Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 9:27-28

27 And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.

28 Entreat the Lord (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer.

Pharaoh had been more obstinate during the second phase of God’s curses, holding out through more and more of the afflictions, but finally he sounds repentant, more so than at any point thus far. Pharaoh was not merely capitulating to the Lord’s power, he even called himself wicked and admitted that he knew he had sinned.

Of course, Pharaoh will still recant on this repentance, he will break his word yet again. This raises the question whether he was genuine during these verses or not. Did he feel guiltless, and was lying in every word? Or did he truly know that he and the Egyptians were morally in the wrong, and was sincere in his admission of guilt, but wasn’t actually willing to commit to doing what was right?

We aren’t given a clear answer, but in tomorrow’s verses we will see that Moses and the Lord saw straight through Pharaoh’s words and knew that he would ultimately prove faithless.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 9:23-26

23 And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt.

24 So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.

25 And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field.

26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail.

It was not only hail that afflicted the Egyptians, but fire as well! The nature of this fire is rather mysterious. It was not mentioned in God’s foretelling of the curse, and we never have explained to us exactly what connection it had to the hail. They are a most strange combination, as they would seem likely to extinguish and melt one other!

Of course, we are not told that the fire was raining down from heaven. The passage says it “ran along upon the ground” and “mingled with the hail.” Perhaps the hail knocked something over which spilled embers or hot coals and spread a fire over the land. Or, the fire might have been lightning which accompanied the same storm that brought the hail. Maybe there was lightning, but it started an actual fire on the ground. Some readers have even posited that the tongues of flame might have literally burst out from the hail in some way!

In any case, and in whatever manner, it seems clear that there was both a severe pummeling of hail and an intense heat as well. A truly devastating wonder this was, and such a terrible fate must have befallen those who still stood out in the fields!

How does this curse represent the ill effects of sin? One way that stands out to me is that this curse was focused on destroying all that was vulnerable and exposed. It is always the weak and defenseless who are first victimized to satisfy the selfish sins of others. Eventually the mighty will fall, too, but they land upon the broken bodies of the small and innocent that went before.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 9:17-21

17 As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go?

18 Behold, to morrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now.

19 Send therefore now, and gather thy cattle, and all that thou hast in the field; for upon every man and beast which shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought home, the hail shall come down upon them, and they shall die.

20 He that feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses:

21 And he that regarded not the word of the Lord left his servants and his cattle in the field.

God makes a most bold prophecy through His servant, Moses. He says that not only will hail fall upon Egypt, but one “such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation!” This would be a storm such as had never seen before by the Egyptians, not even since the founding of the nation. No one could make a promise like this except God. No one could possibly anticipate such a rare and momentous event except the all-knowing. And certainly no one could deliver on this promise except the all-powerful. At this point, the curses against Egypt were firmly in the category of natural disasters!

And with this warning God also provided a test. He had already made a division between the Egyptians and the Israelites, now He would also distinguish between the God-fearing and the God-doubting Egyptians. By forewarning them, the people of the land knew that they could spare themselves by staying in shelter. Doing so would show that they believed in the Hebrew God and doubted the priests of Egypt, while on the other hand, those who wished to show support of the local gods and renounce the power of Elohim had only to stand out in the open. To do so would be gambling with their very lives!

Or, at least, would be gambling with the lives of their servants and cattle. Verse 21 suggests that the rich and powerful of the Egyptians did not stand out in the open themselves, but rather they required their servants to continue to work the field and die for them. They stood to lose value and resources only, but to make their own people suffer a terrible demise. Of course, we will soon come to the final plague, and in that one not even the rich and the powerful would have any refuge.