Exodus 8:16-19 "And the LORD said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt. And they did so; for Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man, and in beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt. And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man, and upon beast. Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said."
There is a wonderful consistency in the things the LORD does. We sometimes read it without it impacting us as it should. With every action that Moses undertook in the name of the LORD it began with “And the LORD said (or spake) unto Moses.” Although Moses was responsible for doing as the LORD commanded him, Moses was never tasked with determining what or when the LORD should do a thing.
Many have had the unpleasant experience of having head lice. It is possible to have lice on other parts of the body as well. These tiny bugs cause itching, a crawling sensation on the scalp, and sores. They can be difficult to get rid of and require special treatment and diligence to do so. Now, stop and imagine what it might be like if all the dust in and around our homes were lice. The land of Egypt, both man and beast, was in torment.
Pharaoh’s magicians decided they would try their hand at appearing to duplicate this plague as they had the others. However, in this God had outstripped even their vain enchantments. They were powerless to deceive the people or to pretend to Pharaoh that this could be explained away as some trick. The magicians confessed to Pharaoh that this could only be an act of God, and Pharaoh was even hardened against his own magicians.
Man is not greater than God. No matter how much our fleshly nature may try to vaunt itself, there comes a time when the deceit of man is exposed. We may come to a place where we are surrounded by little things that have proved to be a great torment in our lives. Eventually, we will either confess that this is the finger of God upon our lives, or else, we harden our hearts and will not hear the truth. May the finger of God in our lives humble us rather than harden us, and may we confess that judgement belongs to God.