Death of Egyptian Livestock, Breakouts of Boils, Thundering Hail

Trying another new variation of the Bible today... Still NKJV, but I'm using Blue Letter Bible.

Shemot (Exodus) 9:1-4 "Then Yahuah said to Moses, 'Go in to Pharaoh and tell him, "Thus says Yahuah Elohim of the Hebrews: 'Let My people go, that they may serve Me. For if you refuse to let them go, and still hold them, behold, the hand of Yahuah will be on your cattle in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the oxen, and on the sheep--a very severe pestilence. And Yahuah will make a difference between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt. So nothing shall die of all that belongs to the children of Israel.'"'"

Yahuah is understanding that some livestock belong to the Egyptians and some belong to the Israelites, and thus he is not killing the livestock belonging to the Israelites. We noted that the Egyptians are starting to convert and believe in Yahuah as the one true Elohim. Do you think those Egyptians' livestock were saved?

Shemot 9:5-7 "Then Yahuah appointed a set time, saying, 'Tomorrow Yahuah will do this thing in the land.' So Yahuah did this thing on the next day, and all the livestock of Egypt died; but of the livestock of the children of Israel, not one died. Then Pharaoh sent, and indeed, not even one of the livestock of the Israelites was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh became hard, and he did not let the people go."

Still pondering if the Egyptian converts' livestock are still around... One of my teachers suggested a paraphrase from the movie Forrest Gump: "Israelite is as Israelite does." Maybe Yahuah accepted the converts as adopted children of Israel.

Shemot 9:8-12 "So Yahuah said to Moses and Aaron, 'Take for yourselves handfuls of ashes from a furnace, and let Moses scatter it toward the heavens in the sight of Pharaoh. 'And it will become fine dust in all the land of Egypt, and it will cause boils that break out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt. Then they took ashes from the furnace and stood before Pharaoh, and Moses scattered them toward heaven. And they caused boils that break out in sores on man and beast. And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the magicians and on all the Egyptians. But Yahuah hardened the heart of Pharaoh; and he did not heed them, just as Yahuah had spoken to Moses."

How stubborn is this Pharaoh? He's watched as the Nile turned to blood, frogs took over the land (they were probably still rotting at this point), flies, gnats, and locusts have come, all the livestock died, and now he and everyone else and the remaining animals are all covered in boils. And he's still not giving up. Why? I'm guessing he's trying to prove his dominance over his land. Problem with that is that he is neither dominant nor does he own any land. Everything is Yahuah's and Yahuah will do with it what He wants.

Shemot 9:13-19 "Then Yahuah said to Moses, 'Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh, and say to him, "Thus says Yahuah Elohim of the Hebrews: 'Let My people go, that they may serve Me, 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. 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. 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. As yet you exalt yourself against My people in that you will not let them go. 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. 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.'"'"

 He's warning the Egyptians now so they know what to do about it if they believe in Him. It's not their fault their ruler is being stubborn. It's their fault if they decide they're stubborn too.

Shemot 9:20-21 "He who feared the word of Yahuah among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his livestock flee to the houses. But he who did not regard the word of Yahuah left his servants and his livestock in the field."

Aren't they kind of short on livestock at the moment? Shouldn't they maybe try to keep it safe? Oh well. At least we know that not all of them are stubborn.

Shemot 9:22-26 "Then Yahuah said to Moses, 'Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt--on man, on beast, and on every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.' And Moses stretched out his rod toward heaven; and Yahuah sent thunder and hail, and fire darted to the ground. And Yahuah rained hail on the land of Egypt. So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, so very heavy that there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. And the hail struck throughout the whole land of Egypt, all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail struck every herb of the field and broke every tree of the field. Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, there was no hail."

I would guess the fire that is being spoken of is actually lightening... Your thoughts?

Shemot 9:27-30 "And Pharaoh sent and called for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, 'I have sinned this time. Yahuah is righteous, and my people and I are wicked. Entreat Yahuah, that there may be no more mighty thundering and hail, for it is enough. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.' So Moses said to him, 'As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands to Yahuah; the thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, that you may know that the earth is Yahuah's. But as for you and your servants, I know that you will not yet fear Yahuah Elohim.'"

I learned that the Hebrew word for "sin" actually means "missing the mark." Think of archery, darts, or shooting a gun at a target. Missing the mark could mean that you not only miss the bull's eye, but also that you completely miss the target. Pharaoh needed to work on his aim.

Shemot 9:31-32 "Now the flax and the barley were struck, for the barley was in the head and the flax was in bud. But the wheat and the spelt were not struck, for they are late crops."

Good to know that Egypt won't completely die of starvation because of Pharaoh.

Shemot 9:33-35 "So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and spread out his hands to Yahuah; then the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain was not poured on the earth. And when Pharaoh saw that the rain, the hail, and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet more; and he hardened his heart, he and his servants. So the heart of Pharaoh was hard; neither would he let the children of Israel go, as Yahuah had spoken by Moses."

What will it take for him to let them go? Something worse than all the livestock getting sick and dying. Something worse than thundering hail killing any leftover livestock and workers in the fields. Something worse than the magicians (and everyone else) getting boils so bad they can't attempt to recreate them.