Commentary - Exodus 9:13-35

Bird's-eye view

In this seventh plague, the conflict between Yahweh and Pharaoh escalates dramatically. This is not just another wonder; it is a direct proclamation of God's ultimate sovereignty over all creation and all rulers. The section begins with the clearest statement yet of God's purpose in this whole affair: He has raised Pharaoh up for the express reason of demonstrating His power and making His name renowned throughout the entire earth (Ex 9:16). This is high-octane Calvinism, right here in Exodus. The warning of the plague is unique in that it offers a way of escape for any Egyptian who fears the word of Yahweh, thus driving a wedge between Pharaoh and his subjects. The plague itself, a supernatural storm of hail and fire, is devastating, yet it meticulously avoids the land of Goshen, making God's covenant distinction plain for all to see. Pharaoh offers his most convincing confession of sin to date, but Moses, with prophetic insight, knows it is hollow. As soon as the judgment is lifted, Pharaoh's heart, true to form, becomes hard as a rock once more, all precisely as God had said it would.

Outline

Context In Exodus

We are now in the third cycle of plagues, and the seventh overall. The judgments are becoming more severe and more directly destructive. The first six plagues came from the water and the land, but this plague comes from the sky, a direct assault on the Egyptian sky goddess Nut and the sun god Ra. The stakes are being raised. God is systematically dismantling the entire Egyptian pantheon and worldview. Furthermore, the warnings are becoming more explicit, and the theological purpose behind the plagues is being stated with increasing clarity. This passage, particularly verse 16, becomes a cornerstone for the Apostle Paul's argument about divine election and sovereignty in Romans 9:17. This is not just a story about getting Israel out of Egypt; it is a revelation of the character and purpose of God for all time.

Key Issues

The Purpose of Pharaoh's Reign

Exodus 9:16 is one of the most important verses in this entire narrative. "But, indeed, for this reason I have caused you to stand, in order to show you My power and in order to recount My name through all the earth." God tells Pharaoh to his face that his entire reign, his stubbornness, his very existence at this point in history, serves a divine purpose. God could have swatted him like a fly (v. 15), but He didn't. Why? For the sake of a global declaration of His own glory. Pharaoh thinks he is the main character, exalting himself against God's people (v. 17). In reality, he is a prop in God's grand drama of redemption. God is the playwright, the director, and the lead actor. Pharaoh is a stagehand who thinks he is the king. This is the doctrine of divine providence in its starkest form. God uses the wrath of man to praise Him, and the remainder of that wrath He restrains.

The Dividing Power of God's Word

For the first time, a clear division appears among the Egyptians themselves. God gives a warning and a means of deliverance: get your servants and livestock out of the fields (v. 19). And what happens? Some of Pharaoh's own officials "feared the word of Yahweh" and obeyed, while others "did not consider in his heart the word of Yahweh" and suffered the consequences (vv. 20-21). This is how the Word of God always functions. It is a sharp, two-edged sword. It never returns void. To some, it is an aroma of life unto life, and to others, an aroma of death unto death. It separates the wise from the foolish, the hearing from the deaf. The gospel call goes out to all, and it creates a division between those who take God at His word and those who treat it as a trifle.

Attrition versus Contrition

Pharaoh's confession in verse 27 sounds, on the surface, like a breakthrough. "I have sinned this time; Yahweh is the righteous one, and I and my people are the wicked ones." He uses the right words. He takes responsibility. He acknowledges God's righteousness. But it is all smoke. Moses sees right through it, stating plainly, "I know that you do not yet fear Yahweh God" (v. 30). What Pharaoh exhibits is attrition, which is sorrow over the consequences of sin. He is not sorry that he has offended a holy God; he is sorry that fire is falling from the sky. Contrition, on the other hand, is true godly sorrow over the sin itself, a hatred for the evil that has been done. As soon as the hailstones stop, Pharaoh's "repentance" evaporates. Many people in our day make similar confessions when life gets hard, but their hearts remain unchanged. True repentance is a gift of God that leads to a lasting change of life, not a temporary change of circumstance.

Verse by Verse Commentary

v. 13 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh, and you shall say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me.” ’ ”

The confrontation is renewed, early in the morning. God takes the initiative. The demand is the same, for it is the central issue. The conflict is over worship. Who will Israel serve? The God of the Hebrews, or the god-king of Egypt? This is the question that lies at the root of all human endeavor.

v. 14 For this time I will send all My plagues against your heart and amongst your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth.

God declares an escalation. The phrase "all My plagues" can be understood as plagues of every kind, or that this next blow will be comprehensive. It is aimed directly at Pharaoh's heart, the seat of his will and rebellion. The purpose is explicitly stated: revelation. The goal is that Pharaoh, and through him the whole world, would know the uniqueness of Yahweh.

v. 15 For if by now I had sent forth My hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, you would then have been wiped out from the earth.

God reveals His restraint. He makes it clear that Pharaoh is alive only by divine permission. A simple act of God's will could have ended this entire affair with the fifth plague. This is not a battle of equals. This is a display of calibrated, purposeful patience on God's part.

v. 16 But, indeed, for this reason I have caused you to stand, in order to show you My power and in order to recount My name through all the earth.

Here is the theological center of the passage. God has "caused you to stand," or "raised you up." Pharaoh's position, his power, his very platform of rebellion, has been established by God for a doxological purpose. God is going to use Pharaoh's defiance as a black velvet backdrop against which the diamond of His own power and glory will shine for all the world to see. Paul quotes this very verse in Romans 9 to explain the doctrine of election and reprobation.

v. 17 Still you exalt yourself against My people by not letting them go.

Here is the charge. Pharaoh's sin is pride. He exalts himself. He sets his will against the will of God, and he does so by oppressing God's covenant people. To stand against God's people is to stand against God Himself.

vv. 18-19 Behold, about this time tomorrow, I will rain down very heavy hail, such as has not been seen in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. So now, send, bring your livestock and whatever you have in the field to safety. Every man and beast that is found in the field and is not brought home, the hail will come down on them, and they will die.

The specific judgment is announced: an unprecedented, lethal hailstorm. But within this terrifying warning, there is a note of common grace. God provides a way of escape for anyone who will listen. This is not for Israel's sake, as they are safe in Goshen. This is an offer of mercy to the Egyptians. It forces a choice upon them: will you believe the word of Yahweh or the arrogant silence of your king?

vv. 20-21 The one among the servants of Pharaoh who feared the word of Yahweh made his servants and his livestock flee into the houses; but he who did not consider in his heart the word of Yahweh left his servants and his livestock in the field.

The Word does its work. It divides. Some of Pharaoh's own court prove wiser than he is. They "feared the word of Yahweh." This is the beginning of wisdom. Others "did not consider in his heart," literally, did not set their heart to it. They were careless, dismissive, and arrogant. Their folly cost them everything they had in the field. Faith and unbelief have immediate, tangible consequences.

vv. 22-24 Now Yahweh said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that there may be hail on all the land of Egypt...” So Moses stretched out his staff... and Yahweh gave forth thunder and hail, and fire went down to the earth... and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail, very heavy...

Moses, God's agent, gives the signal. The response from heaven is immediate and terrifying. This is not a normal hailstorm. It is accompanied by thunder and fire. The description of fire and ice co-existing in a destructive storm is a picture of supernatural, cosmic disorder. God is turning the very elements of creation against the Egyptians.

vv. 25-26 And the hail struck all that was in the field... shattered every tree of the field. Only in the land of Goshen, where the sons of Israel were, there was no hail.

The devastation is total for anything left exposed. But the distinction is absolute. Goshen is untouched. God draws a clear, miraculous boundary line around His people. This is a visible sign of the covenant. In the midst of judgment, God provides a sanctuary for His own. He knows how to deliver the godly from temptation and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment.

vv. 27-28 Then Pharaoh sent and called for Moses and Aaron and said to them, “I have sinned this time; Yahweh is the righteous one, and I and my people are the wicked ones. Entreat Yahweh, for God’s thunder and hail are too much; and I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.”

The pressure brings a confession. Pharaoh's theology is suddenly orthodox. He admits his sin, God's righteousness, and his own wickedness. He begs for mercy and promises to let Israel go. But his motivation is transparent: "God's thunder and hail are too much." He wants the pain to stop, not the sin to be forgiven.

vv. 29-30 And Moses said to him, “As soon as I go out of the city, I will spread out my hands to Yahweh... that you may know that the earth is Yahweh’s. But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear Yahweh God.”

Moses agrees to intercede, but he is not fooled. He knows this repentance is skin deep. The purpose of the reprieve is the same as the purpose of the plague: "that you may know that the earth is Yahweh's." God is the landlord of this planet, and Pharaoh is a rebellious tenant. Moses then delivers the stunning rebuke: "you do not yet fear Yahweh God." True fear of God is not terror in a storm; it is a settled, reverential awe that leads to obedience even when the sun is shining.

vv. 31-32 (Now the flax and the barley were struck down, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud. But the wheat and the spelt were not struck down, for they are late-ripening.)

This parenthetical note is a mark of historical authenticity. It provides specific agricultural details that ground the narrative in reality. It also shows the precision of God's judgment and, in a way, sets the table for the next plague. The locusts will have plenty to eat from the crops that survived the hail.

vv. 33-35 And Moses went out... and the thunder and the hail ceased... But Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased. So he sinned again and hardened his heart with firmness, he and his servants. And Pharaoh’s heart was hardened with strength, and he did not let the sons of Israel go, just as Yahweh had spoken by the hand of Moses.

The moment the pressure is removed, Pharaoh's true colors show. The reprieve that should have led him to gratitude instead provides him the opportunity to harden his heart further. Notice the interplay: "he... hardened his heart" (human responsibility) and "Pharaoh's heart was hardened" (divine sovereignty). Pharaoh does what he wants to do, and in so doing, he fulfills what God had declared would happen. God's sovereign decree is not violated by man's free action; rather, it is fulfilled through it.

Application

First, we must see the absolute sovereignty of God over all things, even over the defiant rulers of this world. God raised up Pharaoh to show His power. This should give the believer immense comfort. No tyrant, no government, no power hostile to the church is outside of God's ultimate control. He uses them for His purposes and for the glory of His name.

Second, we must examine the nature of our own repentance. When we confess our sins, is it because we are caught and fear the consequences, like Pharaoh? Or is it because we have a genuine, heart-felt grief over our rebellion against a holy and loving God? True repentance, the kind that leads to life, is a gift from God that changes us from the inside out.

Finally, we see that the earth is the Lord's. The plagues are a reclamation project. God is taking back what is His. As Christians, we are citizens of Goshen, protected from the final judgment by the blood of the Lamb. But we are also agents of Christ's kingdom, living in a world that, like Egypt, is under judgment. Our task is to call others to fear the word of the Lord and take refuge in the only safe place there is, which is Christ Himself, before the final storm breaks.