Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 9:27
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.
27. The Pharaoh this time, impressed, it may be supposed, by the spectacle of the storm, confesses his fault, as he has never done before. His penitence, however, as the sequel shews, is not very deep.
I have sinned ] Exo 10:16.
righteous wicked ] rather, the (with the art.) one in the right those in the wrong. The words are used not in their ethical, but in their forensic sense, as Exo 2:13 (where ‘him that did the wrong’ is lit. the wicked one), Deu 25:1.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
27 33. The Pharaoh craves a third time (see Exo 8:8; Exo 8:28) for a cessation of the plague.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Exo 9:27-28
I have sinned.
Pharaohs I have sinned
There are no more beautiful words ever spoken on this earth–none to which an angel listens more complacently–none which wing their way more surely to heaven–none which more surely enter into the ears of the Lord God of Sabaoth–than those three–so personal, so true, so simple, and so full, I have sinned. They occur nine times in the Bible; and of the nine we may except two. For where they stand–in the seventh chapter of Micah–they are the language, not of an individual, but of a Church. And the prodigals use of them is, of course, not matter of fact or history; but only part of a parable. There remain, therefore, seven; seven persons of whom it is written that they said, I have sinned. Ii may surprise some of you to know that, of those seven, four are utterly hollow and worthless; in Gods scales, wanting, unreal, and unprofitable. It is a humbling and teaching fact that in three only–of the seven instances in which persons are recorded in the Scriptures to have said, I have sinned, was the confession true, and the repentance valid.
I. At what time Gods hardening of Pharaohs heart began, it is impossible exactly to determine. But evidently from the first it was judicial. A common story. A sin indulged till the man is given over to his sin; and then the sin made its own punishment. It is not that if you repent you would not be forgiven; but it is that you reduce your heart to such a state that it places repentance out of your reach. You become like Esau. Esau, after he sold his birthright, never repented, nor wished to repent. He wished his father to repent, though he himself did not repent. Pharaoh could say, I have sinned, and never felt it,–because his heart was hard. Many of you are very young, and you have tender hearts. Take care; take care of that dew of your spiritual birth-lest it be brushed away! If you love the world, you will be hardened. You say, I will repent of my worldliness. You cannot. Your worldliness will have left you too hard to repent.
II. What, then, was pharaohs I have sinned? Where did it tend?
1. It Was a mere hasty impulse. There was no thought in it; no careful dealing with his own soul; no depth.
2. The moving principle was nothing but fear. He was agitated–greatly agitated–only agitated. Now, fear may be, and probably must be, a part of real repentance. I do not despise fear. Fear is a sign of penitence. Fear is a very good thing. But I doubt whether there was ever a real repentance that was promoted by fear only.
3. Pharaohs thoughts were directed far too much to man. It was not the against Thee, Thee only, I have sinned. He never went straight to God. Hence his confession was not thorough.
III. And here comes the solemn thought–for comfort or for fear–in everything that is true, there is a germ, and God sees and recognizes, at once, the germ. It may not have expanded. Perhaps the person–who has it–may not live long enough for it to be expanded in this world. But God knows that it can expand, and that it would expand. God judges by that germ. If it is not–that germ of love and holiness–the rest all goes for nothing. But if it be there–God accepts all for that germ. (J. Vaughan, M. A.)
The transient repentance of a wicked soul
I. That moods of transient repentance are sometimes awakened by the retributive judgments of God. The penitence of the hypocrite; not a godly sorrow. Induced by the infliction of punishment, rather than by the gentle convictions of the Divine Spirit. True repentance will have reference to God and to the violated law, rather than to self-comfort and immunity from pain.
II. That in moods of transient repentance men call for the ministers of God whom they have previously despised. Ministers must be forbearing toward their people, and embrace any opportunity of leading them to the mercy of God. But the repentance that sends for the minister under the impulse of fear, will be likely to dismiss him when the plague is removed. It is well to heed the voice of the servants of God before the hoar of retribution.
III. That in moods of transient repentance men make promises they will never perform. We should remember in joy the vows made in sorrow, in health, those made in sickness, and then painful discipline will become happy and glorious.
IV. That in moods of transient repentance men will acknowledge that prayer to God for mercy is their only method of help.
V. That in moods of transient repentance men sometimes obtain the removal of the judgments of God. Token of mercy. Discipline of love to lead to duty. Lessons:–
1. That trials are calculated to lead the soul to repentance.
2. That under trials the repentance of men may be transient.
3. That the mercy of God is rich to the proudest sinner.
4. That the servants of God should be helpful to penitent souls.
(1) By fidelity.
(2) By sympathy.
(3) By prayer. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
Repentance inspired by fear
I. That repentance inspired by fear is experienced by men of the proudest moral character. This shows the all-conquering power of the truth, in that it can subdue the tyrant-heart. It also shows the mercy of God, in that the most degenerate life is blessed with the refreshing mood of repentance. No heart is utterly destitute of better feelings.
II. That repentance inspired by fear anxiously seeks the aid of the servants of God.
III. That repentance inspired by fear is just in its condemnation of self, and in its acknowledgment of sin. There are times when confession is a necessity of the soul. When sin is as a fire, which must burn through all subterfuges and manifest itself to the public eye. Hence open confession of sin is not an infallible token of repentance; it may be the outcome of necessity or of terror.
IV. That repentance inspired by fear is just in its vindication of the divine character. Repentance is not to be gauged by the utterance of the lips.
V. That repentance inspired by fear promises future obedience to the claims of God. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
Repentings and relapsings
I. The theistic constitution of the soul.
1. It shots a primitive belief in the existence of God.
2. It shows a primitive belief in the providential government of God.
II. The unnaturalness of our spiritual existence.
III. The unreliableness of deathbed confessions. Genuine repentance for sin is not the fear of misery, but the relentings of love.
IV. The supreme interest of every man. (Homilist.)
Sense of guilt
I. Under its influence man feels humbled.
II. Under its influence man respects godliness.
III. Under its influence man vindicates the almighty. (Homilist.)
I have sinned
1. A good confession.
2. A simple confession.
3. A faithful confession.
4. A welcome confession.
5. Sometimes an unreal confession. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
The Lord is righteous
1. Then admire His administration.
2. Then worship His glory.
3. Then fear His justice.
4. Then vindicate His operations.
5. Then make known His praise. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
A wicked people and a wicked monarch
1. Sad.
2. Afflicted.
3. Repentant. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
Intreat the Lord
1. For He hears prayer.
2. For He has respect to the good.
3. For wicked men need Divine help.
4. For He is merciful. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
The confession of Pharaoh
I. The resemblance of the confession before us to the language of true contrition, is close.
1. It was open, made not to a partizan or friend in the secrecy of retirement, but to Moses and Aaron in public; to the very man whose presence was likely to fill the sinner with the greatest shame, and to require of him the most mortifying concessions.
2. It was accompanied also with a sense of guilt, and that not confined to one transgression only, but extending to the general conduct of himself and his subjects.
3. It is remarkable too that, like David, he considered his guilt as an offence against God.
4. But this was not all. The confession of Pharaoh included in it an acknowledgment of the justice of God in inflicting these judgments. They were great and heavy, but he does not complain of their severity. He complains only of his own sins, which had so justly drawn them on his head. The Lord, he says, is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.
5. There were also some good resolutions connected with the confession of Pharaoh.
II. Pharaoh was not a penitent, though he bore so strong a resemblance to one. His confession was sincere, but it was not godly. It resembled the language of true repentance, but at the same time it differed essentially from it.
1. In attempting to trace this difference, we may observe that it was a forced confession, extorted from him by the suffering he endured, and the fear of still heavier judgments. The point to be ascertained is not what kind of men we are in affliction or in sickness, in the house of God or in the society of His servants; but what is the frame of our minds when these excitements are withdrawn? What are we in retirement? What are we in our families? What are we in daily intercourse with the world?
2. The confession of Pharaoh differed from true confession in this respect also–it was unaccompanied with humiliation before God. He repeatedly besought Moses and Aaron to entreat for him, but he disdained to bend the knee himself. He trembled at the judgments of the Lord, but though they laid waste his country and cut off his first-born, he still refused to humble himself before Him. This spirit of independence is the bane and curse of our fallen nature. The very essence of our depravity consists in it. We will not have God to reign over us. Judgments can terrify, but they cannot humble us.
3. The confession of Pharaoh was defective also in another respect–it was not succeeded by an entire renunciation of sin. The true penitent does not ask, How far may I indulge my lusts, and yet be safe? How much love may I have for the world and yet escape condemnation? but, What right hand have I yet to cut off? What right eye have I yet to pluck out? What lurking sin still remains to be discovered and overcome?
4. But even if the confession of Pharaoh had not been defective in these things, there was yet another point of difference between it and a genuine confession, and that a most important and ruinous difference–it was not habitual and lasting. The convictions from which it sprung were as temporary as the judgments which gave rise to them, so that he who feared and trembled one hour, hardened his heart the next. Repentance is not an act, it is a habit; not a duty to be performed once in a mans life, and then to be thought of no more; it is to be our daily work, our hourly employment.
III. Such was the confession of Pharaoh. The lessons it teaches are obvious.
1. It shows us, first, the great need we have of self-examination. We may have confessed our sins from our heart; but has that heart been humbled, lowly, obedient? Instead of going about to establish our own righteousness, are we submitting ourselves to the righteousness of God? Are we praying, as well as trembling?
2. This shows us also the extreme depravity of the human heart. We need the transforming power, the effectual working, of the Holy Ghost. We must seek repentance as a gift of mercy at the throne of God.
3. We may see, further, the folly of trusting in convictions. Remorse is not penitence. Conviction is not conversion. Fear is not grace.
4. But while we are reminded of the folly of trusting in convictions, we are at the same time taught the guilt and danger of stifling them. They cannot save the soul, but they are designed to make us feel our need of salvation, and to lead us for it to the great Saviour of the lost.
5. There is yet another lesson to be learned from this subject. It seems indeed, on the first view, to speak to us only of the depravity of man and the awful justice of God, but to what subject of meditation can we turn, which does not remind us of the Divine mercy? A hardened Pharaoh, as well as a weeping Peter, declares to us, that the guilty will never seek pardon in vain. (C. Bradley, M. A.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 27. The Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.] The original is very emphatic: The Lord is THE RIGHTEOUS ONE, ( hatstaddik), and I and my people are THE SINNERS, ( hareshaim); i.e., He is alone righteous, and we alone are transgressors. Who could have imagined that after such an acknowledgment and confession, Pharaoh should have again hardened his heart?
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
I now plainly see and freely acknowledge my sin in striving with God. He seems not to deny that he had sinned before, for even the light of nature would discover his sin, in breaking his faith, and the word of a King given to Moses for Israels dismission.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
27-35. Pharaoh sent, and called forMoses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinnedThis awfuldisplay of divine displeasure did seriously impress the mind ofPharaoh, and, under the weight of his convictions, he humbles himselfto confess he has done wrong in opposing the divine will. At the sametime he calls for Moses to intercede for cessation of the calamity.Moses accedes to his earnest wishes, and this most awful visitationended. But his repentance proved a transient feeling, and hisobduracy soon became as great as before.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And Pharaoh sent,…. Not persons to observe whether there was any hail fell in the land of Goshen, though there are some k that so supply the words; but it cannot be thought that Pharaoh would send, or that any would go thither amidst such a storm of thunder and hail; but he sent messengers,
and called Moses and Aaron; who might be in his palace, at least not very far off:
and said unto them, I have sinned this time; not but that he had sinned before, and must be conscious of it, particularly in breaking his promise so often; but now he acknowledged his sin, which he had never done before: and this confession of sin did not arise from a true sense of it, from hatred of it, and sorrow for it as committed against God; but from the fright he was in, the horror of his mind, the dread of the present plague being continued; and the terror of death that seized him, the rebounding noise of the thunder in his ears, the flashes of lightning in his face, and the hailstones beating upon the top of his house, and against the windows and sides of it, frightened him exceedingly, and forced this confession from him:
the Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked; which was well spoken, had it been serious and from his heart; for God is righteous in his nature, and in all his works, and in all those judgments he had inflicted upon him; and he and his people were wicked in using the Israelites in such a cruel manner, and in detaining them when it had been promised them again and again that they should have leave to go, and especially in rebelling against God, and disobeying his commands.
k “Misisset qui observarent”, Junius & Tremellius.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Verses 27, 28:
For the first time, Pharaoh admitted his guilt. But this was not a genuine repentance. It was remorse that he was suffering the consequences of his sin. It was made under pressure, and when the pressure was off, so was the-repentance.
Pharaoh’s sorrow was the sorrow of the world, the kind which does not produce genuine repentance, see 2Co 7:10.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
27. And Pharaoh sent and called. If this confession had proceeded from the heart, it would have betokened repentance; but Moses immediately perceived that fear in the heart of the wicked is not a principle which governs them in lasting duty; (111) and this was more manifest in the result.
Although we must, at the same time, recollect, what I have already touched upon, that Pharaoh did not lie designedly; for when seized by terror, he caught at every means to appease God, but soon after relapsed into his former state of mind. For although with fox-like cunning the wicked pretend submission, when they see themselves caught, in order to escape from the snare, still they do not mean to mock God by their soft words; but rather under the pressure of necessity they are ready to do anything, and therefore offer propitiation’s and satisfactions; but when their fear has departed, because whatever they promised was forcibly extorted from them, they directly break out afresh. A very similar circumstance is related of Saul. He confesses to his own disgrace the innocence of David, and yet, as soon as he has escaped from the danger, and is freed from fear, he does not cease to persecute him cruelly. (1Sa 24:18, and 1Sa 26:21.) But if we admit that this was mere dissimulation, Pharaoh had greater cause for fear, because, being experimentally convinced that God was his adversary, he was impelled by his fear to make any conditions whatever. But, first of all, he acknowledges that he had “sinned this time,” not to excuse the former cases, but. because, in such gross contempt, the crime of obstinacy was still more detestable. And this more fully appears in the following words, wherein he acknowledges the justice of God, and confesses the wickedness of himself and his people. It is just as if he had said, that he is deservedly punished, because he had too long provoked God, who is a just judge. Now since, as far as his words go, Pharaoh professes true repentance, we may gather from them, that, sinners do not attribute to God the honor due to His justice, unless they condemn themselves; and this must be more carefully observed, because there are few who think that, while they are endeavoring to rebut the accusations of guiltiness, they are dishonoring God. Yet, whosoever does not judge himself, and who does not frankly confess his sins, is assuredly murmuring against the judgment of God. Pharaoh, at length, has recourse to deprecation, in which he desires to have Moses and Aaron as his intercessors; not, I admit, without deception, (because hypocrites are always double-hearted;) yet it is certain, that because he was terrified by his troubles, he sought for peace with God, lest his rebellion should draw down upon him new and greater punishments; but as soon as, having obtained his desire, he ceased to be afraid, the secret wickedness which lay, as it were, stifled under the abundance of his miseries, burst forth out of the sense of security. What immediately follows is variously explained by the translators; some understand it negatively, “that there be not,” or “if there be not — thunderings;” and even these disagree among themselves; for some suppose that Pharaoh congratulates himself, because the thunders have ceased; but it is plain from the context that they are grossly mistaken. If, then, a negation is intended, the passage must necessarily refer to the future; as if Pharaoh had said, that he should be very graciously dealt with, if God should please to allay the thunderings. (112) But the various reading is equally probable; “It is much, or a great thing, that there are, or have been thunderings;” as though he said, that he had been punished enough, or more than enough for his folly; or (as best pleases myself) that he is now subdued by terror, whilst he is alarmed by the continual rollings of the thunder and the beating of the hail; for he seems to desire to prove the truth of his conversion, because he is conquered by the terrible power of God.
(111) “Et n’est maitresse que pour une minute;” and is only their mistress for a minute. — Fr.
(112) ורב, literally, and much A. V., It is enough. The LXX. and V. translators seem not to have found this expression in their copies of the Hebrew text. The Syriac amplifies it into And there is abundant room before him. S. M., Multum enim est ut fuerint tonitrua, etc.; and he adds, Onkelos sic vertit, Magnum coram me est tuorum, quod non sint super nos voces illae execrandae. — W.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Exo. 9:27-28
REPENTANCE INSPIRED BY FEAR
We now see Pharaoh as a penitent. The proud King is humbled. He confesses his sin. He resolves to amend his conduct. He sends for the ministers of the truth. We have seen him in this mood before, and we thought that it was a hopeful token. But the repentance then manifested passed away with the pain that awakened it. How frequently do moods of repentance come upon the soul, but how soon are they over, and leave no lasting benediction behind. God awakens men to repentance by varied agencies. Sometimes by the stroke of retribution, and sometimes by the look of love and compassion; men who repent under the influence of fear are very likely to relapse into sin when the fear has passed away. We have an instance of this in the incident before us.
I. That repentance inspired by fear is experienced by men of the proudest moral character. Pharaoh, the proud monarch of Egypt, was overtaken by the repentance of terror. He was the last man we should have expected to find in such a condition. He is haughty, he will not submit to God. He is bold, he will withstand the Divine message and plague. But no, he is suppliant before the servants of God. And so it is, the worst men, the most stubborn, the proudest and the most unlikely, are sometimes rendered penitent by the discipline of life, and by the corrective judgments of God. This shows the all-conquering power of the truth, in that it can subdue the tyrant-heart. It also shows the mercy of God, in that the most degenerate life is blessed with the refreshing mood of repentance. No heart is utterly destitute of better feelings. The worst men are often on the borders of a new life, but even then they are not beyond the reach of Satan. Bad men are capable of good emotions, and of open confessions, which seem well, but which are the outcome of unhallowed motive.
II. That repentance inspired by fear anxiously seeks the aid of the servants of God. Here we have the great King of Egypt sending for Moses and Aaron the despised servants of God. Moses and Aaron have no social accidents to commend them to Pharaoh, but they are known to be the servants of heaven, and that is their recommendation to him. When men are in moods of repentance they are glad to find the poorest child of God, and to obtain any help he can render. Deep repentance is oblivious of social distinctions, and looks only at moral qualifications. When wicked men are in trouble they generally send for good men to help them out of it, and thus render an unconscious homage to the worth of piety. But it not unfrequently happens that the servants of God are called to aid a repentance inspired by fear of pain rather than by a conviction of sin. At such times they need true wisdom and fidelity.
III. That repentance inspired by fear is just in its condemnation of self, and in its acknowledgment of sin. I have sinned this time. Thus we find that Pharaoh made an open acknowledgment of his sin. This was right. This was humiliating as it was made to men whom he had previously despised. Here is some token of a right spirit. And wicked men in the agony of repentance, under pain and calamity, often confess their wrong doing. They are prompted to do so by the sheer force of conscience, they hope by such a confession to appease the anger of God, and to avert the calamity under which they suffer. There are times when confession is a necessity of the soul. When sin is as a fire, which must burn through all subterfuges and manifest itself to the public eye. Hence open confession of sin is not an infallible token of repentance; it may be the outcome of necessity or of terror.
IV.That repentance inspired by fear is just in its vindication of the Divine character. The Lord is righteous. This was the acknowledgment of Pharaoh; and certainly it appears strange language for him to utter, as he had but poor notions of righteousness, and but little inclination a short time ago to predicate it of Jehovah. But wicked men, in moments of repentance are loud in their talk about the rectitude of the Almighty. But the words spoken at such a time are deeper than the heart imagines. To a truly penitent soul the righteousness of God is the supreme thought. His law appears righteous. His government is righteous. The soul is unrighteous and is consequently opposed to God. It is possible for wicked men in moments of repentance, inspired by fear, to utter beautiful words about the great God, and about sublime truth without any adequate conception of their meaning. Repentance is not to be gauged by the utterance of the lips.
V. That repentance inspired by fear promises future obedience to the claims of God. And I will let you go. Thus Pharaoh promises to submit to the command of God in reference to the freedom of Israel. This was the outcome of self-conflict, wicked men do not like to give up their sins. It is not easy for them. But in moods of repentance inspired by fear they promise future attention to the word of God. Fair promises are not infallible tokens of repentance.
VI. That repentance inspired by fear is much more anxious for the removal of a calamity than for the removal of sin. Intreat the Lord (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail. And thus we see that Pharaoh was much more anxious that the temporal perils by which he was afflicted should be removed, than that his sin and guilt should be pardoned. And so it is ever with those whose repentance is inspired by fear. They seek not Jesus. They seek exemption from pain. True repentance is not generated by thunder and hail. It is produced by the gentle dew of the Spirit of God. LESSONS:
1. How difficult to tell true repentance from false.
2. How wicked men are humbled by the power of God.
3. How promises of amendment are broken by the sinner.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Exo. 9:27-28. Gods discriminating vengeance considered makes the vilest sinners seek help.
The most cruel persecutors are sometimes obliged to call in the persecuted for their helpers.
Justification of God is wrested out of the mouths of His bitterest enemies.
Prayers from the righteous to God may be desired by the wicked in their difficulties.
The liberty of the Church will be granted when God oppresses the oppressor.
I have sinned:
1. A good confession.
2. A simple confession.
3. A faithful confession.
4. A welcome confession.
5. Sometimes an unreal confession.
The Lord is righteous:
1. Then admire His administration.
2. Then worship His glory.
3. Then fear His justice.
4. Then vindicate His operations.
5. Then make known His praise.
A wicked people and a wicked monarch:
1. Sad.
2. Afflicted.
3. Repentant.
Intreat the Lord:
1. For He hears prayer.
2. For He has respect to the good.
3. For wicked men need Divine help.
4. For He is merciful.
ILLUSTRATIONS
BY
REV. WM. ADAMSON
Retraction! Exo. 9:28. A great prince once had a sick son. He was the only childa Benonithe offspring of his fathers sorrow, for his beautiful queen had died in giving birth to his royal heir. When the physicians from all parts pronounced the childs recovery hopeless, the stricken father found refuge in a solemn vow, that if God spared the babes life, he would present a magnificent golden chalice adorned and filled with dazzling diamonds to the neighbouring church. Gradually day by day, the son gained strengthin spite of the medical testimony of hopelessness, and by the time the presentation-cup arrived from the goldsmith, there was no longer danger. But the gift was too costlywith its rare engraving and its glittering gems; so that the father had another of an inferior character made and presented. No doubt his vow was so far sincere at the outset; and probably that of Pharaoh was equally so: I will let you go. But the pressure over, the man died. As Matthew Henry says, there was a mighty struggle between Pharaohs convictions and corruptions. His convictions said; Let them go. His corruptions said: Not very far away. But he sided with his corruptions, and decided not to let Israel go.
Said I not sothat I would sin no more?
Witness my God I did;
Yet I am run again upon the score.
Herbert.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(27) Pharaoh sent.It is evident that the Pharaoh was more impressed by this plague than by any preceding one. This may have been partly because it caused destruction of human life, partly on account of its extraordinary and awful character. It must be borne in mind that the storm was still continuing, and gave no sign of coming to a natural end (Exo. 9:29; Exo. 9:33).
I have sinned this timei.e., This time I confess that I have sinned in resisting Jehovah; I do not any more maintain that I have acted right.
The Lord is righteous.Heb., Jehovah is the Just Onea form of speech implying that Jehovah, and He alone, was just.
Wicked.Heb., the sinners. I and my people stand in contrast with God and His people. Previously Pharaoh had denounced the Israelites as idlers and hypocrites (Exo. 5:8; Exo. 5:17); now he admits that it is only he and his people that are to blame. The confession is satisfactory, except in so far as it divides between Pharaoh and the Egyptians the blame which was almost wholly his.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
27. I have sinned this time Now I see and own my sin . For the first time Pharaoh confesses sin, and attests the righteousness of Jehovah, but it is simply a lip acknowledgment . He owns the weight of God’s hand rather than the righteousness of his commandments . Pain can reveal that law is violated, but it cannot convert, cannot make penitent, the heart that chooses to rebel.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
EXPOSITION
The plague of hail impressed the Pharaoh more than any previous one. It was the first which had inflicted death on men. It was a most striking and terrible manifestation. It was quite unlike anything which the Egyptians had ever experienced before (Exo 9:18, Exo 9:24). It was, by manifest miracle, made to fall on the Egyptians only (Exo 9:26). Pharaoh was therefore more humbled than ever previously. He acknowledged that he “had sinned” (Exo 9:27); he added a confession that “Jehovah [alone] was righteous, he and his people wicked” (ibid.). And, as twice before, he expressed his willingness to let the Israelites take their departure if the plague were removed (Exo 9:28). The ultimate results, however, were not any better than before. No sooner had Moses prayed to God, and procured the cessation of the plague, than the king repented of his repentance, “hardened his heart;” and, once more casting his promise to the winds, refused to permit the Israelites to depart (Exo 9:33-35). His people joined him in this act of obduracy (Exo 9:34), perhaps thinking that they had now suffered the worst that could befall them.
Exo 9:27
And Pharaoh sent. Compare Exo 8:8, and Exo 8:25-28. Pharaoh had been driven to entreat only twice before. I have sinned this time. The meaning is, “I acknowledge this time that I have sinned” (Kaliseh, Cook). “I do not any longer maintain that my conduct has been right.” The confession is made for the first time, and seems to have been extorted by the terrible nature of the plague, which, instead of passing off, like most storms, continued. The Lord is righteous, etc. Literally, “Jehovah is the Just One; and I and my people are the sinners.” The confession seems, at first sight, ample and satisfactory; but there is perhaps some shifting of sin, that was all his own, upon the Egyptian “people,” which indicates disingenuousness.
Exo 9:28
Mighty thunderings. Literally, as in the margin, “voices of God.” Thunder was regarded by many nations of antiquity as the actual voice of a god. In the Vedic theology, Indra spoke in thunder. The Egyptian view on the subject has not been ascertained.
Exo 9:29
As soon as I am gone out of the city. “The city” is probably Tanis (Zoan). We may gather from the expression of this verse, and again of Exo 9:33, that Moses and Aaron did not live in the city, but in the country with the other Israelites. When it was necessary for them to have an interview with the king, they sought the city: when their interview was over they quitted it. To obtain for Pharaoh a speedy accomplishment of his wish, Moses undertakes to pray for the removal of the plague as soon as he is outside the city walls. That thou mayest know that the earth is the Lord’s. The phrase used is ambiguous. It may mean either “that the earth is Jehovah’s,” or “that the land (of Egypt) is his.” On the whole, perhaps the former rendering is the best. The other plagues sufficiently showed that Egypt was Jehovah’s; this, which came from the open heaven that surrounds and embraces the whole world, indicated that the entire earth was his. (Comp. Psa 24:1 : “The earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof: the world, and they that dwell therein.”)
Exo 9:30
I know that ye will not yet fear the Lord. True fear of God is shown by obedience to his commands. Pharaoh and his servants had the sort of fear which devils have” they believed and trembled.” But they had not yet that real reverential fear which is joined with love, and has, as its fruit, obedience. So the event showed. (See Exo 9:34, Exo 9:35.)
Exo 9:31, Exo 9:32
These verses seem out of place, containing, as they do, an account of the damage done by the hail, and being thus exegetical of Exo 9:25. They are a sort of afterthought, inserted parenthetically, and prepare the way for the understanding of the next plague; since, if the damage done by the hail had extended to all the crops, there would have been nothing left for the locusts to devour.
Exo 9:31
The flax and the barley was smitten. Flax was largely cultivated by the Egyptians, who preferred linen garments to any other (Herod. 2:37), and allowed the priests to wear nothing but linen. Several kinds of flax are mentioned as grown in Egypt (Plin. H. N. 19.1); and the neighbourhood of Tanis is expressly said to have been one of the places where the flax was produced. The flax is boiled, i.e. blossoms towards the end of January or beginning of February, and the barley comes into ear about the same time, being commonly cut in March. Barley was employed largely as the food of horses, and was used also for the manufacture of beer, which was a common Egyptian beverage. A certain quantity was made by the poorer classes into bread.
Exo 9:32
The wheat and the rie were not smitten, for they were not grown up. In Egypt the wheat harvest is at least a month later than the barley harvest, coming in April, whereas the barley harvest is finished by the end of March. Rye was not grown in Egypt; and it is generally agreed that the Hebrew word here translated “rie” means the Holcus sorghum, or doora, which is the only grain besides wheat and barley represented on the Egyptian monuments. The doora is now raised commonly as an after-crop; but, if sown late in the autumn, it would ripen about the same time as the wheat.
Exo 9:33
The rain was not poured upon the earth. Rain had not been previously mentioned, as it was no part of the plague, that is, it caused no damage. But Moses, recording the cessation as an eye-witness, recollects that rain was mingled with the hail, and that, at his prayer, the thunder, the hail, and the rain all ceased. The touch is one which no later writer would have introduced.
Exo 9:34
He sinned yet more, and hardened his heart. Altogether there are three different Hebrew verbs, which our translators have rendered by “harden,” or “hardened”kabad, qashah, and khazaq. The first of these, which occurs in Exo 7:14; Exo 8:15, Exo 8:32; Exo 9:7 and Exo 9:34, is the weakest of the three, and means to be “dull” or “heavy,” rather than “to be hard.” The second, which appears in Exo 7:3, and Exo 13:15, is a stronger term, and means “to be hard,” or, in the Hiphil, “to make hard.” But the third has the most intensive sense, implying fixed and stubborn resolution. It occurs in Exo 4:21; Exo 7:22; Exo 8:19; Exo 9:35; and elsewhere. He and his servants. Pharaoh’s “servants,” i.e. the officers of his court, still, it would seem, upheld the king in his impious and mad course, either out of complaisance, or because they were really not yet convinced of the resistless might of Jehovah. After the eighth plague, we shall find their tone change (Exo 10:7).
Exo 9:35
As the Lord had spoken by Moses. Compare Exo 3:19; Exo 4:21; and Exo 7:3, Exo 7:4
HOMILETICS
Exo 9:27-30
The mock repentance of a half-awakened sinner counterfeits the true, but has features by which it may be known.
It is not always easy to distinguish between a true and a mock repentance. Here was the Pharaoh at this time very visiblyit might have seemed deeplyimpressed. He was disquietedhe was alarmedhe was ready to humble himselfto make confessionto promise obedience in the future. In what did his repentance differ from true, godly penitence? What points did it possess in common with such penitence? What points did it lack?
I. IT POSSESSED THE FEATURE OF SELF–HUMILIATION. “I have sinned this timeI and my people are wicked.” Confession of sin is a very important point in true penitence. There can be no true penitence without it. “I said, I will Confess my sin unto the Lord, and so thou forgavest the wickedness of my sin” (Psa 32:5). But it may be made, under a sort of compulsion, as a necessity, without the rightful feeling of contrition, or sorrow for sin, out of which it should spring, and apart from which it is valueless. We may doubt whether Pharaoh’s confession sprang from a true, contrite heart. There was a ring of insincerity in it. “I, and my people,” he said, “are wicked.” True penitence leads us to confess our own sins, not those of others. There was no occasion for introducing the mention of his people’s sins, and, as it were, merging his own in theirs. The people had not been appealed to, in order that they might say whether the Israelites should be allowed to depart or not. They had no doubt many sins of their own to answer for; but they had had no part in this particular sin. There is a covert self-justification in the introduction of the words “and my people,” as if the national sentiment had been too strong for him, and he had only “refused to let Israel go” in consequence of it.
II. IT POSSESSED THE FEATURE OF VINDICATING GOD‘S HONOUR. “The Lord is righteous,” or “Jehovah is the righteous one,” was such a full and frank acknowledgment of the perfect justice and righteousness of God as the heart of man does not very readily make, unless in moments of exaltation. We need not suppose that the monarch was insincere in his utterance. He was temporarily lifted up out of himselfso impressed with the power and greatness of Jehovah, that he had for the time true thoughts and high thoughts concerning him. He had doubtless a very insufficient feeling or appreciation of the awful purity and holiness of God; but he did feel his justice. He knew in his inmost heart that he had deserved the judgments sent upon him, and meant to acknowledge this. He was willing that God should be “justified in his sayings, and overcome when He was judged” (Rom 3:4). He may not have had an adequate sense of the full meaning of his own words, but he had some sense of their meaning, and did not merely repeat, parrot-like, phrases from a ritual.
III. IT POSSESSED THE FEATURES OF SELF–DISTRUST AND OF APPEAL TO THE MINISTERS OF GOD FOR AID. Pharaoh “sent and called for Moses and Aaron.” Not very long before, he had dismissed them from his presence as impertinent intruders, with the words, “Get you to your burdens” (Exo 5:4). Now he appeals to them for succour. He asks their prayers”Intreat for me.” Such appeals are constantly made, both by the true and by the mock penitent. Reliance on self disappears. God’s ministers take their due place as ambassadors for him and stewards of his mysteries. They are asked to intercede for the sinner, to frame a prayer for him, and offer it on his behalf. All this is fitting under the circumstances; for lips long unaccustomed to prayer cannot at once offer it acceptably, and intercessory prayer is especially valuable at the time when the half-awakened soul feels a yearning towards God, to which, if unassisted, it is unable to give effect.
IV. IT POSSESSED THE FEATURE OF MAKING PROMISE OF AMENDMENT. “I will let you go.” Let but his prayer be granted, let but the plague be removed, and the king promises that all his opposition to the will of Jehovah shall ceasethe children of Israel shall be “let go,” they shall not be detained any longer. Amendment of life is the crown and apex of repentance, and is rightly first resolved upon, then professed, finally practised by the true penitent. But profession alone is no criterion of the nature of the repentance. The sole certain criterion is the result. If the resolutions made are kept, if the profession is carried out in act, then the repentance is proved to have been genuine; if the reverse is the case, then it was spurious. The event, however, can alone show how the case stands. Meanwhile, as we must “judge nothing before the time,” it would seem to be best that in every case a professed repentance should be treated as real when it is put forward, whatever suspicions may be entertained respecting it. No harm is done by treating a mock penitent as if he were a real one. Great harm might be done by a mistaken rejection of a true penitent.
V. IT LACKED, HOWEVER, THE FEATURE OF INTENSE HATRED OF SIN. The sinner who truly repents desires above all things the pardon and removal of his sin. He cares little, comparatively, for the removal of its chastisement. Sin, which separates him from God, is the great object of his abhorrence; and when he asks the prayers of ministers or other pious persons, he requests them to intercede for him, that he may find pardon and cleansing, may have his past sins forgiven, and strength granted him to forsake sin in the future. When Pharaoh, instead of such a prayer as this, asked for nothing but the removal of the temporal evil which had been sent upon him as a punishment, it was easy for one experienced in the words of man to see that his was not a real, genuine repentance. And this Moses seems to have perceived. “As for thee and thy servants,” he said to the king, “I know that ye will not yet fear the Lord God.” I know that the fear which now fills your hearts is not the true fear of Godnot a dread of his displeasure, but of the pains and sufferings that he can inflict. I know that what you seek is not reconcilement with God, but exemption from calamity. You are driven upon your course by alarm and terror, not drawn by love. I know that when the affliction is removed you will relapse into your former condition. Some more terrible judgment will be needed to make you really yield. Note, then, that the minister, if he possesses spiritual discernment, may generally detect an unreal repentance, and, however closely it apes the true, may escape being deceived by it.
HOMILIES BY J. URQUHART
Exo 9:22-35
I. THE TERRORS OF GOD‘S MIGHT. In that awful war of elements any moment might have been his last, and Pharaoh trembled. This plague evoked from him the first confession of sin. Hitherto he had reluctantly granted the request of Moses: now he casts himself as a sinner (27, 28) on God’s mercy, and entreats the prayers of God’s servant for himself and his people. There is a point at which the stoutest heart will be broken, and the cry be wrung from the lips, “I have sinned.” “Can thine heart endure,” etc. (Eze 22:14).
III. THE VALUELESSNESS OF REPENTANCE BORN ONLY OF TERROR. God might thus bow all men under him, but the conquest would be worth nothing: men’s hearts would not be won. When the terror is gone, Pharaoh’s confession fails (30, 34, 35), for it has no root in any true knowledge of himself. He sees the darkness of God’s frown, not the vileness of his transgressions. God is met with, not in the tempest and the fire, but in the still small voice which speaks within the breast. Many pass through gates of terror to hear this; but till God’s voice is heard there, speaking of sin and righteousness and judgment, there is no true return of the soul to him.
III. THE FULNESS OF GOD‘S MERCY. God knows the worthlessness of the confession, yet he is entreated for Pharaoh and the Egyptians. God’s pity rests where men will have none upon themselves. Though they believe not, he cannot deny himself.U.
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
Reader! depend upon it, such will be the language of the ungodly in the day of final retribution. The very souls which are condemned will be obliged from their own mouths to confess God’s righteousness in their condemnation.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Exo 9:27 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.
Ver. 27. The Lord is righteous. ] See Trapp on “ Exo 5:2 “
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
sinned. Hebrew. chat’a. See App-44.
righteous = the righteous One.
wicked = wicked ones. Hebrew. rash`a. See App-44.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
I have: Exo 10:16, Num 22:34, 1Sa 15:24, 1Sa 15:30, 1Sa 26:21, Mat 27:4
the Lord: 2Ch 12:6, Psa 9:16, Psa 129:4, Psa 145:17, Lam 1:18, Dan 9:14, Rom 2:5, Rom 3:19
Reciprocal: Exo 8:25 – General Num 21:7 – We have 1Sa 24:17 – Thou art Pro 14:19 – General
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Exo 9:27. Pharaoh said, I have sinned; the Lord is righteous These, professions were only produced by his fears: his heart was still untouched with any true veneration for, or humiliation before, the God of Israel, or with compunction and sorrow for his own obstinacy.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
9:27 And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I {g} have sinned this time: the LORD [is] righteous, and I and my people [are] wicked.
(g) The wicked confess their sins to their condemnation, but they cannot believe to obtain remission.