Swarming flies

Exodus 8:20-24 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh, as he goes out to the water, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. 21 Or else, if you will not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants and your people, and into your houses. And the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand. 22 But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth.[a] 23 Thus I will put a division[b] between my people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall happen.”’” 24 And the Lord did so. There came great swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh and into his servants' houses. Throughout all the land of Egypt the land was ruined by the swarms of flies.

It is unclear what has happened with the biting gnats. It is conceivable that they are still problematic. But things continue to move forward, and the Lord says to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and confront Pharaoh as he goes to the river and say to him.…”

The Lord continues speaking through Moses, “If you do not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies on you and your officials, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of flies; even the ground will be covered with them.”

The connections with the first plague continue as the Lord says, “Let my people go, so that they may worship me.”

The Flies

Swarm (08317)(sharats) means to swarm; to breed abundantly; to multiply. It is a word that specifically refers to a great multiplication of numbers with moving, living, smaller creatures. It means to teem, to swarm in numbers and rate of birth and multiplication. It serves as a description of a large number of creatures densely populating a location.

These flies where a species known as “dog-fly” or in some countries "horse-fly" These were blood-sucking flies that were known to inflict painful bites.

They have been described as “hurling themselves like a javelin and fastening themselves upon the body, especially the edges of the eyelids, disfiguring them by the swellings produced by their sting.” The bottom line, however, is that these flies will come from the air, swarming over everything.

Beelzebub

Different people had deities whose office it was to defend them against flies.  Among these may be reckoned Beelzebub, the fly-god of Ekron. The name Beelzebub is associated with the Canaanite god Baal. This name referenced the god of the fly that was worshiped to obtain deliverance from the injuries of that insect.

God's people spared

No flies in Goshen?

The verses say, “Where my people live, no swarms of flies will appear there.” However, the word often translated to “live” may also be translated as “stand”. This could indicate the flies did not invade where the people stood. Given this translation, flies may have indeed entered Goshen but avoided only the Israelites making the plague of flies even more remarkable.

This is the first time there has been an explicit exemption for the Israelites. Previously, scholars have assumed they have not experienced the hardships of the previous plagues, but from now on they will certainly be unaffected.

Psalms 105:31 says "He spoke, and there came a swarm of flies And gnats in all their territory."

Not only are they covering the people but covering the ground! One of the results of the fourth plague is that the land was ‘ruined’ because of the flies.Swarms of flies would disrupt life, contaminate everything, and bring disease."

God’s protection means you are inaccessible to the enemy, no matter what the circumstances.

Psalm 91:4 tells us, “Under His wings, shall you trust and find refuge.” When trouble comes your way, stay in that place of refuge in God. It’s a place of safety from any enemy.