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Exodus 9:8–12
“The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils came upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians. But the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not listen to them, as the LORD had spoken to Moses” (vv. 11–12).
Since the first plague God sent against Egypt, the transformation of the Nile’s waters into blood (Ex. 7:14–25), each successive plague has caused greater harm. The frogs and gnats represented an inconvenience and an annoyance to the Egyptians (8:1–19). The flies and the death of the livestock represented an escalation, with the livelihood and religious faith of Egypt more directly affected (8:20–9:7). In the sixth plague, recorded in today’s passage, we see yet another intensification. The boils that appear on the skin of the Egyptian people and animals are the first direct assault on the physical well-being of the residents of Egypt (vv. 8–12).
The boils appear when Moses casts “soot from the kiln” into the air (v. 8). As the ash spreads, so do the boils. Though the text does not say so directly, this soot likely comes from the kilns in which bricks were fired and hardened before they were used by the Hebrews to carry out the will of their Egyptian taskmasters (see 5:7–8). Consequently, this plague is likely a direct reference to Israel’s enslavement, making it clear that the Lord is judging the Egyptians for their harsh treatment of His people. Commentators debate which disease actually afflicts the Egyptians. Most likely it is a type of skin anthrax that causes black abscesses to erupt on the skin of the afflicted. It is fitting that black soot would be used miraculously to inflict such an ailment.
In describing the sixth plague, Moses notes that the magicians “could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils came upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians” (9:11). This plague represents the full and final defeat of Pharaoh’s sorcerers, and they do not appear again in the narrative. Given that medicine and magic were intertwined in ancient Egypt, with magicians and soothsayers serving as doctors, the plague of boils is thus far the clearest illustration of the impotence of the entire Egyptian system. Their gods and their medical arts cannot bring life and cannot stand up to Yahweh, the God of Israel and one true Creator.
Exodus 9:12 records Pharaoh’s hardening of his heart, only this time we read that God is the agent who hardens Pharaoh. This represents a decisive confirmation by the Lord of the Egyptian king’s opposition. The Lord is handing Pharaoh over decisively to his sin and to judgment. Matthew Henry comments: “Willful hardness is commonly punished with judicial hardness. If men shut their eyes against the light, it is just with God to close their eyes.”
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
Matthew Henry comments on the intensification of the Lord’s judgments over time, writing, “If lesser judgments do not do their work, God will send greater.” God does not typically pour out the fullness of His judgment the first time He acts against sinners, and the longer we resist Him, the worse His judgments become. By turning from our sin early in the process of God’s disciplinary judgment, we can avoid the severest forms of His anger.
For Further Study
- Leviticus 26:14–33
- Isaiah 63:17
- Romans 1:18–32
- Ephesians 4:17–24