Exodus 9:1  Then the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me.
2  For if thou refuse to let them go, and wilt hold them still,
3  Behold, the hand of the LORD is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very grievous murrain.
4  And the LORD shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt: and there shall nothing die of all that is the children’s of Israel.
5  And the LORD appointed a set time, saying, To morrow the LORD shall do this thing in the land.
6  And the LORD did that thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt died: but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one.
7  And Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not one of the cattle of the Israelites dead. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.

Stubbornness is sin. It blinds the person to the facts. Pharaoh was a stubborn man. He had hardened his heart and was unwilling to admit failure.
The LORD knows all things and He is in charge. The LORD is not stubborn. He is right. Again the LORD spoke to Moses and commanded him to go and tell Pharaoh once again to let His people go. The purpose was that they would serve the LORD.
In verses 2-3 the LORD again warned Pharaoh of the consequences of disobeying the LORD. This time the LORD would attack the livestock of the Egyptians. He would send a grievous murrain upon them. We are not told what this murrain was. We know it was a plague of some kind. God obviously did not see it necessary for future generations to know exactly what this was.
We can see that the devil tries to copy the LORD. We have had germ warfare of various types throughout history. The world tried this a few years ago with the Wuhan virus. They developed this virus with taxpayer dollars and then lied about its origins. Then they rolled out a poison shot they said was necessary to get back to some form of normal. They knew the shots were more deadly than the virus and they protected the manufacturers of the shots. Those companies made millions upon millions of dollars on those shots. Panicked people submitted to the lies of the government and took the poison shots. Many have died and many more have been permanently maimed through taking those shots. More will die yet in the future.
Unlike wicked people, the LORD has the right to use different methods to try to get people to recognize His power and authority. Governments do not have the right to try to bring people to their knees in an attempt to get them to bow to their wicked plans. Governments are not God. Governments are supposed to uphold God’s laws.
In our text we read that God would again sever the land of Goshen from the rest of the land of Egypt. Nothing among the Hebrews would die from this murrain.
God again warned Pharaoh of when this murrain would hit the Egyptian cattle. God keeps His Word. There was nothing the Egyptians would be able to do to avoid this murrain. They had already chosen to defy God and now this judgment was coming. He sent the plague and it was just as deadly as God said it would be. God also pointed out that none of the cattle of the children of Israel died. God can protect His people. He is still the same God today.
He does not promise us that born again Christians will not get sick and die from sickness. He does not promise that born again Christians will not suffer financial hardships. There are false teachers who teach the lie that true Christians do not get sick. It is true that there are people who seem to be very healthy. There are godly people who get sick and die. God cares about the soul. We live in a sin-cursed world. What is important is to know the true Word of God and to trust Him.
Back in our text, we read that Pharaoh sent his messengers to check on the cattle of the Hebrews and they found none had died. None of this mattered to Pharaoh. He hardened his heart and refused to let the people go.
One of the many lessons we can learn from the plagues in Egypt is the importance of humility and being willing to admit that the God of Creation is the true God. Rather than digging in the heels and insisting on some human philosophy, the wise person submits to the true God and trusts in Him alone.
Today is the Lord’s Day. It is another opportunity to go to a good church that teaches the Word of God. Whether saved or lost, we need to hear the truth. For those who are saved, we will be strengthened through hearing the preaching of the truth. For those who are lost, you will have another reminder of the importance of turning to the true God today. As we follow the life of this particular Pharaoh, we see that he did not gain anything by rejecting the LORD. We also see that his people did not gain anything by following his foolish lead.
God gave both the Hebrews and the Egyptians opportunity to know Him. God is still giving both Jew and Gentile the opportunity to know Him today. Choose wisely and enjoy the blessings of the Lord in your life.
Pastor Bartel