16 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.’” 17 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. 18 The magicians tried by their secret arts to produce gnats, but they could not. So there were gnats on man and beast. 19 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. ~ Exodus 8:16-19
In ancient Egypt, they believed humans were created from either the tears of the Eye of Ra or Khepri. Humanity was born from the pain of the gods, leading to a tendency of suffering in humanity. How sad. A completely different creation story of man than ours. One leaving man without purpose. Intent. Hope. Just useless.
Imagine being an ancient Egyptian believing they were created unintentionally from the tears, the sadness, of the gods doomed to lead a life of suffering. A tear struck the ground and man came up. Then two Hebrew men send plagues on the land. The plagues are a bit annoying, but your magicians can imitate them so far. But then the third plague hits a bit different.
See, God had Aaron strike the dust with his staff and gnats invested the land. They saw the power of God in this one act. They saw the hour the finger of God moved through Moses and Aaron. They knew the creation story of their people. A random tear didn’t fall from one of the eyes of the gods. There was no sneeze or cough from the gods. A man took his staff, struck the dust of the earth and gnats were created. They didn’t call the gnats. They didn’t summon the gnats. They turned all of the dust in Egypt into gnats.
They witnessed something they could not replicate. Something that seemed just as powerful, if not more powerful, than what the gods had done, for this was God using man to create gnats out of all of the dust in the land. The gods were nowhere in sight. No spell. No enchantment. Just Aaron striking the dust with his staff.
Our God is a powerful God. Those in darkness can even see His power. Even other gods dare not stand up to Him. Our God is all-powerful. King of kings and LORD of lords. He is the GOD of gods. God Most High. That is the God we serve.
So, when darkness stands against you. When you’re walking through the Valley of the Shadow, do not fear. Do not be afraid. Stand firm on Your God and in His strength, for darkness knows who we serve, do you?
Peace. Love. Go Forth and Strike The Dust.