By this point in the story of the ten plagues, a few trends emerge.
First, God will demand that Pharaoh let His people go. If he doesn’t, a punishment will commence.
Second, we know that Pharaoh will refuse. Even if it’s not outright stated, as it’s not in the story of the livestock pestilence in Exodus 9, it’s implied by the actions of God.
Third, we know that the plagues commence almost immediately. When Moses put his staff in the Nile, the water turned to blood right away. When Aaron stretched forth his staff, gnats came up immediately from the ground. When the flies came, they showed up the very next day.
All three of these ideas point to intensifying nature of the plagues. Like two ping-pong balls that are going back and forth between two paddles, Moses and Pharaoh will keep battling back and forth until, eventually, one of them breaks.
Spoiler alert: It won’t be Moses.
Anyone who is even remotely familiar with the story of Exodus knows that Pharaoh will eventually let the people go and perish in the Red Sea. If so, then what’s at stake in this repeating narrative is the agony of watching Pharaoh head to his own demise. You know it, I know it, the reader knows it. The only one who doesn’t is Pharaoh.
In a small way, that demise is seen in the death of the Egyptian cattle in Exodus 9. So far, the plagues have been mildly destructive, but mostly annoying. They’ve swarmed the land, but otherwise left it largely untouched. Now, for the first time, things are starting to die. And, unlike in other plagues, there’s no “relenting” of this punishment.
It’s hard to underestimate the impact of all the livestock in an entire nation dying overnight. The cattle market in the United States alone is worth over $100 billion. What would happen to our economy if that money just vanished? What would happen to our grocery stores?
This is why it gets harder and harder to excuse Pharaoh’s actions. In the plague of the flies, he seems to relent for a moment and let the people go. When all the livestock die, however, the Text simply says his “heart was hardened.” How could he possibly turn a blind eye to this?
Some would make the argument that the real point of the plagues is not to “punish” Pharaoh at all, but rather to let God display His glory in the presence of Israel. That is mentioned by God Himself in Exodus 7:5, but to insinuate that God punishes people only to make Himself look good is borderline heresy.
While the results of the plagues glorifies God, it’s not in God’s nature to simply hurt people. At any point, Pharaoh could’ve relented and let the people go. Everything would’ve gone away and no more plagues would’ve come on the land.
He doesn’t, and his people suffer as a result. Looked through any lens, there’s simply no excuse for his stubbornness.
