David Copperfield They Are Not.

Scripture: Exodus 7:14 to 8:19

Observation: The magicians copied several of the miraculous plagues. What are the details of those mimicked wonders?

1. Waters Become Blood - the water in the river, in all the bowls, ponds, and buckets turned to blood. It's possible that it was not actual blood that God made but instead some sort of organic pollution that resembled blood. In that case, it would still be a wonder that God produced to show His great power because (1) God made it happen and (2) Moses foretold that it would happen. Either way, it was disgusting - undrinkable and odorous. Then I read that the magicians "did so with their enchantments." Obviously all they do is something that Moses had already done. So the assumption here is that they had a small bit of water that they also made turn or appear to turn to blood.

2. Frogs Covering the Land - frogs came up out of the river - so many that they were in houses, cabinets, bedrooms, markets, and anywhere else I can think of. Chapter 8, verse 7 says, "And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs on the land of Egypt." Again the magicians were "bringing forth" something that God had already produced so I don't know what was so amazing about what the magicians did. I think Pharaoh was grasping for a reason to ignore Moses and God.

3. Lice - Moses struck the dust and "it turned into lice." This one definitely didn't need to actually be dust physically morphing into lice. It could have been, but the reading doesn't necessitate it. Of course, I can't know for sure either way. Regardless, the magicians could not duplicate the work of the Holy Spirit here.

They were finally ready to tell Pharaoh that this thing was the work of God. It had taken four events (including the rod/snake deal) but they finally were prepared and willing to confess their inferiority to God. Interestingly, because there is no mention of it, I highly doubt they also divulged that all their previous acts were fraudulent as well.

The other reaction to note here is Pharaoh's. Up until this point Pharaoh had used the magicians as a shield to cover his motivation. "The plagues weren't convincing enough," he feigned. Now his true heart is revealed - at the core Pharaoh was in rebellion against God. He knew God to be the only true God and simply didn't want to submit. That is identical to the majority of people today who claim atheism or agnosticism. They don't want to be morally subjected to God so they create ways to intellectually reject Him (despite how illogical, inconsistent and unintellectual those excuses are).

Application: Faith! Believe what God has said to me and follow. Act in faith. That is what proves there is faith present at all.

Prayer: Father, thank You for always meeting me here and speaking to me! I am not great. I see Your Holy Spirit guiding me thru these stories and ever revealing Your glory in them. It all points to Your greatness! It's funny that the content of the Old Testament is so often used as support for rejecting You and yet I've found it to be the most encouraging to my faith!  I love You. Amen.