The Lord gave Pharaoh twenty-four hours to change his mind and let the people go. He has not changed his mind, so the plague of hail falls on his country.
"Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that hail will fall all over Egypt---on people and animals and on everything growing in the fields of Egypt.' When Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, the Lord sent thunder and hail, and lightning flashed down to the ground." (Exodus 9:22-23a) You'll recall from yesterday's passage that some of the Egyptians heeded the Lord's warning and got their slaves and livestock out of harm's way. If you've ever seen a hailstorm then you know that even small balls of hail can do a fair amount of damage to certain surfaces. Just a day or two ago there was a story in the news about what might be the biggest ball of hail ever measured; it came in at about 9" across. Now imagine if there were thousands of these falling all at once with incredible speed, along with hundreds of close lightning strikes and deafening peals of thunder. That's what's going to happen in Egypt in today's study.
Some of the Egyptians believed the plague of hail was coming and did what they could to mitigate the damage. But Pharaoh and many of his fellow citizens scoffed at the word of the Lord. They have already seen demonstrations of His great power but are still trying their best to remain in stubborn denial. Anyone in Egypt who has not taken steps to protect his property is going to suffer loss. "So the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt; hail fell and lightning flashed back and forth. It was the worst storm in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation." (Exodus 9:23b-24) The Lord said it would be the worst storm Egypt had ever experienced. He kept His word.
"Throughout Egypt hail struck everything in the fields---both people and animals; it beat down everything growing in the fields and stripped every tree." (Exodus 9:23) There's really nothing the Egyptians can to do protect the crops in the field or the trees in the forest. Even those who are beginning to fear the God of the Hebrews are powerless to shelter their crops, but at least they've protected the lives of their slaves and animals. Some who laughed at the word of the Lord remained outdoors and were struck by the hail. Those who refused to believe Him suffered the loss of slaves and livestock on top of the loss of their crops.
This frightful display of fire and ice, accompanied by the sound of thunder so loud his ears are ringing, temporary puts some fear into the heart of the king. "Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron. 'This time I have sinned,' he said to them. 'The Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. Pray to the Lord, for we have had enough thunder and hail. I will let you go; you don't have to stay any longer.'" (Exodus 9:27-28) Pharaoh's confession falls short of what a truly repentant confession should be. He says, "Okay, I admit I went too far this time. I held out a little bit too long. I can see that I should have just gone ahead and let the Isrealites go after that last plague, the one where we all broke out in boils. I apologize for my misconduct. I also apologize on behalf of my people who have treated your people poorly. If you can persuade your God to stop this storm, I'll allow the Israelites to go free."
Pharaoh wants to escape the consequences of his sins. He's not particularly sorry for committing the sins in the first place. He's like a criminal who is sorry he's been caught but isn't really sorry for committing the crimes that got him arrested. While some criminals become rehabilitated during incarceration, the majority of them go back to their previous way of living as soon as they are released from prison. Pharaoh is the same way. In his eyes the Israelites are a lesser form of human being than the Egyptians. He's racially prejudiced against them. He feels they don't deserve human dignity or compassion. He doesn't care if they're mistreated or overworked or even worked to death. Nothing in his heart has changed toward them, and if he can he will continue treating them the same as always, but at the moment he's feeling pretty anxious about getting on the bad side of the God who apparently does care for the Israelites. To provide further evidence that the favor of God is upon the Israelites, nothing in the land of Goshen has been damaged by the storm. "The only place it did not hail was the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were." (Exodus 9:26) Pharaoh himself cares nothing for the Israelites and cannot fathom why anyone else would, but their God has just put on such an alarming display of power that Pharaoh is a bit shaken up on the inside. In this moment he'd say anything to appease the God who can bring such a storm. Once the storm has been halted, and as soon as the king's bad scare subsides, he'll go back on his word to let the people go.
"Moses replied, 'When I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands in prayer to the Lord. The thunder will stop and there will be no more hail, so you may know that the earth is the Lord's. But I know that you and your officials still do not fear the Lord God.'" (Exodus 9:29-30) The Lord has proven once again that He holds all power over the creation. But once again Pharaoh is not changed from the inside out. He's mouthing the right words but his heart is still very far from the Lord. Moses lets him know he isn't fooled. God isn't fooled either. God will stop the storm when Moses makes intercessory prayer for the Egyptians, but this is so that the Egyptians cannot claim the storm stopped on its own. It won't stop until Moses walks out of the capital city and lifts his hands to heaven and prays to the Lord. This will bring an instant halt to the storm. The storm won't taper off naturally, in the way that storms do. As soon as Moses prays to the Lord, the Lord cuts the storm off as easily and quickly as a person cuts water off from a faucet.
Moses interjects some information about the crops here, and I think he does it to give us a clue as to why Pharaoh goes back on his word. "(The flax and barley were destroyed, since the barley had headed and the flax was in bloom. The wheat and spelt, however, were not destroyed, because they ripen later.)" (Exodus 9:31-32) Not everything had come up from the ground at this point in the growing season. Seed that had not yet sprouted and shoots that hadn't reached a certain level of maturity were not destroyed. This means that all is not lost; there will still be a later harvest. Pharaoh is counting on that later harvest to prevent famine in the land. The loss of the flax and barley is upsetting, to be sure, but it doesn't represent a complete and utter disaster for the land. It doesn't mean people and animals are going to starve to death. In the back of his mind, Pharaoh is already beginning to add up the damage and calculate how much can be salvaged. He's thinking about the food in the storehouses, for as we were told in Genesis, a 20% agricultural tax is collected yearly from the people. There is food stored up in Egypt that will help make up for this year's flax and barley. Once he comes to the conclusion that he and his people are going to survive this loss, the king's heart is going to harden even further against the Lord and against the Israelites.
"Then Moses left Pharaoh and went out of the city. He spread out his hands toward the Lord; the thunder and hail stopped, and the rain no longer poured down on the land." (Exodus 9:33) I picture Moses walking unharmed through the storm that's pelting everything and everyone around him. I'd be willing to bet he doesn't even get wet! In a circle of calm dryness, I see him lifting his hands to heaven and I hear his voice calling out to the Lord on behalf of the people of Egypt. Immediately the rain and hail stop falling, the lightning stops flashing, the thunder stops booming, and there is instant calm.
Watching from his palace, Pharaoh observes all these things but steels himself against feeling fear and reverence for the Lord. He and his officials learn nothing from what they've observed and heard. "When Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder had stopped, he sinned again. He and his officials hardened their hearts. So Pharaoh's heart was hard and he would not let the Israelites go, just as the Lord had said through Moses." (Exodus 9:34-35)
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