Today we'll be taking a look at the fifth plague. Pharaoh has already resisted the Lord through four plagues and we find him growing more hard-hearted by the minute.
"Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Go to Pharaoh and say to him, 'This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: "Let My people go, so that they may worship Me." If you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them back, the hand of the Lord will bring a terrible plague on your livestock in the field---on your horses, donkeys and camels and on your cattle, sheep and goats. But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and that of Egypt, so that no animal belonging to the Israelites will die.'" (Exodus 9:1-4) Pharaoh is being given another chance to repent before the plague falls. He's being asked, "Have you had enough yet? Have you seen what the Lord---the Lord, the one and only God---can do? He's demonstrated His power over the waters and over the reptiles and over the insects. Must He demonstrate the power of life and death over your livestock? Are you prepared to withstand such an enormous agricultural and financial loss? It's time to submit to the Lord and let His people go. Can you not see the favor He lavishes upon those who are His? Just as He spared the Israelites from the plague of flies, no animal of the Israelites will perish during the fifth plague. Don't remain on the wrong side of God by continuing to hold captive those who serve Him."
The Lord "makes a distinction" between those who are His and those who are not. Though believers and unbelievers all live together in a fallen world, and though hardships come into every life, "The Lord knows those who are His." (2 Timothy 2:19) The Lord sees those who are His as a separate people, set apart and sanctified. He sees us as His children, forgiven and set free from the bonds of sin, precious and dearly loved. The children of God have a refuge in Him when times get tough. There is a comfort available to believers to which unbelievers are denying themselves access. The strength of the Lord is behind those who are His, giving us the courage to keep moving ahead even when---by human standards---things look hopeless. We have the comfort of knowing this life isn't all there is and that we are going to be with our Lord and with our believing loved ones for all eternity. We have the peace of knowing our sins are forgiven and that we'll never have to give an account for them or suffer eternal judgment for them. Yes, there are things that concern us in this life, and even though we trust in the Lord we sometimes toss and turn in the night thinking about tomorrow. But we don't have to toss and turn worrying about the fate of our eternal soul. We don't have to fear someday standing before the judgment seat of a holy God to face the consequences of a rebellious, sin-filled life where we rejected the mercy and forgiveness that could have been ours.
Pharaoh persists in his rebellious, sin-filled life in today's passage. He refuses mercy and forgiveness. He hardens his heart against the pleading of the Holy Spirit. He continues looking down on the people of the Lord, using them and abusing them and considering them unworthy of human dignity and respect. As a result, the Lord is really going to hit him where it hurts this time: in his pocketbook. But before He does, He gives him til tomorrow to change his mind. "The Lord set a time and said, 'Tomorrow the Lord will do this in the land.'" (Exodus 9:5)
We don't know what time of day Moses goes to speak to Pharaoh here in Chapter 9. I suspect it's first thing in the morning down at the Nile River, as Moses has been doing prior to the previous plagues. If that's the case, then Pharaoh has twenty-four hours to reconsider his refusal to let the people go. God is so merciful to this wicked, idolatrous man! Is He more merciful than Pharaoh deserves? I think so, but then we could say that about ourselves, couldn't we? The Lord was certainly more merciful to me than I deserved during the years when I refused to heed His call. I enjoyed living in sin and I enjoyed knowing I was living in sin. It wasn't just the sin itself that was pleasant to me. I found it pleasant to go against everything I'd been taught was right. I relished my rebellion and hard-heartedness. I think Pharaoh relished his rebellion and hard-heartedness too. So yes, the Lord is certainly more merciful to Pharaoh than he deserves, and the Lord is absolutely offering Pharaoh more chances than He is required to offer. But we ought to be grateful for that! This same God showed us more mercy than we deserved and this same God offered us more chances than He had to offer us.
Pharaoh doesn't budge an inch. The next morning the plague falls. "And the next day the Lord did it: All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one animal belonging to the Israelites died. Pharaoh investigated and found that not even one of the animals of the Israelites had died." (Exodus 9:6a) As an animal lover I find the death of any animal disturbing, but this massive death of animal life appears to occur suddenly and mercifully. Because the Lord is the creator and giver of all life, He has the right to take life when He chooses. He takes the lives of every animal belonging to the Egyptians in one fell swoop and, as far as we can tell, it happens in an instant.
Pharaoh doubts that the plague spares the lives of the animals belonging to the people living in the district of Goshen. He finds it hard to believe such a thing hits every area of the nation except where the Israelites live. He sends men out to check on the situation in Goshen and finds out that it's just as Moses predicted: not a single animal belonging to the Israelites is dead. Their flocks are all still grazing in the fields. Their chickens are still scratching around in the barnyards. Oxen are still pulling plows and wagons. If a person only visited the district of Goshen he'd have no clue that a plague has just fallen in Egypt.
It's clear that the Lord's favor is upon the Israelites and His disfavor is upon the wicked king and his idolatrous people. A thing like this ought to make Pharaoh take stock of his life and his attitude. But it doesn't. "Yet his heart was unyielding and he would not let the people go." (Exodus 9:6b) The God of Israel is powerful. No one can undo anything He does. He's demonstrated His sovereignty over the waters, over the reptile kingdom, over the insect kingdom, and over the domesticated animal kingdom. What more is He sovereign over? The land? The crops? Everything else? Indeed, yes, and He will demonstrate that fact even further when Pharaoh continues to refuse to obey Him. Eventually the Lord will have to demonstrate His sovereignty over human life, and more specifically over the human life of Pharaoh's own son and heir to the throne of Egypt.
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