Well, this morning we are turning to Exodus chapter 8 and looking
at plagues 3 and 4 that fell upon Egypt.
These are the plagues of the gnats and the flies.
And so far we've seen the Nile turn to blood in the first plague
and frogs coming onto the land in the second.
And both of these, we must remind ourselves, were gods of the
Egyptians.
They worshiped the Nile for its life source.
They worshipped frogs because they were the gods of fertility.
And so now God goes after what are the idols of Israel, because
God was demonstrating, it was his power and his authority that
was over everything in the land.
And these plagues, we have to again remind ourselves, are not coming
in some random order, but are in fact falling on Egypt as a demonstration
of who the God of Israel is, that he is the one true God.
And when you look at the first nine plagues, you'll see that they
come in three cycles, with the third plague always coming unannounced.
That's why the plague of gnats is recorded so briefly for us in
this chapter.
And in this plague, no warning is given to Pharaoh.
The Lord simply instructs Moses to tell Aaron to once again
stretch out his staff.
And that's indeed what Aaron does, as verse 17 records for us.
They did this.
And when Aaron stretched out his hand with the staff and struck
the dust to the ground, gnats came upon men and, and animals, and
all the dust throughout the land of Egypt became gnats.
Now, I have told you before that the common phrase that's used
about me at home is he doesn't see dust.
And that's very true.
I don't see dust.
Even when people put their names in it, I still don't see it.
Or maybe more appropriately, it doesn't bother me.
But I think if the dust suddenly became gnats, I would be
exceptionally concerned.
Think of the dust in your own home.
Now, that's no judgment on your cleanliness, but it doesn't
matter how often you dust, it seems within ours other dust will
return.
And that's just the nature of the world in which we live.
But imagine if every bit of dust became a gnat.
And the gnats Here in Exodus 8 fall on man and beast, telling us
that they are abiding insect, which means that they may be anything
from lice, as the King James version has it, possibly as far as
mosquitoes and that awful little bite that they give.
And although the animals would have been impacted in some way by
the first two plagues, no water to drink and Then the awkwardness
of frogs everywhere.
This is the first plague to fall on them.
But there's also another first.
So far we've seen the magicians of Egypt replicate all
that Moses and Aaron have been able to do.
And we've maybe just joked that they've always made it worse
because they've never been able to take it away.
They've only been able to add more frogs or put more blood in water.
But this time there's a depth revealed to us about what is really
going on here in verse 18.
But when the magicians tried to produce gnats by their secret
arts, they could not produce.
The gnats were on men and animals.
Now, this might have been a bit of a relief because as we've
just said, all these magicians affairs have been able to do is to
add to the situation and not take away or bring the plague to
an end.
And this tells us something that we need to know this morning.
Because as we've gone into a new year and as I was sharing with
midweek on Wednesday night, I have a great concern going into this
new year.
I have a great concern and a heaviness of heart, a burden on my
heart of just how the devil might work.
It has been something that I felt over the past week or two that
as we look to the New Testament and read of people making
shipwreck of their faith, it has been a burden for me to pray
for you every day that indeed Christ will keep you to the end.
And that's why I believe this passage gives us some hope with the
concern that I've just shared.
Because the thing that we need to know this day is that Satan's
power is limited.
Pharaoh's magicians were servants of Satan.
And the plague of gnats clearly shows that Satan's power
has its limits.
The reality is the devil does have some par.
And if we don't think that the devil is prowling around like a lion,
waiting on whom he may devour and how he uses evil spirits in the
world to do his work, then we need to think again, because the
devil is at work, that image of a prowling lion.
And the Bible says in 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse
9, that his work is displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles,
signs and wonders.
And is this not what we're seeing in Egypt?
Because as we have seen, whether by some clever trick or by
some demonic enhancement or enchantment, Pharaoh's magicians
were able to duplicate the first two plagues.
And however they did it.
They performed their magic in opposition to God.
And so they can be seen as servants to Satan.
And Satan is very powerful, but his powers are limited.
Consider all the things he is unable to do or he's unable to be.
He cannot create.
He can only destroy.
Satan cannot redeem.
He can only be damned.
Satan cannot love.
He can only hate.
He cannot be humble.
He can only be proud.
And most crushingly of all, he was unable to keep God's son in the
grave because God broke the devil's power by raising Jesus from
the dead.
That's what the Bible says in 1st John 3 and verse 8.
He who does what is sinful is of the devil.
Because the devil has been sinning from the very beginning,
and that has been is a continuous active.
In other words, he's keeping doing it.
And the reason the son of God appear was to destroy the devil's
work.
And the devil's work was destroyed in the resurrection of
Jesus Christ.
But that doesn't stop Satan.
It doesn't stop the devil at work.
But what we do know is that his power is limited.
And so the way that Jesus destroyed the devil's work was through
his crucifixion and his resurrection.
Because in the end, Satan will be utterly vanquished and all his
evil plans will come to nothing.
And he himself will be thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur
where he will be tormented day and night, forever and ever.
As Revelation 20:10 tells us, we need to know and remember that
Satan is limited in his power.
Whenever we are tempted or when we face sin, some form of spiritual
opposition, Satan is potent.
But he's not like God.
He's not omnipotent.
If we are followers of Jesus Christ, then the God we serve is
infinitely more powerful than our greatest enemy, God is able.
And God is willing to save us from the power of Satan.
And when we pray, deliver us from evil as given to us in the Lord's
prayer in Matthew 6:13, then God will hear our prayer.
And God will answer, and God will deliver us from evil.
And when we put on the whole armor of God, God will enable us
to stand against the schemes of the devil.
As Ephesians 6:11 tells us that as James writes in chapter 4
and verse 7, Submit yourselves then to God.
Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
You see, Satan is out to trick and to trap each and every one of
us.
And you know, over these years of his practice, he's got very good
at it.
Because just when we think we've got over One sin or one spiritual
attack.
He's cunningly able to divert us and to bring us another way to
the sin that our hearts desperately want.
But yet we know we must not fall into.
He will bring attack after attack, because that's what he does,
and that's what he's been doing from the very beginning.
But his power is limited.
He will not win.
For Christ the victor will stand and reign forever with all
power and all dominion.
You see, among his many limitations, Satan is unable to withstand
even a single Christian who trusts in God's mighty power to save.
And look what these servants of Satan end up confessing with this
plague.
In verse 19, the magician said to Pharaoh, this is the finger of
God.
But Pharaoh's heart was hard and he would not listen, just as
the Lord had said.
So these sorcerer priests who were in the service of Pharaoh and
ultimately in the service of Satan, warn him that this plague
is divine handiwork.
They also refer to a single finger, acknowledging that the hand's
owner is so powerful that he needs only one finger to accomplish
such miracles.
And this is a strong witness of the truth and reality of God.
These magicians, who are also the theological experts in Egypt,
identify the God of the Israelites as the powerful one with
power greater than they can access.
And so Pharaoh now has testimony about the Lord's power
from his own trusted advisors.
And so, before we move on to the next plague, we must take seriously
what we see here.
Pharaoh got no warning of the plague of gnats.
And remember, each plague not only demonstrated the power of God,
but it also was punishment on the Egyptians for their refusal to
worship the one true God.
And this account tells us that if someone resists the Lord, then
judgment may come unannounced.
We need to not only know our own hearts, but to be aware of our
actions.
Judgment will not fall on those who who know Christ, but it
will be for those who sin against God, knowing that their sin
is not God's way as given to us in Scripture.
And so this is a stark warning for us that we need to pay attention
to whoever we are.
Because isn't this the case of simply stopping sinning?
Well, it's not because we need a realization that we stop.
And we need to stop.
And we need to confess and seek forgiveness.
Because if we don't, then that swift punishment that came on Egypt
will fall on us.
As Romans 6:23 both warns and encourages us.
For the wages of sin is death, eternal death.
But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
As much as there is a reality to know, a reality of our own sin
and how it separates us from God, without any hope that we can
master or muster, there is also hope.
And that hope is in the Lord Jesus, because we are to call on
him for salvation so that we will know forgiveness.
Because Jesus has taken on himself the punishment that we deserve
because of our sin, we cannot and must not ignore this.
Pharaoh did, and look at verse 19 again and see what happened.
His heart was hardened against God.
You see, in this very short plague that's accounted for of gnats
that simply come up one day and go down the next, there is deep
meaning that we must know and hope in.
And that hope is only in Jesus Christ.
That hope that Christ is greater than Satan, that means his
power is limited.
And whatever you are facing, as hard as the days are, it is limited.
Let me assure you of that.
It will pass.
And you once again will know the joy of your salvation fully in
Jesus Christ, even as the devil wants to pull you away.
That's why I have such a burden.
A burden to pray for you, that you will stay with Christ and not
fall into the way of Satan.
For he is active, but he is limited.
But just as this punishment came quickly upon the Egyptians,
so we must be aware that God's punishment will come quickly on us
if we do not turn and know him and trust him.
And the answer to both of these is to trust in Jesus, to know
him for who he is, so that our hearts will not become hard.
But in fact, our hearts will be drawn to Christ, to be warmed
by him, so that we will grow, that we will actually change every
day to become like Christ, more and more.
Because as we move into the plague of the flies, we see what
this hardness of heart looks like.
Because it is that hardness of heart that brings the next plague
of punishment on the Egyptians.
Moses is again to meet Pharaoh as he goes to the Nile and once again
demand that he release God's people so that they can go and worship
God.
And so this fourth plague that falls on Egypt are flies.
Now, I don't know about you, but as soon as there is a fly in
the house, the fly swatter comes out.
You search and you hunt for not the swatter, but the fly.
And you use your eyes, but you also use your ears to hear where
it is.
And you know those pesky wee flies that you can't see them, but
you can hear them.
They're the worst.
And if you are skilled in fly swatting, you will buy yourself what
Looks like a tennis racket, but that is in fact an electric buzzer.
And it becomes a sport as you jump through your kitchen just waving
this racket around.
And you know the great sense of achievement when you hear the
little clicking, buzzing sound that you've got one.
Now, whenever we lived overseas, if it was a mosquito and
there was a bit of blood in it, let's just say the smell of that
was not the most precious of things.
But you get the idea.
We all want a fly.
We want it gone, we don't want it around, we don't want it on our
food, we don't want it on our tables, we don't want it buzzing
around us.
And so we will do whatever it takes to get rid of that one fly.
Now imagine a swarm.
Imagine a swarm of flies that you can't move, that you can't breathe,
that you have to cover your mouth, cover your nose, try and cover
your eyes so that they're not getting to you.
Imagine that as a plague.
Would you not feel that was punishment?
Of course you would.
And this is what's going to fall on these people because of the
hardness of heart, that hardness of the heart affair.
Once again, another judgment upon them.
But notice a bit of a change in this passage.
Who is the plague not going to fall on?
Well, we read in verse 22, but on that day I will deal differently
with the land of Goshen.
Remember Goshen?
That's where Joseph, the land Joseph give his family to settle
in, the best of the land of Egypt.
Well, the plague's not going to fall there where my people live,
says God.
No swarm of flies will be there.
So that you will know, Pharaoh, that I, the Lord am in this
land.
Have you ever tried to control a fly?
Like none of you have a pet as a fly, I don't think, because you
can't control it.
So how on earth could these swarms of flies be stopped by this
Geo fence around Goshen?
Well, only the Lord could do it, thus demonstrating who he is
before Pharaoh.
And do you notice who else aren't mentioned in this passage?
The sorcerer priests, the magicians.
There's nothing here for them, as they've already admitted that
this is the work of the finger of God.
So this distinction here of Goshen will be mentioned in four
more plagues as God identifies his people.
And in this instance the Lord states that the distinctionist who
Pharaoh might know or at least acknowledge that the Lord is in the
midst of the land, that is, he is the king, dwelling in it and sovereign
over all that happens there.
And so the flies come in verse 24 and Pharaoh summons Moses and
he summons Aaron and tells them rather surprisingly and succinctly,
to lead the people in worship of God.
Finally, it seems that Pharaoh Pharaoh has had enough.
He has met his match in God and is giving in.
But Pharaoh remains hard hearted towards God because he will
only let them worship God in the land.
And Moses objects in verses 26 to 27 stating that the sacrifices
they would offer would be detestable to the Egyptians.
Now we're not told why these would be detestable, but Moses goes
on to say that this would then lead to retribution by the Egyptians.
And surprisingly, this is a passage of surprises.
In verse 28, Pharaoh agrees to their departure.
Pharaoh said, I will let you go to offer sacrifices to the Lord
your God.
Not in the land, but actually in the desert.
But you must not go very far.
Now pray for me.
Well, here we have the world's superpower calling for his second
prayer meeting.
Because once again, as in the plague of frogs, Pharaoh is asking
for prayer and he's asking it from God's ambassadors before him.
It would appear that Pharaoh's heart is getting the message of who
he's up against.
And Moses confirms in verse 29 that he will indeed pray for Pharaoh
and that the flies will disappear the next day.
But look at the warning that Moses gives Pharaoh in the second
half of verse 29.
Only be sure that Pharaoh does not act deceitfully again by not
letting the people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.
See, Moses knows who he's dealing with.
In fact, Moses has a greater understanding of who he's dealing
with than Pharaoh does of who he has to deal with.
Moses doesn't trust the King of Egypt because he's made promises
before and he's broken them.
Yet Pharaoh is still resistant to God.
And this is demonstrated in verses 30 to 32.
Moses does indeed pray for Pharaoh and the Lord answers by removing
all of the flies from Egypt.
The text assures us that not a fly remained.
The Lord sent the flies and the Lord removed them.
But we don't need to see the evil his magicians in this.
They're not there.
As we've said, they've no part to play.
But there is a deception, and it's not from them because it's the
deception of Pharaoh's heart is now on display for us.
In verse 32 he says, but this time also Pharaoh hardened his heart
and would not let the people go.
What a liar.
He promised he told them, we're going to do this.
And then he says no.
And so we come to the end of this plague, this fourth plague on
the land of Egypt.
And looking over these verses, we see that Pharaoh still wanted
to control the situation because that's what he was used to.
And even though it appeared as if he was submitting to the Lord,
he truly wasn't.
He was only using words that got his situation that little bit
better for him.
He would not let them go.
And if he were to let them go, well, it was only going to be within
the land of Egypt and then only to be a little bit beyond the
land.
Here we still have Pharaoh trying to someway barter with God.
And when he got what he wanted, he reneged on what he said
and the promises he had made and simply got back to being Pharaoh,
King of Egypt.
And what Pharaoh demonstrates here is very foolish.
But aren't we capable of making the same mistake?
Many people try to offer God some sort of compromise.
That's what Pharaoh was doing, a compromise.
Okay, I'll let you worship, but it's in the land.
Okay, these flies are really bugging me.
I'll let you worship, but not too far away.
Pharaoh wasn't willing to submit to God and give what God asked
for.
So when we need help, we start to negotiate with God.
We promise that if only God will get whatever we want sorted,
whatever trouble we happen to be, and whatever time frame we have,
then we'll start to follow Him.
But of course, when the good times come, we simply don't honor
the commitments and those compromises that we desire to make.
As soon as the troubles are over, God is forgotten about entirely.
And what makes this so foolish for each of us is that God cannot
be mocked, nor can he be deceived.
He knows you because he made you.
You can't lie to Him.
You can't think one thing and think another before him because
he knows you inside out.
And God draws a careful distinction between his people and
and those who are not his people.
Again, we see that here in Egypt, but for us, the dividing line
is Jesus Christ.
It is the cross of Christ that is our redemption.
Redemption that God has set.
Between faith and unbelief, between the hard hearted and the
born again, between the redeemed and the damned.
Given the choice, it's far better to live with the people of
God than.
Than to stay in Egypt.
Would that not what you would be thinking if you were an Egyptian
fleeing to Goshen to get away from the flies?
But so Often when it comes to the things of God, we flee to the
world rather than to his comfort and his security.
See Paul tells us in Titus 2 verses 11 and 12.
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to
all men.
It teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions
and to live self controlled, upright and godly lives in this present
age.
Last week I told you what I wanted for you and it's exactly this.
To live self controlled, upright and godly lives in this present
age.
I want that for myself and I want it for you.
Because I am convinced and I believe that Jesus is the only way,
the only way to be sure that Satan is limited in his power over
us so that there is a better day tomorrow and that Christ is the
only one who can save us.
And rather than staying amongst the flies, we run to his
promised land of salvation and know him fully so that indeed we
can live self controlled and upright and godly lives in this present
day age.
God's punishment on the people of Egypt was swift.
The first one came without warning.
The second Pharaoh had opportunity.
It tells us two tales that we may think I can leave it, but really
you can't.
We each need to come to Christ today and know him for the God that
He is, the God of our salvation, the only God who will
bring us home.
Because if we're not trusting in him, then just like Satan, we
are damned.
Come to the Savior, know Him and rejoice in him to put away the
old life and live in his ways so that indeed we will be saved and
and it will be salvation for the glory of God.
Let's pray.
Our Father, we thank you for your Word that really does challenge
us to our very souls, to our very core.
Because we're confronted with the reality that is our reality.
We're confronted with the truth that to remain in our sin filled
ways means we have no hope.
And even in the days where we feel that Satan's attacks and his
opposition are more powerful than we can bear.
We thank you for the glorious hope that that power is limited and
there is a brighter day coming.
And Father for rest for our weary souls.
It is only Jesus.
And so it is to him who is the answer to all of this today.
To look unto him for his grace and his salvation, his mercy and
his love.
And so maybe not flippantly leave this building thinking we're
okay, because we're not.
We need a Savior so we can put away all the things that we hold
dear and live only for Him.
So may we respond well to your word this day as we ask it, in Jesus
name, amen.