Day Six - The Plague of Lice

I don’t know about your family, but for ours by the end of the day of blood – we were THIRSTY for water! This was a good lesson reminding us that we are created with a need for water just as we are created with a spiritual thirst that only God can quench.  Only Jesus can satisfy our deepest needs.

Jesus answered and said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life." John 4:13-14

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.” John 6:35

Waking up to the Plague of Frogs brought about questions and revelation. After learning that the Egyptians worshiped the Nile River and bowed down to the frog-god my son remarked, “So . . . these plagues were not random at all!”

Check on your play dough hearts. Are they harder today than they were just last night? I wonder what affect sin has on our own hearts? Do we allow unresolved anger, bitterness, and unforgiveness to give Satan an opportunity to harden our hearts? Can it happen that quickly – just overnight, within twenty-four hours?

“BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity.” Ephesians 4:26-27

God continues to judge the hard heart of Pharaoh.

Read the TRUE STORY of the Plague of Lice / Gnats

Exodus 8: 16-19 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, that it may become gnats through all the land of Egypt.' "

They did so; and Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff, and struck the dust of the earth, and there were gnats (lice) on man and beast. All the dust of the earth became gnats through all the land of Egypt.

Dictionary.com defines this insect as:
Gnat – any of certain small flies
Louse – Any small, wingless insect of the order Anoplura (sucking louse), parasitic on humans and other mammals and having mouthparts adapted for sucking…

You may have experienced lice in your home – or even in your hair. Anyone living in South Georgia can certainly testify to the annoyance and pain of the little, tiny gnat. Take your children to a park or some place with sand. Remind them that ALL of the dust of the land became lice! WOW – I’m not sure we can comprehend that kind of judgment.

The magicians tried with their secret arts to bring forth gnats, but they could not; so there were gnats on man and beast. Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God." But Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, as the LORD had said.

FALSE gOD – IDOL of the Egyptians:  Entire cleanliness of the body was thought to be a religious obligation. Greenleaf   Lice represented the god of the earth – Seth: the god of wind and storms and ruler of the deserts. “All the dust of the land became lice.” So that all were defiled and could not enter their temples

Teaching Points:
1. God deals with a hard heart
2. God used their idols for judgment
3. The magicians could NOT imitate God on this judgment, but they did recognize the finger of God
4. Pharaoh’s heart hardened – he did not listen

PRAYER – May I see the finger of God in my own life when He points out sin and the beginning of a hard heart.

SONG:  Who Can Satisfy?

Illustrations from The Children's Bible Golden Press