Exodus 9:29-32

And Moses said unto him, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands unto the Lord; and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that thou mayest know how that the earth is the Lord’s. But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will not yet fear the Lord God. And the flax and the barley was smitten: for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled. But the wheat and the rie were not smitten: for they were not grown up.

Moses tells Pharaoh that the storm will stop, but he also speaks with clear discernment. “I know that ye will not yet fear the Lord God.” That is a penetrating word. Pharaoh had spoken confession. Pharaoh had sounded shaken. Pharaoh had even promised release. But Moses knew the deeper issue had not yet been dealt with. The storm had rattled him, but it had not yet brought him to the fear of the Lord.

That is an important distinction. A man can fear consequences without fearing God. He can be troubled by hail, thunder, loss, and pressure, yet still not bow in true reverence before the Lord. He can want the storm gone while still resisting the God who sent it. Moses saw that plainly.

Then we are told something very interesting about the crops. The flax and the barley were destroyed because they were already up and exposed. But the wheat and the rye were not yet grown, and so they were spared. That detail is more than agricultural information. It shows us that even in judgment, mercy was still present. God did not wipe out everything. He left room for provision later. He left something standing for days to come.

That is often how the Lord works. His judgments are real, and they are severe when they fall, but even then He remembers mercy. He does not always allow total ruin. He leaves reminders of His patience. He leaves evidence that He is not acting with reckless fury, but with measured purpose. Even while confronting sin, He is still showing that He is compassionate.

There is comfort in that. Sometimes a man looks at what has been lost, what has been struck down, what has been shattered under the hand of God, and he is tempted to think everything is gone. But often that is not the case. There is still wheat not yet grown. There is still something the Lord has preserved. There is still mercy hiding in the field for days ahead.

That does not make judgment light. Egypt still suffered greatly. The flax and the barley were gone. The damage was real. But mercy was mixed into the judgment. The Lord left a witness to His restraint.

And that is worth remembering personally. Sometimes the Lord allows painful things to strike areas of our lives. Things we counted on are smitten. Things we thought would surely remain are laid low. Yet even then, if we look carefully, we often find that He has not dealt with us according to the full measure our sin deserved. He has left mercies standing. He has preserved what could have been taken entirely away.

So this passage carries both solemnity and hope. Moses knows Pharaoh does not yet fear the Lord, and that is the tragedy. But the untouched wheat and rye remind us that God is still merciful even while He judges. He wounds, but not without purpose. He strikes, but not without restraint. And many times, hidden behind what was lost, there is still a mercy waiting to grow.