Exodus 8:16Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Indeed, the might of God becomes particularly evident when great deeds are accomplished through seemingly frail instruments. For this reason, the Lord proclaimed in another passage: “For my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). In the Old Testament, the Lord defeated entire armies of enemies using small creatures like gnats and mice (Ex. 8 and Ex. 10; 1 Sam. 5 and 1 Sam. 6). This is also why He referred to locusts as His mighty force (Joel 2:25). He even dismantled the mighty Tower of Babel with a mere confusion of languages (Gen. 11). In warfare, He once caused an overwhelming army to scatter with just three hundred men (Judg. 7), and on another occasion, He brought down a city with the sound of trumpets (Nab. 6).

Regarding the minor nuisances that inflict discomfort upon the Egyptians through their unnoticed gnawing, and concerning the dog flies that painfully penetrate their bodies, as well as the devastation of agricultural produce by plows, and the fiery beings that descend from above along with stones of hail—let another individual, guided by earlier observations, develop a coherent understanding of each calamity. All of these events represent the arbitrary nature of Egyptian oppression and unveil the relentless judgment of God upon them. It is imperative to grasp that these sorrows are dispatched by God to those deserving of them; each person becomes responsible for the afflictions they prepare for themselves through their own misguided actions.

It was previously noted that Rabbi Maimonides, who passed away in 1205, indicated that the third executions were delivered to Pharaoh without prior notice.