Exodus 9: 1 – 35
The Pre Pre-Tribulation
9 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘Thus says the LORD God of the Hebrews: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me. 2 For if you refuse to let them go, and still hold them, 3 behold, the hand of the LORD will be on your cattle in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the oxen, and on the sheep—a very severe pestilence. 4 And the LORD will make a difference between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt. So nothing shall die of all that belongs to the children of Israel.” 5 Then the LORD appointed a set time, saying, “Tomorrow the LORD will do this thing in the land.” 6 So the LORD did this thing on the next day, and all the livestock of Egypt died; but of the livestock of the children of Israel, not one died. 7 Then Pharaoh sent, and indeed, not even one of the livestock of the Israelites was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh became hard, and he did not let the people go. 8 So the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Take for yourselves handfuls of ashes from a furnace, and let Moses scatter it toward the heavens in the sight of Pharaoh. 9 And it will become fine dust in all the land of Egypt, and it will cause boils that break out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt.” 10 Then they took ashes from the furnace and stood before Pharaoh, and Moses scattered them toward heaven. And they caused boils that break out in sores on man and beast. 11 And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the magicians and on all the Egyptians. 12 But the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh; and he did not heed them, just as the LORD had spoken to Moses. 13 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD God of the Hebrews: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me, 14 for at this time I will send all My plagues to your very heart, and on your servants and on your people, that you may know that there is none like Me in all the earth. 15 Now if I had stretched out My hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, then you would have been cut off from the earth. 16 But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth. 17 As yet you exalt yourself against My people in that you will not let them go. 18 Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause very heavy hail to rain down, such as has not been in Egypt since its founding until now. 19 Therefore send now and gather your livestock and all that you have in the field, for the hail shall come down on every man and every animal which is found in the field and is not brought home; and they shall die.”’” 20 He who feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his livestock flee to the houses. 21 But he who did not regard the word of the LORD left his servants and his livestock in the field. 22 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt—on man, on beast, and on every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.” 23 And Moses stretched out his rod toward heaven; and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and fire darted to the ground. And the LORD rained hail on the land of Egypt. 24 So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, so very heavy that there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. 25 And the hail struck throughout the whole land of Egypt, all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail struck every herb of the field and broke every tree of the field. 26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, there was no hail. 27 And Pharaoh sent and called for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “I have sinned this time. The LORD is righteous, and my people and I are wicked. 28 Entreat the LORD, that there may be no more mighty thundering and hail, for it is enough. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.” 29 So Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands to the LORD; the thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, that you may know that the earth is the LORD’s. 30 But as for you and your servants, I know that you will not yet fear the LORD God.” 31 Now the flax and the barley were struck, for the barley was in the head and the flax was in bud. 32 But the wheat and the spelt were not struck, for they are late crops. 33 So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and spread out his hands to the LORD; then the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain was not poured on the earth. 34 And when Pharaoh saw that the rain, the hail, and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet more; and he hardened his heart, he and his servants. 35 So the heart of Pharaoh was hard; neither would he let the children of Israel go, as the LORD had spoken by Moses.
There has been a lot of conversation lately regarding The Great Tribulation that is going to come upon us earth dwellers. Many bible students ask about if there is anything that the plagues on Egypt have in common with the judgments brought out in the book of Revelation.
There are numerous similarities between the plagues with which God afflicted Egypt resulting in the Exodus of Israel and the plagues of the Tribulation. Our Precious Holy Spirit’s listing of these judgments is intentional and is an indication of the tribulation between the recorded facts of past history and the prophesied facts concerning the future:
1. Literal Plagues - In the same way that the plagues of Egypt were literal and historical events, so the plagues of the Tribulation period will be too.
2. Testing the Unrepentant - In the same way that Pharaoh of the Exodus refused to repent, the earth dwellers will refuse to repent during the Tribulation. The plagues test the opponents of God demonstrating the hardness of their hearts. Ultimately, our Holy God gains glory in the events of their judgment
3. Establishing a Kingdom - The plagues of Egypt resulted in the overthrow of Egypt and the birth of the theocratic kingdom of Israel. The plagues of the Tribulation result in the overthrow of the system of Antichrist and usher in the Millennial Kingdom establishing the reign of God on earth.
There is a definite parallel between the supernatural preparation for the kingdom in history under Moses and the supernatural judgments which shall be poured out upon a rebellious world in preparation for the future Millennial Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ at His second advent. There is the same insolent challenge to the true God on the part of the Gentile powers as He teaches us in the book of Psalms 2 verses 1 – 3, “Why do the nations rage and the people plot a vain thing? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us.”. There will be a similar gracious miracle by our Holy God, our Lord Jesus Christ – His protection of His church. There will be the same swift progression in the severity of the divine judgments which follow, and even a striking parallel in the nature of the judgments. There will be the same victorious outcome, the destruction of an evil despot who rules the world and his armies in a swift judgment, and deliverance of the people of Israel. There will be another song of victory, significantly referred to as ‘the song of Moses’ and ‘the song of the Lamb’.
Up to this point in our study in the book of Exodus the inflictions caused by the plagues had mainly been to do with people. Now the wealth of the Egyptians was to be attacked. The attacks were increasing in intensity. That would really hit at their hearts for their very existence was being threatened.
9 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘Thus says the LORD God of the Hebrews: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me. 2 For if you refuse to let them go, and still hold them, 3 behold, the hand of the LORD will be on your cattle in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the oxen, and on the sheep—a very severe pestilence. 4 And the LORD will make a difference between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt. So nothing shall die of all that belongs to the children of Israel.”
The call came yet again for Pharaoh to let the children of Israel worship Yahweh in the wilderness, for if he refused this time the hand of Yahweh would bring grievous disease on the Egyptian cattle. The fact that the cattle of Israel would not be affected suggests that the disease would come from the swarms of flying insects and not directly from the diseased frogs, for the flying insects too were excluded from the territory of the children of Israel.
‘The hand of Yahweh’ represents God working in power and in judgment
5 Then the LORD appointed a set time, saying, “Tomorrow the LORD will do this thing in the land.” 6 So the LORD did this thing on the next day, and all the livestock of Egypt died; but of the livestock of the children of Israel, not one died. 7 Then Pharaoh sent, and indeed, not even one of the livestock of the Israelites was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh became hard, and he did not let the people go.
‘Yahweh appointed a set time.’ This time the choice was not given to Pharaoh. Our Holy Yahweh God was sovereign over affairs. This, like all the other plagues, was to be seen as under the direct control of our Mighty God Yahweh. It was the first plague in which the property of Egyptians has been directly affected.
Bulls and cows were sacred to the Egyptians, and on death were often embalmed. Great cemeteries of embalmed cattle have been discovered there. These multiplicities of deaths would therefore cause a huge embalming problem. Furthermore the god Apis was in the form of a bull and Hathor the goddess of love was often represented in the form of a cow. Yet they could do nothing about this disease. Thus this plague hit at the very heart of Egyptian religion.
Look again at the words ‘And Pharaoh sent --’. He was not unmoved and he checked to see whether what Moses had said was true, and found that it was.
The whole thing had become a matter of pride and Pharaoh was very proud. Here he was, one among the gods of Egypt, destined (in his own eyes) to rule the underworld, subservient to no one, being told what to do by the God of the Hebrews, and he did not like it. And he had been used to always having his own way. This was an unusual situation for him. Once things had settled down his obstinacy resurfaced.
We are reminded by this plague that all that we have comes from God, and belongs to God. In the end these cattle were His own for He had created them. We should therefore learn to give thanks daily for all that we possess, for all we have is as a result of His graciousness. And in the end it is He Who determines whether we retain it or lose it.
Like the third plague in the first series this plague follows immediately after the previous one in the second series without warning.
8 So the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Take for yourselves handfuls of ashes from a furnace, and let Moses scatter it toward the heavens in the sight of Pharaoh. 9 And it will become fine dust in all the land of Egypt, and it will cause boils that break out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt.” 10 Then they took ashes from the furnace and stood before Pharaoh, and Moses scattered them toward heaven. And they caused boils that break out in sores on man and beast.
Ashes from a furnace are to be taken before Pharaoh and Moses then sprinkles it into the heavens. As elsewhere with the sprinkling of blood this is an application of the significance of what is being sprinkled. ‘In Deuteronomy 4.20 Egypt is likened to an iron furnace. The way they treated others would now rebound on them.
The fires of the furnace of Egypt which have been afflicting Yahweh’s people will now be applied to the Egyptians. The result will be sores and blisters on both men and cattle throughout Egypt.
And Moses and Aaron do as they are commanded and the whole of Egypt is affected by sores and blisters. Unlike the magicians Moses and Aaron do not have to go away and hide.
Furthermore the furnaces would provide the tools for the slaves and stood as a witness to the building works of the Pharaohs. Thus this was a solemn act that connected the plagues directly with the treatment of God’s people. The very equipment which had been the source of such misery to the Israelites would now be the source of misery to all Egypt.
11 And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the magicians and on all the Egyptians.
Clearly the magicians had previously been present when the judgments were in progress so that they might counter them as best they might, even though their efforts had been of little use. Now their absence was cause for comment. As priests as well as magicians the disease would be particularly obnoxious to them. They had a great concern for ritual cleanliness. The practice of many of them was to bathe themselves at least four times a day, and to shave their whole bodies every second day. They wore only linen in their efforts to keep themselves ceremonially pure. But now they would be ceremonially unclean, and thus they could not stand before Moses in the presence of the Pharaoh. They would feel this even more than the boils.
And in contrast with these magician priests, covered in boils, were Moses and Aaron, standing there free from boils, an evidence of their total control over all that was happening. If anything could reveal the powerlessness of these magician priests it was this.
12 But the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh; and he did not heed them, just as the LORD had spoken to Moses.
Pharaoh’s resistance continued. He had become almost unmovable. It may be that he had not been infected by the insects for he lived in semi-exclusion in a great palace and possibly did not tend to walk around on the ground outside, especially at times like these.
We now come to the third series of plagues which this time come as judgments from the heavens, the great hail and mighty thunderstorm, the huge cloud of locusts, and finally the plague of thick darkness. All are portents from the heavens. All bring darkness of one kind or another. It is a dark time for Egypt.
Pharaoh was now approached again and this time the warning is more severe. Disease has been rife and the cattle have been decimated but he is still unyielding. Now the attack is to be made on what cattle remain, on any man foolish enough to remain in the fields and on the crops of Egypt which had as yet not been largely affected. The food supply of Egypt was thus to be the next target, and death would visit the Egyptians, and other Egyptians would have to stand by helplessly and watch. And the judgment would come from the heavens.
13 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD God of the Hebrews: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me, 14 for at this time I will send all My plagues to your very heart, and on your servants and on your people, that you may know that there is none like Me in all the earth.
It is probably intended to be significant that Pharaoh no longer goes down to the Nile in the morning. He does not want to have any part of the insects and diseases that affect his land. But the forthcoming plagues were to affect him as no previous plague has done.
This might refer to the heart of Pharaoh as affected by what he saw around him and what was happening to his people (as the parallel might suggest with its mentioning of the hardening of his heart. What is said refers first to the fact that the devastation wrought will hit Egypt as nothing before has done. It has been his heart, his innermost being, which has firmly resisted Yahweh and been hardened. Now it is to be severely attacked. It will be deeply affected by what is to come. First Egypt’s very food supply and means of mummification (the flax) will be destroyed, and in a sense these are Pharaoh’s heart. But his heart will be even more deeply affected when the locusts and the thick darkness blot out the sun, and the sun god Re is seen to be helpless, for he was closely connected with Re. But finally he will be most deeply affected of all when ‘the firstborn of Pharaoh in the land of Egypt’ dies. Then and only then will his heart yield.
Once our Great God Yahweh has finished what He Is doing, His uniqueness will stand out unreservedly. The gods of Egypt will have been proved to be powerless against Yahweh. Please take special note how Moses refuses even to give them credence.
15 Now if I had stretched out My hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, then you would have been cut off from the earth. 16 But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth. 17 As yet you exalt yourself against My people in that you will not let them go. 18 Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause very heavy hail to rain down, such as has not been in Egypt since its founding until now.
Yet in all this devastation our Holy Yahweh points out that He Is being merciful. Had He wished He could have destroyed both Pharaoh and his people totally with pestilence and disease? He had the power of life and death. But the reason He has not done so is in order to demonstrate His power so that the whole world may know of it. And now because Pharaoh still exalts himself He Is about to send a great hail unlike anything seen before in Egypt since its very beginning which will destroy all men and beasts in the open field and all crops and vegetation.
And this is so that His name, that is His very self, might be made manifest to the nations. By what happened in Egypt He would get great glory. Even Pharaoh’s repentance (verse 27), brief though it was, would bring great glory to his name, and his final repentance (and his turning back from it) even greater glory.
The words ‘Tomorrow, about this time’ is to make Pharaoh realize that it comes at Yahweh’s behest and under His control, and also to give an opportunity to anyone who will listen to protect what remains of the livestock.
19 Therefore send now and gather your livestock and all that you have in the field, for the hail shall come down on every man and every animal which is found in the field and is not brought home; and they shall die.”’”
The words were being spoken before Pharaoh’s high officials. Both he and they could hear if they wished. And they had due warning. If they did not want their cattle and servants to die they must bring them to shelter. Now all were being faced up to the question as to whether they would believe the word of Yahweh.
20 He who feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his livestock flee to the houses. 21 But he who did not regard the word of the LORD left his servants and his livestock in the field.
Please notice how our Holy Master Yahweh was now sowing and challenging all to make a decision for themselves. Some took notice of His words and sheltered their servants and cattle, others ignored Him and did not do so, and it was to their cost. This was His prophetic and powerful word’. Some of those who heard it recognized that the very speaking of the divine ‘word’ would be effective in bringing it about and brought everything in to shelter. They recognized that word and action went together.
22 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt—on man, on beast, and on every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.” 23 And Moses stretched out his rod toward heaven; and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and fire darted to the ground. And the LORD rained hail on the land of Egypt. 24 So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, so very heavy that there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.
It is now Moses himself who acts publicly and stretches out his staff towards heaven. Nut the sky god is clearly powerless and Yahweh takes control. He sends down huge hail in a massive hailstorm accompanied by fierce lightning covering large parts of Egypt. Indeed it was so severe that Egypt as a nation had never known anything like it. It must have been awesome to behold.
25 And the hail struck throughout the whole land of Egypt, all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail struck every herb of the field and broke every tree of the field. 26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, there was no hail.
The devastation was clearly dreadful. The hailstones were so large that they killed both men and animals, and the vegetation, and especially the flax and barley which was ripening in the fields, was destroyed. Trees were pulverized and broken.
Severe though it might be, God was in control of the hail. His people, many of whom would have been required still to work in the fields, were safely delivered.
27 And Pharaoh sent and called for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “I have sinned this time. The LORD is righteous, and my people and I are wicked. 28 Entreat the LORD, that there may be no more mighty thundering and hail, for it is enough. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.”
The dreadful devastation and awfulness of the storms fell on Pharaoh’s heart (verse 14). He was deeply moved and for a short time conscious of sin and wrongdoing. He recognized that he and his people had been in the wrong in their treatment of the children of Israel. They could have been more reasonable and let them worship their God. But like most men he was unwilling to take all the blame on himself, and so he included his people who had suffered for his vanity.
Pharaoh accepts that Yahweh Is in the right. All He had asked was the reasonable worship of His people. Thus Pharaoh admits that he was wrong for failing to allow it. But he sees the people of Egypt as incorporated in himself. They had after all agreed with his decision. Thus they must share joint responsibility.
In view of the context we cannot exclude this thought. It was not just the mighty thundering Pharaoh was thinking of (which have not been previously mentioned), but the thundering which spoke to him and his people as divine voices, as a mighty voice from Yahweh. They, and the devastation that accompanied them, had totally unnerved him.
29 So Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands to the LORD; the thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, that you may know that the earth is the LORD’s. 30 But as for you and your servants, I know that you will not yet fear the LORD God.”
Moses was not deceived. He knew what was really in Pharaoh’s heart. But he will stop the devastation because he knows that there is yet more to come. It is the final confrontation, and now directly between Moses and Pharaoh.
Moses and Aaron clearly did not live within the city. They appeared and disappeared to the great fear of the populace. They probably mainly lived among their own people.
To us the hail would have been more frightening, but to Pharaoh the thundering were the voice of Yahweh and to be feared the most.
Pharaoh was to know that Moses was in control and that he needed to learn also that Yahweh was over all. That Moses acted under His authority and power. Moses states, ‘I will spread abroad my hands. That you may know that the earth is Yahweh’s.’
31 Now the flax and the barley were struck, for the barley was in the head and the flax was in bud. 32 But the wheat and the spelt were not struck, for they are late crops.
The flax and barley always preceded the wheat and spelt. They were devastated by the storms and the hail. The flax was needed in providing the material for mummification and for the priests’ garments. But this year there would be none. As is brought out in the analysis above this was the part of the partial pestilence which came as a warning of what could be.
33 So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and spread out his hands to the LORD; then the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain was not poured on the earth.
At Moses’ visible plea to Yahweh (Pharaoh no doubt had his spies out) the dreadful storms and hail ceased throughout Egypt. We are now informed that there had been hail, lightning, thunder and dreadful rainstorms. But the hail was the most deadly and the constant thunder the most unnerving.
34 And when Pharaoh saw that the rain, the hail, and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet more; and he hardened his heart, he and his servants. 35 So the heart of Pharaoh was hard; neither would he let the children of Israel go, as the LORD had spoken by Moses.
Once more Pharaoh revealed his obstinacy and his contempt of his promises. He had admitted that he was in the wrong (9.27), and now he added to his wrong, ‘he sinned yet more’. He broke his treaty with Yahweh. He hardened (made heavy) his heart. And this time the court officials were included. They too hardened their hearts. All were being given the opportunity to recognize and acknowledge Yahweh but with one accord they turned against Him. Their hearts could have been turned towards Him but instead they rejected Him. Pharaoh’s heart has truly been affected.
