Exodus 9:13  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.
14  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.
15  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.
16  And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.
17  As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go?
18  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.
19  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.
20  He that feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses:
21  And he that regarded not the word of the LORD left his servants and his cattle in the field.
22  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.
23  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.
24  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.
25  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.
26  Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail.
27  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.
28  Intreat 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.
29  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.
30  But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will not yet fear the LORD God.
31  And the flax and the barley was smitten: for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled.
32  But the wheat and the rie were not smitten: for they were not grown up.
33  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.
34  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.
35  And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go; as the LORD had spoken by Moses.

It is quite amazing to see how hard-hearted a person can be. The LORD had a plan for His children. The nation of Israel needed to move on to the land He had promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They had spent the time God had planned for them in Egypt. It was time for the next phase of their training.
God was building memories for the nation of Israel. We will see that they too, as a nation, were quite a stubborn people. The fact is, it does not matter where we come from or whether we are Jews or Gentiles, we can all be quite stubborn.
The nation of Israel was and still is God’s chosen people. He did not shelter them from reality just because of that fact. He provided all they needed in order to know His blessings as they faced reality. God also has provided all that is needed for us, the Gentile world, to know His blessings. The question is: will we pursue the path of sin and self or will we submit to God’s will and know His peace and blessing?
The Bible is like a mirror. As we read and study it, we can see ourselves in Its pages. We can also see the miracle of forgiveness and salvation that is a gift from God. It is important to see that miracle. Only those who will humble themselves and trust in the true God for salvation will see that gift.
Thus far in the book of Exodus, we have witnessed the self-inflicted troubles that the Egyptians were facing. They did not need to be where they were at the time of our text. They had faced severe difficulties, but they were not done yet. There was more to come because they were still resisting the grace and mercy of the LORD.
The people and the livestock of the nation of Egypt were already suffering greatly from the plagues thus far. Now God was going to send pestilence like the nation had never faced before. God again reminded Pharaoh that the Hebrews were His people. Pharaoh had no right to treat them as worthless objects that were only good enough to do his grunt work. The Hebrews were the LORD’s people, designed to glorify Him and be a blessing to all nations. That is what God told Abraham.
The LORD directed Moses to tell Pharaoh why He had raised up the nation of Egypt. God was going to use Egypt as an object lesson to reveal His power in such a mighty way, that the nations would see it. We know when Israel came to the Jordan river, that the people of Jericho feared them. They had heard what the LORD had done for the Hebrews in the past. As Israel took control of the land that God promised to Abraham, other nations also knew of how the LORD had led the Hebrews and how the Egyptians were destroyed by Him. It was not the Hebrews that slaughtered the Egyptians. It was the LORD that greatly humbled them.
In verse 17 the LORD scolded Pharaoh for his pride. He had nothing to be proud of, but he was still a very proud man. In verse 18 the LORD reminded Pharaoh that “tomorrow” the land of Egypt would experience such a severe hail storm that it would be one for the record books. Never before had they experienced such a storm.
In verse 19 we read that the LORD told Moses to warn Pharaoh to prepare for this storm. They needed to get their cattle into shelter. They also needed to be sure that the people were safe inside shelters.
We see in verse 20 that some of the people of Egypt feared the LORD. They listened to the warning and they brought their cattle into shelters. Others ignored the warning and left their cattle in the fields.
In verse 23 Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven. That rod was used by God as a symbol of His power. Not only was there hail, but there was also fire mingled with the hail. Once again we read that God separated the land of Goshen from the rest of Egypt. God continued to prove Himself to be in charge. It was extremely foolish for Pharaoh to continue to defy the LORD.
In verse 27 Pharaoh once again called upon Moses and Aaron. He admitted he had sinned “this time”. The fact is that his life was one big life of sin. He refused to listen and learn. He lived in defiance of the LORD. We note as well that Pharaoh only said what he thought would get him some relief. He was a typical politician. They say what they think will work for the moment. If they get caught later on, they have their spin doctors to smooth over the mess. Gullible people are willing to be played. Most people in Canada fit that description.
Pharaoh lied and made another empty promise. God allowed Moses to halt the hail and the fire, not because He believed him, but because He would continue to show that He can stop something as quickly as He brings it on.
Moses knew that Pharaoh was lying. Pharaoh was not fooling him. Even though Moses confronted Pharaoh in his deception, he would still give him an opportunity to regroup. We notice in verse 31 that some of the crops were destroyed due to the hail. Others were not that far along and thus they could recover from the hail.
In verse 34 we see that when Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail and thunders ceased, he sinned yet more. He hardened his heart and refused to let the Hebrews go. Pharaoh was the mouse and God was the cat. The cat will let the mouse run and think he is free and then the cat will pounce on it again. Eventually, the cat gets tired of the game and it kills and eats the mouse.
God’s actions here were much more serious. Pharaoh had already sealed his doom. The nation of Egypt had already turned the corner and there was no turning back. They were systematically being destroyed. The people of Egypt were witnessing the destruction of their once powerful nation, before their very eyes.
Pharaoh was a foolish man. His people were equally foolish. They were headed down a dead end street. There were no exit ramps. Everything was rolling toward the finish.
Canada would be wise to study this book and see that we too are on a path of destruction. The “wild fires” are burning up precious trees and houses. The air quality is not good and has not been good now for some time. There are other major issues facing this country. Yet there is no interest in changing course. Our foolish “leaders” still assume they know how to deal with things. They just need some time. Every decision they make just makes matters a little worse. They refuse to see that. The majority of the citizens of this country still trust in these foolish “leaders” to find a solution. True churches are not being inundated with people wanting to know the truth. False religion is still active. Islam is still growing in this country. Truth is fallen in the street.
Moses and Aaron were not shaken by all the deception they witnessed. They were remaining faithful to the LORD. God had not failed them. He was going to see Israel released and leaving Egypt. He was going to see a broken nation of Egypt left to scramble to try to exist. There would be no worldwide push to rebuild this broken nation. There would be a people left to struggle to put the broken pieces back together.
Meanwhile the Hebrews would have their own issues to deal with. They too needed to come to see the importance of believing in the true God. They certainly had no reason to continue to mistrust God, but they still did. How important for us today to trust in the Lord and follow His lead. He is still the same God. He is still able to lead His people in the way of righteousness.
Pastor Bartel