“But against none of the children of Israel shall a dog move its tongue, against man or beast, that you may know that the Lord does make a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.” (Exodus 11:7)

Not Even A Dog Barked

Animals have a sixth sense when danger is coming. Some animals can detect impending dangers before humans can. Animals seek higher ground when a tsunami approaches or seismic changes in the earth’s crust. God created animals this way, including the unique qualities that dogs have to know of danger before humans. Among the five senses a dog has, they have an extraordinary sense of smell, which is their strongest sense and is used for communication and navigation. They possess acute hearing abilities, allowing them to detect sounds at much higher frequencies than humans. In an amazing foresight of power and wisdom, God declares on the night He will bring death to the land of Egypt; not even the dogs will bark or make a sound. The Lord declares the silence of the canines will demonstrate His power to make a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.

God’s demonstration of power is far beyond the realm of human wisdom. It is not uncommon for dogs to howl when death overtakes a home. Some dogs have been known to stand guard over the burial of their masters. The Lord struck thousands (if not millions) of people in one night as the destroyer killed the firstborn of every home from Pharaoh to the lowest slave. God said there would be a loud wail that would rise throughout the land of Egypt, a wail like no one has heard before or will ever hear again – and not one dog would howl, bark, or whimper. Why did God make such a random yet specific prophecy about the night He brought His wrath on Egypt? According to Adam Clarke, one of the principal deities of the Egyptians was Osiris, whose son, worshipped under the form of a dog, or a man with a dog’s head, called Anubis latrator, the barking Anubis.

The ten plagues against Egypt destroyed the economy, government, and religion of the Pharaoh. Egypt would never be the same and became the symbol of God’s power and antithesis of human wisdom. On the night the destroyer killed all the firstborn, sparing the children of Israel and keeping the dogs quiet was a further demonstration of the will of the Creator acting in the affairs of men, showing His divine power that is unmatched. God can quiet the dogs. Man cannot foresee such a thing. A dog shall not move his tongue against man or beast when God’s wrath rains down on the Egyptian nation. It must have been an eerie quiet that came over the children of Israel when they realized how powerful the Lord God was to silence the dogs.

There is much evidence of God’s power in history, which is revealed in the Bible, declaring how specific and precise the word of the Lord is. The prophecies against Israel, Egypt, Babylon, Nineveh, and Tyre are so detailed no man could make such a prophecy. When Jesus came to earth, at least sixteen prophecies were fulfilled in less than 24 hours, centering on the death of God’s Son. The Holy Spirit foretold the great apostasy in detail. Like the story of the Passover night, God demonstrates His power over human wisdom to remind man he is made in the image of the divine and will be held accountable. Men should take notice when the dogs stop barking. God may be saying something needful to hear.