Deliberately Rebelling Against God

Because of his wealth and power, Pharaoh had been able to avoid most of the inconveniences caused by the water turning to blood and the frogs.  God directed Moses to bring another plague, in Exodus 8:16-17.  “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.” 

Even Pharaoh could not get completely away from the lice.   They came from the dirt, but they attacked and infested every animal and person, transferring from host to host.  Exodus 8:18-19 tells us the magicians were unable to imitate this plague.  “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. “   Up to this time they had been able to create an illusion of doing the same things.  They told Pharaoh this could not be a trick but was something only God could do.  Pharaoh’s pride caused him to decide even God couldn’t make him change his mind.  He was deliberately rebelling against God.

God didn’t give up, as Exodus 8:20-24 tells us.  “And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; lo, he cometh forth to the water; and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me.  Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are.  And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth.  And I will put a division between my people and thy people: to morrow shall this sign be.  And the LORD did so; and there came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants' houses, and into all the land of Egypt: the land was corrupted by reason of the swarm of flies.”

Swarms of flies were everywhere, biting and annoying people, contaminating their food and laying eggs in open wounds, excrement and rotting food so that maggots were everywhere, except in areas where the Jews lived.  Clearly this was directed solely at the Egyptians.  Even Pharaoh could not get away from them.  He offered a small concession if it would get rid of the flies, in Exodus 8:25.  “And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land. “  He would let them have a day off to worship God but they were not to leave the local area. 

Moses said that would not be acceptable, because the Egyptians would be offended by their way of worship, resulting in them being attacked, in Exodus 8:26.  “And Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the LORD our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us?  We will go three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the LORD our God, as he shall command us.”  Desperate to get rid of the flies, Pharaoh agreed to let them go three days out so that the Egyptians would not be offended, in Exodus 8:28.  “And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: entreat for me.”

Moses didn’t trust Pharaoh, and warned him not to change his mind once the flies were gone, in Exodus 8:29-31.  “And Moses said, Behold, I go out from thee, and I will entreat the LORD that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, to morrow: but let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD.  And Moses went out from Pharaoh, and entreated the LORD.  And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; there remained not one. “

As soon as the flies were gone, Pharaoh reverted back to his former attitude, in Exodus 8:32.  “And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go.”  His promise was only an attempt to manipulate Moses and get his own way.  He had no intention of keeping it.  Selfish people, whether they are a drug addict, a lazy employee, an unfaithful mate, or a political figure, will promise almost anything to get their way.   Once they have what they want they make no effort to keep their promises because they’ve gotten what they wanted and don’t care about anything else.