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Bible Study Online ArticleLocated at the Bottom of Page In the last article we learned that the Lord had finally released His next plague upon the Egyptian kingdom, which consisted of raining hail, thunder and fire:
"Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt; on man, on beast, and on every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.' "And Moses stretched out his rod toward heaven; and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire darted to the ground. And the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt." - Exodus 9:22,23 And when one takes a look at the mixture of elements (hail, fire and thunder) one should be able to tell that this wasn't your ordinary hail storm - for this would be something that the Egyptians had never before experienced: "So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, so very heavy that there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation." - Exodus 9:24 The Sacred Record also informs us that the Egyptians who'd chosen not to listen to the warning that the One True God had spoken through His servant Moses - would indeed pay a heavy cost: "Therefore send now and gather your livestock and all that you have in the field, for the hail shall come down on every man and every animal which is found in the field and is not brought home; and they shall die." - Exodus 9:19 Understand that this would prove to be a crucial blow - both monetary and personally, when it came to the Egyptians that had decided not to take heed to the Lord's warning. Know that the blow was "monetary" for the simple fact that the owner who did not bring his livestock inside, would end up losing it. Keep in mind that these animals were raised and farmed - so in some type of way, the owner could make a profit from them. Also know that one's livestock was also factored into their overall wealth. And to make matters worse, remember that two plagues earlier, God had destroyed all their cattle as well. And the Lord did this by releasing the deadly plague that had brought forth "murrain" - which is a deadly cow disease. Also know that this blow would be personal as well, being that the Egyptians that were found to be out in the fields would also perish right along with the livestock: "...the hail shall come down on every man and every animal which is found in the field and is not brought home; and they shall die." And I know that there are those who feel the need to sympathize with the Egyptians - for they feel that the punishment that they were enduring, may have been too harsh. But know this - everything that the Egyptians had obtained, was made possible by the Holy One of Israel. If it hadn't been for the Lord they would have fizzled out as a nation not long after their fourteenth family dynasty had ended. And if God had not included them into His overall plans when it came to Israel, they never would have survived the "seven year famine" that the Lord had released upon the land, back during the days of Joseph. The livestock that they'd just lost, would have died during the "seven year famine" right along with all of their cattle. Know that they never would have been able to regroup and reclaim their kingdom at the end of their seventeenth family dynasty like history tells us. They wouldn't have had that "New Kingdom Era" that they were so proud of - to celebrate in the first place: "Now if I [The Holy One of Israel] had stretched out My hand and struck you [Pharaoh] and your people [the Egyptians] with pestilence, then you would have been cut off from the earth. But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth." - Exodus 9:15,16 You see, I can't stress this enough, you don't mess around with God. You want to go against Him - know that you do so at your own peril. So go ahead and sympathize with Pharaoh and the Egyptians if you want - but know one thing, the Lord owed them nothing - but to Him, they owed everything. And the same holds true for the Pharaohs' of today. It doesn't matter how wealthy, successful, powerful and influential you may become from within the world - it still won't be enough to save you from eternal damnation. Seriously, do you really believe that you'll be able to debate your way into heaven? Trying to show God how intelligent you think you are? Are you going to buy your way in - by throwing before the Lord all your good works, while trying to explain to Him how good of a person you were, from within the world? Are you going to teach God your scientific theory? Do you really believe that you are going to "reign in hell?" I'm curious to know - does Satan know this? See there I go, going off on a tangent... However, let's move forward... Make no mistake, this "judgment plague" will definitely get Pharaoh's attention, for we now find him desperately reaching out to Moses and Aaron: "And Pharaoh sent and called for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, 'I have sinned this time. The Lord is righteous, and my people and I are wicked. Entreat the Lord, that there may be no more mighty thundering and hail, for it is enough. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.'" - Exodus 9:27,28 One could easily presume that Pharaoh was at his wits' end and that his kingdom was in complete chaos. And there's a good chance that sorrow and anger was filling up rapidly from within the hearts of the Egyptians. This is why I can imagine Pharaoh telling Moses: "So what do you and your God want Moses? Do you want me to admit to being sinful and wicked? Okay I will, if this will make your God go away." Notice what Pharaoh had just admitted to - "I have sinned this time. The Lord is righteous, and my people and I are wicked." But this wasn't a genuine confession by the Egyptian ruler - and although this was the first time during this "judgment process" that Pharaoh had actually admitted to sinning and being wicked - know that at this moment Pharaoh was simply upset and scared, and he had no countermeasure when it came to successfully manipulating God. But the Egyptian ruler did know one thing for sure - that when he had sent a prayer through Moses twice before (once with the plague of frogs, and once with the swarm of flies) it brought him some relief time, and because of this, Pharaoh probably thinking that it should work for him again. And of course Moses would take Pharaoh at his word by agreeing to intercede on his behalf: "So Moses said to him, 'As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands to the Lord; the thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, that you may know that the earth is the Lord's." - Exodus 9:29 And although Moses would give Pharaoh a chance to hold true to his word, the servant of God knew that Pharaoh was probably lying, just like he had done many times before: "But as for you and your servants, I know that you will not yet fear the Lord God." - Exodus 9:30 In the next article we'll finish up this hail storm plague, for we'll discover, not only did it destroy both man and the beast that were left and found to be in the fields. But we'll also see how it was used, in a way, as a precursor (or a forerunner as you will) to the plague that was to immediately follow. We will take a closer look at what's happening and I will try to show how the "seven years of abundance" and the "seven year famine" that had taken place back during the days of Joseph would seem to come into play at this particular point from within the "judgment process."
Moses & the Swarm of Flies Plague **YOUR CURRENT BIBLE STUDY ONLINE SERIES WOULD BE HERE**
173) How Far Are You Willing to Go 175) Although Exempted - They Still Endured 176) Moses You Can Go & Serve Your God - Only If... 177) God vs The Egyptian Bull Cults 178) A Hard Lesson for Pharaoh 179) God Brings Boils Upon Man & Beast 181) God Tells Pharaoh: You Owe Me Everything! 183) God vs Nut the Sky goddess 184) <-CURRENT BIBLE STUDY ONLINE PAGE-> 185) The Lord Giveth and Taketh 186) God Tells Moses - Keep A Record 188) Pharaoh's Moment of Intervention 
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