Today's passage: Exodus 9
Helpful thoughts:
- Three additional plagues are recorded in this chapter
- Death of the livestock
- God performed this judgment exactly as He said He would, and when He said He would.
- Pharaoh investigated the accuracy and the damage done. Yet, his heart was hardened. He knew what God had done, but he refused to submit.
- Boils
- In this plague, we are reminded of the magicians. They would not even come before Moses to attempt replication of the miracle because they were so badly affected by the plague themselves. God prevented them from any involvement.
- Hail
- God made it clear, He could have entirely destroyed Egypt and given Israel their freedom. But, He had other purposes. Pharaoh was being used by God to prove a point, that the world would know who the true God is.
- In this plague, God gave Egypt counsel on what to do in order to avoid the effects of the hail. Those who feared the Lord could take shelter.
- Moses knew Pharaoh would not be truly repentant because there were some crops that had yet to sprout. Pharaoh took solace not in repentance or in the Lord, but in what he still had left.
- Death of the livestock
Questions to consider:
- What are some unique aspects of these narratives that differentiate these plagues from the others than went before? (Not so much the animals, bugs, or weather…but the interactions between the people and the Lord.)
- What has Pharaoh's hard heart produced in his words and actions? From what we are reading, how would you define a hard heart? What kinds of responses would a hard heart produce in your life? How about a softened heart?
- In what way has God provided a shelter for us to find refuge in from his coming judgment against sin? (Romans 7:24-8:1)