The Ten Egyptian Plagues: (Plague 7 & 8)

Good evening, we are continuing through our series on the Egyptian plagues. We are up to number 7 so far. Let’s do a quick recap then we will get started with number 7

Plague 1: water into blood

Plague 2: frogs

Plague 3: gnats/lice

Plague 4: flys

Plague 5: pestilence

Plague 6: boils

PRAY

PLAGUE SEVEN: Hail

Depending on which plague we are covering, the text could be a little as 4 verses, or as long as an entire chapter. The 7th plage has quite a bit of text , so, instead of reading it all at one time, we will go through it bit by bit, then kind of recap at the end. So, let’s go ahead

Exodus 9:18–21

““Behold, about this time tomorrow, I will send a very heavy hail, such as has not been seen in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. “Now therefore send, bring your livestock and whatever you have in the field to safety. Every man and beast that is found in the field and is not brought home, when the hail comes down on them, will die.” ’ ” The one among the servants of Pharaoh who feared the word of the Lord made his servants and his livestock flee into the houses; but he who paid no regard to the word of the Lord left his servants and his livestock in the field.”

The 7th plague actually begins at vs. 18, where we started, but we we back up a bit to vs. 13 we can read something interesting. I didn’t add vs. 13 to 18, as we already have enough text to get through and it’s pretty much just an interlude in between the 6th and 7th plagues. Actually, this verse was at the tale end of the last plague…Moses and Aaron were giving Pharaoh a warning…before the one we read in vs. 18.

Exodus 9:14

“For this time I will send all My plagues on you and your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth.”

In your Bibles you may see a little footnote or something in this verse, where it says:”I will send my plagues on you and your servants...” How it actually reads is, I will send all my plagues into your heart and your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth. The only translation I have seen that actually translates it that way is Young’s Literal Translation. Pretty much every translation ended up going with on you, instead of in your heart…as that phrase is difficult to understand…however,

The Beginning with the 7th plague we begin to see a shift or a change in Pharaoh. This plague starts out with Moses and Aaron going to Pharaoh and warning him that a massive hail storm is coming their way. For the first time Moses tells Pharaoh a way that his people can mitigate the damage to their animals…by bringing them inside, to get them out from the storm. Moses even says, listen, if you don’t bring in your animals, they will die. Apparently there was one of Pharaoh’s servants who had caught on by now. He listened to the warning and brought his animals into safety. Unfortunately, it sounds like most of the people did not heed this warning.

Exodus 9:22–26

“Now the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that hail may fall on all the land of Egypt, on man and on beast and on every plant of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.” Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. And the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt. So there was hail, and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail, very severe, such as had not been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. The hail struck all that was in the field through all the land of Egypt, both man and beast; the hail also struck every plant of the field and shattered every tree of the field. Only in the land of Goshen, where the sons of Israel were, there was no hail.”

There is a song that pops into my head whenever I read this passage. It’s Thunder Road by Garth Brooks. Funny thing, I’m not even a country music fan...

Anyway, Pharaoh ignored the warning…what a surprise, right! So, the hail started raining down on the land of Egypt. Back then, and even still to this day, because of where Egypt is located geographically, hail storms are exceedingly uncommon. Extremely rare occasions. It is a desert, so the required amount of moisture doesn’t typically build up enough to produce hail. Sandstorms, on the other hand, would have been a regular occurrence.

Sure enough, the next day, Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky and not only hail began to fall, but also fire. I can’t even imagine what it was like…an apocalyptic sight of fire and ice raining down out of the sky...

I did some research into some of the worst recorded hail storms throughout the world. Here in the US, there are been a number of bad ones. How these storms are measured here (in the US) is not by deaths, as people rarely die from them…but that’s not the case elsewhere. They are measured by the amount of damage and the size of the hailstones.

Big Hailstone Picture

Craig Mann of Cullman, Alabama, displays the hailstone he collected in nearby Walter on March 19, 2018, that measured over 5” in diameter (officially 5.38”), thus entering the record books as the largest hailstone ever collected in Alabama history. Image courtesy of Craig Mann. Imagine getting hit with that…it would probably kill you, no question.

Since we are dealing with something like this, of course, I’m going to have a video for you!

PLAY VIDEO

I actually found a really cool/sad story:

Skeletons of Roopkund Lake IN 1942 A BRITISH FOREST guard in Roopkund, India made an alarming discovery. Some 16,000 feet above sea level, at the bottom of a small valley, was a frozen lake absolutely full of skeletons. That summer, ice melt revealed even more skeletal remains, floating in the water and lying haphazardly around the lake’s edges. Something horrible had happened here. A National Geographic team set out to examine the bones in 2004. Besides dating the remains to around 850 AD, the team realized that everyone at the “Skeleton Lake” had died from blows to the head and shoulders caused by “blunt, round objects about the size of cricket balls.” This eventually led the team to one conclusion: In 850 AD this group of 200 some travelers was crossing this valley when they were caught in a sudden and severe hailstorm. An ancient folk song of the area describes a goddess so enraged at outsiders who defiled her mountain sanctuary that she rained death upon them with ice stones “as hard as iron.” Hail killed every last one of them.

I may have overdone that a bit…nonetheless, hail and fire…as if it wasn’t already bad enough, rained down on the people in Egypt.

The hail struck all that was in the field through all the land of Egypt, both man and beast; the hail also struck every plant of the field and shattered every tree of the field. Only in the land of Goshen, where the sons of Israel were, there was no hail.”

I can’t imagine the damage it did to crops and homes. The Bibles says that it was the most sever storm Egypt had ever seen…before and probably, since.

Exodus 9:27–32

“Then Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “I have sinned this time; the Lord is the righteous one, and I and my people are the wicked ones. Make supplication to the Lord, for there has been enough of God’s thunder and hail; and I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.” Moses said to him, “As soon as I go out of the city, I will spread out my hands to the Lord; the thunder will cease and there will be hail no longer, that you may know that the earth is the Lord’s. But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the Lord God.” (Now the flax and the barley were ruined, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud. But the wheat and the spelt were not ruined, for they ripen late.)”

So, as this massive storm was going on, no doubt it cause great fear and panic in the heart of Pharaoh. It seems that, whenever the pressure was on and the plague was happening, Pharaoh softened, but as soon as it relented, his heart grew hard again. So, Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and, for the first time, admits his admiration for the God of the Israelites. This had not happened before. Not only that, but Pharaoh even admitted that he had sinned, or acted unrighteously…and not just him, but the people of Egypt.

The totality of these plagues were coming together and causing some massive devastation in the land of Egypt. Meanwhile, for the most part, the Israelites were being protected from the worst of it. The leader asks Moses to pray to God, that He would relent and cause the storm to cease. Here again, we see that Moses is willing to intercede on the behalf of these pagans…which, as we’ve talked about before, what interceding is…we intercede when we pray for those who do not know the Lord. Moses says that he will pray and ask God to stop the storm…and this is where we see the astounding grace of the Lord. Despite the terrible plagues, God still lets up and extends grace…but Moses made it clear that he will pray, but not because Moses thinks that Pharaoh will keep his word. Pharaoh’s heart was still not ready, and Moses knew it. This section ends with stating the fact that the nation’s crop of flax and barley were ruined by the storm.

for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud.

This simply implies that both the flax and barley were ripe and ready for harvest.

Alright, closing out this plague, let’s look at the last few passages, then we I will briefly mention the Egyptian gods that this plague were targeting.

Exodus 9:33–35

“So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread out his hands to the Lord; and the thunder and the hail ceased, and rain no longer poured on the earth. But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned again and hardened his heart, he and his servants. Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not let the sons of Israel go, just as the Lord had spoken through Moses.”

Well, I’m sure you could not have probably guessed, but as soon as God stopped the plague, it says that “Pharaoh sinned again and hardened his heart.” Thus, not keeping his word to let the Israelites go.

Both the 7th & 8th plagues were meant to mock the same Egyptian deities.

Nut: the sky goddess

Nut was a goddess of the sky, vault of the heavens, often depicted as a woman arched over the earth god Geb.

Osiris: the crop fertility god

Osiris was not only ruler of the dead but also the power that granted all life from the underworld, from sprouting vegetation to the annual flood of the Nile River.

Set: the storm god.

Was a god of deserts, storms, disorder, violence, and foreigners

PLAGUE EIGHT: Locust

I will not spend a ton of time on plague 8. The story is found, of course, right after plague 7, starting in Ch. 10. Next week we will finish up, with the majority of time spent on the final plague.

Exodus 10:1–3

“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may perform these signs of Mine among them, and that you may tell in the hearing of your son, and of your grandson, how I made a mockery of the Egyptians and how I performed My signs among them, that you may know that I am the Lord.” Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, that they may serve Me.”

This plague starts out with another warning from Moses. With the plagues, God is creating a lasting memory for the people of Israel…something that they will forever commemorate. This is also the first time that what was left unspoken is actually said…how God is making a mockery of the Egyptians and their feeble gods. We will start to notice that Pharaoh is beginning to come to the end of his rope. He is starting to unravel…as most of us would have.

Exodus 10:4–5

“For if you refuse to let My people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory. They shall cover the surface of the land, so that no one will be able to see the land. They will also eat the rest of what has escaped—what is left to you from the hail—and they will eat every tree which sprouts for you out of the field.”

Moses says…listen, whatever survived the hail…the locust will come in and wipe everything out. As I mentioned before, the 3 gods that were being targeted here are:

Nut: Sky goddess

Osiris: Crop fertility god

Set: Storm god

So, what exactly are locust and what kind of damage can they do?

Locust Picture

locust, (family Acrididae), any of a group of insects (order Orthoptera) that are distributed worldwide, the common name of which generally refers to the group of short-horned grasshoppers that often increase greatly in numbers and migrate long distances in destructive swarms.

In 1869 desert locust swarms reached England, probably from West Africa, and a flight across the Red Sea in 1889 was estimated to be about 5,000 square km (2,000 square miles) in size. The long-distance dispersal of these swarms is usually associated with either frontal winds of storm systems or high-level jet-stream winds. The acridids typically fly almost straight up into these fast-moving winds and then are carried with the winds until they slow to the point where gravity overcomes wind speed, causing them to drop from the sky. Take note of how the locust move in and out of an area…that will be important in this story.

SHOW LOCUST VIDEO

So, after the warning, the magicians come to Pharaoh and try to talk sense into him

Exodus 10:7–9

“Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not realize that Egypt is destroyed?” So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, and he said to them, “Go, serve the Lord your God! Who are the ones that are going?” Moses said, “We shall go with our young and our old; with our sons and our daughters, with our flocks and our herds we shall go, for we must hold a feast to the Lord.”

Of course, Pharaoh doesn’t listen. Like before, Moses tries to get Pharaoh to get the people go…so the Egyptian leader tries to negotiate. The leader wants to know who (exactly) Moses want to bring. Moses replies by saying…everyone…everyone is coming with me.

While it’s hard to see in English, after Moses said that everyone is going to be following him, Pharaoh becomes angry

Exodus 10:10–11

Then he said to them, “Thus may the Lord be with you, if ever I let you and your little ones go! Take heed, for evil is in your mind. Not so! Go now, the men among you, and serve the Lord, for that is what you desire.” So they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.”

The wording of verses 10 & 11 can be confusing, as it seems to give us mixed messages. On one hand, it appears as though Pharaoh is almost considering the idea…then he accuses Moses of doing something or thinking something evil…then, all of a sudden, Moses and Aaron were driven out of the room. The confusion comes from the translation. To get a clearer idea of what Pharaoh is trying to convey here, I looked at a couple of paraphrase Bibles, which explain the idea of the author, rather than a literal one for one translation.

The Living Bible:

“In the name of God I will not let you take your little ones!” Pharaoh retorted. “I can see your plot! 11 Never! You that are men, go and serve Jehovah, for that is what you asked for.” And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.

The Message Bible

He said, “I’d sooner send you off with God’s blessings than let you go with your children. Look, you’re up to no good—it’s written all over your faces. No way. Just the men are going—go ahead and worship God. That’s what you want so badly.” And they were thrown out of Pharaoh’s presence.

The New Living Translation

Pharaoh retorted, “The Lord will certainly need to be with you if I let you take your little ones! I can see through your evil plan. 11 Never! Only the men may go and worship the Lord, since that is what you requested.” And Pharaoh threw them out of the palace.

The idea here is that Pharaoh is using sarcasm…but sarcasm doesn’t translate well. For example, if I were to say to Joel, that’s a really nice shirt…that’s a really nice shirt! This is why I will sometimes use the less literal translations, as verses like this are hard to understand otherwise.

Well, there was no way the Egyptian leader was going to let everyone go. Remember, up to this point, Moses had only presented the idea that the people only needed to go and make their sacrifices…except now, Pharaoh was catching on that Moses had no intention of coming back. This was made clear after Moses refused to simply take the men with him. Pharaoh gets angry and kicks Moses and Aaron out of his presence.

As a result, God sends the locust.

Exodus 10:12–14

“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up on the land of Egypt and eat every plant of the land, even all that the hail has left.” So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the Lord directed an east wind on the land all that day and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled in all the territory of Egypt; they were very numerous. There had never been so many locusts, nor would there be so many again.”

Notice how the author says that the Lord brought the locust into Egypt…God directed an east wind…which then in turn, brought the locust. It’s interesting just how accurate this ancient description is, as far as the technical science behind how locusts move from area to area. Well, it didn’t take long, and once again, Pharaoh was summoning Moses and Aaron.

Let’s go ahead and wrap up, by finishing up this account.

Exodus 10:16–20

“Then Pharaoh hurriedly called for Moses and Aaron, and he said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. Now therefore, please forgive my sin only this once, and make supplication to the Lord your God, that He would only remove this death from me.” He went out from Pharaoh and made supplication to the Lord. So the Lord shifted the wind to a very strong west wind which took up the locusts and drove them into the Red Sea; not one locust was left in all the territory of Egypt. But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the sons of Israel go.”

As I said, it did not take long for Pharaoh to regret his decision. Like before, he summoned Moses and Aaron and admitted that he had sinned…and even asked Moses to ask God to forgive the sin. And like before, Moses dutifully interceded for Pharaoh and, just as the wind brought the locust in, the wind blew them back out to sea. God was still not finished though! There are 2 more plagues that are coming down the pike.

Now, as I said, next week we will finish up this series.

Our takeaway tonight has to do with the very last section of plague 8…the passages we just read.

Vs. 10 says: “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. Now therefore, please forgive my sin only this once, and make supplication to the Lord your God, that He would only remove this death from me.”

How many times now have we seen Pharaoh sorry for his previous decisions? Pharaoh admitted that he was wrong and even asks for forgiveness…this is noble, for sure. However, just a couple of passages later, his heart is hardened…whether by God or of his own stubbornness. Regardless, God knew that Pharaoh was not ready to truly follow directions…to change course…in other words, to truly repent.

How many of us know that we can be sorry for our actions…we can even feel bad and ask for forgiveness…but repentance is different. We are called to repent and be baptized....both of those things signal a change, one of them is inward and the other is the outward sign, to those around us, that we have responded to God’s call. Repentance brings about life change, while “feeling bad” does not, or is only temporary. Back when I was using drugs, I can’t tell you how many times I would be “sorry,” and truly mean it…but I had yet to fully repent and change direction.

Maybe you’ve noticed this, or not…but every time Pharaoh asks Moses to pray, it’s for HIM…not for his people. Here in Ch. 10, Pharaoh is again, asking for the plague to be removed from him. When we are consumed with self, true repentance is not possible…part of repentance is taking the lowly place and allowing Christ as our king, our ruler, we submit to Him....when we can do that, true repentance is possible.

Let’s Pray!