and the reason is simple. They could not produce life. Men can make some wonderful inventions. They can make trains, automobiles, airplanes, and hundreds of other remarkable things. They can reproduce the human voice and make an electric eye to control machinery and doors, but there is one thing they can never do. They cannot produce life. God has told us that the life of the flesh is in the blood (Leviticus 17:1111For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. (Leviticus 17:11)), but still men cannot discover the secret, and they never will. If they are truthful they will always have to admit, like the magicians of Egypt, “This is the finger of God” (ch. 8:19).
Not only is it impossible for man to produce life (natural life), but he is equally powerless to produce spiritual life. Only God can give divine life to a sinner who is dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:11And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; (Ephesians 2:1)). There are many imitators today — mere professors instead of possessors — and they can talk just as nicely as the audio player can reproduce what is on the recording, but they are just as lifeless. Remember, God does not want ceremony, or to see you bow down your head with as little meaning as a bulrush in the wind (Isaiah 58:55Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord? (Isaiah 58:5)). You must have living faith in a living Saviour or you will never be in heaven.
The Plague of Flies
Pharaoh still hardened his heart. God continued to speak, but this time He put a division between His people and the Egyptians. How good to know that we who know Jesus Christ as our Saviour are not part of this world which is under the sentence of judgment. We have been set apart from it by the work of Christ. We have to realize, as the Israelites did, that there is no refreshment for us here. We are in a scene where Satan still has power, but God has given us life — a new life over which death has no claim and sin has no power. Having shown His people this (in figure), God then acted to protect them, and He told Pharaoh He would do so. The flies came on the land, and what an awful plague it was, but there were none in the land of Goshen where the children of Israel lived. Yes, God cares for His own, and nothing can happen to them except what He allows. The children of Israel were no better than the Egyptians, but they were the people of God, soon to be redeemed out of Egypt; and He loved and cared for them. How wonderful is God’s message to His own even today, “Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you” (1 Peter 5:77Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. (1 Peter 5:7)).
Further Meditation
1. How did God show His special care of His people?
2. What other proof does Scripture give that Satan can’t produce life?
3. Light from the Land of the Sphinx by H. F. Witherby is a fascinating and very helpful book that deals with the topic of the plagues of Egypt and how they affected Egypt’s gods.