Exodus 9 tell us of the 5th, 6th and 7th plagues that God did through Moses. What do we notice about these plagues? First of all, the severity of the punishment was elevated. The 5th plague introduced death for the first time. Although they were only the death of the livestock, we can imagine how gruesome it was to see all your livestock die. The farmers got to burn or bury them. You can imagine the pain not only from the loss of income but also from the death of every individual life.

Furthermore, these only happen to the Egyptians and not to the Israelites. The distinction is clear, and there is no doubt that it is from God.

Thus, it is hard to imagine how Pharoah could continue to harden his heart in a situation like this. It is like how a gambler could continue gambling after losing much. He refused to accept the reality of losing and dreaming of getting even in the next round. You see, the Egyptians are like all the pagans who have no idea of an Almighty God. To them, every god has a weakness. The mountain god cannot fight in the sea, and the crocodile god cannot fight on land. So Pharoah thought the God of Israel might have already exhausted all His power. So he gambled on.

The 6th plague is no longer attacking the environment but the Egyptians themselves. They got boils on their bodies. Even that did not force Pharoah to give in. The 7th plague comes from above. The sky rains hail. By then, some Egyptians already believed and kept their livestock under the roof. I imagine that some Egyptians may have started to worship our Almighty God.

By the end of this passage, we would all feel that the Pharoah was simply stupid in resisting the Almighty God. Perhaps, we got to ask ourselves if we were like him, resisting God’s great commission.