And the LORD said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.
16. And the Lord said unto Moses. In this place again, as before, Aaron is commanded to act as the inferior of Moses in punishing the tyrant; and this as being more ignominious than as if Moses alone had been employed. The nature of this third plague is very remarkable.
The dust itself obeys God's command; He has infinite arrows in His quiver. When the magicians failed here, they had to confess "This is the finger of God", a divine power that has the devil on a chain, and stops him short with nothing but a gesture.
AI summary
Commenting on Exodus 8:16-19
And they did so,.... As follows: for Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod; as directed and ordered: and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man and in beast; which shows it was a miraculous operation, since lice do not usually spring from dust, but thrive in the sweat of bodies, and the nastiness of them, through sloth and...