Scripture Text
Exodus 9:8-12 -- "And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Take handfuls of soot from the kiln, and let Moses throw them in the air in the sight of Pharaoh. It shall become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and become boils breaking out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt." So they took soot from the kiln and stood before Pharaoh. And Moses threw it in the air, and it became boils breaking out in sores on man and beast. And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were 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."
The sixth plague marks the theological threshold where human bodies are afflicted, Egyptian magicians are completely defeated, and divine judicial hardening begins—demonstrating that persistent resistance to God leads to irreversible consequences.
KEY SCRIPTURE PASSAGES
- Exodus 9:8-12 — The plague of boils: soot from furnaces becomes affliction on human bodies
- Exodus 7:11-12 — Magicians imitate Moses’ signs through their secret arts
- Exodus 8:18-19 — Magicians admit defeat: “This is the finger of God”
- Romans 1:18-28 — Pattern of suppressing truth leading to God “giving them up” (judicial hardening)
MAIN SECTIONS/POINTS TABLE
| Section | Focus | Key Insight |
|---|---|---|
| The Strange Ritual | Soot from furnaces (vv. 8-10) | Tools of oppression become weapons of judgment; Egyptian blessing ritual inverted to curse |
| The Magicians’ Defeat | Unable to stand before Moses (v. 11) | Progression: imitation → admission → affliction; occult power reaches its boundary |
| The Hardening Threshold | “The LORD hardened” (v. 12) | First time God actively hardens; transition from self-imposed to judicially sealed hardening |
MAIN TOPICS
- Physical Escalation — First time human bodies directly targeted; judgment becomes intimate and inescapable
- Spiritual Warfare — Egyptian magicians progress from competing to admitting defeat to being personally afflicted
- Occult Power Boundary — All spiritual authority operates within limits God establishes; demons are subordinate to divine sovereignty
- Divine Hardening — God judicially ratifies Pharaoh’s self-imposed hardening after persistent rebellion through first five plagues
- Human Responsibility — Pharaoh initiated hardening through his own choices; God’s hardening doesn’t eliminate culpability
- Point of No Return — Repeated resistance leads to threshold where restoration becomes impossible; decisions become habits, habits become character, character becomes destiny
KEY APPLICATIONS
- Recognize the escalation — Boils target bodies, not just property; judgment becomes personal and inescapable
- Understand spiritual warfare — Occult power is real but strictly limited by God’s sovereignty; no need to fear beyond what He permits
- Trace divine hardening pattern — Pharaoh hardened himself (plagues 1-5), then God hardened judicially (plague 6+)
- Grasp sovereignty and responsibility — Both are true: God is sovereign, humans are accountable; willful hardness punished with judicial hardness
- Respond while it’s “today” — Don’t presume on grace; persistent resistance can lead to threshold beyond which heart becomes sealed
STUDY SUMMARY
Exodus 9:8-12 records the sixth plague where God instructs Moses to scatter soot from furnaces—instruments of Israel’s oppression—into the air, which becomes boils afflicting all humans and animals throughout Egypt. This plague marks three decisive thresholds. First, physical escalation: for the first time, human bodies are directly targeted, making judgment intimate and inescapable. Second, spiritual defeat: the Egyptian magicians, who previously imitated signs (Exodus 7) then admitted defeat (Exodus 8), are now personally afflicted and “could not stand before Moses”—both physically (too painful) and spiritually (credibility collapsed). Their ritual impurity from skin disease denied them access to their gods, completing their humiliation. Third, judicial hardening: verse 12 marks the first time the text says “the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart.” After Pharaoh hardened his own heart through the first five plagues, God begins active judicial hardening. This pattern demonstrates that willful hardness is punished with judicial hardness—God ratifies persistent rebellion and uses it to accomplish His purposes. Divine sovereignty and human responsibility operate simultaneously: Pharaoh chose rebellion repeatedly; God judicially sealed him in it. The passage warns of a “point of no return” where decisions become habits, habits become character, and character becomes destiny. This is part 2 of a 3-week series on Exodus 9.
“But the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not listen to them, as the LORD had spoken to Moses.” – Exodus 9:12