The Fourth Plague - The Plague of Swarms of Flying Insects (Exodus 8:20-32).
The first series of three plagues being behind them we now come to the second series of three. While the first three have been general and have affected all, the second three are more targeted. In these three plagues the Israelites are spared and the plagues are rather centred on the Egyptians. And as with the first three the first confrontation is on the banks of the Nile.
Egypt suffers from mosquitoes all the year round but they are at their worst during and just after the Nile flood when the fields are still flooded. Their eggs and larvae develop in the standing water. The extra flooding would provide even better conditions for proliferation. As well as mosquitoes, flies would also proliferate among the rotting fish, the dead frogs and the decaying vegetation, including the carrier-fly, the stomoxys calcitrans (which might well be responsible for the later boils), and become carriers of disease from these sources. The ‘swarms' may well have included both. They would have been an equal nuisance and an equal threat.
The Egyptians were used to both mosquitoes and flies, which were a constant and dreadful nuisance. But they had never seen anything like the situation that now developed.
a Moses was to meet Pharaoh by the Nile, and must declare that he must allow Yahweh's people to go and serve Him by worship and offerings (compare Exodus 7:15). (Exodus 8:20).
b If he does not there will be swarms of flying insects throughout the land of Egypt (Exodus 8:21).
c But in Goshen were His people are there will be no flying insects, this is so that he will know the great power of Yahweh (Pharaoh could do nothing about the insects, but Yahweh was in complete control) (Exodus 8:22).
d The result will be that He sets a deliverance between the Egyptians and His own people (Exodus 8:23 a).
e The sign will come on the morrow (of the overwhelming power of the Lord Yahweh) (Exodus 8:23 b).
f And Yahweh did so. He brought flying insects throughout the whole land. The land was corrupted as a result of the flying insects (Exodus 8:24).
g Pharaoh call Moses and Aaron and tells them that they may go and sacrifice, but only in the land of Egypt (Exodus 8:25).
g Moses points out that they cannot because their sacrifices are of such a nature that they will cause disquiet among the Egyptians (Exodus 8:26).
f He insists that they must go a short journey into the wilderness and sacrifice there to Yahweh their God as He shall command (they could not sacrifice to Him in a corrupted land). Then Pharaoh says that he will allow them to go into the wilderness, only they must not go far away (Exodus 8:27-28 a).
e He then asks Moses to entreat with Yahweh on his behalf (another sign emphasising the power of Yahweh. It is the inferior who entreats with the superior) (Exodus 8:28 b).
d Moses says he will entreat Yahweh, so that the flying insects may go, (thus they all may also experience Yahweh's deliverance), but warns Pharaoh against practising deceit by not letting the people go (Exodus 8:29).
c Moses went out from Pharaoh's presence and entreated Yahweh (Exodus 8:30).
b Yahweh does according to the word of Moses and removes the swarms of flying insects so that there ‘remained not one' (Exodus 8:31).
a And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time as well, and would not let the people go (Exodus 8:32).
In ‘a' as usual we have ‘let my people go' paralleled with Pharaoh hardening his heart. In ‘b' the warning that there will be flying insects is paralleled with the removal of the flying insects. In ‘c' for Yahweh's people in Goshen there were no flying insects, while in the parallel Pharaoh could not get rid of them without the help of Moses. In ‘d' there is deliverance for Yahweh's people in contrast with the Egyptians, and through that deliverance and contrast Pharaoh will ‘know Yahweh' (Exodus 8:22) whereas in the parallel the hope of deliverance for the Egyptians lies with Moses, who in promising it warns against deceit. Pharaoh must know Yahweh. In ‘e' the sign of Yahweh's overwhelming power will come on the morrow, while in the parallel Pharaoh the god-king has to entreat Yahweh through Moses, a sign of Yahweh's overwhelming power. In ‘f' Yahweh brings the flying insects into Egypt and the land is ‘corrupted' (the word usually means destroyed but can also indicate moral corruption, compare Exodus 32:7; Genesis 6:11-13; Genesis 6:17; Genesis 38:9; Deuteronomy 4:16; Deuteronomy 4:25; Deuteronomy 9:12; Deuteronomy 31:29; Deuteronomy 32:5; or for being marred - Leviticus 19:27), in the parallel Moses insists that Israel must leave the (corrupted) land in order to sacrifice. In ‘g' Pharaoh tells Moss that they must sacrifice in the land. In the parallel Moses says that they cannot because of the nature of their sacrifices. When it comes to worshipping Yahweh Egypt is no place for it.
‘And Yahweh said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh. Lo, he comes out to the water. And say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh, let my people go that they may serve me. Or else, if you will not let my people go, behold I will send swarms of flying insects on you and on your servants, and on your people and into your houses, and the houses of the Egyptians will be full of swarms of flying insects and also the ground on which they are. And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flying insects will be there, to the end that you may know that I am Yahweh in the midst of the earth. And I will put a division between my people and your people. By tomorrow will this sign be.” '
Moses was again to approach Pharaoh early in the morning, as he came to the Nile to venerate it and receive its blessing. This is the second time that Moses has approached him while worshipping at the Nile. It may be that Yahweh deliberately chose such occasions because they weakened Pharaoh's right to deny the Israelites the same opportunity of worshipping Yahweh. Or it may have been intended to challenge Pharaoh about the power of the Nile god. Negotiations would take place in the very presence of the Nile god, but he would be unable to do anything about it.
The warning was to be given that if God's people cannot go and ‘serve' Him as Pharaoh now ‘serves' the Nile then the next plague will come, a plague of excessive swarms of flying insects, and these will be everywhere. They will be inescapable. Others see these insects as a particularly vicious type of beetle.
The only exception would be the land of Goshen where His people lived. Their lives were still burdened by slavery but they would not suffer this latest plague. If they were mosquitoes this was remarkable as Goshen usually had more than its fair share of mosquitoes, demonstrating again the hand of Yahweh. (The excessive disease carrying swarms are what they would escape. They would still probably have to endure flies and mosquitoes in the normal way). But they could easily have been something even more dreadful.
“Swarms.” The word is only used of this plague (both here and in Psalms 78:45; Psalms 105:31). It comes from a root ‘to mix' and expresses the idea of dense swarms or possibly incessant motion, and may include a variety of swarming insects.
“I will put a division.” Literally ‘set a deliverance'. One side will be delivered, the other will not.
“That you may know that I am Yahweh in the midst of the earth.” Pharaoh had said earlier that he did not recognise Yahweh (Exodus 5:2). Now he will indeed know Him, whether he wants to or not, for He is there and active.
“By tomorrow will this sign be.” The remarkable distinction will be a clear sign of the power and favour of Yahweh, and it was to come on the morrow.
‘And Yahweh did so. And there came grievous swarms of flying insects into the house of Pharaoh and into his servants houses. And in all the land of Egypt the land was corrupted by reason of the swarms of flying insects.'
It is emphasised here that the house of Pharaoh and his high officials were especially affected. The plagues were now getting nearer to home, and Pharaoh's helplessness in the face of them was being revealed. But apart from Goshen the whole land was affected. Their people were becoming aware that the mighty Horus (the living Pharaoh was believed to be the god Horus) was helpless against Yahweh.
“Corrupted.” The word commonly means ‘destroyed', but regularly refers to moral corruption, and sometimes to being marred (compare Exodus 32:7; Genesis 6:11-13; Genesis 6:17; Genesis 38:9; Deuteronomy 4:16; Deuteronomy 4:25; Deuteronomy 9:12; Deuteronomy 31:29; Deuteronomy 32:5; or for being marred - Leviticus 19:27). The point being made is of the devastating effect that they had, so much so that Pharaoh compromises. They did not just destroy the land, they made it distasteful. This particular word would support the suggestion that the insects were a particularly vicious and ravenous form of beetle. Some kinds of beetles were sacred to the Egyptians which would make the situation even more difficult. It would certainly not be a land where Yahweh could be worshipped in purity.
‘And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron and said, “You go, sacrifice to your God in the land.” '
So Pharaoh, driven to distraction, offered to let the children of Israel offer sacrifices and serve God in a festival, but only within the land of Egypt, not in the wilderness. He would give them time off for their worship, but they must not leave the country.
‘And Moses said, “It is not satisfactory to do so. For we will sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to Yahweh our God. Look, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes and they not stone us?” '
But Moses argued that this compromise was not suitable because of the nature of their sacrifices and the way in which they would sacrifice them. Their actions would be seen as an abomination by the Egyptians who saw some of the animals as sacred, and would consider that they were not sacrificing them in the right way. Can Pharaoh not see that thus the Egyptians would be incensed and would riot and attack them for their sacrilege? Stoning was not an official form of punishment in Egypt. The idea is that the Egyptians would riot and use any weapon that lay to hand.
“We will go three days journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to Yahweh our God as He shall command us.”
So Moses insists on a short journey, a ‘three day journey', into the wilderness where they may sacrifice to Yahweh in accordance with His commands, in a place suitable for worshipping Yahweh.
‘And Pharaoh said, “I will let you go that you may sacrifice to Yahweh your God in the wilderness, only you shall not go very far away. Entreat for me.” '
Pharaoh now concedes almost all the ground. ‘Not very far' rather than a ‘three days journey'. The difference in distance is minimal and probably a face saver.
“Entreat for me.” Here was a humiliation indeed. The great Pharaoh was pleading with Moses as a prophet to plead for him with his own God Who was thereby acknowledge as being more powerful than he. It should be noted that he is asking Moses to entreat on the basis of the terms discussed. Thus for Pharaoh to back down would be a breach of treaty and would be seen as a serious offence deserving of severe punishment. (The word is not specifically a treaty word but the context makes it so).
‘And Moses said, “Behold I go out from you, and I will entreat Yahweh that the swarms of flying insects may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants and from his people tomorrow. Only let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to Yahweh.” And Moses went out from Pharaoh and entreated Yahweh, and Yahweh did according to the word of Moses, and he removed the swarms of flying insects from Pharaoh, from his servants and from his people. There remained not one.'
Moses accepts the compromise, agrees to entreat for him on the basis of it because he is acknowledging that only Yahweh can deliver is such a case, and warns Pharaoh against failing to fulfil his obligations under the agreement. He will ask Yahweh that the swarms of flying insects might depart, but he knows by now that this Pharaoh is not to be trusted and warns him against proving false to his promise of letting them go and sacrifice to Yahweh. Yahweh is doing what He is about to do because Pharaoh is to some extent acknowledging that he ‘knows Yahweh as the One Who is in the midst of the earth', the One Who can deliver (Exodus 8:22-23). Let him not then back down from it.
“And Moses went out from Pharaoh and entreated Yahweh.” These words are heavy with significance. Pharaoh was used to men entering his presence in order to entreat with him because they saw him as a power amongst the gods. But Moses departs the other way, for he has a more powerful Being to entreat. He departed from Pharaoh and entreated Yahweh.
He entreated Yahweh to remove the swarms, and it is stressed that Yahweh did so in accordance with the word of Moses. Not one remained. Moses may not be good at the flowery speeches, but his word is powerfully effective in performing wonders. And he is good at the hard bargaining, for although it may well be that the conversation was taking place through intermediaries, (for Aaron was with him), the final decisions lay with him.
“There remained not one.” Probably not intended to be pressed too literally. The point is that they would all appear to have disappeared so that no trace of one could be seen.
‘And Pharaoh hardened his heart (made his heart heavy) this time as well and he did not let the people go.'
Pharaoh clearly now felt that there was not much else Yahweh could now do, for he again changed his mind once the danger was removed. We must presume he thought that treaties with slaves and Habiru under duress did not need to be observed. But his dishonesty and intransigence was building up trouble for the future, not only for himself but for his people. We should remember that our sins always affect the future and always affect others.
The further lesson that we learn from this plague, on top of what we have already pointed out, is God's care of His own. In all His dealings He distinguishes between those who are His people and respond to Him, and those who do not.