Now the hand of God was laid more heavily on Egypt and its stubborn king. If Pharaoh would not let the people of God go, a dreadful disease was next to come on the cattle, the horses, the donkeys, the camels and the oxen and sheep, but not on any of those animals that belonged to the children of Israel. When the plague fell, the poor creatures died by the hundred, but when Pharaoh sent to see how it was with the Israelites, he found that, as God had said it should be, not one of their cattle was dead. Surely he ought to have learned by now that it was the living God, One with whom he could not fight, that he was defying. But no, the seventh verse says, as we have read in other chapters, “The heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.
So again God punished Pharaoh’s proud and rebellious heart,—handfuls of ashes from the furnace tossed in the air became small dust which caused boils to break out on both people and animals. And the magicians who had helped Pharaoh against God had boils too, and as it seems, they had a worse attack than the other people had. Six plagues had been visited on Pharaoh and until this one it was Pharaoh who hardened his own heart, but now notice the change,— “The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh and he harkened not unto them, as the Lord had spoken unto Moses.” God. had much patience, but the time came when He would wait on Pharaoh no more.
Another plague fell but not without a warning. A very heavy hail worse than ever had been known in Egypt before, was to fall, but Pharaoh was given time to get every person and every animal under shelter first. All who were outdoors when that terrible storm broke, died. What a terrible storm it must have been, when thunder and lightning, fire and hail came clown from the sky striking down people, animals, trees, and a good deal of the growing crops. Again the land of Goshen where the children of Israel lived was spared. God knows how to take care of His own, as well as to punish the wicked. Do you trust Him?
When Moses cried to God to stop the storm, it ceased. but as we read in the last two verses of the chapter Pharaoh “sinned yet more and hardened his heart, he and his servants, and the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go.”