A Handful of Gleanings out of the Book of Exodus, Section 13 – Section 17
SECT. XIII. The Plague of Lice. The speech of the Sorcerers, This is the finger of God, Exod. 8. 19. not a confession of the Lord, but an hideous and horrid blasphemy.
AT the Plague of Lice, the Sorcerers are put to a non-plus, and in the least creature can doe nothing, for [besides that it was the will of God, to bring their devices to nought, and to shew himselfe maximum in minimis] if they should have imitated this miracle, they must have done two things: first, they must have produced dust, and then of the dust, lice, for the text saith, That all the dust of the Land became lice, throughout all the Land of Aegypt, ver. 17. Neither of which they can doe, and therefore say, This is the finger of God. For the understanding of these their words, observe these things.
First, That in the two foregoing Plagues of blood and Frogs, Moses gave warning of them before they came, but of this he did not.
Secondly, That the Lice were also in the land where Israel dwelt, as well as in other parts of Aegypt, for there is no severing betwixt Goshen and Aegypt mentioned, till the next Plague of Flies, In that day, I will sever the Land of Goshen. in which my people dwell, And I will put a division betweene my people, and thy perple, ver. 22, 23, whereas none had beene put before.
For when Moses turned the waters of Aegypt into blood, the Sorcerers did so also with their inchantments, and turned the waters of Goshen into blood likewise. Here Pharaoh thinketh his Sorcerers have matched the Jehovah that Moses so talked of, and that they could doe as much against his people, as he could doe against theirs.
And so when Moses from Jehovah brought Frogs upon Aegypt, the Magitians also by their inchantments bring Frog… likewise upon Goshen, and still they thinke their God is hard enough for Israels Jehovah.
Thus is blood and Frogs through all the Land of Goshen, but neither were these reall blood or frogges, nor wa… this any punishment at all upon Israel, for it was not from the Lord, but onelyonly vaine delusions permitted by the Lord, that at last he might catch the crafty in their owne net.
But when the Plague of Lice commeth, it commeth also upon Goshen from the Lord himselfe, and this is a plague indeed upon his owne people, laid upon them by him, as well as upon Aegypt: For Israel that had partaken in so many of Aegypts sins, must also thinke to partake in some of her punishments.
For this it is, why the man of God in Psal. 78. reckoning up the Plagues of Aegypt, never mentioneth the Plague of Lice: because that was equally a Plague to Israel, as to the Aegyptians, they had both blood and frogges as well as they, but not as really, nor from God, and therefore no plague to them.
Thirdly, The Aegyptians acknowledged a supreame great Deity, whom they thought they adored in their petty deities, whom they worshipped. For when they adored an Oxe, a Dogge, a Crocodile, &c. they adored not the carcasse, but the good qualities that in these creatures conduced to their benefit and good, so saith Eusebius, that whatsoever was helpefull, or furthered the good of humanelife, that they accounted a Deity.
Fourthly, They accounted not of Jehovah, the God of the Hebrewes, but as a petty, triviall God, such as every Nation had one or more of, that that God could doe something, as they saw in the blood and frogges, but could doe no more, if so much, as theirs, Chap. 5. 2. Who is Jehovah that I should obey him? I know not Jehovah, neither will I let Israel goe. So that the Magicians words, This is the finger of God, come from them reasoning thus: When blood and frogges came, Moses gave warning of them before, from his Jehovah, but these Lice come and he never gave warning; Hence it is plaine, this is none of Jehovahs doing, otherwise would Moses have knowne it before, but now he did not. Againe, when the Hebrews Jehovah brought blood and frogs upon our land, he brought none upon theirs, but spared his owne people: but this Plague of Lice is also upon them, as soone as upon us, and without our doing: And therefore this cannot be Jehovah, for he would not plague his owne people, but this is done by the finger of El…im the great deity, and the Jehovah of the Hebrewes is a God of no value.
SECT. XIIII. The Plague of Boyles, Exod. 9. 9. Two contrary Plagues in one.
MOses and A…ron must take their handfuls of ashes out of the Furnace, that whence Israel had had their sore affliction, Egypt might receive their corporall punishment. Moses is to scatter the foure handfals into the aire towards the foure quarters of heaven, hereupon a double miracle followed. 1. That so little or few as…es were multiplied so as to flie throughout all the Land of Aegyp… and to light upon every man and beast in it. 2. That lighting on them, it was a Plague to them in their bodies.
As the Miracle was double, so was the Plague.
1. The Ashes became She…in, that is, a burning itch, or an inflamed Scab: for so the word signifieth, as is plaine, Job 2. 7, 8. where the holy mans body is strucke with Shehin, such an intolerable dry hot itch, that his nayles would not serve to scratch enough, but he is glad to get a potsheard to skrub himselfe.
2. This Itch had also blaines and boiles brok… out with it, [and so Iobs had not] so that the Aegyptians were vexed at once, with intollerable itch and intolerable ach: Their itch called upon them to scratch and skrub, and yet they could not doe so, for the sorenesse and aching of their boiles.
In the five preceding Plagues, the obduration of Pharaohs heart is attributed to himselfe, in these five forward, it is attributed to God: And justly [when being punished for his sinnes, he hardeneth his heart so many times] is his heart hardned so many times that he sinneth for a punishment.
SECT. XV. The Plague of darknesse, Exod. 10. Why first named, Psal. 105. 28.
AS the men of the old world, of Sodom and the Jewes at the death of Christ, were strucke with darkenesse, before they entred into utter darkenesse; so it is with the Aegyptians here.
This Plague lay upon them three dayes, namely, the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth dayes of the monethmonth Nisan. For upon the conclusion of the darkenesse, Moses being sent for to Pharaoh giveth him such distast that he chargeth him never to come into his presence againe, which Moses saith he will not do, I will see thy face again no more: but before he goeth out of the presence, he giveth him warning concerning the slaughter of the first borne to bee that night, Chap. 11. Vers. 4. by which it is cleare that the darkenesse ended on the Passeover day in the morning.
Quest. Why then seeing it was the ninth plague in number, hath Psal. 105. set it first?
Answ. Because it was the most terrible of all the Plagues that came upon them. For those that had gone before had plagued onelyonly their land, or cattle, or bodies; that that came after, light not upon all, but onelyonly on the first borne, but this is a Plague even to the very mind and conscience, and universally so to them all.
It was not their sitting in darkenesse and not stirring about their businesse for three dayes together, that plagued them so much, for this had beene no great …orment, but their torture was, that in this darkenesse they saw fearefull apparitions of Fiends and Devills, and horrible visions, which so hideously affrighted and even distracted them, that they were as it were in Hell already. For observe that Pharaoh that had beene nothing at all moved in a manner with all the plagues that went before, is so stirred with this, that hee sends for Moses as soone as ever the darkenesse is over, and permits him to depart, Exod. 10. 24. which meere sitting in darkenesse could not have wrought him to, but those terrors which he saw in the darke.
Hence it is that Psal. 78. 49. nameth not the plague of darkenesse by its name, but in the place where it should come, hee mentioneth that which was the very quintessence of it. Hee cast upon them the fiercenesse of his anger, wrath, and indignation and trouble, by sending evill Angels among them.
SECT. XVI. Israel circumcised in the three dayes darkenesse. He sent darkenesse and made it darke, and they rebelled not against his word, Psal. 105. 28.
THis latter clause, they rebelled not against his word, is to be understood of Israel, who in this plague of darkenesse performed some speciall part of obedience: And that upon inquiry will be found to be their undergoing of circumcision. For they had followed the Idols of Aegypt, and in Idolatry were become like the Aegyptians, so were they also in uncircumcision. For when Joshuah had circumcised them at their entrance into Canaan, hee saith, I have rolled away from you the reproch of Aegypt, Josh. 5. 9. or that wherein y…e were like unto the Aegyptians uncircumcised to your reproach.
But when God ordaineth the Passeover, he giveth charge for circumcision, for no uncircumcised person must eate thereof, Exod. 12. 48.
Then was required a generall circumcision of all the people, or at least of the most of them, for all were uncircumcised, unlesse it was some few that were more constant to the Covenant of their God. And that there was a generall Circumcision in Aegypt, is inferred in the forenamed place, Joshu. 5. where God commandeth Joshua to Circumcise the people a second time, which inferreth that there was a first time when they were circumcised with a generall Circumcision as they were that second time. But in Aegypt must this first Circumcision be, for the Text in that very place telleth, that in the Wildernesse there was no Circumcision at all.
Whilst then Israel sate sore of their Circumcision, God closeth up Aegypt in three dayes darkenesse, and in horrour, that they might not take the opportunitie against his people.
SECT. XVII. The beginning of the yeare changed. Exod. 12. 1.
THe world from her creation hitherto, had begun her yeares in Tisri or September, which was the time, of the yeare when she was created. This will easily bee shewed [against those that maintaine the world did begin in March] by these reasons.
1. From Exod. 23. 16. The feast of in gathering in the end of the yeare.
2. From Ioel 2. 23. The latter raine in the first monethmonth.
3. Had Adam beene created in March hee had had no fruits ripe for his food, but in Autumne they were ready for him.
4. Should the moneths before the passeover be reckoned to begin from March, it will follow that the generall deluge increased in the heate of Summer, and abated and dried up in the deepe and moist of Winter.
5. Had the yeare begun from March from the beginning, it had had been unnecessary to have commanded them to begin it thence, who never knew where to begin it else.
From the creation then the yeares began from September, but here upon a worke greater in figure, as which represented the redemption by Christ, the beginning is translated to March. And this is the first Commandement given to Israel by Moses.
As that old account began from an Equinox, so must this, but not alike; That began exactly from the Equinox day, this from the first new Moone after, and not from that day, unlesse that day was the new Moone. The fourth day of the worlds creation was both Equinox and new Moone: and though the yeares after began from that day of the Sunne, yet were they counted by the moneths of the Moone.
Their yeare then beginning thus from a new Moone it plainely speaketh for it selfe that it was reckoned by Lunary moneths, which falling short eleven dayes of the yeare of the Sunne, every third yeare was leape yeare, or intercalary of a monethmonth added of 33. dayes, which was called Veadar: So that howsoever it is said that Solomon had twelve speciall officers for the twelve moneths of the yeare, it meaneth the ordinary yeare, and not the Embolimquan or leape yeare: for that yeare, those twelve in their severall moneths served so much the longer, as that the added moneths might be made up by them and not a new officer chosen, for that monethmonth, who should have no imployment when that monethmonth was over till three yeares after.
The equitie or life of this Law that their yeares should begin from March or Ahib was because the preaching of the Gospell should begin, and the redemption be consummate from that time. For it was just at that time of the yeare when Iohn began to baptise, which was the beginning of the Gospell, Mark. 1. 1… Acts 1. 22. And it was at that time of the yeare when our Saviour suffered, and fulfilled that which this presigured, our redemption.