Then Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. And the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt.
God makes the clouds His arsenals. When He pleases, He draws forth hail and lightning as formidable artillery against His enemies, woeful havoc that kills men and beasts and batters down the very trees. Yet mark: Goshen was preserved untouched. God directs the pregnant clouds themselves and causes it to rain on one city and not on another.
AI summary
Commenting on Exodus 9:22-35
Moses lifted his rod to heaven, and the Lord sent thunder, hail, and fire, lightning so fierce it ran along the ground like a destroying force. Hail fell so thick and heavy it killed men and cattle, shattered trees, and ruined every crop; this happened in Egypt where rain itself was scarce, where such cold could barely form. The Lord did this directly, at the exact moment He had promised, with no natural cause in sight.
AI summary
This seventh plague struck Egypt with an astonishment no living inhabitant had witnessed. Rain and hail were rare in the Delta; thunder occasionally heard. But this storm, hailstones of immense size, thunder in awful volleys, lightning sweeping the ground like fire, was an unexampled calamity that revealed the absolute supremacy of Israel's God.
AI summary
Commenting on Exodus 9:18-35