3 PLAGUES OF ILLNESS AND CATASTROPHE
Key verse 9:3
God sent the fifth and the sixth plagues in the form
of illnesses. The seventh plague came in the form of a natural disaster.
Pharaoh's heart remained unchanged.
1.
The
plague that touched the cattle’s health (9:1-17)
God pushed Moses to go before Pharaoh again. God
send a plague that attacked the animals in the fields in Egypt. There was
always a clear distinction between the Egyptians field and the Israelites
field. This time it was Jehovah who set the time limit for Pharaoh’s decision
before sending the plague. Pharaoh asked his servants how bad the damage was
and he took note of the difference made between the two fields. Nevertheless,
he did not change his mind.
2.
The
plague of ulcers (9:8-12)
God send this plague giving the Pharaoh's
stubbornness. He told Moses to take some dust from the ground and throw it in
the air so that it would become ulcers on the skin of men and on that of the
cattle. The magicians were unable to mimic Moses and come before the Pharaoh
this time as their faces were very badly deformed. As God rightly said, it was
not the Pharaoh that hardened his own heart but God himself hardened it. His
servants therefore had no need to become discouraged, they just needed to
remember what He had predicted : His Word. When faced with a hardened heart,
sometimes we imagine that Satan is behind it but in reality it's the work of
God. Therefore, we need not fear. Satan, however, works to weaken us by making
fear death and failure. We can therefore have no other supporting rock besides
God's Word.
3.
The
plague of hail (9:13-35)
God said that in the midst of all these plagues, He
would let Pharaoh live. God owns all lives. Pharaoh who kept on resisting Him
could have been gone in the blink of an eye. God let him live so that the World
would see Him and glorify His name (16). God let hail mixed with fire rain down
to destroy everything. During an entire day God had the choice between the two
: hail and fire. Those who received the warning were saved but those who did
not suffered great losses. This time Pharaoh said “I have sinned”. However,
this was simply an expression of his regret and not one of true penitence. He
hardened his heart once again and Moses feared that he would never change.
However, he interceded for his people once more. 
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