Exodus 9:20 Those officials of Pharaoh who feared the word of the Lord hurried to bring their slaves and their livestock inside.
Commentary says of this plague that rain is so scarce and violent storms even scarcer, so Egyptians would have reacted to this prediction “with much skepticism.” These words remind me of Noah and the admonition to build an ark. Essentially, God says, “Do this ridiculous-sounding thing for this improbable-sounding reason,” and most folks scoff.
Exodus 9:21 But those who ignored the word of the Lord left their slaves and livestock in the field.
And I am reminded of the billboard I saw years ago, with the message “Just love everyone. I’ll sort them out later. ~God” Ridiculous-sounding thing: love everyone. Improbable-sounding reason: God will sort them out. Do you see where I’m going with this?
Exodus 9:22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that hail will fall all over Egypt—on people and animals and on everything growing in the fields of Egypt.”
Precious Savior, We live in such divisive times. Who you love, who you vote for, what you believe…all those things are used to judge and restrict and persecute. But You tell us to love You and love others. You tell us that it is Your job to judge, not ours. Help us, Jesus. Amen.
Exodus 9:23-24 When Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, the Lord sent thunder and hail, and lightning flashed down to the ground. So the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt; hail fell and lightning flashed back and forth. It was the worst storm in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation.
Have a blessed day.