In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Welcome back to Purify the Heart. This is Pastor Zachary Courie. In chapter 8, the Lord poured out upon Egypt the plagues of frogs, gnats, and flies, and though Pharaoh would give in in the midst of his and his people’s suffering, he would end up hardening his heart over and again against the Lord and His Word. Today, we continue with the 5th through 7th plagues.
Exodus 9
9 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. 2 For if you refuse to let them go and still hold them, 3 behold, the hand of the Lord will fall with a very severe plague upon your livestock that are in the field, the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the herds, and the flocks. 4 But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing of all that belongs to the people of Israel shall die.” ’ ” 5 And the Lord set a time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.” 6 And the next day the Lord did this thing. All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one of the livestock of the people of Israel died. 7 And Pharaoh sent, and behold, not one of the livestock of Israel was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.
8 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from the kiln, and let Moses throw them in the air in the sight of Pharaoh. 9 It shall become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and become boils breaking out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt.” 10 So they took soot from the kiln and stood before Pharaoh. And Moses threw it in the air, and it became boils breaking out in sores on man and beast. 11 And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils came upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians. 12 But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had spoken to Moses.
13 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. 14 For this time I will send all my plagues on you yourself, and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth. 15 For by now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth. 16 But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth. 17 You are still exalting yourself against my people and will not let them go. 18 Behold, about this time tomorrow I will cause very heavy hail to fall, such as never has been in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. 19 Now therefore send, get your livestock and all that you have in the field into safe shelter, for every man and beast that is in the field and is not brought home will die when the hail falls on them.” ’ ” 20 Then whoever feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh hurried his slaves and his livestock into the houses, 21 but whoever did not pay attention to the word of the Lord left his slaves and his livestock in the field.
22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, so that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, on man and beast and every plant of the field, in the land of Egypt.” 23 Then Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. And the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt. 24 There was hail and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail, very heavy hail, such as had never been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. 25 The hail struck down everything that was in the field in all the land of Egypt, both man and beast. And the hail struck down every plant of the field and broke every tree of the field. 26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the people of Israel were, was there no hail.
27 Then Pharaoh sent and called Moses and Aaron and said to them, “This time I have sinned; the Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. 28 Plead with the Lord, for there has been enough of God’s thunder and hail. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.” 29 Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will stretch out my hands to the Lord. The thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know that the earth is the Lord’s. 30 But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the Lord God.” 31 (The flax and the barley were struck down, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud. 32 But the wheat and the emmer were not struck down, for they are late in coming up.) 33 So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and stretched out his hands to the Lord, and the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain no longer poured upon the earth. 34 But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet again and hardened his heart, he and his servants. 35 So the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people of Israel go, just as the Lord had spoken through Moses. (Exodus 9:1–35, ESV)
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
The death of the livestock in the fifth plague connects back to the first plague of the Nile. Just as water sustains life by providing hydration and supporting vegetation, livestock sustain life by providing food, labor, and materials like wool. This judgment reveals that God can punish by withholding His provisions. Yet, He preserved the livestock of Israel. Those who live in repentance and trust in the Lord as the great Provider receive His continued care. Jesus speaks of this in Mark 4:24-25: “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” This points us to the true provision of life: Christ Himself. He says in John 10:9-10, “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
With the sixth plague, we’re told for the first time after a plague, “the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh.” The Lord had promised this before Moses even agreed to be God’s representative. This promise was meant to assure Moses of God’s trustworthiness and the certainty of Israel’s deliverance. But the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart also serves as a warning for us. The Lutheran Reformers write in the Formula of Concord:
“Remember that God punishes sin with sins. This means that because of their self-confidence, lack of repentance, and willful sins, He later punishes with hard-heartedness and blindness those who had been converted [Hebrews 6:4-6]. This punishment should not be interpreted to mean that it never had been God’s good pleasure that such persons should come to the knowledge of the truth and be saved. For both these facts are God’s revealed will: 1) [that] God will receive into grace all who repent and believe in Christ; 2) [that] He also will punish those who willfully turn away from the holy commandment and again entangle themselves in the world’s filth (2 Peter 2:20-21), decorate their hearts for Satan (Luke 11:24-26), and despise God’s Spirit (Hebrews 10:29).” (Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration)
Christ came to heal such spiritual blindness. By giving sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and life to the dead, He showed that He came to the eyes and ears of faith, and to give life to us who are otherwise dead in our trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2). By grace through faith in Christ, we are made God’s own.
Finally, after the thunder and hail, Pharaoh says, “This time I have sinned; the Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong.” This reveals his heart up to this point. Previously, he had justified himself, seeing the Lord as a mere oppressor. But now, by God’s grace, he acknowledges his sin. The Lord’s Word and works have opened his eyes to both God’s power and mercy, shown by the fact that he believes God will be merciful if he pleads for it.
How often do we, in the midst of suffering, cry out for God’s mercy, only to return to sin once the hardship passes? This shows our need for Christ to give us His Holy Spirit. As 1 John 3 says:
“Everyone who hopes in [Christ] purifies himself as He is pure. […] Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.” (1 John 3:3, 7-10, ESV)
Thanks be to God that Christ became man to love us, making us His brothers and sisters by His love and giving us His righteousness to live by. (Romans 1:16-17)
Let us pray. O Lord God, You led Your ancient people through the wilderness and brought them to the promised land. Guide the people of Your Church that following our Savior we may walk through the wilderness of this world toward the glory of the world to come; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Let us pray. Almighty and everlasting God, You despise nothing You have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent. Create in us new and contrite hearts that lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness we may receive from You full pardon and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Thanks for joining me to Purify the Heart! Tomorrow, we’ll continue with Exodus 10 and the eighth and ninth plagues of locusts and darkness. Until then, grace be with you. Amen.
