Exodus · chapter 9 of 40
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Exodus 9 tells of three plagues on Egypt: the death of the livestock, boils on people and animals, and a terrible hailstorm. God spares Israel from the first two and warns of the third so that the Egyptians can bring their servants and animals to safety. Pharaoh admits he has sinned, but when the hail stops he hardens his heart again.
The earlier plagues troubled and ruined daily life in Egypt, but Exodus 9 moves toward heavier blows: the economy, health and the harvest. God states clearly why he has kept Pharaoh standing and shows mercy by giving warning before the hail. The chapter prepares the close of the plagues with the last three.
The Lord told Moses to say to Pharaoh that he must let his people go, or a very severe plague would strike Egypt's livestock, horses, donkeys, camels, cattle and sheep. The Lord would distinguish between the livestock of Israel and of Egypt, and nothing belonging to the Israelites would die. The next day all the livestock of Egypt died, but none of Israel's. Even so, Pharaoh's heart was hardened.
God then told Moses and Aaron to take handfuls of soot from a kiln, and Moses was to throw it toward heaven in front of Pharaoh. It became fine dust over all Egypt and caused festering boils on people and animals. But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart and he did not listen.
Again Moses stood before Pharaoh and announced that this time the Lord would send all his plagues on Pharaoh's heart, his servants and his people, so that he would know there is none like the Lord in all the earth. God had raised him up to show him his power. Tomorrow at this time a very heavy hail would fall, and whoever brought his servants and livestock into shelter would be spared. Some of Pharaoh's servants feared the word of the Lord and hurried to shelter; others paid no attention.
Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the Lord sent thunder, hail and fire on the land. It was the worst hail in the whole history of Egypt, and it struck everything in the field, people, animals and plants. Only in the land of Goshen was there no hail. Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said that this time he had sinned, that the Lord was in the right and that he and his people were wrong. Moses promised to pray, though he knew that Pharaoh and his servants did not yet fear the Lord. The flax and barley were ruined, but the wheat and emmer were not, since they ripen later. When the rain, thunder and hail stopped, Pharaoh sinned again and hardened his heart.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The Lord will distinguish between Israel's livestock and Egypt's, so that nothing belonging to the Israelites dies. God cares for his own even in everyday things, such as their animals.
God tells Pharaoh he has raised him up to show him his power and so that his name might be proclaimed in all the earth. The text presents the plagues as a witness to the nations, not as an act of vengeance.
The servants of Pharaoh who feared the word of the Lord brought their servants and livestock to shelter. God's warning is a grace, and faith shows itself in obeying it.
Pharaoh admits that this time he has sinned and that the Lord is in the right, and that he and his people are wrong. The confession sounds sincere, but the closing verses show it was only relief in the moment.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: All the livestock of Egypt died, and none of the Israelites' livestock died. — Exodus 9:6
Answer: Soot from a kiln, which he threw toward heaven before Pharaoh. — Exodus 9:8-10
Answer: To show him his power and so that his name would be proclaimed in all the earth. — Exodus 9:16
Answer: They brought their servants and livestock into the houses. — Exodus 9:20
Answer: The land of Goshen, where the Israelites were. — Exodus 9:26
Answer: He said he had sinned and the Lord was in the right, but when the hail stopped he sinned again and hardened his heart. — Exodus 9:27-35
Exodus 9 distinguishes between admitting a mistake and truly repenting. Pharaoh says the right words in the middle of the storm, but does not change. This chapter invites us to check whether our confessions lead to changed lives or only seek relief.
It also shows grace in warning: God announced the hail so people could find shelter, and some took his word seriously. In Sunday school you can ask how we hear God's warnings today, and remember that his patience is an opportunity to turn back to him.
Exodus 9 ends with Pharaoh hardened again, though he has already acknowledged his sin. In Exodus 10 the plagues of the locusts and of darkness will come, and Pharaoh's own servants will begin to urge him to let the people go.
The text says God did not destroy him at once but let him continue, to show his power and have his name proclaimed in all the earth. The apostle Paul quotes this passage in Romans 9 to speak of God's sovereignty, and readers debate how it relates to Pharaoh's own responsibility.
The text later mentions animals that survive and others brought to shelter from the hail. Many readers understand all as the livestock in the field in general, a way of speaking that does not claim an exact count, and that the Egyptians obtained more animals afterward.
The text explains that they were late crops that had not yet sprouted. The barley was in ear and the flax in bud, so the hail destroyed them. It is a detail that places the plague in a specific season of the farming year.