In the sixth plague, which took place during the eighth conflict (9:8-12), boils broke forth upon man and beast. The Lord told Moses and Aaron to take handfuls of ashes from the furnace and to sprinkle them toward heaven in the sight of Pharaoh. The ashes became fine dust which caused boils to break forth upon man and beast throughout the land of Egypt (9:8-9).
Ashes are what remains after something has been burned. At the end of the fifth plague, all the resources of Egypt had been judged. The water, the earth, the air, and the cattle had all been judged by God. Nevertheless, the ashes, the remainder of things burned, still had to be dealt with. This indicates that anything remaining of our fallen human life must be dealt with by God. You may think that a certain thing has been dealt with thoroughly. Yes, it has been dealt with, but there are still some ashes, some remainder. In a sense, the remainder is worse than the thing itself, for the remainder can cause boils. The remainder of something you once did or had can cause serious damage. Therefore, God deals not only with the things themselves, but also with the remains of those things. By sprinkling the ashes from the furnace into the air, the ashes were exposed.
After God had judged the water, the earth with the dust, and the air, it seems that nothing was left of the resources for the Egyptian livelihood. Even the animals used for transportation were killed. But there were still ashes left from the things that had been dealt with and burned out. Even the ashes, the remainder, God would not tolerate. This indicates how fine, how thorough, both God’s exposing and His judgment were, and it also shows that God did a fine work to educate His people to know the real nature of the life in this world that is against His economy. The educational aspect of God’s judgment upon Egypt was very fine indeed.
Ashes usually contain no germs, for all the germs have been burned away. But the ashes scattered into the air by Moses and Aaron must have been filled with germs because they became dust that caused boils. You may think that your past sinful practices have been thoroughly dealt with and that the only remainder is clean ashes, ashes that contain no germs. But God is not satisfied even with such remains. Therefore, He comes in to judge the remainder of the sinful things. Do not think that in your personal life nothing remains to be dealt with after your sins have been judged. On the contrary, there is still a remainder within you, the remains of what has been judged and dealt with. This indicates that, in the eyes of God, everything of the Egyptian life—the water, the earth, the air, and the ashes—must be judged and exposed. Nothing of the life of the world should remain.
Do not boast of how you have dealt with your past sins or worldly practices. Deep within, you may still have some ashes. For example, a brother may have been an outstanding athlete before he became a Christian. He may think that his love for sports has been dealt with. It may have been dealt with, but the ashes may not have been. Young sisters may have boxes of ashes, the remains of certain things which they dearly treasure. Praise the Lord for all the dealings you have experienced under His leading! But what about the ashes? God requires that they also be exposed and judged.
The plague of the boils affected the Egyptians, but it did not come upon the children of Israel. Yet some of the saints may feel that they have had the experience of scattering ashes of their past experiences and causing damage to other believers. The saints must be careful not to walk as Gentiles. In giving testimony of how we have dealt with sinful things, it is possible to spread ashes in the air. We need to pray that the Lord will cover us with His prevailing blood. Such a prayer will put us under the redemption of Christ, and the anointing will restrict us from spreading ashes. The real significance of this plague is that it indicates how fine and how thorough God’s judgment was, even dealing with the remainder of things burned out, and also how extensive was God’s education for His people.
We need to be deeply impressed with the fact that even the remains of sinful things must be judged. In the eyes of God nothing of Egypt is good. Everything related to Egyptian living, to the living of the world, must be exposed and judged thoroughly. May God expose to us every aspect of the living of the world.
In the second group of plagues two matters are very striking. The first is that these plagues did not affect the land of Goshen, because the children of Israel were under the Lord’s redemption. The second is that in these plagues the Egyptian magicians were not able to do anything. We have pointed out that certain of the philosophers of the world may teach things similar to what we teach in the preaching of the gospel. Eventually, however, these present-day “magicians” are not able to do anything. The philosophers of the world cannot save people from flies, pestilence, or boils. They cannot rescue anyone from moral and spiritual pollution. Only the salvation of God can deliver people from this. Sooner or later, even the “magicians” will become powerless before the hand of God.
Through all these pictures with all the plagues we can see the real situation of our fallen human life. No other portion in the Bible shows us such a detailed picture of the worldly life as it opposes God’s building. The world is against God’s building, and God’s building is opposed to the world. God’s chosen people are the crucial factor between these two opposing forces. If God’s people remain in the world, God cannot do anything. But if they are willing to be rescued from the world unto God, God can work out His purpose on the earth to have His dwelling place. Therefore, God must come in to deal with the usurping world and to educate His people to realize what the world is, so that they may give up the world and remain there no longer. The ten plagues taught the children of Israel what the real nature of Egypt is and what it is that usurped them, occupied them, and possessed them.