Sunday, June 7, 2020

Exodus 9:13-21 comments: Moses threatens a plague of hail




Exodus 9:13 ¶  And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. 14  For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth. 15  For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth. 16  And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth. 17  As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go? 18  Behold, to morrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now. 19  Send therefore now, and gather thy cattle, and all that thou hast in the field; for upon every man and beast which shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought home, the hail shall come down upon them, and they shall die. 20  He that feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses: 21  And he that regarded not the word of the LORD left his servants and his cattle in the field.

Here is a threat of death. Pestilence is verse 15 is a reference to plague and sickness.

1Kings 8:37  If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there be caterpiller; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be;

This is brought to mind again much later when God condemns Israel for its apostasy.

Amos 4:10  I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt: your young men have I slain with the sword, and have taken away your horses; and I have made the stink of your camps to come up unto your nostrils: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

To be cut off from the earth typically is to be killed, to die, to perish.

Genesis 9:11  And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.

Zechariah 13:8  And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.

2Kings 9:8  For the whole house of Ahab shall perish: and I will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel:

Verse 16 has an interesting cross-reference in the writings of Paul.

Romans 9:17  For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
The scripture saith unto Pharaoh? But, this is Jehovah God speaking through Moses? Is the scripture God? Are the words of God we hold in our hands likened to God? The scripture in Romans 9:17 is translated from a word that refers to the written word. We have to consider the following, as well.
Psalm 138:2  I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
Hebrews 4:12  For the word of God is quick [living, alive], and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

How then do so-called scholars treat the Bible as they would any old book and yet even hold it to standards they do not even apply to Plato or Aristotle’s writings? When you remove the inspiration of God on the hands of writers, translators, and copyists and the usage of the church itself throughout history in regard to the Bible, denying the work of God on His Bible, you do greatly err.
Job 32:8  But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.

2Timothy 3:16  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

2Peter 3:15  And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;

How relevant then is the Bible to our faith? Let us look at the words of a prominent writer from several centuries ago.
William Chillingworth wrote in 1638, “The Bible, I say, the Bible only, is the religion of Protestants!”[1]
Now we have the threat of hail on any animal or person found in the field, out of doors. God said directly to Job;
Job 38:22  Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail, 23  Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?
We will see that it is not just going to be hail that will afflict the Egyptians this time. The Hebrews and any Egyptians who feared the Lord should bring their cattle under shelter now.


[1] William Chillingworth, The Religion of Protestants: A Safe Way to Salvation (1638, repr. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1846), 463.

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