22-23 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand towards heaven, so that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, on man and beast and every plant of the field, in the land of Egypt.” Then Moses stretched out his staff towards heaven, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. And the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt. 24 There was hail and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail, very heavy hail, such as had never been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. 25-26 The hail struck down everything that was in the field in all the land of Egypt, both man and beast. And the hail struck down every plant of the field and broke every tree of the field. Only in the land of Goshen, where the people of Israel were, was there no hail.

27-28 Then Pharaoh sent and called Moses and Aaron and said to them, “This time I have sinned; the Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. Plead with the Lord, for there has been enough of God's thunder and hail. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.” 29-30 Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will stretch out my hands to the Lord. The thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know that the earth is the Lord's. But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the Lord God.”

31-33 (The flax and the barley were struck down, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud. But the wheat and the emmer were not struck down, for they are late in coming up.) So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and stretched out his hands to the Lord, and the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain no longer poured upon the earth. 34-35 But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet again and hardened his heart, he and his servants. So the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people of Israel go, just as the Lord had spoken through Moses. Exodus 9:22-35 English Standard Version

Today's verse describe the seventh plague which God sent upon the land of Egypt because of the refusal of Pharaoh and the Egyptians to allow the Israelites to leave. Some say that the plagues were events which can be explained through natural causes. But what does vs 24 say concerning the hail storm that struck Egypt when Moses stretched out his hand?

This was no 'natural' hailstorm. It was something that had never been seen in the land before. Not only was it the most severe storm they’d ever seen, it was also limited to the land occupied by the Egyptians. The region of Goshen, where the Israelites were, was untouched. Verse 27 tells us that even Pharaoh could see the hand of God in what was taking place. But what was the predictable, yet still sad, outcome? (vs 34-35)

In the New Testament book of Hebrews we read of a similar situation concerning a man named Esau. Esau cared nothing about spiritual matters and gladly traded his inheritance rights as the oldest son in the family for a meal to satisfy his hunger pangs. And the writer of that book says: “Afterward, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done.” Hebrews12:16-17

There’s a difference between self centred remorse, and true repentance. Remorse speaks of the sorrow we feel, and regrets we have, over ungodly choices we made. It can be part of the repentance process. But true repentance is when we realise that it’s God who we've been rejecting, and it’s God's ways that we have been refusing to follow. We realise that we’ve sinned against the One who is holy and good, and it will lead to turning from doing what displeases Him, and humbling ourselves to seek His mercy.

That's not what Pharaoh did. We read those words: “he sinned yet again and hardened his heart, so the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people of Israel go.” We can't tell where Pharaoh hardening his own heart, and God hardening it still more, begins and ends. But, as with Esau, mere remorse could not change anything. Oh may God ever give us hearts that tremble at His word, and lead us to ongoing humility, and heartfelt repentance.