The cattle plague, the fifth in Egypt, results in loss of income. Without healthy animals there is no work.

The trouble for Pharaoh was that God made a distinction between the animals of the Israelites and those of the Egyptians. In Exodus 9:7 we read: “Pharaoh sent, and behold, not one of the livestock of Israel was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.”

The Egyptians regarded cattle as sacred, even as incarnations of deities. The deity Hathor, a mother deity, resembled a cow. No wonder it would have been an abomination to them if the Israelites had sacrificed in the land.

Despite the clarity of the message, the pharaoh locked his heart. No matter how clearly God speaks, if man does not want to hear, he shuts himself off to God.

Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. Psalm 95:7-8