Exodus 8:16 - Meaning and Application

Here is a brief account of the plague of lice. It does not seem that God gave Pharaoh a warning before this plague. Yet Pharaoh had already misused the relief he had been given, and that should have warned him to expect another judgment. If the removal of trouble makes us hard instead of humble, and so we lose the good of it, we may expect that trouble will return, or make way for something worse.

Notice how this plague came on the Egyptians (Exodus 8:16, 17). The frogs came up from the waters, but these pests came from the dust of the earth. From any part of creation God can bring a plague to punish those who rebel against him. He has many arrows in his quiver. Even the dust of the earth obeys him. So do not fear, poor Jacob, for God can use you as his threshing tool if he chooses (Isaiah 41:14, 15).

These lice were surely very troubling and deeply shameful for the Egyptians. They had relief for a little while, but only for a little while (Revelation 11:14). The second woe was past, yet the third came very soon.

Notice also how the magicians were defeated by this plague (Exodus 8:18). They tried to copy it, but they could not. When they failed, it seems they tried to stop it, because the text says the lice were on both people and animals, despite them. This forced them to admit they were beaten: “This is the finger of God” (Exodus 8:19). In other words, this restraint on our power must have come from God.

God has the devil in chains, and he limits him both as a liar and as a destroyer. The devil can go only so far. His servants, when God allows them, may do great things. But when God puts even a small check on them, they can do nothing. The magicians’ failure in this smaller matter showed where their power had come from in the earlier, greater signs, and that they had no power against Moses except what was given them from above.

In the end, God will force even his enemies to admit his rule and power. They must all bow at last, as Julian the Apostate did when he was dying and said, “You have overcome me, O Galilean!” God will not only defeat all who oppose him, but make them confess it.

Yet Pharaoh only grew more stubborn (Exodus 8:19). Even the men who had helped deceive him now said enough to open his eyes, but he hardened himself more and more. Even miracles and judgments became, to him, a smell of death leading to death. Those who are not made better by God’s word and providences are often made worse by them.