Exodus 9:1-7 – Have an undivided heart for God

Once the Lord had removed the swarms of flies, Pharaoh immediately broke his word. He hardened his heart and denied the people from going to worship the Lord. Unwittingly, he had set the stage for the fifth plague, described in Exodus 9:1-7. The Lord responded by telling Moses to go to Pharaoh and say “Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me. For if you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them, behold, the hand of the Lord will come with a very severe pestilence on your livestock which is in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the herds, and on the flocks.”” God made it undeniably clear that this fifth plague would be a severe pestilence. Every beast in every farm of Egypt, be it a cow, a horse, a donkey, a camel, a sheep, or a goat would be afflicted with this pestilence. Every beast would be devastated with this strange and lethal disease until they fell dead.

Like the other plagues, this one also began with God’s command to let the people go to worship Him. The purpose God wanted them to be set free can never be overemphasized. God wanted them to be free from the clutches of Pharaoh and God also wants us to be free from the clutches of sin. Like them, we too are made to worship and serve God. We are created for God’s own pleasure. And to worship and serve Him is the goal that we must be set free to achieve.

The Lord made it clear that Pharaoh had the power to make any decision he wanted but there will be a consequence if he refused to accede to God’s command to let His people go. He made it clear that if he refuses, the consequence would be devastating. He forewarned the king that every livestock of Egypt would be affected. Interestingly in Exodus 8:19, when the Egyptian magicians couldn’t remove the gnats brought about in the third plague, they called it the finger of God. In Exodus 9:3, the plague sent on the livestock of Egypt would not be from the finger of God, but His hand. If the effect of His finger is bad, what comes from His hand would be infinitely more devastating. God was virtually tightening the noose on Pharaoh. To make sure that we know that this was truly God’s making, He gave the precise timing this plague would occur and that in Goshen, where His people were, this plague would not take place. God was making a distinction between His people and those who were not His. Belonging to God has its attending privilege. We must not spurn it.  

As in previous plagues, when God stretched out His hand against Pharaoh, He did it to triumph over the gods of Egypt. In this fifth plague, God dealt a severe blow on all the Egyptian gods and goddesses depicted in every livestock, be it bull or cow or horse, etc. God had sent a devastating pestilence on all the livestock to prove that He has power over all of Egypt’s so-called gods and goddesses.

Many lessons can be gleaned from these seven verses. But we will consider one particular one that deals with the heart. God wants a pliable and yielded heart which Pharaoh wouldn’t give to Him. Despite the fact that he knew that the hand of God was in all these, he resisted Him relentlessly. In verse 7, the king even sent to check out if it was true that the livestock of Israel would not be affected and it was proven true. It showed that God has all along been in sovereign control over every moment. Pharaoh should have understood and yielded his heart to God, but instead, he hardened it. He was unyielding and would not let God’s people and do what God desires. His heart remained untaught. It is true that the heart of education is the education of the heart. God wants us to have a heart for Him. We can never find peace of mind until we begin to love Him with all our heart. Do give Him an undivided heart!