Episode 362 - The Plague of Hail - Exodus 9v13-35
The Seventh Plague: Hail
Ex. 9:13 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. 14 For this time I will send all my plagues on you yourself, and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth. 15 For by now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth. 16 But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth. 17 You are still exalting yourself against my people and will not let them go. 18 Behold, about this time tomorrow I will cause very heavy hail to fall, such as never has been in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. 19 Now therefore send, get your livestock and all that you have in the field into safe shelter, for every man and beast that is in the field and is not brought home will die when the hail falls on them.”’ 20 Then whoever feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh hurried his slaves and his livestock into the houses, 21 but whoever did not pay attention to the word of the LORD left his slaves and his livestock in the field.
Ex. 9:22 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, so that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, on man and beast and every plant of the field, in the land of Egypt.” 23 Then Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. And the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt. 24 There was hail and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail, very heavy hail, such as had never been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. 25 The hail struck down everything that was in the field in all the land of Egypt, both man and beast. And the hail struck down every plant of the field and broke every tree of the field. 26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the people of Israel were, was there no hail.
Ex. 9:27 Then Pharaoh sent and called Moses and Aaron and said to them, “This time I have sinned; the LORD is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. 28 Plead with the LORD, for there has been enough of God’s thunder and hail. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.” 29 Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will stretch out my hands to the LORD. The thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know that the earth is the LORD’S. 30 But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the LORD God.” 31 (The flax and the barley were struck down, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud. 32 But the wheat and the emmer were not struck down, for they are late in coming up.) 33 So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and stretched out his hands to the LORD, and the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain no longer poured upon the earth. 34 But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet again and hardened his heart, he and his servants. 35 So the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people of Israel go, just as the LORD had spoken through Moses.
So far, the focus has primarily been upon Pharaoh and his hard heart or defiant spirit against the LORD. His people, the Egyptians, suffered the consequences of Pharaoh’s rebellious spirit against the LORD. But the narrative of Exodus seems to suggest a complicity by the Egyptians in Pharaoh’s policies against the Hebrews. In this seventh plague, the people are given an opportunity to mitigate their personal losses from the coming hailstorm if they “feared the word of the LORD.” Some of them responded positively. After six devastating plagues that brought great suffering and loss, one would think that everyone would respond positively to the LORD’s grace in forewarning the people. Once again, if we read these accounts thinking the LORD is being unduly harsh or even sadistic, we miss the evidence of his grace. Notice the LORD’s message to Pharaoh in verse 15. His first point is, “I could have wiped out your entire nation by now, but I haven’t.” Then, the LORD revealed that he had a purpose for Pharaoh. The LORD raised up Pharaoh, revealed his power to him, with the result that the LORD’s name would be proclaimed throughout the nations. The issue is not that the LORD hates Pharaoh. The issue is that Pharaoh is rejecting every good thing the LORD has for him. The LORD is going to accomplish his will one way or another. Pharaoh could become a powerful testimony to the LORD’s power, goodness, and grace, or Pharaoh could become the “poster child” of what becomes of someone who consistently exalts themselves and rejects God’s grace. Pharaoh’s actions are consistent with those of the devil himself. His pride is his own enemy.
We get a glimmer of hope for Pharaoh’s repentance when he confessed that he had sinned. He had offended the LORD. He knew and confessed that he had done wrong. Tragically, however, he refused to repent. Repenting is simply turning away from the problem and doing the opposite of what you know is wrong. This is what Peter meant at Pentecost when he told the crowd to “repent”. What were they to repent of? Peter had explained that they had crucified God’s Messiah. When the Holy Spirit convicted them, they realized their error. Peter explained that they needed to turn away from rejecting Jesus and trust in him.
Christians today ought to pray for others around them that they not only acknowledge the power and goodness of God, but also respond in humility and be used by God to make the name of Jesus known to others.