Exodus 9:23-27 "And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt. So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field. Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail. And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked."
The LORD continually warns the hard-hearted king of Egypt what He is going to do and when He will do it. It seems to me that while Pharaoh’s heart continues to be hardened, Moses’ confidence in God grows. Moses has ceased to argue with God about his ability to do as the LORD has commanded. At this point God said, “Moses reach up to heaven (my paraphrase),” and Moses did not hesitate to do the LORD’s command.
Even as we see Moses’ obedience, we are still made aware that it is not Moses’ obedience that has brought these plagues to pass. God has used Moses as His instrument, but the LORD sent the thunder and the hail. God sent the fire that ran along the ground, and He rained hail upon the land of Egypt. This was a storm the like of which had not been seen since the founding of the land that Egypt was built on.
In all the land of Egypt, there was only one place where the hail did not fall. Remember that God had said He made a division between His people and the Egyptians. Because of the difference that God had made, there was no hail in the land of Goshen were Israel dwelled. While the rest of Egypt was beaten down with the hail, crops destroyed, and lives lost, none of this touched the land of Goshen.
While in the midst of this great storm, Pharaoh was made to make a confession. He declared to Moses that he had sinned. However, he still did not see the scope of his sinful nature in rebelling against God. Notice Pharaoh said, “I have sinned this time.” He made no acknowledgement of all the previous times he had sinned.
Pharaoh was forced to make another declaration here. Before, when speaking to Moses, he had always referred to the LORD as “your God.” The implication was that Pharaoh did not recognize God at all. At this point, Pharaoh declared “the LORD (not your LORD) is righteous.” Unfortunately for Egypt, this understanding did not cause Pharaoh to be obedient.
The longer we walk in God’s service, and the more we see Him working His will in our lives, the easier it becomes to trust Him. In Malachi 3:10 the LORD instructs us to be obedient and “prove (test, try)” Him. He declared that He would open the very windows of heaven and pour us out a blessing. Do not be surprised or dismayed when others see His power, declare Him to be the righteous God, and then harden their hearts against Him. God is still in the business of using men, both in obedience and disobedience, to display His might power in the earth!