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Gnats

Words of Faith Final

Gnats
Words of Faith 10-6-2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2022
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Exodus 8
[16] Then the Lord said to Moses, "Tell Aaron, 'Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the ground,' and throughout the land of Egypt the dust will become gnats." [17] They did this, and when Aaron stretched out his hand with the staff and struck the dust of the ground, gnats came upon men and animals. All the dust throughout the land of Egypt became gnats. [18] But when the magicians tried to produce gnats by their secret arts, they could not. And the gnats were on men and animals.
[19] The magicians 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.

No one ever thought that gnats were cute. If you have ever lived in an area with seasonal gnats, you know how absolutely annoying they can be. Folks used to joke about the "South Georgia wave." During certain seasons, it was necessary to constantly wave your hand in front of your face to keep the gnats out of your eyes, nose, and mouth. Ugh.
The plague of gnats came without warning. This is also true in the sixth and ninth plagues. This may have been because Pharaoh had made false promises of release.
The judgment was sudden. Aaron struck the dust with the staff, and flying, biting insects covered everyone and everything. The Hebrew word for gnats is kinnm, which occurs only here in the Old Testament. It could mean gnats or even mosquitoes. Some are familiar with a tiny biting insect referred to as "no-seeums." Whatever the case, they were so numerous that they swarmed in clouds like dust.
This miserable assault was not a plague that would kill you; it would only make you wish you could die.
The plague may have been an attack against Set, the Egyptian god of the desert. It also may have been directed against the Egyptian priesthood. The priests prided themselves in their purity with frequent washings and shavings. They wore linen clothes. Their sense of cleanliness would have been polluted by these pesky insects.
This was not a plague that could be duplicated by the court magicians. Even the magicians confessed before Pharaoh that this was the finger of God. Yet, Pharaoh remained obstinate and unrepentant.
In a devotional sense, we need to pay attention to the irritations in life. They may not be as dramatic, but we can find ourselves gradually overwhelmed and itching to find some answers. What is God trying to teach me in this irritating situation? In what way is God revealing his sovereign control in the matters that are bugging me? In what way do I need to soften my heart, repent, and turn toward Him?

Lord God of the universe, You are in control of everything. You have everything within Your grasp. Nothing escapes Your view and control. Help me to see Your perspective in my own life. Help me to see the things that You are trying to teach me, even in the irritating moments. Help me to find my way to a place of repentance walking with You. In the Name of Jesus.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2022 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.