HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 8-13.-The p7,a,gue of boils and bl,ains. 'l'his plague, like the third, was unannounced. God varies his methods. There was need for some token being given of God's severe displeasure a.t Pharaoh's gross abuse of his goodness and forbearance. 'l'his plague is distinguished from the rest by being introduced with a significant action. I. TEE ACTION INTRODUCING THE PLAGUE (vers. 8-10). Hitherto the only actions employed had been the stretching out of Aaron's rod, and in the case of the third plague, the smiting of the dust with it. Now, Moses is instructed to take handfuls of the ashes from the furnace and sprinkle them towards heaven in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants. The performance of so solemn an act implied that a new stage was being reached in Pha.raoh's hardening, as also in God's punitive dealings with him. From this point onwards matters are rapidly developed to a crisis. 'l'he act was ,;ymbolical, and may be variously interpreted. 1. As a challenge to the Egyptian Deities, specially Neit, "who bore the designation of' The Great Mother of the highest heaven,' and was worshipped as the tutelary goddess of Lower Egypt" (Canon Cook). 2. As ,xm,neded with the scattering of the ashes of human victims to avert evil from the land. This was done, or had been done, in the days of the Shepherds, in the worship of Sutech or Typhon. The victims were usually foreigners, perhaps often He~rews. "After being burnt alive on a high altar, their ashes were scattered ID the air by· the priests, in the belief that they would avert evil from all parts whither they were blown" (Geikie). The sprinkling of ashes by Moses, and their descent, not in blessing, but in boils and blains, would thus have a terrible si~ificance. 3. As symbolical of the laying of a cwrse upon the people. It is, at least ID some parts of the East, a practice to take ashes and throw them into the air, in to~en. of giving effect to an imprecation. Most probable of all,--4. As a symbol of retribution/or ths on. rx. 8-12.J THE OOOK OF EXODUS. 205
sufferings of Israel, Tha "furnace" is a. common Scripture emhlem for the bitter sliLvery of the Hebrews (Gen, xv. 17; Deut. iv. 20; 1 Kincrs 0 viii. 57; Is. xlviii. 10 • Jer. xi. 4). Ashes taken from the furnace and sprinkled towards heaven, whenc~ they descended in a. plague, would thus naturally symbolise the return upon Pharaoh 11nd his servants of the cruelties with which they had. afflicted Israel. The GTY of the sufferers in the furnace had entered into the ears of the Lord of ~abaoth. The evil deeds of the affiicters were now to come back upon them in retribution. It was as though the ashes of the victims sacrificed in the long tyranny were rising in vengeance 11gainst the oppressor. II. 'l'1m PECULIAilITY OF THE PLAGUE IN THE SMITI:s'G OF THE PERSO~S (ver. 10). '!.'he disease with which the Egyptians were smitten was painful, loathsome, and excruciatingly severe as compared with ordinary inflictions of a similar nature. Tortured in their bodies, they were "receiving in themselves that recompenRe of their error which was meet" (Hom. i. 27). This experience of sore personal suffering ought surely to nave arrested their folly. It showed them how absolutely helpless they were in the hands of God. The plague was universal (ver. 11). Not one could boast against !mother. 'fhe plague was peculiarly afflictive to a people which prided itself on its cleanliness. It smote beasts as well as men. vVhat a terrible calamity! The whole head. was sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even to the crown of the head there was no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores (ls. i. 6). Yet, instead of repenting, the people appear only to have been stung to further revolt. So it was, at least, with their king. 1. An image of the condition of the sinner. 2. A new proof of the power of God. 'l'he band of God is to be seen in the infliction of diseases. God threatens, in Deuteronomy, to lay the evil diseases of Egypt upon the Israelites if they should prove disobedient (Deut. xxix. 60). 3. An instance of the inefficacy of bodily sufferings to produce repentance. Cf. Rev. xvi. 10, 11, "They gnawed their tongues for pain, and blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds." III. '!.'HE DEFEAT OF THE MAGICIANS (ver. 11). They could not now even stand before Moses. Pharaoh is being left more and more alone in his resistance. IV. PHARAOH STILL HARDENED (ver. 12). Before, one plague was the utmost he could hold out against. He yielded under the second and the fourth. Now he main- tains his attitude of resistance under two plagues in succession.-J. 0. Vers. 8-12.-The sixth plague-the boils and blains. Only the barest conjectures a.re possible as to why these ashes of the furnace were taken as materials whence to draw this sixth plague. If we look at the first two plagues we see that they come out of the water. '!.'he next pla.,crue, that of the gnats, comes out of the dust of the earth, and the ·flies may be taken as having the same origin. '!'he murrain probably arose through a vitiating change in the food of the animals ; and here again we are directed to look downwards to the earth, out of which comes the food both for man and beast. Next comes this sixth plague, and by the mention of ashes of the furnace it would almost seem as if God meant his people to understand that all the useful elements in nature were to do their part in plaguing Pharaoh. Water has had its share, the earth its share, fire now gets its share ; and there only remains the air above and around, and out of this, sure enough, there presently came the hail, the locusts, Warping on the Ea.stem wind,
and the thick darkness. '!.'bus, m all visible directions where man looks for blessing, God meets him with a stern intimation that he can turn the blessing into a curse. So much for the origin of this plague; now with regard to its form.-Nc,TE, I. THAT GoD's PUNISHMENTS NOW ADVANCE TO TAKE UP THEIR ABODE IN THE BODIES OF PHARAOH AND HIS PEOPLE. As God can take the lower animals, which he has made for our use, and turn them at his pleasure into a. blessing or. a curse, so he can come nearer still, and make our bodies, which are agents of tne most exquisite _pleasures, into agents of pain just as exquisite. Notice that ~n the very mode of infliction there was a mi:rtitre of severity and mercy. Severity, ~ecause undoubtedly there would be terrible pain; mercy, because probably the pam wa~ 206 THE BOOK OF EXODUS. on. IX, 13-20.