Exodus 9:1-35

Exodus: Israel becomes a nation

The *Israelites leave Egypt

Exodus Chapter s 1 to 18

Hilda Bright and Kitty Pride

Chapter 9

*Plague number 5: The *Egyptians’ animals become ill

The *plague that caused disease in animals – verses 1-7

v1 Then the *LORD spoke to Moses again. ‘Go to *Pharaoh and tell this to him. “This is what the *LORD, the *Hebrews’ God, says to you: Let my people go. They must go and *worship me. v2 Do not refuse to let them go. Do not prevent them. v3 If you refuse, the *LORD’s power will bring a terrible disease. The disease will come on your animals in the fields. He will bring a terrible disease on your horses, on your *donkeys, and on your camels. And he will bring a terrible disease on your cows, on your sheep and on your goats. v4 But the *LORD will make a difference between the *Israelites’ animals and the *Egyptians’ animals. So none of the *Israelites’ animals will die.” ’

v5 Also the *LORD told Moses the time when the *plague would begin. ‘Tomorrow I will send it on the country’, he said. v6 And the next day the *LORD sent this terrible disease. All the *Egyptians’ animals died. v7 Then *Pharaoh sent men to find out about it. They discovered the facts. Not even one of the *Israelites’ animals had died. But *Pharaoh was too proud to give in. So he would not let the *Israelite people go.

Verse 3 ‘cows’ includes both male and female animals. The *Israelites used cows for milk, for meat and for leather. They also used them to pull carts and other equipment.

Verses 5-6 Perhaps the animals died because the insects had bitten them. Both *gnats and flies can carry disease. But the *plague showed God’s great power. He chose when any *plague would happen and its extent. ‘All’ the *Egyptians’ animals means all those animals that were in the fields (verse 3). There were still some animals alive. But the future *plagues affected those other animals (Exodus 9:10; Exodus 9:25; Exodus 11:5).

*Plague number 6: *Boils

The *plague that caused *boils – verses 8-12

v8 Then the *LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron. ‘Fill your hands with ashes. Get the ashes from the fire where you burn bricks. Moses must throw the ashes into the air while *Pharaoh is watching him. v9 The ashes will blow like dust over all the land in Egypt. And this dust will cause painful *boils to appear. They will appear on people and on animals everywhere in Egypt.’

v10 So Moses and Aaron took ashes from the fire and they stood in front of *Pharaoh. Moses threw the ashes into the air. Then painful *boils appeared on the *Egyptians and on their animals. v11 The painful *boils covered the skin of all the *Egyptian people. They covered even the men who used magic. They men could not continue to stand because the painful *boils were all over their skin. v12 But the *LORD made *Pharaoh continue to be proud. *Pharaoh would not give in. So he would not listen to Moses and Aaron. Everything happened exactly as the *LORD had told Moses.

Verse 8 The fires where they burnt the bricks produced a lot of ashes and fine black dust.

Verses 9-10 ‘*Boils’ are large red spots on the skin that are very painful. They become sore places, which produce bad substances. The wind would blow the ashes everywhere and it would be a *sign. People would see how the disease was spreading very quickly.

Verse 11 The men who used magic ‘could not continue to stand’. The painful *boils covered their knees and their legs (Deuteronomy 28:35). The *boils covered the rest of their skin too.

Verse 12 The record tells us that ‘the *LORD made *Pharaoh continue to be proud’. That is the first time during the *plagues that it says that about the *LORD. In the first 5 *plagues, *Pharaoh had become proud. He would not give in to God. *Pharaoh had made so many wrong moral choices. Now he was reaching the limit of his freedom to change. Still *Pharaoh was too proud. So the *LORD decided to punish *Pharaoh with more *plagues.

*Plague number 7: *Hail – verses 13-35

Moses warns *Pharaoh – verses 13-21

v13 Then the *LORD said to Moses, ‘Get up early in the morning. Make *Pharaoh listen to you. You must tell him this message. “This is what the *LORD, the *Hebrews’ God, says to you: Let my people go. They must go and *worship me. v14 If you refuse, I will send the entire force of my *plagues against you this time. I will punish you, your officials, and all your people. Then you will know that there is nobody like me in the whole world. v15 I could have killed you already. I could have punished you and your people with a *plague. I could have removed you completely from the earth. v16 But I let you live. And I am showing you my power. I want people everywhere on earth to give honour to my name.

v17 You have decided to oppose my people. Still you will not let them go. v18 So at this time tomorrow I will send a very bad storm of *hail. This will be the worst storm of *hail ever to fall on Egypt. There has never been a worse storm in all its history. v19 Order your people now. All your animals and everything else that you have outside in the fields must come in. Bring them all into your shelters. The *hail will fall on every person. And it will fall on every animal that is still outside in the fields. Then they will die.” You must warn *Pharaoh about this.’

v20 Some of *Pharaoh’s officials respected what the *LORD had said. So they hurried to bring their slaves and their animals inside. v21 But other people did not listen to what the *LORD had said. So they left their slaves and their animals outside in the fields.

Verses 13-15 God could have killed *Pharaoh and his people completely. But God had been very patient with *Pharaoh. Each *plague had given to *Pharaoh the opportunity to change. He could have let the *Israelites go.

Verse 16 God had allowed *Pharaoh to continue to live. God wanted people everywhere to know his power and his character. ‘Name’ means more than the word ‘God’ or ‘*LORD’. It means all the ways in which people understand God’s character (Romans 9:17).

Verses 17-21 *Pharaoh had become so proud that God punished him with 6 terrible *plagues. But he still refused to listen. He would not let the *Israelites go. So God must punish him again. And the next day God would send a terrible storm of *hail. ‘*Hail’ is a kind of ice. It is rain that has frozen. *Hail can be as small as a tiny seed. Or it can be as big as a small ball. It can hurt people. A strong storm of *hail kills animals. And it damages crops and property.

That storm of *hail would be terrible. It would be stronger than any storm that the *Egyptians had known in their history. *Pharaoh and his people could avoid damage from that *plague. If they obeyed God’s order, they would bring their slaves and their animals inside a shelter. Then they would be safe. Some of *Pharaoh’s officials believed God’s message. Quickly they obeyed the order. They brought their slaves and their animals inside. Other officials did not believe God. So they did not think that they ought to protect their property. Therefore, they left their slaves and their animals outside.

The storm of *hail– verses 22-26

v22 Then the *LORD spoke to Moses. ‘Reach out your hand towards the sky. Then *hail will fall all over Egypt. It will fall on men and on animals. And it will fall on everything that is growing in the *Egyptians’ fields.’

v23 Then Moses reached out with his stick towards the sky. And the *LORD sent *thunder and *hail. And he sent lightning flashes that reached down to the ground. So the *LORD sent *hail everywhere in Egypt. v24 *Hail fell and the lightning flashes hit the ground from all directions. It was the worst storm in the nation’s entire history. v25 All over Egypt, *hail hit all the men and the animals in the fields. It broke down everything that was growing in the fields. And it tore all the leaves off the trees. v26 The only place where it did not rain *hail was the region called Goshen. And that was where the *Israelites lived.

Verses 22-24 *Thunder is the sudden loud noise in a storm. It follows lightning in a storm. And the *hail came in a great storm. The lightning flashes hit the ground from all directions. The *thunder and the lightning were *signs that God was present. Later God showed that he was present on *Mount Sinai in the same way (Exodus 19:16). There had never been a storm as bad as that storm in Egypt’s entire history.

Verses 25-26 That *plague of *hail affected every person and every animal that was out in the fields. It destroyed crops and it tore the leaves off the trees. Only Goshen, where the *Israelites lived, escaped that *hail. God sent that *plague by means of his power. He had decided to rescue his people, the *Israelites, from Egypt.

The results from the *hail – verses 27-35

v27 Then *Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron. He said to them, ‘This time I have *sinned. The *LORD has done what is right. And I my people have done wrong things. v28 Pray to the *LORD on our behalf. We have had enough *thunder and *hail. I will let you go now. You do not have to stay here.’

v29 Then Moses replied to *Pharaoh. ‘When I have left the city, I will pray’, he said. ‘I will raise my hands and I will pray to the *LORD. The loud noise will stop and no more *hail will fall. So then, you will know that the earth belongs to the *LORD. v30 But I am certain that you and your officials still do not respect the *LORD God.’

v31 The *barley was ripe and there were flowers on the *flax. So the *hail had destroyed both those crops. v32 But the two kinds of wheat become ripe later, so the *hail did not destroy them.

v33 Then Moses left *Pharaoh and Moses went outside the city. He raised his hands and he prayed to the *LORD. The *thunder and the *hail stopped. And rain did not pour down on the country. v34 *Pharaoh saw that the storm had stopped. So he *sinned because he and his officials became proud again. v35 And *Pharaoh would not give in. Still he would not let the *Israelites go. Moses had told them what the *LORD had said. And it happened exactly like that.

Verses 27-30 For the first time *Pharaoh agreed that he was guilty. He agreed that the *LORD was right. He agreed that the *LORD was punishing him. And he agreed that the *LORD had sent the terrible *hail. *Pharaoh and his people wanted the *thunder and the *hail to stop. So *Pharaoh said that he would obey God. *Pharaoh would allow Moses and his people to go. Then he ordered Moses to pray on his behalf. Moses promised to pray. And he promised that the storm would stop. That would show that God controls the whole earth. But Moses knew that *Pharaoh and his officials were not sincere. Moses did not believe that *Pharaoh would carry out his promise. But he agreed to *Pharaoh’s request, so that *Pharaoh could make no more excuses.

Verse 31 *Barley was an important crop that became ripe before the wheat. *Flax is a plant with blue flowers. People use the stems to make material of good quality called ‘*linen’. The *Egyptians liked that expensive material. They made clothes out of *linen for their important people. Wheat was Egypt’s main export for many centuries, until *New Testament times. As a prisoner, Paul travelled on ships from the port called Alexandria. They probably carried loads of grain (Acts 27:6 and Acts 28:11). The second kind of wheat can be called ‘spelt’. It would grow in poorer ground. But it was not as good quality as the usual wheat. Wheat became ripe a month later than the *barley and the *flax. So the wheat escaped the *hail. But the next *plague would destroy it.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
plague ~ a terrible disease or trouble.
Egyptian ~ someone from the country called Egypt; anything with a relationship with Egypt.
plague ~ a terrible disease or trouble.
LORD ~ God gave this special name to himself. It translates the word ‘Yahweh’ in the Hebrew language. It links to the words ‘I am’; it means that God has been here always.

Lord ~ a name for God. It translates the Hebrew word ‘Adonai’, which means ‘my ruler’. The word ‘lord’ (without a capital letter) means an ordinary ruler.

Hebrew ~ the language that the Israelites spoke. A Hebrew is a Jewish person or an Israelite

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything that belongs to the Jews.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
Pharaoh ~ the Egyptian ruler or king.

Egyptian ~ someone from the country called Egypt; anything with a relationship with Egypt.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Israelites spoke. A Hebrew is a Jewish person or an Israelite

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything that belongs to the Jews.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
worship ~ when people show honour to God, or to a false god. People may sing or pray. Or they may kneel down or give a gift to God.
donkey ~ an animal that is like a horse with long ears. People use donkeys as animals to do work. They can carry people or loads. And they can pull carts or ploughs.
gnat ~ a small insect that flies and that bites people and animals.
boil ~ a nasty, painful lump under the skin.
boil ~ a nasty, painful lump under the skin.
sign ~ a signal; a mark to show that something is special; a powerful act.
hail ~ rain that has frozen in the sky, so that it falls as hard little balls of ice.
hail ~ rain that has frozen in the sky, so that it falls as hard little balls of ice.
thunder ~ the loud noise that lightning causes in a storm.
thunder ~ the loud noise that lightning causes in a storm.
Mount ~ another name for mountain
sin ~ when people do something wrong against God or against other people; or, not to obey God.
barley ~ a kind of grain like wheat.
flax ~ a blue flower with a strong stem. People use these stems to make cloth of very good quality called linen.

linen ~ a special kind of cloth of good quality. People make it from the plant called flax.
barley ~ a kind of grain like wheat.
flax ~ a blue flower with a strong stem. People use these stems to make cloth of very good quality called linen.

linen ~ a special kind of cloth of good quality. People make it from the plant called flax.
linen ~ a special kind of cloth of good quality. People make it from the plant called flax.

flax ~ a blue flower with a strong stem. People use these stems to make cloth of very good quality called linen.

'New Testament ~ the second part of the Bible. It tells about Jesus Christ and his followers.