…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. ~Exodus 8:19
The plagues continue, and God instructs Moses and Aaron to strike the dust of the ground with the staff, which produces swarming gnats all over the people and animals. When Pharaoh’s magicians are unable to duplicate this sign, they identify a power greater than theirs: “This is the finger of God.”
These are practitioners of the magical arts—surely the best in all of Egypt, but they are unable to conjure such power—that power, they suspect, is only available to God himself. These Magicians are certainly not followers of the Lord, but are attuned to the spiritual realm and have seen something…beyond.
But Pharaoh is not paying attention to the Lord. What he said back in Exodus 5:2 is as true as it was then: “I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.” He does not know the Lord, so who is his lord?
Even if we don’t particularly identify with the magician or the Pharaoh, the reality is that we all give inappropriate allegiance to idols and authorities in our lives. Read Isaiah 44:14-20 slowly.
- Is the Spirit bringing a word or phrase to your attention?
- Do you identify with the temptation to justify idolatry? What will it look like to repent of such idolatry today?