What is the meaning of Exodus 8:24? And the LORD did so • God immediately backs up His word given through Moses (Exodus 8:20-23). Just as He spoke the plague into being, He now brings it to pass, proving again that “God is not a man, that He should lie” (Numbers 23:19). • Earlier plagues followed the same pattern of promise and performance (Exodus 7:20; 8:13; 9:6). Each fulfillment increases the contrast between the Lord’s faithfulness and Pharaoh’s stubbornness. • Isaiah 55:11 reminds us that every word from God “will not return to Me void,” a truth vividly illustrated here. Thick swarms of flies poured into Pharaoh’s palace and into the houses of his officials • The plague is personal. It invades the royal residence first, toppling any illusion that Pharaoh can shield himself. Compare the earlier Nile judgment that embarrassed Egypt’s gods at the river (Exodus 7:20-21); now the palace gods are powerless inside the very seat of power. • Officials—those charged with governing—find themselves afflicted alongside commoners, echoing Psalm 2:10-12, where earthly rulers are urged to “serve the LORD with fear.” • Psalm 78:45 later recalls, “He sent swarms of flies that devoured them,” linking this event to the larger testimony of God’s saving acts. • The plague also answers Pharaoh’s earlier boast, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey His voice?” (Exodus 5:2). The Lord answers by marching right through his front door. Throughout Egypt the land was ruined by swarms of flies • “Ruined” speaks of widespread devastation—crops, animals, and daily life disrupted. Similar wording appears in Exodus 10:7 where Pharaoh’s own advisers plead, “Do you not yet realize that Egypt is destroyed?” • The economic blow echoes Joel 1:4, where successive locust waves leave the land desolate. Here, flies render labor impossible and spread disease, turning prosperity into misery. • While Egypt suffers, Goshen is spared (Exodus 8:22-23), highlighting the Lord’s covenant distinction and foreshadowing future deliverance (Exodus 12:13). • The judgment anticipates later plagues in Revelation 16, where targeted bowls likewise testify to God’s righteous wrath and precise control. summary Exodus 8:24 underscores the reliability of God’s word, His total sovereignty over rulers and realms, and His ability to both judge and protect. The flies are more than a nuisance; they are a divine proclamation that the Lord alone is God, Pharaoh is not, and obedience to His voice is non-negotiable. |
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