Stubbornness Leads To Disaster

Pharaoh had become so wrapped up in refusing to listen to God he would no longer listen to reason.  God sent Moses to him to warn what was going to happen if continued to refuse to listen, in Exodus 9:13-16.  “And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me.  For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth.  For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth.  And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to show in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.” 

God warned that he would continue to send plagues until the Egyptians recognized the He was God and Pharaoh himself was dead.  In fact, God had caused pharaoh to become king and be so stubborn for the purpose of showing the people who God was.  Because Pharaoh insisted on controlling God’s people God described the next plague in  Exodus 9:17-19.  “As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go?  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.  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.”

The next day there would be a terrible hailstorm, and anything they wanted to keep should be brought into shelter.  Anything left outdoors would be killed by the hail.  Some of the Egyptians listened while others did not, according to Exodus 9:20-21.  “He that feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses: And he that regarded not the word of the LORD left his servants and his cattle in the field.”  Some of them were thinking about what was happening while others went along with Pharaoh. 

God did exactly what he had promised, in Exodus 9:22-26.   “And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.  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.  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.  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.  Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail.”  The hailstorm was far worse than the Egyptians had imagined,  beating down everything and killing the animals which had survived the disease.    It was accompanied with lightening which set fires which burned the brush and grass and probably some of the homes.  There was no hail in the area where the Israelites were. 

Shocked by the violence of the storm , Pharaoh acknowledged he should have listened this time, in Exodus 9:27-28.  “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.  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.”   He promised to let them go if he could be assured the hail and lightning storms would end.  Moses agreed to ask God to end the storms, but warned Pharaoh not to change his mind, in Exodus 9:29-30.  “And Moses said unto him, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands unto the LORD; and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that thou mayest know how that the earth is the Lord's.  But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will not yet fear the LORD God.”

The hailstorm almost wiped out Egypt’s livestock industry, and it would take nearly a hundred years to fully recover.  In addition it wiped out many of their crops, as we see in Exodus 9:31-32.  “And the flax and the barley was smitten: for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled.  But the wheat and the rie were not smitten: for they were not grown up.”  The early crops were nearly developed and the hail wiped them out.  Some of the later crops were less developed and would have time to recover, but all would suffer as a result. 

Moses went and prayed that the storms would end, and God stopped them, in Exodus 9:33-35.  “And Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread abroad his hands unto the LORD: and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth.  And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants.  And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go; as the LORD had spoken by Moses.”  As soon as the storm was over, Pharaoh forgot all about his promise, refusing to allow the people to go.