Exodus by Elder Vernon Johnson

Exodus Chapter 9 Verses 22-26

:22 “And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt. 23 And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt. 24 So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. 25 And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field. 26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail.”

“And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.” The LORD’s clear instruction to Moses was to stretch forth his hand. The authority and power by which the judgment came about was of the LORD. Clearly Moses was an instrument in the hands of the LORD by which the LORD used him to accomplish his purpose. This is a valuable lesson to us as we should be instruments of righteousness unto the LORD. We have to realize that it is not what we do, but what the LORD does with us that accomplishes his purposes. The most important thing that Moses did above is to believe and obey the LORD. That also is the most important thing that we are to do in his service. The LORD plainly told Moses what the consequence would be of stretching forth his hand. When we move by the direction of the LORD and obey him there will be a certain outcome. We may not know exactly what that outcome will be but we can rest assured that it will be the best outcome.

“And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt.” Moses, in obeying the command of the LORD was not the cause of the outcome, but he got the blessed privilege of seeing the result of the outcome. It has been my experience that when I in obedience to the Lord preach and teach the biblical truths to one or more of God’s children and they respond to those teachings, that I know that I am not the one who caused them to respond but I have the blessing of being able to see the Lords work in their lives leading them to respond to the teachings of God’s word. In this I greatly rejoice.

“So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field.” In this plague, the Lord is greatly manifesting his control over nature and his power to perform what he said he would do. Just as Jesus spoke to the raging see and wind and said, “Peace, be still,” so we can comfort ourselves in the knowledge that the Lord is greater than the circumstances in our lives and has all power in heaven and in earth. This is true both in judgment and in God’s providence towards his children.

“Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail.” In this we see a demonstration of God’s covenant respect for Israel over the Egyptians. God had respect unto Israel, but had not respect unto Egypt. This was based on his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Verses 27-30

:27 “And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. 28 Entreat the LORD (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer. 29 And Moses said unto him, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands unto the LORD; and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that thou mayest know how that the earth is the Lord's. 30 But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will not yet fear the LORD God.”

“And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.” Pharaoh told the truth in all three of these statements. He did sin. The LORD is righteous. Pharaoh and his people were wicked. However, Pharaoh said this deceitfully and truly did not believe these things in his heart. Sometimes people will tell you what they think you want to hear in order to get your confidence and to ultimately get an advantage over you. It is not at all uncommon today for someone to confess that they believe in Christ and speak of their desire to serve God and yet all the time they are being deceitful and looking for an opportunity to get an advantage over you. Often times people will do these things to get sales opportunities or to get someone to invest in a business deal and then to defraud them.

“Entreat the LORD (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer.” Pharaoh had not intention of letting the children of Israel go. He was lying in order to get relief from the plague that was plaguing him and his people.

“And Moses said unto him, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands unto the LORD; and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that thou mayest know how that the earth is the Lord's. But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will not yet fear the LORD God.” First we take note that even in the stopping of the plague, the LORD demonstrated his power. He stopped the plague at the time that Moses stretched forth his hands as the thunder ceased and the hail stopped at that moment. The Lord has power over his creation. Moses is now showed forth his good growth in faith as he stated: “But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will not yet fear the LORD God.” Moses recognized that what God had told him at the beginning was the absolute truth and that Pharaoh and his servants were wicked and liars and did not fear the Lord.

Verses 31-35

:31 “And the flax and the barley was smitten: for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled. 32 But the wheat and the rie were not smitten: for they were not grown up. 33 And Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread abroad his hands unto the LORD: and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth. 34 And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants. 35 And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go; as the LORD had spoken by Moses.”

“And the flax and the barley was smitten: for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled. 32 But the wheat and the rie were not smitten: for they were not grown up.” While much of the agriculture in Egypt, including cattle, sheep, etc. and crops were now destroyed, yet Egypt was not yet completely ruined. The wheat and the rie were not smitten for they were not yet grown up. Obviously, the resources and thus the wealth of Egypt was being greatly diminished by the plagues that God was sending upon Pharaoh and his servants.

“And Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread abroad his hands unto the LORD: and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth.” What Moses told Pharaoh came to pass in the time and manner that Moses said that it would. This was the handiwork of God.

“And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go; as the LORD had spoken by Moses.” When Moses told Pharaoh that he and his servants did not fear the Lord and would not yet let Israel go, it was the LORD who spoke by Moses. Now Moses was repeating what the LORD had said to him. When Moses spoke what the LORD had given to him the scriptures teach us that it was the LORD who spoke by Moses. This should be a valuable lesson to us. When a gospel minister by the leadership of the Holy Spirit delivers a message unto us, then we should understand that the LORD is speaking to us by his messenger. The message is the LORD’s message and not the messenger’s message.