Exodus 8:20 - Meaning and Application

This is the story of the plague of flies. As with the plague of frogs, God warned Pharaoh before he sent it. Moses was told to rise early in the morning, meet Pharaoh as he came out to the water, and repeat God’s demand (Exodus 8:20).

Those who want to do great things for God and for their own generation must rise early and use their mornings well. Pharaoh was early up for his superstitious worship by the river, so should God’s servants be lazy and slow when they have work to do that will matter on the last day? Those who want to serve God faithfully must not be afraid of human faces. Moses had to stand before proud Pharaoh and tell him something that would humble him deeply. He had to warn Pharaoh that, if he refused to let the captives go, God could send an army of flies that would obey his command, even if Pharaoh would not. A similar warning is found in Isaiah 7:18, where the Lord says he will whistle for the fly and the bee to carry out his purpose.

In this plague, God would make a clear difference between the Egyptians and the Hebrews, his covenant people, and this distinction seems to have been even more striking than in the earlier plagues (Exodus 8:22, Exodus 8:23). This made the plague more convincing than before. The plague of lice had shown the weakness of the magicians, and this one would show clearly that God had made a division between his people and the Egyptians. Pharaoh must learn that the Lord is God in the middle of the earth, and this plague would prove it beyond argument.

Even swarms of flies, which seem to move wherever they please, are under the direction of an intelligent mind, even though no human can control them. Moses says, in effect, “They will go here, and not there,” and it happens exactly that way. When God speaks and then does exactly what he said, it shows that he is the same wise and powerful Being in both cases. God’s servants, those who worship the great Lord, will also be kept safe from the common troubles that fall on the place where they live. The plague that hurts their neighbors will not come near them, and this will show plainly that God is Lord in the middle of the earth.

Put these two things together, and you see that the Lord’s eyes go back and forth through the whole earth, and even through the air, guiding what seems to us most random, so that he can show his strength for those whose hearts are right with him (2 Chronicles 16:9). Notice how this is repeated: “I will make a distinction between my people and your people” (Exodus 8:23). The Lord knows those who belong to him, and he will make that clear, perhaps in this life, certainly in the next. A day is coming when the difference will be plain between the righteous and the wicked (Malachi 3:18), between the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25:32; Ezekiel 34:17), even though now they are mixed together.

The plague came the next day, just as it had been promised. A terrible swarm of flies came, flies of many kinds, and they ruined and devoured everything (Exodus 8:24; Psalm 78:45). Satan, the prince of the power of the air, has boasted in the name Beelzebub, meaning “god of flies,” but this plague proved him to be a liar and an impostor. Even through swarms of flies, God fought against his kingdom and won.

When Pharaoh felt this attack, he tried to make a deal with Moses and Aaron and asked for terms for giving up his captives. But notice how unwillingly he gave in. First, he was willing for them to sacrifice to their God, if only they would do it in Egypt (Exodus 8:25). God can even force a kind of tolerance for his worship from those who truly oppose it. Under the pressure of judgment, Pharaoh was willing to let Israel sacrifice and to allow them freedom of worship in his own land.

Moses would not accept that offer, and he could not do it (Exodus 8:26). Their sacrifices would have offended the Egyptians, and the Egyptian sacrifices would have been offensive to God. So Moses insisted that they must go three days’ journey into the wilderness (Exodus 8:27). Those who want to offer a pleasing sacrifice to God must separate themselves from the wicked and the ungodly, for we cannot have fellowship both with God and with darkness, both with Christ and with Belial (2 Corinthians 6:14 and following; Psalm 26:4, Psalm 26:6). They must also step away from the distractions of the world and get as far as they can from its noise. Israel could not keep the Lord’s feast either among the brick kilns or among the meat pots of Egypt. No, they had to go into the wilderness (Hosea 2:14; Song of Solomon 7:11). They also had to obey God’s own command: “We will sacrifice as God commands us, and not otherwise.” Though they were under Pharaoh’s harsh slavery, in worship they still had to follow God, not Pharaoh.

When that proposal was refused, Pharaoh agreed that they might go into the wilderness, as long as they did not go too far away, so he could bring them back again if he wanted (Exodus 8:28). He had likely heard of their plan toward Canaan and suspected that, once they left Egypt, they would never return. So even while the swarm of flies pressed him to yield, he still did not want them out of his reach. Some sinners do the same thing. In a time of conviction, they part with their sins, but they are unwilling to let those sins go too far away, because when the fear passes, they want them back. We see a struggle in Pharaoh between conviction and corruption. His conviction said, “Let them go.” His corruption said, “But not too far.” He sided with corruption, and that became his ruin.

Moses accepted that much, and promised that he would ask the Lord to remove the plague (Exodus 8:29). Here we see how ready God is to accept even a sinner’s poor and hesitant submission. Pharaoh only says, “Pray for me,” though he says it with reluctance, and Moses immediately answers, “I will ask the Lord for you.” God wanted Pharaoh to see that the purpose of the plague was not to destroy him, but to lead him to repentance. How gladly God said of Ahab, “Do you see how Ahab humbles himself?” (1 Kings 21:29).

We also learn how important it is to be sincere when we submit to God. Moses warned, “Do not let Pharaoh deal deceitfully anymore.” People who act deceitfully are rightfully suspected, and they must be warned not to return to folly after God has again spoken peace to them.

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked. If we try to fool God with a fake repentance, or a false giving of ourselves to him, we will end up fooling only our own souls.

In the end, God kindly removed the plague (Exodus 8:30, Exodus 8:31). But Pharaoh, acting treacherously, went back to his hard heart and would not let the people go (Exodus 8:32). His pride would not let him give up such a jewel in his crown as rule over Israel, and his greed would not let him lose such a source of income as their labor.

This is what ruling sins do. When sinful desires hold power, they break through the strongest limits and make people boldly shameless and shamefully unfaithful. So do not let sin rule, because if it does, it will trick us and drive us into the worst foolishness.