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. 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. Exodus 9:13-14

By this time, I think Gods patience with Pharaoh is wearing thin. So here God answers the first question “Why send Plagues?” I’m sure most people would ask that, and God says “So the whole world will know there is no one like me” 

Now notice God is expecting this Exodus story , not to just be a history lesson for Egypt, but a lesson for the whole world. This is God Almighty displaying his power and sovereignty , to make Him known!

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. 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. Exodus 9:15-16

Now the next question is answered “Why did God harden Pharaohs heart?” God is using Egypt and Pharaoh for demonstration to the whole world. The Exodus story is not just for Jewish people , this story is for the entire world! Are you going to submit to the One true God or are you going to perish in your disobedience? 

As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go? 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.  Exodus 9:17-18

Pharaoh continually exalts himself as god even though he has seen the evidence of the true living God. Again , we still see this today with people, all the evidence of God yet they hardened their hearts and exalt themselves 

Next the 7th plague , God is going to rain down hail, unlike anything that has been seen since the beginning of the world. Again we see the parallel in Revelation, where God will reign down hail upon judgement of the world. Yes the Exodus story is still relevant to the entire world

And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field. Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail. Exodus 9:25-26

 God gave Egypt the warning, anything outside would get pummeled with hail. Some Egyptians feared Yahweh and brough everything inside, some ignored the warning and paid the consequence. But notice again, God spared the Israelites from this judgement, again is this a foreshadow of the Rapture?

And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. Intreat the LORD (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer. Exodus 9:27-28

It almost seems like Pharaoh is finally coming to true repentance, he admits that he has sinned and the Egyptians are wicked. He begs Moses to be a mediator for them and have Yahweh show mercy upon them. Note that Jesus Christ is our Mediator today between us and the Father

And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go; as the LORD had spoken by Moses. Exodus 9:35

More deceit by Pharaoh , as he truly didnt repent. As soon as God stopped the plague, Pharaoh hardened his heart again and held the Israelites slaves. Many people are like this today, fairweather Christians. They cry out to God in times of trouble, but as soon as things are good they drift from God and some totally abandon him

And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great. Revelation 16:21

Again we see the parallel in Revelation, God reigning down hail on the wicked. God does not change, he is the same , today, yesterday, and forever. The God of the Exodus is the same God of Revelation. You can’t fool the Creator of the Universe , Repent or perish!

And the LORD said unto Moses and unto Aaron, Take to you handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh.And it shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt Exodus 9:8-9

Now comes time for the 6th Plague, as were seeing each plague is a little different and they each are revealing to the Egyptians how their pagan gods are useless and their rejection of the true living God has serious consequences. 

Again we see a parallel of this plague in Egypt and in Revelation. Its very clear the God of the Old Testament is the same God of the New Testament, anyone who thinks otherwise should study the Plagues of Egypt and the Wrath of Revelation

Again were seeing a Plague that will torment people, and again we see God separate the Wrath from Egyptians and Israelites. Is this a foreshadow of the Rapture? Either way God is in complete control!

And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven; and it became a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast. And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boil was upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians. Exodus 9:10-11

This time the torment was so bad, the magicians of Egypt couldnt even try to reproduce the miracle God had performed. What will it take for  people to come to repentance? Why do we allow our pride to rule our hearts instead of Christ?

And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had spoken unto Moses. Exodus 9:12

Even though the Egyptians see the true living God revealed, Pharaoh still refused to repent. We see this alot in people today, they want to enjoy all the attributes of God but they dont want to acknowledge God. Everybody wants love, peace, joy, everyone stands in awe of the universe, the ocean, DNA, however they still deny the Creator

And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image. Revelation 16:2

Again as you study the bowls of wrath of God in Revelation , you see how they parallel the plagues of Egypt. Here God gave the same judgement, but this time poured unto the entire Earth.  You would think that after all these judgments and revelation of Gods power, people would recieve God however as we see with the Egyptians and we see below, many people still wont repent

And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory. Revelation 16:9

How does the wicked respond to Gods wrath? They blasphemy his name and refuse to give him any glory or credit. Is this an evidential issue with God? Absolutely not, this is a heart issue. People pride and love for sin, they harden their hearts and suffer the wrath of God!

Then the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. For if thou refuse to let them go, and wilt hold them still, Behold, the hand of the LORD is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very grievous murrain. Exodus 9:1-3

Despite all the signs and wonders Pharaoh and the Egyptians have experiences, he continues to harden his heart and not allow the Israelties free from slavery. God has another test for Pharaoh, this time its going to effect his livestock. Notice in the scripture when it mentions “livestock” it goes on to list horses, camels, oxen, sheep, ect. Basically every animal throughout the land of Egypt

Now to us reading this, we might not think wiping out livestock to be a real big deal or punishment, however consider the time period of this event. Horses, even today, are considered very valuable, especially for the military during this time. Wiping out all the horses would be equivalent to destroying all the tanks in todays military. All the animals were very valuable, as they provided agriculture and livelihood. Without all these animals, this would have a great impact on Egypts economy and military

And the LORD shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt: and there shall nothing die of all that is the children’s of Israel. And the LORD appointed a set time, saying, To morrow the LORD shall do this thing in the land. Exodus 9:4-5

Notice again, God is making a clear distinction between the Egyptians and the Israelites, he will destroy all the Egyptians animals but not the Israelites. This again show us, this event was not just random plague, God was in complete control

Secondly again, is this a foreshadow of the Rapture? God pouring out His wrath on the wicked and unrepented, while sparing His people! 

And the LORD did that thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt died: but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one. And Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not one of the cattle of the Israelites dead. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go. Exodus 9:6-7

And so it happened , just as God foretold. All the Egyptians animals were killed , while all the Israelites animals were spared. Again even after all these signs and wonders, even after all this time God allowed Pharaoh to repent, what did Pharaoh do? He hardened his heart!

There are probably many people still like Pharaoh today, when they read this , instead of being in awe and fear of God, there hearts become hard and there hatred for God continues to grow. Dont be like Pharaoh, repent before its too late in Jesus Name Amen!

And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; lo, he cometh forth to the water; and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me. Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are. Exodus 8:20-21

So now comes time for the 4th Plague, the Flies. As we read in our last 3 plagues, Pharaoh has lied to God and told him he would allow the Israelites to leave, however he then hardens his heart and keeps the Hebrews captive. To this point, Pharaoh has witnessed many signs and wonders performed by God, however no matter how much evidence he sees, his heart remains hard and he rejects God

There are some scholars who believe this insect might have actually been a biting beetle or a dog flie. Either way , I’m sure we have all been bit by a fly before, imagine thousands of them in your house, biting and swarming you. This plague was obviously more than just destroying the land, this was to inflict some pain on the people as judgement

We also need to remember , the Egyptians worshipped many gods. So they most likely believed they were under punishment from their pagan gods. They probably cried out to their false deities but never heard an answer. As God is revealing their is only One true living God

Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are. And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth. Exodus 8:21-22

Notice God is going to do this plague a little differently also, He’s not going to just invade all of the land, he is going to spare the land of Goshen , where the Isralietes live and spare them this torment. This is further revelation into Gods intelligent design, this isn’t just a random act of infestation, God is in complete control of this plague

And I will put a division between my people and thy people: to morrow shall this sign be. And the LORD did so; and there came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants’ houses, and into all the land of Egypt: the land was corrupted by reason of the swarm of flies. Exodus 8:23-24

So God is going to make a clear distinction between the Israelites and the Egyptians in this plague, could this be a foreshadow of the Rapture? Whatever it is, God is displaying his sovereignty and is in complete control of this plague

And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: intreat for me. Exodus 8:28

At this time, Moses asks Pharaoh to allow the Israelites to go into the wilderness and make a sacrifice for Yahweh, at first Pharaoh is hesitant, but then it almost seems like he may be coming to repentance. Here we see Pharaoh ask Moses to intercede for him between him and God.

Remember we have an intercessor between us and the Father and its Jesus Christ, another foreshadow here in Moses

And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go. Exodus 8:32

But after all was said and done, Pharaoh again lied to God and said he would allow the Israelites to leave, however after God removed the plague, he hardened his heart and went back to his evil ways

You cant say that God is not patient and merciful, all Pharaoh had to do was truly repent and God would have spared him the wrath, and its the same for us. Repent and receive Christ as your Lord and be spared the wrath of Hell Amen!