The account of the plague of flies is a significant event in the narrative of the Exodus, where God demonstrates His power and sovereignty through His chosen servants, Moses and Aaron. This miracle is the fourth of the ten plagues that God inflicted upon Egypt to compel Pharaoh to release the Israelites from bondage.

Biblical Context

The account of the plague of flies is found in the Book of Exodus, specifically in Exodus 8:20-32. After Pharaoh's repeated refusal to let the Israelites go, God instructs Moses to confront Pharaoh once more. The Lord commands Moses to rise early in the morning and present himself before Pharaoh as he goes to the water. Moses is to deliver God's message: "Let My people go, so that they may worship Me" (Exodus 8:20).

The Miracle

God warns Pharaoh through Moses that if he refuses to let the Israelites go, He will send swarms of flies upon Egypt. The flies will fill the houses of the Egyptians and cover the ground, causing great distress. However, God makes a distinction between His people and the Egyptians: "But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where My people live, so that no swarms of flies will be there. Thus you will know that I, the LORD, am in this land" (Exodus 8:22).

As Moses and Aaron obey God's command, the miracle unfolds exactly as foretold. Swarms of flies invade the land of Egypt, causing chaos and suffering among the Egyptians. The land is ruined by the flies, yet the Israelites in Goshen remain untouched, highlighting God's protection and favor towards His people.

Pharaoh's Response

The severity of the plague prompts Pharaoh to summon Moses and Aaron. He offers a compromise, allowing the Israelites to sacrifice to their God within the land of Egypt. However, Moses insists that they must journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices, as God has commanded. Pharaoh reluctantly agrees but asks Moses to pray to the Lord to remove the flies.

Moses prays, and the Lord responds by removing the flies from Pharaoh, his officials, and his people. Not a single fly remains. Despite this miraculous relief, Pharaoh hardens his heart once again and refuses to let the Israelites go, demonstrating the persistent resistance of the Egyptian ruler against God's will.

Theological Significance

The plague of flies serves as a powerful testament to God's authority over creation and His ability to protect His people. It underscores the theme of divine judgment against those who oppose God's purposes and the deliverance of those who trust in Him. The distinction made between the Egyptians and the Israelites highlights God's covenant relationship with His chosen people and His faithfulness to His promises.

This miracle, like the other plagues, is a demonstration of God's power over the false gods of Egypt, challenging their supposed dominion and revealing the impotence of the Egyptian deities. It is a call to recognize the one true God, who alone is worthy of worship and obedience.Exodus 8:21-24
Else, if you will not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you, and on your servants, and on your people, and into your houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground where on they are.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

On the Words, and in one Holy Catholic Church, and in the ...
... Apostles, even though the wonders wrought by each ... secondly Prophets, thirdly teachers,
then miracles, then gifts ... And this shall come to pass through the loving ...
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Appendix xii. The Baptism of Proselytes
... of a bride; such weariness and faintness through their malignant ... that the prophets
or great men of old had wrought. ... of Egypt had imitated the miracles of Moses ...
/.../the life and times of jesus the messiah/appendix xii the baptism of.htm

Book I.
... reward would not be due to me, but to Him who wrought in me ... are all workers of miracles? ...
for lacking that which he has not; but he is justified through what he ...
//christianbookshelf.org/jerome/the principal works of st jerome/book i.htm

Book ii. Jerome Answers the Second, Third, and Fourth Propositions ...
... he putteth no trust in his servants, and chargeth ... the centurion was found worthy
through alms-giving ... who, while he was fasting, had wrought miracles, no sooner ...
/.../jerome/the principal works of st jerome/book ii jerome answers the.htm

The Saints' Privilege and Profit;
... poor carpenter's son, who, notwithstanding his miracles of wisdom ... days of his flesh
he wrought out and ... abundance of grace proceeds from God through Christ, so ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/the saints privilege and profit.htm

Solomon's Temple Spiritualized
... Secondly, These stones, as they were thus wrought within and ... and immortality is brought
to light through this ... of God; as so, they are but servants, though these ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/solomons temple spiritualized.htm

A Defence of the Doctrine of Justification, by Faith in Jesus ...
... That Christ's doctrine, life, actions, miracles, death, resurrection, ascension ... moral
law, that is, it is wrought by us ... and of its coming to us through the death ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/a defence of the doctrine.htm

The Doctrine
... law discovered to a people by the servants of Jesus ... and all the world become guilty
before God" (Romans 3 ... of the law, and of some also that through delusions of ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/the doctrine.htm

Christ a Complete Saviour:
... to the world, faithfulness to children, to servants, to all ... benefit of this twofold
salvation that is wrought, and that ... but for the sake of and through the Son ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/christ a complete saviour .htm

The Pharisee and the Publican
... of his birth, life, death, doctrine, and miracles, in the ... the way to the Father;
that God, for Christ's ... made righteous, or justified; and that through this man ...
/.../bunyan/the pharisee and publican/the pharisee and the publican.htm

What does it mean that God is a God of miracles? | GotQuestions.org

What is the spiritual gift of miracles? | GotQuestions.org

What does the Bible say about demonic/satanic miracles? | GotQuestions.org

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