There is another warning to Pharaoh and the Egyptians

Once again, God commanded Pharaoh to let His people go. God planned to send more plagues so Pharaoh would know His power and so His name would be “proclaimed in all the earth.” God told Pharaoh He elevated him to the throne for this purpose. His pride and stubborn heart would glorify God in the end.

Moses was to warn the Egyptians that God was going to send “very heavy hail” the following day, and they needed to get their families and animals to shelter, or they would be killed. They had the opportunity to bring their livestock to shelter.

There was perhaps skepticism that there would be severe hailstorm and a violent electrical storm.

The Hail is mixed with fire

The next day, Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven and God rained hail, thunder, and lighting on Egypt. This is a plague that comes from the Earth’s atmosphere and rains down destruction like the two pillars later in Exodus – cloud (water) and fire. These are being brought together and mixed and this becomes an image of the undoing of the world. Two pillars are a common theme in the Bible such as when Samson breaks apart the two pillars at the centre to bring down the temple of the Philistines and destruction upon them.

The hail destroyed everything that wasn’t sheltered: people, plants, animals, trees, etc. The hail did not rain on the Israelites, only the Egyptians. There is an element of grace in that the wheat and rye would be spared as they had not yet grown up. Even in God’s judgment there is mercy!

Pharaoh feigns repentance

Pharaoh finally admitted he had sinned (this time only) and asked Moses to plead to the Lord to give them relief from the hail.  As soon as the hail stopped, Pharaoh “sinned yet again and hardened his heart… and he did not let the people of Israel go.” Hence, we see a false or fake confession which is compounded that he accuses his own people of sinning when he had been responsible for the decision to stop Israel leaving. He confesses but does not repent

Fire and water are coming down from above and it is a destructive nature. Later in the desert it will be fire and water (cloud) that will guide the Israelites out of Egypt. Water by the day and fire by night. These elements can bring chaos or order. This cataclysmic event is unlike anything Egypt has ever experienced as a nation. It is destroying the nation at a time when God is seeking to form Israel as a nation.

The people and the courtiers are beginning to doubt Pharaoh and he is becoming isolated which so often happens to dictators. Those Egyptians that listen to God have their cattle are saved. Those that listen to Pharaoh lose their cattle.

Tyrants don’t love their people. Hitler blamed his own people at the end of betraying him. Mao didn’t care for his people. With Stalin everyone around him were terrified to tell him the truth so they lied all the time. It is true of all dictators that seek to rule by power. The tyrant is paranoid because everyone Is lying to him, and the reality is that although the people around a tyrant are terrified – they will likely end up dead anyway unless they remove the tyrant. Pharaoh has become neither a servant of God nor a servant of the people.

Categories: Exodus

Tags: bible, Exodus, god, moses, pharaoh