The Plague of Hail
October 27, 2020
Commentary
The next three plagues all distinctly point to heaven as their place of origin. God sent Moses to talk, early in the morning, with Pharaoh, again, before the next plague (v. 13). Because he would not let the Israelites go, God would be sending another plague (v. 14). He says that He could have already sent a terrible plague that would have wiped Pharaoh and his people from the earth but He has kept them alive, just to show them His power and to bring honor to Himself everywhere in the world (vv. 15-16). Since Pharaoh is determined not to let the Lord’s people go God is going to bring on Egypt the seventh plague of hail, the worst storm in its history (vv. 17-18).
God warns the king that he had better give orders for every person to take shelter and bring every animal inside by this time tomorrow and if they don’t they will die (v. 19). Some of the kings officials were frightened by what the Lord had said and hurried to make sure their slaves and animals were safe (v. 20). Others didn’t pay any attention to his warning (v. 21). Moses followed God’s instruction as he stretched out his rod and hail started falling everywhere while thunder roared and lightening flashed (vv. 22-24). Rain was not frequent in Egypt so hail was an unusual occurrence. Never had there been such a storm in Egypt. People, animals and crops were pounded into the ground as bark was also stripped from the trees (v. 25). Now, several of the Egyptian gods were being challenged since they were not able to control the sky, crops, and the storm like they were supposed to. But over in the land of Goshen not one hailstone fell (v. 26).
Application
When the storms of life come my way I want to always find my shelter in the Lord.
Exodus 9:13– 26 (NET)
13 The Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning, stand before Pharaoh, and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has said: “Release my people so that they may serve me! 14 For this time I will send all my plagues on your very self and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth. 15 For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with plague, and you would have been destroyed from the earth. 16 But for this purpose I have caused you to stand: to show you my strength, and so that my name may be declared in all the earth. 17 You are still exalting yourself against my people by not releasing them. 18 I am going to cause very severe hail to rain down about this time tomorrow, such hail as has never occurred in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. 19 So now, send instructions to gather your livestock and all your possessions in the fields to a safe place. Every person or animal caught in the field and not brought into the house—the hail will come down on them, and they will die!”’”
20 Those of Pharaoh’s servants who feared the Lord’s message hurried to bring their servants and livestock into the houses, 21 but those who did not take the Lord’s message seriously left their servants and their cattle in the field.
22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Extend your hand toward the sky that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, on people and on animals, and on everything that grows in the field in the land of Egypt.” 23 When Moses extended his staff toward the sky, the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire fell to the earth; so the Lord caused hail to rain down on the land of Egypt. 24 Hail fell and fire mingled with the hail; the hail was so severe that there had not been any like it in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation. 25 The hail struck everything in the open fields, both people and animals, throughout all the land of Egypt. The hail struck everything that grows in the field, and it broke all the trees of the field to pieces. 26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites lived, was there no hail.
Illustration: Hurricanes Help Balance The Weather
Without an occasional hurricane, the world’s weather might be even worse. Fierce tropical storms play a vital part in maintaining the heat balance between the tropics and polar regions. The tropics and subtropics receive more heat from the sun than they lose by radiation. To prevent cooling of the poles and scorching of the equatorial regions hurricanes help keep the balance. “If hurricane control were successful and none were allowed to go through their full life cycle,” says Gordon E. Dunn, former director of the National Hurricane Center at Miami, “nature would undoubtedly find some other method of maintaining the heat balance, and who can say that this new method might not be even more disastrous than the hurricane?” (Encyclopedia of Illustrations #12267).