September 21, 2025 - The Seventh Plague: Hail, Part 1 (Exodus 8:13-21)

The Seventh Plague: Hail, Part 1 (Exodus 9:13-21)

Rev. Myung-Sin Choi

13 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me, 14 for at this time I will send all My plagues to your very heart, and on your servants and on your people, that you may know that there is none like Me in all the earth. 15 Now if I had stretched out My hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, then you would have been cut off from the earth. 16 But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth. 17 As yet you exalt yourself against My people in that you will not let them go. 18 Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause very heavy hail to rain down, such as has not been in Egypt since its founding until now. 19 Therefore send now and gather your livestock and all that you have in the field, for the hail shall come down on every man and every animal which is found in the field and is not brought home; and they shall die.” ’ ” 20 He who feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his livestock flee to the houses. 21 But he who did not regard the word of the Lord left his servants and his livestock in the field.

Introduction

A human’s heart has great power because what you think will become your future and actions. To test if this was true, there was a neurology doctor who did an experiment on young and elderly patients if mental power has any affect on people. They set up the experiment where they set up training sections and they would have their patients command their mind to make their muscles strong. They would have their experiment patients to do this for four months. Whether it was young or elderly patients, their muscles did get stronger 15%. This was a tremendous result. They just commanded this to their mind and thoughts, and they could have great results. They used this method on athletes and training during the Olympics. This means that our mind and thoughts have control over our bodies. Our minds and thoughts have control over our spirituality and soul as well. Our mind and thoughts have a seat over our fate and future. If darkness has taken over our thoughts and minds, then darkness will control our soul and life. If the Holy Spirit is within our mind then it will control our body and life. What we allow our thoughts and minds to be controlled by is so important. If your mind and thoughts are obsessed with something then it will have complete control over your body and life. If your thoughts and minds are controlled by bad things then there will be a problem. Whether that be drugs or alcohol then it will have a bad effect on your body. If we have the word of God and faith be imprinted into our thoughts and minds then great power will come upon us and our bodies. This happened to Pharaoh as well. 

1. The Reality of Idolatry

(1) The result of idolatry

Verse 13 - Like we read a few weeks ago as well, pharaoh also woke up early in the morning to perform a sacrifice to his gods. Pharaoh was in despair in his life right now. The gods that he believed in, were being completely consumed and crumbling before God, the God of Israel. Pharaoh considered the god of Nile to be the greatest god in his life but it completely crumbled before God. Also he believed in the power of frogs but he saw the frogs being completely destroyed by God. Also, he worshiped the god of nature and land but there was a disaster that came upon the land of Egypt. He also believed in the god of flies but flies were completely destroyed by God. Not only that but the gods of bulls and livestock were also in disaster by God. The other gods of Egypt were all being destroyed by God one by one. And pharaoh and the people of Egypt saw all of this happening. After pharaoh saw this, he still went to the god of the Nile and the Nile River to pray and worship again. This means that even though pharaoh saw the power of God, he still believed that his gods were still alive. All of the imprinted idolatry in pharaoh was not broken at all and he still came before his gods to pray to them. When God saw this, God allowed disaster to strike the gods of the sky of Egypt by allowing hail to fall from the sky. 

If you continue to look in verse 13 - God is not to look towards them, all of the worthless and powerless gods of Egypt but to look towards the God of the Hebrews. God was saying to worship the one and true God, Him. God was telling them to worship Him alone. Many people even now worship many idols and they think that they are their true gods. To be able to worship God and have God’s covenant are tremendous blessings. 

(2) The reason for the plague

Verse 14 - It is written, “…To your very heart.” This heart is referring to the pharaoh's heart. God was going to have a plague strike the pharaoh's heart and the heart of Egypt. This means that God will allow a plague to strike the wrong imprints and idols of pharaoh and his heart. God was going to break down the wrong imprints and idolatry within the heart of pharaoh and the heart of Egypt. God was showing that pharaoh’s heart was imprinted by the wrong things. To those who are bound by idols and imprints in your heart, God will allow disasters to come to break those down. Through disasters, God will show that He is the true and only God. In other words, there are no other gods except God alone. There is no other god except God alone and everything else is His creations. There is only one Creator and it is God alone. This God will bring a disaster and plague to Egypt and pharaoh. Even now, people in this world don’t think and don’t know that God is the Creator of this world and universe. Even now, there are people who know that God is the one and true God. Why is that? Mankind faced death because of the incident of Genesis 3. If you are spiritually dead, you cannot know who God is so you worship other gods and idols such as frogs and other things of this world. 

1 Corinthians 1:20 “Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?” - It was natural for pharaoh to not know who God is. It is natural for mankind to not know who God is through the fall of man through the Genesis 3 incident. That is why God allowed disasters to hit so that Pharaoh could see who God was. Sometimes you are able to experience God and the power of God through crises and disasters. If you are able to see and find God through crises and problems then that is a problem. This means that there was a way to live for the people of Egypt and pharaoh. If they go to the land of Goshen, they will live. What was the lan of Goshen? It was the land of the covenant. Why was that? The people of Goshen, they were able to be in the land of Goshen because of the torch covenant. Through the torch covenant, only God went through the covenant which means that He will fulfill the promise and covenant. God said that He will stake His life to fulfill His covenant. Through the blood covenant, the Israelites lived. The blood sacrifice represented Jesus Christ. The land of Goshen was this land of the covenant. If we are within God’s covenant, then no problem is a problem and God will protect us no matter what. 

2. The Reason for the Hail Plague

(1) Why Pharaoh Didn't Die

Verses 15-16 - God was saying that through the plagues, God could’ve killed pharaoh. But God was showing that He is in control over pharaoh’s life and death. God is in control over life and death. God is also the one who allows problems and death to come upon mankind. The reason why God allowed pharaoh to live was to show that God is in control of all things. It was God who allowed Egypt to become a powerful nation and allowed pharaoh to become pharaoh. This was all so that God could be glorified and for His name to be declared in all the earth. When people see what happened in Egypt, people will ask what happened and why the great nation of Egypt fell. People will say that God, the one and true God allowed all of this to happen. They will see the great power of God. 

Joshua 2:11 “And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.” - Their hearts melted and they lost their minds, and they confessed the name of the Lord God. Through the event of the Exodus, all people were able to proclaim the name of the Lord God. That is why God used the land of Egypt and pharaoh. God allowed all of the events of history to take place so that the work of the Exodus could take place. The event of the Exodus took place so that worship to God could take place. God was showing that He is the true God who will receive worship from His people. God was showing that He is the true God and that He will receive His worship. 

(2) God's Mercy

Verses 18-21 - God was talking about the specific time that He will allow the hail to fall from the sky. You have to see that God is accurate with His time schedule. Whether you receive answers or not, God will decide. He does all of this to show that He is alive. Do you believe that God is alive? God moves according to His time schedule. It was recorded in history that in Bangladesh, the weight of hail that fell was 1 kilogram. Imagine a hail with a weight of 1 kilometer falling, that would be very deadly.

Verse 19 - Everyone will die from the hail and God was warning people of this, and God was showing the way to live. We can see that God was showing His great mercy and grace. God was showing them the method on how to survive the hail. But there was one condition. 

Verse 20 - There were going to people who will survive the plagues and hail. The people who will survive will be people who fear the word of God. This means that those who fear the Lord and obey God will survive. Who will live? Those who obey God’s word. 

Verse 21 - This is talking about those who were not saved. Those who did not keep God’s word in their heart, they were going to be killed by the hail. If you do not have God’s word, you will die. Those who hold onto and obey God’s word, you will live no matter what. It was anyone, whether you were an Egyptian or Israelite. God is a fair God. The standard is the word of God. Those who hold onto and obey God’s word, then God will answer you no matter what. Receive answers. 

3. A New Beginning

(1) Experience the Word

Hold onto John 15:7 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” - Experience the word of God through answers. Then you will experience answers and true happiness. This is because the word of God is alive. God will give us evidence and show us that He is alive through His word. 

(2) Follow the Lord's guidance

Acts 13:2 “As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ ” - God will guide His people through the Holy Spirit. Then, you can be guided to God’s answers. Even God told pharaoh and Egyptians the way to live and how they could live. God was trying to guide them. May we receive answers. 

(3) Hold onto what has been prepared

This is the most important word in Acts 19:21 “When these things were accomplished, Paul purposed in the Spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, ‘After I have been there, I must also see Rome.’ ” - There is a plan that God has prepared for us. When we hold onto God’s covenant, then God will guide us completely. Our covenant is 237 nations and a 3 day weekend. God has chosen this church. No matter what, God will fulfill His word. When we hold onto God’s covenant, then God will bring evidence in our lives. 

Conclusion

Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” - May we enter into God’s time schedule. All people who entered into God’s time schedule, they were all blessed. May God’s time schedule become our time schedule then God will raise us as His witness. Receive answers.