Scripture Daily

Context No. 1415 of 4322 · Exodus

Context · Reflection

Exodus 9:8-12: in context

8The LORD said to Moses and to Aaron, “Take handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the sky in the sight of Pharaoh. 9It shall become small dust over all the land of Egypt, and shall be boils and blisters breaking out on man and on animal, throughout all the land of Egypt.” 10They took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it up toward the sky; and it became boils and blisters breaking out on man and on animal. 11The magicians couldn’t stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boils were on the magicians and on all the Egyptians. 12The LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he didn’t listen to them, as the LORD had spoken to Moses.

For the sixth plague, God tells Moses to take handfuls of soot from a furnace and toss them toward the sky before Pharaoh; the soot becomes fine dust over all Egypt, breaking out in boils on people and animals alike. And the text notes something telling: the magicians, Pharaoh's court sorcerers who had earlier mimicked some of Moses' signs, could not even stand before Moses, because the boils were on them as on all the Egyptians. The imitators of God's power are now themselves afflicted and helpless.

There is a quiet turning point in this small detail about the magicians. Earlier in the plagues, Pharaoh's magicians had been able to reproduce some of the signs, turning their staffs to serpents, water to blood, calling up frogs, giving Pharaoh reason to dismiss what God was doing as no different from his own sorcerers' tricks. But now the counterfeit collapses. The magicians who had rivaled Moses cannot even stand in his presence, because they too are covered in the boils; the imitation has reached its limit, and the imitators are exposed as helpless, afflicted like everyone else. It is a picture of what eventually happens to every counterfeit of God's power. The imitations can look convincing for a while, can seem to match the real thing and give us reason to treat God as one option among many; but there comes a point where the counterfeit fails, where whatever we leaned on as a rival or substitute for God is exposed as unable even to stand, let alone save. The magicians could copy a sign or two, but they could not keep themselves from the boils; the false has the reach to imitate but not to deliver. What we trust as a substitute for God may impress us for a season, but it will not be standing when it matters, and the day comes when every counterfeit is shown for what it is.

What have I leaned on as a rival or substitute for God, a counterfeit that impressed me for a season, and can I see that such imitations, like the magicians, may copy the real thing for a while but will not be standing when it matters?

Sources