Read with Me
Exodus 9:1-7 (HCSB)
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him: This is what Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let My people go, so that they may worship Me. But if you refuse to let them go and keep holding them, then the LORD’s hand will bring a severe plague against your livestock in the field—the horses, donkeys, camels, herds, and flocks. But the LORD will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing of all that the Israelites own will die.” And the LORD set a time, saying, “Tomorrow the LORD will do this thing in the land.” The LORD did this the next day. All the Egyptian livestock died, but none among the Israelite livestock died. Pharaoh sent messengers who saw that not a single one of the Israelite livestock was dead. But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not let the people go.
Listen with Me
So far, the plague’s God had brought on the Egyptians were mostly annoying. But since Pharaoh had hardened his heart under every one of the four previous plagues, they were now going to turn deadly.
In this fifth plague, God directly attacked all the livestock in the land. This included not only the sheep and goats, but also all the cattle, donkeys, and camels. In a single day, not only would the Egyptians lose important sources of meat, but they would also lose important sources of labor. Without oxen, donkeys, and camels, they would lose the ability to plow and to transport things from place to place.
Of course, as in all the plagues going forward, God was going to make a clear distinction between the Egyptians and the Israelites. Not a single animal in Goshen would die, as was easily verified by Pharaoh’s agents.
But this horrible, life-threatening event did nothing to soften Pharaoh’s heart. Instead, his heart grew harder and more resentful. From this point on, there is only one more instance, the seventh plague, where Pharaoh is said to have hardened his own heart. In the rest of the plagues, it clearly indicates that God hardened his heart. Pharaoh had set himself so firmly against God that he had passed the point where repentance was even possible for him. So, even when he didn’t harden his own heart, God hardened it, putting him on an irreversible path toward personal and national disaster.
Pray with Me
Father, it’s terrifying to think that if we continue in our stubborn rebellion against You, that we could reach a point where it will not be possible for us to repent. But this isn’t the only place in the Scriptures where that seems to be the case. Help us, Lord, to not only keep soft hearts ourselves, but also to urge those we care about to repent before it is too late and the door slams closed (Genesis 7:16; Matthew 10:10-12).