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| Exodus 9:27-35 |
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Lesson # Exodus 9:27-35 Study Material - Exodus 9:27-35 You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth. Ex. 9:27-35 27 Then Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, 'I have sinned this time; the LORD is the righteous one, and I and my people are the wicked ones. 28 Make supplication to the LORD, for there has been enough of God's thunder and hail; and I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.' 29 And Moses said to him, 'As soon as I go out of the city, I will spread out my hands to the LORD; the thunder will cease, and there will be hail no longer, 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 (Now the flax and the barley were ruined, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud. 32 But the wheat and the spelt were not ruined, for they ripen late.) 33 So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread out his hands to the LORD; and the thunder and the hail ceased, and rain no longer poured on the earth. 34 But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned again and hardened his heart, he and his servants. 35 And Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he did not let the sons of Israel go, just as the LORD had spoken through Moses. Verse 30 is the key here in this passage. Moses is learning and knows that this is yet another game of Pharaoh's. Pharaoh says all the right words, but he says only what he thinks that Moses wants to hear, that he will let the people go. This said only to get the hail storm terminated. Pharaoh has no intention to let the people go. How does Moses know that Pharaoh will again change his mind? Probably form several things that have already happened, and from yet one other indication. Prior to this God has stated that Pharaoh will harden his own heart for one thing. Second, God has stated that there are yet more plagues to come. This said after the sixth plague. And we are now only in the seventh plague, so the plural of plagues implies there will be yet more to come. But also, God has already stated that the sons of Egypt will die to provide the sons of Israel freedom. This said long before the plagues even began and the first born of Egypt have not yet died. Also, if Pharaoh had indeed repented as he implies, 'I have sinned this time...', then he, Pharaoh could have expressed his belief in God (the second person of the trinity, the Son of God, the savior to come), then submitted his own prayer for relief to God himself. And of course he did not. He instead asked Moses to place that call for him. Moses agreed, and then states that he will request the plague be terminated as soon as he is out of town, but Moses believes that Pharaoh has not really changed his mind, nor does Pharaoh or even his people, fear God in any way yet. The hurt just has not been great enough on them yet, despite the sores, the random death of people and animals from the hail, as well as the crops that have been destroyed. They seem to have forgotten the first three annoying plagues. Now a time frame is given in the reference to the crops destroyed. Flax, barley and wheat are referenced. The first two blossom in January and February and are generally harvested in early March. The wheat is usually harvested in April or a month later. So we are moving out of winter and into the springtime. Remember that Egypt is on the same parallel as Mexico, lest you were thinking that there should be snow on the ground this time of year. Also, these events happened 3500 years ago, so the weather patterns then were probably quite different than they are in our present time. I remember seeing a television documentary on the Sphinx and the weather (rain) that presumably caused the erosion on it, rather than wind and blowing sand. This from weather patterns that suggest a wetter climate way back then. Anyway, this seventh plague tells us that we are nearing the Passover time (Mar. - Apr.), that all the crops were not destroyed (the wheat was still standing), that Pharaoh is still stubborn as well as that of his people. The word used here for hardened is the most severe of the three words we have seen thus far, 'Chazaq', meaning a very defiant and stubborn attitude. Pharaoh and the people and Egypt are more angered and upset with all of these plagues, than they are inclined to change their attitude to that of repentance. They would prefer revenge to repentance. All their problems these past few weeks are the fault of the Hebrews, and 'there' God. Certainly no good Egyptian can be viewed as being wrong in these matters! After all they have given these people a home and raised them like their own 'slave' children for four centuries! How can they possibly go out into the desert and take care of themselves? Who would look after them? And this 'Moses!!', wants to take these helpless souls away from their 'work' and their 'good life', to walk in the desert and worship a God that no one has ever seen??? And so the seventh plague concludes. Overwhelming proof that God is indeed, as Moses states, in command of the forces of nature. That God controls everything and that God owns the world. 'That you will know', The Almighty, All Powerful, eternally existing and totally self sufficient One, The God. But Pharaoh does not know this God. Pharaoh has information more than sufficient to make a rational and correct decision with regard to the Hebrews. That Pharaoh should by now be able to see that there is a force greater than himself, greater than the gods of Egypt (who obviously have not been able to prevent these plagues). But as with all of us, we live our lives randomly moving along from day to day, and generally ignoring God, but then problems arise and we turn to God for help. Then when help arrives and the problems go away, we return, like Pharaoh, to our usual pattern of life until the next set of problems come along. It is easy to see and wonder why Pharaoh did not make these connections in life, but then people follow this same type of pattern all their lives even today. So we need to look in that mirror and make sure that we are not also falling into this pattern of stubbornness, or of having the attitude of, 'Help me when I need help God, but otherwise stay out of my life until I call on you!!' And this attitude will lead to disaster just as Pharaoh will meet his end soon. 
Now is the time to post a prayer. End Of Lesson Study to show thyself approved (mature) unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (studying/discerning), the Word of truth. |
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