The Hail Plague

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. 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. 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. Only in the land of Goshen, where the people of Israel were, was there no hail. (Exodus 9: 23 to 26)

As described in the Bible, when God judged men, He was using the flood, like the flood during Noah's time, or fire, like the fire from the heaven that destroyed Sodom and Gomora. So, even though it was severe, the hail plague for the Egyptian was no comparison to those other judgement disasters. Furthermore, God told the Egyptians how to avoid the plague as described below.

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. 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.”’” Then whoever feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh hurried his slaves and his livestock into the houses, but whoever did not pay attention to the word of the Lord left his slaves and his livestock in the field. (Exodus 9: 16 to 21)

So, the purpose was to let Pharaoh know that God is the Lord, the Almighty on the whole earth as described below.

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. 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. 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. You are still exalting yourself against my people and will not let them go. (Exodus 9: 14 to 17)

Pharaoh finally got the message and agreed to let the Israelites go. However, that was just a temporary heart softening as described below.

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. 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. 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: 33 to 35)

This is just like what was described in the Bible below.

You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! (James 2: 9)

Indeed, to know is one thing, to believe and submit by faith is another. So, the plagues were not just for Pharaoh and Egyptians but also for the Israelites and us who believe. Through them, we learned that God is not only justice and almighty but also merciful and passionate. That's how we could receive faith. Faith would draw us near to God as described below. 

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (Hebrews 11: 6)

It takes time. However, with faith we would never fail. Because that's the purpose of God. Emmanuel.

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