The Seventh Plague (Exodus 9:13-26)

13 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me.14 For this time [the prior plagues were preliminary and a time of intensification is coming] I will send all my plagues on you yourself, and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth. [People are now going to die so that Pharaoh can know who God is, that he alone is supreme and that all the gods Pharaoh represents and/or trusted are nothing.] 15 For by now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth. 16 But for this purpose I have raised you up [Pharaoh has come to power and was acting under God’s control], to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth. [The true knowledge of God and his glory is what is behind the plagues so that people everywhere can know God. This is a proto-evangelium, an early gospel pronouncement.] 17 You are still exalting yourself against my people and will not let them go. [Pharaoh is just being himself but also remaining himself because of God’s intervention. One of the ways God punishes sin is to allow the sin to continue and therefore to allow it to take its natural, destructive course.] 18 Behold, about this time tomorrow I will cause very heavy hail to fall, such as never has been in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. [The plague is more than hail; it is the storm itself with high winds, lightening, and rain.] 19 Now therefore send, get your livestock and all that you have in the field into safe shelter, for every man and beast that is in the field and is not brought home will die when the hail falls on them.”’” [This is the first plague where death is announced.] 20 Then whoever feared the word of the Lord [a Hebrew idiom that is short of conversion but respectful of what was heard] among the servants of Pharaoh hurried his slaves and his livestock into the houses, 21 but whoever did not pay attention to the word of the Lord left his slaves and his livestock in the field. [God is now testing the Egyptians. There were those who ignored his word and warnings and those who were convinced of his word and power and took precautions. Apparently Pharaoh did make this warning known to his people.]

22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand [holding onto the staff] toward heaven, so that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, on man and beast and every plant of the field, in the land of Egypt.” [Destruction of human and animal life and severe crop loss/damage is going to happen.] 23 Then Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire [lightening] ran down to the earth. And the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt. 24 There was hail and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail, very heavy hail, such as had never been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation [around 3200 BC, meaning in the last 2000 years]. 25 The hail struck down everything that was in the field in all the land of Egypt, both man and beast. And the hail struck down every plant of the field and broke every tree of the field. 26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the people of Israel were, was there no hail. [Hail is often part of tornadic activity, so there may have been a tornado as well. We cannot rule this out.]