15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said.

16 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.

17 And they did so; for Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man, and in beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt.

No sooner did Pharaoh get what he wanted than he abandoned his promises and went back to being the same as before. This is an excellent example of a false conversion. Many come to God for what they want, but they do not actually love Him or want to be His obedient child. Their journey to God is entirely self-serving, and as soon as they get what they want—or don’t get what they want—they drop all pretenses of devotion.

God can be patient through such acts of betrayal, though. He does not lose any bargaining power by removing the pressure, for He is able to bring it right back in a multitude of ways! And, since the faithless did not respond to the first pressure, the second most often comes back even worse!

And that was certainly the case with Pharaoh. God did not return the same plague of frogs, he escalated it to something worse. The lice would have been a more intimate, invasive, and infuriating affliction. The frogs had been inside the Egyptian’s rooms and kitchenware, but now lice were living directly on their bodies! Wherever they went, the unpleasant, itching, disease-carrying lice would remain right on their person!

Pharaoh had tried to cheat during his wrestling match with the Lord, but God simply put him in a deeper hold.