YAHWEH’S NAME BE PROCLAIMED

Reintroduced to the Cast

Exodus 9:1 ESV

1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me.

In Exodus 9, we're reminded of Pharaoh's stubbornness as Moses and Aaron confront him again.

Four times, Moses and Aaron have demanded, by God's authority, that Pharaoh let His people go to worship Him (Ex. 5:1,7:16,8:1, 8:20).

Three of these demands were accompanied by plagues.

So far, four escalating plagues have shown how serious God is about freeing His people.

Water to blood (Ex. 7:16),

frogs overrunning the land (Ex. 8:1),

Gnats covering man, beast and the land. (No Confrontation from Moses, Magicians recognize that this is from the finger of God Ex. 8:19)

and swarms of flies (Ex. 8:20).

These plagues have directly confronted Egypt’s false gods—either overwhelming them with what they worship, or exposing their idols’ powerlessness.

By now, the story’s direction is clear. God gives Pharaoh a fifth command to let His people go.

As expected, Pharaoh will refuse, and God’s plan will continue as He said it would.

God continues in HIs longsuffering while raising up Pharaoh to reveal that HE ALONE is INCOMPARABLE, ALL POWERFUL, FULL OF MERCY AND GRACE, AND HIS NAME is WORTHY to be PROCLAIMED in all the earth. 

Continued Conflict: PHARAOH CONSUMING HIMSELF IN SIN…

5th Plague: Egyptian Livestock Die

Exodus 9:2–7 ESV

2 For if you refuse to let them go and still hold them, 3 behold, the hand of the Lord will fall with a very severe plague upon your livestock that are in the field, the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the herds, and the flocks. 4 But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing of all that belongs to the people of Israel shall die.” ’ ” 5 And the Lord set a time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.” 6 And the next day the Lord did this thing. All [all sorts of] the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one of the livestock of the people of Israel died. 7 And Pharaoh sent, and behold, not one of the livestock of Israel was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.

Moses again says to Pharaoh… IF YOU REFUSE TO LET THEM GO… And still hold them back… >>> getting at the fact that these people do not belong here… release your hand on them… 

If he does not allow them to go… then this time… THE HAND OF THE LORD WILL FALL ON THEM… 

This is an interesting statement. Unlike before, this plague is announced as coming from the hand of God—(IDK about you... but this seems like a serious escalation from the third plague with gnats, where the magicians said that it was from the finger of God)... this was meant to alarm Pharaoh and show God’s greater power.

Pharaoh thought much of himself as being the strong hand, especially in this scenario, but the Lord was about to show just how weak his power was to that of YAHWEH. 

God targets Egypt’s livestock—horses, donkeys, camels, herds, and flocks.

This plague strikes at what’s important to Egypt personally, economically, and religiously.

These valuable, domesticated animals were essential to daily life and farming.

This would also target their economy.

LIVESTOCK obviously was very valuable in everyday trade.

 Many Egyptians were pantheistic in their beliefs and considered everything to be god…

More specifically, much of Egypt prized the BULL. The APIS BULL was the sacred animal of the god Ptah (puhtaa). 

There was also the goddess Hathor represented by a cow or cow woman. She was a symbol of love, beauty and motherhood. AGAIN…

God is revealing to the Egyptians that these so-called gods are impostors and that GOD IS THE ONLY sovereign GOD OF THE UNIVERSE. 

This plague is a devastating and humiliating blow to Egypt, especially since the Israelites’ livestock will remain untouched.

AND SO… And we’re told that the Lord does again… what He said He would do…All the livestock in the field die.

Pharaoh even sends some servants to go and check out the livestock of the Israelites to just maybe… maybe prove that this was a natural disaster… or maybe God had turned against His own people… but no… THIS WAS OBVIOUSLY FROM THE HAND OF GOD… It was a precise attack.

Israel and their livestock were not in any way affected.

Pharaoh hears from his servants that Israel has been set apart from this terrible plague upon their livestock. 

Result: Pharaoh’s heart is hardened; he still refuses to let the Israelites go.We then get to the 6th plague in verse 8, which reads… 

6th Plague: Boils

Exodus 9:8–12 ESV

8 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from the kiln, and let Moses throw them in the air in the sight of Pharaoh. 9 It shall become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and become boils breaking out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt.” 10 So they took soot from the kiln and stood before Pharaoh. And Moses threw it in the air, and it became boils breaking out in sores on man and beast. 11 And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils came upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians. 12 But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had spoken to Moses.

This plague raises questions for many readers, myself included.

Why soot?

What is the significance of the kiln?

Soot is the black flaky or powdery substance from a furnace—in this case, from kilns where Israelite slaves baked bricks.

God has Moses throw soot before Pharaoh and the magicians, mirroring Egyptian rituals with ashes.

With this, God brings His wrath directly on Pharaoh and Egypt for oppressing His people.

The soot made by the enslaved now punishes the oppressors.

This is the first plague to directly attack human health, showing the plague’s growing severity.

Scripture says that it affected them so much so that when needed to counter the plague… the MAGICIANS COULD NOT EVEN STAND BEFORE PHARAOH. 

SOONER OR LATER… THE FALSE POWER OF HUMANS IS REVEALED BEFORE THE MIGHTY HAND OF GOD… we see this played out in the lives of the magicians… 

Egypt’s healing gods (Amon Re, Thoth, Imhotep, Sekhmet) are powerless against God’s wrath.

V. 12: For the first time, apart from the words of Moses before the plagues began (4:21; 7:3), the statement is made that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. 

Again, we see this interplay: throughout this whole narrative, both Pharaoh is hardening his own heart… and God is hardening his heart…

This raises tough questions about how God could harden Pharaoh’s heart without causing evil.

>>>There is something we must remind ourselves of when reading about God hardening Pharaoh’s heart…

Is that GOD IS THE ONE WHO IS ACTIVELY RESTRAINING EVIL IN THE WORLD…

THE WORLD>>> BY GOD’S GRACE… IS NOT AS EVIL AS IT COULD BE!

God in His goodness is holding back the full effect of wickedness in this world…

The readers would have known this from the book of Genesis, as we see God restraining evil all throughout the book

He actively does this through the flood narrative.

 the interventions like Abimelech and Sarah (Gen. 20:6)

As well as with Joseph and his brothers (Gen. 50:20)

This was something they understood about God’s attributes. 

We also see in the NT that God has commanded the church to aid in this endeavor by the preaching of the Gospel (Matt. 5:13-14), your Governing authorities (Rom. 13:1-4- those who resist authority incur judgement), And God Himself restraining the spirit of lawlessness that is already prevalent in our society until the appointed time (2 Thess. 2:6)

I love what RC SPROUL SAYS OF PARAOH here… 

How hard is it for God to use Pharaoh’s wickedness or even increase Pharaoh’s wickedness? He doesn’t have to come in and do a surgical operation on his heart and breathe fresh evil into him. All he has to do to accelerate and to intensity the wickedness of Pharaoh is for God to remove the restraints and let Pharaoh have his way. 

God’s will is accomplished simply by allowing Pharaoh to be consumed by his own sin. God is actively carrying this out… God is hardening Pharaoh’s heart by lifting the restraints... And as verse 13 implies… this is why Pharaoh is still very much responsible for this hardening… 

The Intersection of the Plague Account

Exodus 9:13–17 ESV

13 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. 14 For this time I will send all my plagues on you yourself, and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth. 15 For by now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth. 16 But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth. 17 You are still exalting yourself against my people and will not let them go.

It is here that I feel as though Pharaoh comes to an intersection.

 After six plagues, Pharaoh has stubbornly hardened his heart and suppressed the truth before him.

God’s sovereignty has been made known and plain to Pharaoh.

 And so God has given him up to a debased mind to do what he ought not do…

It’s like knowing a driver will run a red light—Pharaoh refuses to stop. You see the intent to disobey. He’s unwilling to even slow down.

God confronts Pharaoh with more truth, knowing he’ll continue to suppress it.

V. 16. Pharaoh wouldn’t even be where he’s at, had it not been for YAHWEH raising him up to be there.

Any authority he thought he had, had been given to him by the sovereign maker of the universe. 

God is revealing Himself as the one who conducts divine appointments for all in the position that they are in, especially those in authority. 

2. The second truth was that of God’s grace and mercy that had been shown thus far. 

Pharaoh and the Egyptians didn’t realize God’s mercy, much like a child not recognizing a parent’s restraint.

God says He could have wiped them out completely by now.

THIS IS A SCARY THOUGHT… 

Every breath Pharaoh and his people have taken was a gift of grace.

3. The ULTIMATE purpose of the plagues: 

Now, Pharaoh himself will suffer as the plagues intensify.

WHY?

For all of humanity to know that there is none like Him. 

To reveal His power. 

SO THAT>>> YAHWEH’S NAME WOULD BE PROCLAIMED THROUGHOUT THE EARTH. 

THIS IS THE PURPOSE OF GOD’S WORK HERE IN THE BOOK OF EXODUS…The Exodus account would be a story in which people around the world would hear of the greatness and the power of YAHWEH, the God of the Israelites. 

Pharaoh has come to the intersection… what needed to be said by God to Pharaoh has been said…

Any sane person would have stopped and considered their next actions… but Pharaoh does not.

AND SO WE SEE BEGIN TO SEE THE REST OF GOD’S WRATH BEGIN TO BE POURED OUT AND THE CONTINUED IGNORANCE OF ONE MAN.

Resolution (Playing out of solution): V. 18-26

Exodus 9:18–26 ESV

18 Behold, about this time tomorrow I will cause very heavy hail to fall, such as never has been in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. 19 Now therefore send, get your livestock and all that you have in the field into safe shelter, for every man and beast that is in the field and is not brought home will die when the hail falls on them.” ’ ” 20 Then whoever feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh hurried his slaves and his livestock into the houses, 21 but whoever did not pay attention to the word of the Lord left his slaves and his livestock in the field. 22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, so that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, on man and beast and every plant of the field, in the land of Egypt.” 23 Then Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. And the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt. 24 There was hail and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail, very heavy hail, such as had never been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. 25 The hail struck down everything that was in the field in all the land of Egypt, both man and beast. And the hail struck down every plant of the field and broke every tree of the field. 26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the people of Israel were, was there no hail.

PLAGUE 7: HAIL

WE SEE THROUGH THIS MOST DESTRUCTIVE PLAGUE YET… everything that we have seen of God up to this point again…

We see Gods omnipotence in setting the time. God>>> letting Pharaoh know that this will not be from natural happening but is from God’s hand…

He alone is the perfect weatherman… We see God’s control of nature and the weather…

The intensity of this would be like no other hailstorm that they had ever seen.

We see God’s grace in giving them some sort of warning in verse 19 for those who would listen…

We now see about three groups of people in this narrative…

Those who ignored the Word of the Lord in their stubborn and hard hearts (Pharaoh included)

The Israelites who believed in His power and worshiped God.

THEN… we see that some of the Egyptians had actually FEARED THE WORD OF THE LORD… Now, it might be going a bit further than evidence would suggest to say that these Egyptians had come to saving faith in God… and would begin to worship Him…

Notice here how carefully Moses had composed this sentence in saying that they FEARED THE WORD OF THE LORD and that he did not write that THEY FEARED THE LORD…

There is a sense of grace that is bestowed upon those WHO AT LEAST FEAR THE COMMAND… FEAR THE WORD as we see here. Even today… if a person were to follow many of the commands that the Lord gives us in His Word… life would go a lot smoother for some…

But as we know, this is a belief that is short of conversion. It’s a belief in the word told to them… but still not a saving faith in the one who gave them the Word.

but nonetheless, a measure of grace is given anf they and are protected from God’s wrath.

AND SO MOSES STRETCHES OUT HIS HAND…

Scripture says that HAIL CAME DOWN IN ALL OF EGYPT.

This was the heaviest, most destructive HAIL AND THUNDER STORM THAT THE LAND OF EGYPT HAD EVER SEEN. HAIL, LIGHTNING, WIND AND RAIN… which all would have caused extensive damage to the land and to anybody who had not headed the warning of the Lord.

MAN AND BEAST ARE KILLED… EVERY PLANT AND TREE STRUCK DOWN… This plague was sent to destroy everything in it’s path.

BUT AGAIN… GOSHEN WAS SPARED. The people of Israel in which God has chosen has been OBVIOUSLY PROTECTED BECAUSE OF THEIR GIFTED TITLED AS GOD’S PEOPLE…

We see the Lord begin this third cycle of plagues in which there are no possible counterfeits, Pharaoh brings somewhat of a fake repentance…

New-setting: God’s Word Rings True  (V27-35)

Exodus 9:27–35 ESV

27 Then Pharaoh sent and called Moses and Aaron and said to them, “This time I have sinned; the Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. 28 Plead with the Lord, for there has been enough of God’s thunder and hail. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.” 29 Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will stretch out my hands to the Lord. The thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know that the earth is the Lord’s. 30 But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the Lord God. 31 (The flax and the barley were struck down, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud. 32 But the wheat and the emmer were not struck down, for they are late in coming up.) 33 So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and stretched out his hands to the Lord, and the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain no longer poured upon the earth. 34 But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet again and hardened his heart, he and his servants. 35 So the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people of Israel go, just as the Lord had spoken through Moses.

In the latter part of Chapter 9, Pharaoh offers a lukewarm confession—a moment of saving face, as if God doesn’t know his heart.

“I HAVE SINNED, THE LORD IS IN THE RIGHT”…

At first, this seems like Pharaoh’s closest moment to repentance.

But a closer look tells another story.

He says, “this time,” >>>ignoring his stubbornness before and skipping over past disobedience.

Some commentators say the Hebrew could mean, “I have acted unjustly” or “I have been unfair.”

Pharaoh’s confession is shallow and meaningless.

Moses, given wisdom by God, sees right through Pharaoh.

Moses is not fooled. “I KNOW THAT YOU DO NOT FEAR THE LORD.” 

God is not fooled either.

Moses agrees to pray for Pharaoh, even leaving the city unharmed during the storm—a sign of God’s protection.

Moses includes details about the crop damage for future readers.

To which we see that the flax and barely was struck down which were about ready to be harvested anywhere from. Feb-March. 

Wheat and the Emmer (or Spelt) would be harvested a month later. 

Even here, God gives Pharaoh grace and time to repent before all crops are destroyed.

AS MOSES SAID WOULD HAPPEN… 

He goes out of the city, stretches out his hand… 

God shows more grace to reveal to Egypt that the earth is the Lord’s.

AGAIN… all to so that YAHWEH’S NAME MAY BE PROCLAIMED. 

Everything ceases. Hail, wind, rain, lightning… all of it…

And the saving face, Pharaoh reveals his unauthentic repentant attitude as being manufactured all to get the discipline to stop. 

God’s word to Moses proves true through three more plagues.

Pharaoh’s heart hardens even more under the weight of his own sin… And along with him now… so come his servants… He has now led them down the same wicked path that he has been on himself… He still refuses to let the people go.

APPLICATION:

GOD’S PURPOSE IS CLEAR IN THESE EVENTS…

He desires His name to be proclaimed throughout the earth.

HE SIMPLY WANTS THE NATIONS TO KNOW THAT

HE IS INCOMPARABLE…

HE IS LONG-SUFFERING… (PATIENT… MERCIFUL… FULL OF GRACE… SLOW TO ANGER…) GIVING AMPLE TIME TO REPENT…

HE IS ALL POWERFUL

AND sovereign over all the creation.

For these reasons, Yahweh’s name must be proclaimed.…

These events launched the proclamation of God’s name for generations.

EVEN TODAY, NONE-BELIEVERS KNOW OF THESE EVENTS

And for those Non-believers who may read through these pages… they should recognize that which God told Pharaoh, that He could have already struck you and cut you off from the earth long ago… but He hasn’t just yet.

God’s patience is meant to lead to repentance.

God is slow to anger.

He patiently endures human disobedience and sin giving time for people to repent and turn to Him

2 Peter 3:9 ESV

9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

In His mercy and grace… He has not yet allowed you to be cut off from His natural grace that He gives to all…

So if you are not in Christ, repent and recognize the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as the one true God.

For Christians… the events of the Exodus is something that is spoke about constantly. And for good reason! We have taken seriously the need for God’s name to be proclaimed through stories like the Exodus… especially because of the connections we see between this story and what CHRIST HAS DONE FOR US.

Christians should take from this what the people of God, the original readers of this book would have taken from it…  

There is no one or no thing like our God. HE is incomparable. He is the one who holds the affairs of this world in His hands… who appoints those where they are currently placed. Who raises up those in power for HIs purpose and for HIs glory.

2. It is by God’s mercy and grace that you are in Christ—He chose you as His child.

Much like the Israelites who were chosen by to be His people, to be His firstborn… who by His grace were chosen here to be set apart from His wrath…

It is nothing of yourself. that you stand currently as a child of God.

It is solely by God’s mercy and grace and mercy. 

>>>>> WE ARE ALL THE MORE GLAD BECAUSE OF THIS FACT…

Paul speaks of this very passage in Exodus 9:16 to the Romans in Romans 9 speaking on God’s sovereign choice… In knowing the opposition to this reality, Paul says…

Romans 9:14–18 ESV

14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! 15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

PRAISE YAHWEH’S NAME FOR THIS TRUTH!

It depends not on humans will or exertion but on God who has mercy!

This is exactly what Paul was getting in Eph. 2:8-9

Ephesians 2:8–9 ESV

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

To put the riches of his glorious truth on display… just as God chose Israel to be His people through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob… He has chosen you and I to be included in His children of promise…

AND THIS IS THE TRUTH THAT WE ARE TO REMIND OURSELVES ABOUT WHEN GOD CALLS US TO GO THROUGH THE SUFFERINGS, and TRIALS OF THIS AGE… that because of this… nothing can snatch you away from the grace of God.

When He calls you to do hard things for His namesake and for HIs glory.

3. For these reasons… God alone is worthy to be proclaimed throughout the entire earth. Nothing else. 

Not self. accomplishments, abilities, weaknesses, or trials.

Not others. Not celebrities, sports stars, social media influencers, 

Not human wisdom. Our thoughts and ideas… 

• ⁃ YAHWEH’S NAME IS TO BE PROCLAIMED. 

And so let us be a people who do this regularly

TO OURSELVES DAILY…

Preaching the gospel to ourselves…

reminding ourselves of HIs glorious deeds and all He has done.

AND TO OTHERS… DAILY because we simply can’t keep it in.

LET US BE PROCLAIMERS OF HIS GRACE DAILY…