Exodus 8:16–19 (ESV) —
16 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, so that it may become gnats in all the land of Egypt.’ ” 17 And they did so. Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and there were gnats on man and beast. All the dust of the earth became gnats in all the land of Egypt. 18 The magicians tried by their secret arts to produce gnats, but they could not. So there were gnats on man and beast. 19 Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
NOTE: This is the first time that the magicians (priests or wise ones) could not reproduce a miracle. This is third plague. These magicians are forced to admit that this is the finger of God, although not necessarily the God of Israel. Once again, Pharaoh heart is hardened, not by God but by himself. It won't be until the sixth plague that the Lord hardens Pharaoh's heart.
The gnats were especially irritating. They were small and would bit humans causing a painful itch. So, for the religious leaders, this was particularly vexing, both the being bit by the gnat and having to admit that this was God.
I saw a few videos of young men and women (who thought they were smart -- they were not) challenging various Christian spokesmen about the bible and life. I was so disappointed by the absurdity of the questioning. None of the arguments against the bible or God were good. On the surface, they sounded good, but a just a little study and common sense would have exposed the foolishness of the argument. I was depressed and disappoint, not because any of the arguments even had a hint of reasonableness, but that there were so many young men and women deceived by satanic arguments, that probably learned from their satanic instructors in college. How incredibly sad. They are the supposed "wisemen" being exposed to real truth. Personally, I don't have the patience for these fallacious reasonings, ad hominens, and false dilemmas, especially when I know that they are only smoke screens and excuses for not wanting to truly confront Jesus and believe in God.
PONDER:
- The days are short, the most effective apologetic is the word of God. Do you have memorized verses (beyond John 3.16) that you can use to share the gospel with others?
PRAYER: Father, my heart aches for so many lost people who have an appearance of religion in their arguments but no true love for Jesus. Come Lord Jesus, come. Help us to be bold in sharing the gospel of Jesus to a truly lost and dying world.
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