Bible Readings
Reading 43: God’s judgments on Egypt continue
Read Exodus 8:20–9:35.
Yahweh continues with the plague judgments on Pharaoh and Egypt.
Fourth: Flies all over Egypt, except the area of Goshen where the Israelites lived.
Fifth: Death to Egyptian livestock but the animals of Israel were spared.
Sixth: Painful boils on the Egyptians and their animals.
Seventh: Hail that destroyed people, livestock, the crops of Egypt, but nothing and no one in Goshen was harmed.
Plagues were not unknown in Egypt. The Egyptians were familiar with epidemics and natural disasters. But the timing, nation-wide scale and increasing intensification of each plague judgment (from mere nuisance to life-threatening) made it clear that what was happening was not natural, but supernatural—it was the work of Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews.
As we observe Yahweh sending plague after plague over the course of many months, we see that God was teaching both Egypt and Israel just who He is and what He is like. He was demonstrating that He alone is the true and living God. At the same time, He was exposing the Egyptian gods for what they were—nothing but hand-made, man-made idols from the Egyptians’ imagination.
The Israelites were living in the area of Goshen and since God was in complete control of the plague judgments, He spared them from harm. They must have begun to see that their God was really fighting for them and they didn’t have to worry or be afraid.
The fifth plague was dangerous for Egypt because their animals died. Pharaoh sent men to investigate and was shocked to learn only Egyptian animals died and not the animals belonging to the Hebrews. But this shock did not translate to true respect, or fear of Yahweh, for Pharaoh remained stubborn. It is very sobering when we see someone come to realise who is the true Creator-God of the universe but then refuse to take the step of obedience. Pharaoh’s dawning recognition of who Yahweh is did not lead to repentance. What pride!
For the sixth plague judgment, God instructed Moses to take soot from a kiln and throw it into the air. The irony is that soot or ash was used by the Egyptians to make soap. Now God used the soot to cause painful boils to break out on all of them. Indeed Yahweh was overpowering every aspect of their lives. Yet Pharaoh continued to be stubborn.
By now, Moses and the rest of Israel must have been wondering if Israel would ever be freed. But Yahweh was in full control. He said that it was no trouble for Him to destroy Egypt with just one plague, but He was exercising patience by working on Pharaoh slowly, giving the king plenty of time and multiple opportunities to repent.
For the seventh plague judgment, God sent terrible hail to wreck the crops, the livestock that hadn’t died from the earlier plagues, and also the people. This judgment came with a warning and this time, some of the Egyptians believed God’s word and responded! They brought in their servants and animals from the fields to save them from the unrelenting hailstorm.
The level of devastation was significant. Pharaoh said, “This time I have sinned. The Lord is the righteous one.” (Exodus 9:27.) But his acknowledgement of Yahweh’s power was shallow because it didn’t lead to obedience. He quickly returned to his stubborn state as soon as God lifted the plague. When was he going to learn that one cannot fight against God and win?
Through these series of plague judgments, we see that though Yahweh is all-powerful, He is also merciful. It reminds us that in our own lives, as God carefully works out His purposes in and through us, we must remember to be patient as His deliberate, unhurried actions are done for a reason. And this is one of those reasons: He uses His actions to get people to learn about Him and recognise Him as the one and only true Creator-God.
Like Israel had been, if we are in a difficult situation, can we have a patient attitude and allow God to carefully work out His purposes in our lives and reveal Himself to us and to those who are watching us? Let us pray and ask God to help us trust Him even when He doesn’t seem to be doing things according to the timing that we wish for.
And unlike Pharaoh, when we know God is asking us to take certain actions, may our hearts not hardened against Him but that we move forward in obedience.