God Doesn’t Bluff

 God did not immediately deliver Israel because he wanted the Egyptians to believe in him as well as the Israelites.  As part of that effort, he had made a distinction between those who believed in him, the the Israelites, and those who didn’t, the Egyptians when he sent the flies.  Next he sent a disease among their livestock, and again he distinguished between those who served them and those who did not, in Exodus 9:1-7.  “Then the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me.  For if thou refuse to let them go, and wilt hold them still, Behold, the hand of the LORD is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very grievous murrain.  And the LORD shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt: and there shall nothing die of all that is the children's of Israel.  And the LORD appointed a set time, saying, To morrow the LORD shall do this thing in the land.

 

And the LORD did that thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt died: but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one.  And Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not one of the cattle of the Israelites dead. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.”   The disease killed large numbers of every type of livestock, but none of those of the Israelites, costing Pharaoh and the Egyptians a great deal.   Pharaoh responded as if God were just some human adversary trying to coerce him into doing what he wanted and decided to call God’s bluff.

 

The only problem was, God wasn’t bluffing as we see in Exodus 9:8-11.  “And the LORD said unto Moses and unto Aaron, Take to you handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh.  And it shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt.  And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven; and it became a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast.  And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boil was upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians.”

 

The boils were so painful even magicians ran away to try to find something to alleviate the pain.  Instead of acknowledging God’s power, Pharaoh got mad and God used his anger to make him more determined not to give in, so god upped the ante, in Exodus 9:12-19.  “And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had spoken unto Moses.  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.  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.”

 

God warned that he was prepared to cause still worse things if Pharaoh did not let the people go.  He informed Pharaoh that God had put him in place as king specifically so that the Egyptian people would know that God was the only God, and that before everything was finished Pharaoh himself would die. 

 

After having seen the previous plagues, some of the people listened and believed God, making an effort to save the rest of their cattle from the hail.   Others stuck with Pharaoh, refusing to admit he was making poor decisions, as Exodus 9:20-21 describes.   “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.”  They were no different than many people today, clinging to a political party and philosophy even though it is clearly compounding the problems, while others look at what is happening and make changes.   

 

God had decimated their herds with the disease, but the hail wiped out any cattle those who ignored the warning had left, as Exodus 9:22-26 describes.  “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 description sounds almost like a storm cell such as produces tornadoes, with extreme winds, huge hailstones and torrential rain, and ground lightening igniting fires all around.  Trees lost branches, cattle were killed by the hailstones, and mature crops were destroyed as a result.  If they continued, Pharaoh might lose everything he owned.  Desperate to end the storms, he called for Moses 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 swallowed his pride and admitted he had been wrong to refuse to let the people go. 

 

Moses agreed to ask God to stop the storm, to make it very clear it was God who had caused the storm, and not just some fluke of the weather, 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.”  Although he would pray for an end to the Storm, Moses realized Pharaoh and his people were not yet willing to give up the status quo or believe in God, despite the evidence of his power.  Exodus 9:31-32 describes the extent of the damage.  “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 ripe and the hail destroyed them.  The wheat and rye were only beginning to grow and were able to recover. 

 

As soon as the storm was over, Pharaoh changed his mind and refused to let the people go, according to 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.”  Like most narcissists or sociopaths, Pharaoh would promise almost anything to get his way, but he had no intention of honoring the promises if he could keep from it.