What is the meaning of Exodus 9:25? Throughout the land of Egypt - The phrase paints a picture of a nation-wide event, not a localized shower. Every Egyptian province felt the storm. Compare “there was hail in all the land of Egypt” (Exodus 9:22) and earlier judgments that likewise blanketed the country (Exodus 8:24; 9:6). - Scripture consistently shows God’s judgments reaching every corner when He chooses (Genesis 7:19 during the Flood; Isaiah 24:1). Here, nothing and no one outside Goshen escaped. The hail struck down everything in the field - This wasn’t a mild storm; it “struck down” (Exodus 9:25), a verb of destruction. The force is echoed later when “great hailstones” killed more Amorites than Israel’s swords (Joshua 10:11). - God’s mastery over weather underscores His supremacy over Egypt’s sky-gods. Revelation 16:21 speaks of another future hail judgment, reminding us that divine wrath can still manifest in the elements. Both man and beast - The blow was indiscriminate. People who ignored God’s warning to bring servants and livestock indoors (Exodus 9:19) faced the same calamity as their animals. - Those who “feared the word of the LORD” sought shelter (Exodus 9:20); those who didn’t were struck (Genesis 7:21 offers a sobering parallel in the Flood). God’s justice is impartial yet avoidable through obedience. It beat down every plant of the field - Grain was flattened, produce destroyed—economic ruin. Psalm 105:33 recalls, “He struck their vines and fig trees and shattered the trees of their country”. - Joel 1:11-12 later describes a similar agricultural disaster, underlining how sin can devastate livelihoods. Pharaoh’s stubbornness cost Egypt its food security. And stripped every tree - The hail didn’t merely dent leaves; it “stripped” trunks bare—total ecological damage. Psalm 78:47 notes that God “destroyed their vines with hail,” confirming the thoroughness. - Trees symbolize stability and long-term prosperity (Psalm 1:3). By stripping them, God signaled that Egypt’s strength and future shade were gone until repentance or release of Israel. summary Exodus 9:25 showcases a sweeping, targeted act of divine judgment that engulfed all Egypt’s territory, destroyed everything exposed—people, animals, crops, and trees—and highlighted the high cost of resisting God. Though severe, the plague also revealed mercy: those who heeded His warning were spared. The verse reminds us that the Creator commands creation, judges sin decisively, yet always provides a path of obedience for rescue. |
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