By David M. Renfro
The first nine plagues occur in three cycles of three plagues each. The third-cycle plagues (Exodus 9:13–10:29) are more destructive than the previous ones, ruining the Egyptians’ economy, comfort, and lifestyle, and potentially causing bodily injury or death.
THE SEVENTH PLAGUE: HAIL (EXODUS 9:13 – 35)
THE PLAN
Yahweh commanded Moses to warn Pharaoh of another plague. Because of Pharaoh’s increasing stubbornness, this plague would be more severe than the previous six. Hail would cover the land, causing destruction and threatening both man and beast with death. The goal was to convince Pharaoh that obeying Yahweh and freeing the Israelites was in his and his empire’s best interest.
THE PLOT
Moses confronted Pharaoh with the demand: Release the Israelites. He warned that Yahweh would send all My plagues (v 14, a reference to those remaining) to Pharaoh’s very heart, where his stubbornness resided (Exod 4:21; 7:3; 8:15, 32).
Yahweh told Pharaoh that He could have wiped his empire off the face of the earth had He wanted to (v 15). Instead, He raised him to power to show that He was the only source of his power. Yahweh wanted to use Pharaoh to show His power in him and to declare His name (character) in all the earth (v 16). Instead, Pharoah exalted himself (v 17).
As a result, on the following day, Yahweh would send hail such as had never before occurred in Egypt (vv 18, 24). Some of Pharaoh’s servants heeded Moses’ warning and sheltered their families and livestock (vv 20, 21).
Yahweh told Moses to stretch his hand toward heaven to begin the plague (v 22). Moses obeyed. The result was thunder, lightning, and hail (vv 23, 24) that struck man, beast, and vegetation throughout Egypt (v 25), but not in the Israelite territory of Goshen (v 26).
The hail was so intense and so destructive that Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron. In an effort to manipulate Moses, He said that he had sinned (v 27). He asked Moses to entreat Yahweh to stop the hail (v 28). He promised to then free the Israelites.
Moses said that when he had gone out of the city (v 29), he would ask Yahweh to stop the plague. But Moses saw through Pharaoh’s insincerity. The king was not really acknowledging and submitting to Yahweh as the only God (v 30).
Verse 32 says that the plague did not destroy the wheat and spelt. Yahweh showed grace by leaving the Egyptians with crops they could eat and feed to their livestock.
Moses went out of the city to entreat Yahweh, who responded to Moses’ request (v 33). In another act of grace, He stopped the rain, hail, and thunder.
Not surprisingly, Pharaoh again hardened his heart (v 34). He apparently believed that when he declared what he wanted, the God of the Hebrews had to obey him. Pharaoh did not repent of his hard-heartedness and refused to let the Israelites go (v 35).
THE PURPOSE
This plague targeted these Egyptian deities:
- Nut, the goddess of the sky
- Osiris, god of crops and fertility
- Set, god of storms
The seventh plague demonstrated to Egypt and Israel that Yahweh is the only deity with power and authority over the forces of nature.
THE EIGHTH PLAGUE: LOCUSTS (EXODUS 10:1–20)
THE PLAN
This plague—locusts—was announced to Pharaoh, but when it would occur was undefined. Locusts—a symbol of judgment in several Bible passages (Joel 1:4, 2:25; Rev 9–11)—were a destructive force familiar throughout the Ancient Near East. This plague would produce an infestation of locusts such as the Egyptians had never seen.
Because locusts consume most parts of plants, they destroy crops, causing famine. In an agricultural culture, this would destroy the economy. The threat of locusts would, therefore, frighten the Egyptians.
THE PLOT
Yahweh again told Moses to approach Pharoah, warning that He had hardened his heart (v 1) and those of his servants so that He could demonstrate His sovereign rule through His signs (the plagues).
This is the second time that Yahweh, rather than Pharaoh himself, hardened Pharaoh’s heart (see 8:15, 32; 9:34; 9:12). Why did Yahweh do this? The answer is twofold. First, He again wanted to show Pharaoh and the Egyptian people that He, not their gods, rules the physical world (v 1). Secondly, the remaining plagues were to demonstrate to His covenant people that He is Yahweh, the Sovereign who delivered them. They could then teach future generations the greatness of Yahweh as their Deliverer (v 2).
Moses told Pharaoh what was about to happen: If he did not let the Israelites go, Yahweh would bring (lit. “multiply”) locusts to the land of Egypt (v 4). These locusts covered the face (lit. “eye”) of the earth (v 5). They not only ate everything the Egyptian farmers had planted but also infested the houses of the Egyptians (v 60), a people obsessed with cleanliness.
Pharaoh’s servants confronted him about how dire the situation had become (v 7). So, Moses and Aaron were brought before Pharoah (v 8). Pharaoh told them to go and serve the LORD but, still trying to control who did what in his kingdom, asked who would go.
Moses answered that everyone, along with their flocks and herds, would go so that they could hold a feast to Yahweh (v 9). Pharaoh answered that Yahweh “had better” be with them because evil was ahead of them (v 10). The word for evil (Heb. rah’ah) is similar to the name of the Egyptian sun god, Ra. Pharaoh probably meant that Yahweh “had better” be with the Israelites because the chief Egyptian god (Ra) was in their way.
Pharaoh, still thinking he was in control, said that only men could go and serve Yahweh (v 11), then had Moses and Aaron driven from his presence.
Yahweh told Moses to stretch out his hand to start the plague of locusts (v 12). Moses did so, and the Lord used an east wind to bring in the locusts (v. 13).
By the next morning, locusts covered the entire kingdom of Egypt, causing incredible damage to crops, trees, and the land in general (v 14–15).
Pharaoh relented and called Moses and Aaron back (v.16). He confessed (probably insincerely) that he had sinned, then asked them to entreat Yahweh to take away the locusts (v 17). Moses did so (v 18), and Yahweh caused the west wind to drive the locusts into the Red Sea (v 19), leaving not one locust in all of Egypt. This may foreshadow His later destruction of the Egyptian army in the Red Sea (Exod 14:24–28).
This was a demonstration of Yahweh’s power over nature’s creatures. He had the power to create and direct—then destroy—the locusts at will. Relieving the Egyptians of the plague of locusts was also a tremendous act of grace. However, Yahweh again hardened Pharaoh’s heart (v 20), resulting in his not allowing the Israelites to leave.
THE PURPOSE
This plague demonstrated the powerlessness of the Egyptian god Osiris, the god of crops and fertility.
It also showed that Yahweh, the God of Israel, is sovereign over animal life, including animals worshiped because they were believed to be powerful. But they did not have absolute power— Yahweh does.
THE NINTH PLAGUE: DARKNESS (EXODUS 10:21–29)
THE PLAN
Because of Pharaoh’s continued stubbornness, Yahweh told Moses that He would strike Egypt with a darkness it had never experienced before. This darkness would not affect the Israelites’ territory.
THE PLOT
Without warning, Moses stretched his hand toward heaven to begin the plague (v 22), demonstrating that the source of the plague was not Moses, but Moses’ omnipotent God. Egypt was immediately covered by thick darkness—not the normal darkness we are familiar with, but an almost palpable darkness. Twenty-four-hour darkness was unheard of in Egypt. Yahweh’s “turning off” the sun was a reversal of the original creation (Gen 1:2–5).
Darkness also represented evil, chaos, and judgment.
It was so dark that the Egyptians could not see each other or go anywhere (v. 23). Notice that the darkness lasted for three days, the length of time Jesus was in the tomb (Matt 12:40; 27:63).
However, the Israelites had light in their dwellings. They were not included in Yahweh’s judgment, another indication that they were His chosen people.
THE PURPOSE
This plague targeted these Egyptian deities:
- Ra, the sun god, chief Egyptian god; This plague demonstrated Yahweh’s ability to shut down the sun god at will. Ra was powerless before Yahweh.
- Nut/Hathor, goddess of the sky and symbolic mother of the pharaohs.
Some Bible scholars have related this plague to the “silence in heaven” before the Great Tribulation’s last plague (Rev 8:1). When the fourth trumpet sounds (Rev 8:12), a third of the heavenly bodies are darkened, including the sun and moon.
The ninth plague proved to the Egyptians and the Israelites (and us) that Yahweh is sovereign over light and darkness. We can learn an important lesson from this plague: Because Yahweh is in absolute control of all things, we are enabled and should be motivated to persevere in godly living and obedient worship of our personal, infinite Creator.
CONCLUSION
Like the first two, the third cycle of plagues was designed to lead Pharaoh and the Egyptians to repent of their sinful ways and let the people of Israel go. The tenth plague would be the worst, resulting in Pharaoh’s finally letting the people go, but not because he had repented.
____________________
David Renfro and his wife Linda live in Highland Village, TX. He is a native Dallasite and has a Th. M. degree from D.T.S. in Old Testament Semitics. He is currently busy with writing projects as well as occasionally filling the pulpit in the Dallas area.
