Exodus 9:1-10:20

Exodus 9:1-10:20

As the fifth plague came about, Moses had to not only be frustrated with Pharaoh, but even with God. He knew that God had a plan, and that God had promised that the Israelites would one day leave Egypt. That promise had been around since the time of Joseph. Yet it appeared as if Moses had made no progress at this point. The fifth plague killed off all of the Egyptian livestock, and God once again protected the Israelites from the plague. As much as Moses wanted to remain obedient to God, and he did, I can only imagine that I would begin to get frustrated. If this promise has been made, and I am being obedient to God’s commands, then why am I not seeing any results? Now we do not know whether Moses was thinking this or not, but it is possible that it crossed his mind at some point. But what is amazing is that nothing stopped Moses from following God’s commands.

So when God sent the sixth plague of boils over all of the Egyptians, Moses did not hesitate to obey God. He threw the soot into the air, causing the boils to spread all throughout Egypt. Despite the magicians best attempts, they could not mimic this plague easy, primarily because they were too weak to even try. Pharaoh was watching his kingdom fall apart, and yet he still would not let the Israelites go. The seventh plague comes, and God sends a special message to Pharaoh. He tells Pharaoh that He (God) had raised Pharaoh up into this position for a specific purpose, to see God’s great glory. God could have in one instance wiped Egypt out and set His people free. But instead, God was being patient, not punishing Egyptians for Pharaoh’s mistakes. He was letting His name become known to Egypt and the entire world.

What is interesting about this plague is that God warns them beforehand. He tells them that severe hail will fall on them, but if they seek shelter prior to the storm, they will be saved. Those who decided to listen to God’s word found shelter for themselves and their livestock and were spared. Those who did not listen were killed, just as God had said. This plague almost broke Pharaoh as well. He recognized where he was at fault, and he recognized God’s power. Moses was willing to negotiate with him a third time, but as he left Pharaoh’s presence, he knew that Pharaoh did not truly fear God. Moses was right, and when the hail had stopped, Pharaoh hardened his heart and broke his promise for the third time.

God reveals at the beginning of Exodus 10 that the purpose of these sings against the Egyptians is so that future generations will know that He is Lord. He does not want them to forget how great He actually is. So He is making Himself known to not only the Egyptians, but also the Israelites, so they will know the God they worship. He does the same in our lives; He still makes Himself known today. But like the Israelites, we are so prone to forget what He has done for us, and we turn to our idols in rebellion. It is so easy to condemn the Israelites later on for their disobedience, but we must not forget that we do the same thing today.

Egypt was a wasteland prior to the eighth plague. The hail had destroyed much of the land and even their crops. Now Moses was promising that locusts would come and destroy all that was left. This caused concern among the leaders of Egypt. They knew how bad the situation was and could not imagine it getting any worse. They begged Pharaoh to listen to Moses and let him go just to get rid of him and the trouble he had brought Egypt. This was not really belief in God on their part, but they were sure that if they did not obey God’s commands, only more destruction would come. So Pharaoh asked Moses who all would leave if he agreed to let them go. Moses told him that all the Israelites would go; no one would be left behind in Egypt. The locusts then came and destroyed Egypt, sending Pharaoh into panic. He begged for Moses to pray to God to get rid of the locusts. Moses agreed, and God sent them away, but He only cause Pharaoh to become more stubborn, and the Israelites were still trapped in Egypt.

Matt