The Third Plague: Gnats

When Power Meets Its Match

Have you ever witnessed a moment when someone who seemed invincible suddenly met their match? Picture the most skilled professional you know—a surgeon, an engineer, a master craftsman—suddenly encountering a problem they simply cannot solve. That moment of recognition, when expertise hits its wall, reveals something profound about the limits of human ability.

Today we’re going to witness exactly such a moment in Exodus 8:16-19. Here, the most skilled religious practitioners in the ancient world—the court magicians of Egypt—encounter something that stops them cold. For the first time in their confrontation with Moses and Aaron, they cannot duplicate what they see. And their response? A stunning admission that will echo through the rest of Scripture.

This passage records the third plague against Egypt, but it’s much more than another demonstration of God’s power. It’s the moment when divine authority becomes so undeniable that even God’s opponents must acknowledge it. In just four verses, we’ll discover profound truths about God’s sovereignty, the limits of human power, and what it means to live under divine authority.

The Scene: Dust Becomes Judgment

I want you to listen carefully to what unfolds in our passage:

“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Say to Aaron, “Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, so that it may become gnats in all the land of Egypt.”‘ And they did so. Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and there were gnats on man and beast. All the dust of the earth became gnats in all the land of Egypt. The magicians tried by their secret arts to produce 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 would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.”

Now, let’s read it again, but this time notice the repetition. How many times do you hear the word “dust”? How about “gnats”? What about “all” and “earth”? The text is practically drumming these words into our consciousness. Why? Because God is making a point about the scope and source of His power.

Look at the contrast that emerges when we read carefully: Aaron stretches out his staff and strikes the dust—and immediately there are gnats everywhere. The magicians try their secret arts to produce gnats—and they cannot. Aaron acts once; the magicians fail completely. This isn’t a close contest; it’s a complete shutout.

But here’s what catches my attention: Why dust? Why gnats? In the first plague, God turned water into blood—the lifeblood of Egypt, the Nile River. In the second plague, He brought frogs from the water onto the land. Now, in the third plague, He takes the very dust of the earth—the most basic, humble element—and transforms it into teeming life that torments both man and beast.

You see, God is working His way through the elements of creation, demonstrating His authority over every sphere. Water, land, air—nothing lies outside His dominion. But there’s something particularly significant about dust. This is the same dust from which God formed man in Genesis 2:7. The dust of Egypt, which should have been under Pharaoh’s dominion, becomes the instrument of his torment.

The Confession: “This is the Finger of God”

Now we come to the heart of our passage—and one of the most remarkable admissions in all of Scripture. The magicians, who had successfully duplicated the first two plagues, suddenly find themselves completely powerless. They “tried by their secret arts to produce gnats, but they could not.”

This is the first time in the plague sequence that the magicians fail. Think about what this means. These weren’t street performers or amateur tricksters. These were the court magicians of Egypt, the most powerful empire in the ancient world. They were educated, skilled practitioners of Egyptian religious arts. They had access to the most sophisticated magical techniques of their time. And they had just demonstrated their abilities by duplicating the first two plagues.

But now they hit a wall. They cannot produce even the smallest creatures—gnats. And their response is stunning: “This is the finger of God.”

Let me tell you something fascinating about this Hebrew phrase. The expression “finger of God” appears only a handful of times in all of Scripture, and each occurrence is significant. When Moses receives the tablets of the law on Mount Sinai, Exodus 31:18 tells us they were written by “the finger of God.” When the psalmist contemplates the heavens, he marvels at “the work of your fingers” in Psalm 8:3. When Jesus casts out demons, He declares in Luke 11:20 that He does so “by the finger of God.”

You see the pattern? “Finger of God” doesn’t refer to just any divine activity. It represents direct, immediate, unmistakable divine action. Not God working through natural processes or human agents, but God Himself acting directly in the physical world with such clarity that even His opponents must acknowledge it.

When the magicians declare “This is the finger of God,” they’re making a professional assessment. They’re saying, “We know our craft. We understand the limits of human power and magical arts. What we’re seeing here is beyond all of that. This is God Himself at work.”

The Hebrew word for “gnats” here—kinnim—appears nowhere else in the Old Testament except in this plague narrative. God chose a very specific creature for this demonstration, possibly gnats that bred in dust and dirt. The irony is profound: the dust of Egypt, which should have been under Pharaoh’s dominion, becomes the source of a torment that Egypt’s greatest magicians cannot even begin to replicate.

The Pattern: God’s Escalating Revelation

To understand the full weight of what happens in our passage, we need to step back and see how it fits into the larger story. This is the third plague in a sequence of ten, and the pattern that has emerged is crucial to understanding why this moment is so significant.

In the first plague, God turned the water of Egypt into blood. The magicians duplicated this miracle. In the second plague, God brought frogs from the water onto the land. Again, the magicians duplicated the miracle. A pattern was established: God demonstrates His power, the magicians match it, Pharaoh’s heart hardens, and he refuses to let Israel go.

But now something changes. For the first time, the magicians cannot duplicate what God has done. This isn’t just another plague—it’s a turning point. The escalation is deliberate and devastating.

Think about what God is doing here. Egypt was the superpower of the ancient world, and their religious system was incredibly complex. They had gods for everything—river gods, animal gods, gods associated with insects and small creatures. The Egyptians believed their gods controlled every aspect of the natural world, and their magicians were the mediators of that divine power.

When God systematically works through the elements of creation—water, land, air—He’s not just demonstrating power; He’s dismantling the entire Egyptian worldview. Each plague declares that the God of Israel is supreme over what the Egyptians considered divine.

But the third plague does something particularly devastating. God takes the dust of the earth—the most basic, humble element—and transforms it into a plague that Egypt’s greatest religious practitioners cannot even begin to understand, let alone duplicate. The very ground of Egypt becomes an instrument of judgment that reveals the absolute limits of human power.

Remember God’s stated purpose in all of this: “that you may know that I am the Lord” (Exodus 7:17). Each plague is a revelation, a systematic demonstration that the God of Israel is supreme over all creation and all false gods. The third plague specifically demonstrates God’s authority over the smallest elements of creation. He doesn’t just control the great river Nile or the larger creatures—He commands even the dust of the earth.

This reveals something profound about God’s sovereignty: there is no realm of creation, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, that lies outside His authority. From the cosmic to the microscopic, from the spectacular to the mundane, everything responds to His command.

The Meaning: God’s Authority in Our Lives

So what does this ancient confrontation between Moses and the magicians mean for us today? What can we learn from this moment when divine authority became undeniable?

First, God’s power extends to every detail of creation and every circumstance of our lives. He doesn’t just work through spectacular miracles—He commands the dust of the earth. Think about what this means for your daily routine. There’s no area of your life, no matter how small or mundane, where God cannot work. The same God who transformed the dust of Egypt into an instrument of His purposes can work through the ordinary circumstances of your Tuesday afternoon.

Don’t despise small things or ordinary days. God often works His greatest purposes through seemingly insignificant details. That difficult conversation at work, that unexpected delay in traffic, that small act of kindness you’re considering—these are the dust of your life, and God can transform any of them into something significant for His kingdom.

Second, God’s authority is absolute and undeniable. Even the magicians, who had successfully duplicated the first two plagues, had to acknowledge divine power. There comes a point where human skill, knowledge, and power reach their limits, but God’s power has no limits.

When you face problems that seem beyond human solution, remember that God’s power extends beyond human limitations. The magicians reached the end of their abilities, but God was just getting started. Your impossible situation—that broken relationship, that financial crisis, that health challenge, that family conflict—is not impossible for God. Human wisdom may fail, human resources may be exhausted, but God’s power is just beginning to be revealed.

Third, God reveals Himself through His works. The purpose of the plagues wasn’t merely to punish Egypt, but to reveal God’s character and authority. Every demonstration of God’s power is also a revelation of who He is. And here’s the remarkable thing: like the magicians who had to acknowledge “This is the finger of God,” there are times when God’s work in your life will be so evident that even skeptics will have to acknowledge His power.

Live in such a way that your life points others to God’s reality and authority. When God works through your circumstances, when He provides in impossible situations, when He transforms your ordinary moments into extraordinary testimonies, don’t be surprised if people around you begin to say, “This is the finger of God.”

Conclusion: Recognizing God’s Fingerprints

We’ve witnessed something remarkable in these four verses. We’ve seen the moment when human power met its absolute limit and divine authority became undeniable. The magicians of Egypt, with all their skill and knowledge, had to confess: “This is the finger of God.”

But here’s what I want you to understand: this isn’t just an ancient story about plagues and Pharaoh. This is a revelation of how God works in every age, including ours. The same God who commanded the dust of Egypt is actively at work in your life today. The same divine authority that the magicians had to acknowledge is present in your circumstances right now.

You see, God is still leaving His fingerprints all over our world. In the provision that comes just when you need it most. In the door that opens when every other door has closed. In the healing that defies medical explanation. In the reconciliation that seemed impossible. In the ordinary moment that becomes extraordinary because God transforms it.

The question isn’t whether God is at work—the question is whether we have eyes to see His fingerprints. Are we paying attention to the ways He demonstrates His authority in our daily lives? Are we looking for the moments when human solutions reach their limits and divine power becomes evident?

Sometimes God works through spectacular miracles that leave no doubt about His involvement. But more often, He works through the dust of our ordinary circumstances—transforming the mundane into the meaningful, the common into the sacred, the impossible into the inevitable.

Just as the magicians had to acknowledge divine power when they encountered it, may we develop the spiritual sensitivity to recognize God’s fingerprints in our lives. May we be quick to say, “This is the finger of God,” when we see His authority displayed in our circumstances.

The same God who revealed Himself to Pharaoh’s court wants to reveal Himself to you. The same divine authority that transformed the dust of Egypt can transform the dust of your life. Live with the expectation that you will see God’s fingerprints today, and when you do, don’t hesitate to acknowledge His power and give Him the glory He deserves.