God demonstrated His mighty power by ravaging Egyptian livestock with hail and lightning to ensure that His people would never forget His sovereignty.
As the psalmist recounts the story of God’s mighty works, he proclaims, “He gave over their cattle also to the hailstones And their herds to bolts of lightning.” (Psalm 78:48). This passage reflects a moment from the plagues on Egypt, when the Almighty judged the Egyptians’ livestock to show His sovereignty and to persuade Pharaoh to release the Israelites from bondage (Exodus 9:22-26). In the timeline of biblical history, Moses—who likely lived in either the 15th or 13th century BC—delivered God’s message to Pharaoh prior to these calamities. Geographically, Egypt lay to the southwest of the Promised Land, in the northeastern part of Africa. Elsewhere, Scripture connects the Egyptian people to Mizraim, a son of Ham, which explains references to the nation being in the “tents of Ham” (Psalm 78:51).
By describing how the Lord “gave over” the cattle, the verse underscores His absolute power. The Egyptians, who worshiped numerous deities, learned that the God of Israel could control nature’s forces—in this instance, pounding hail and fiery lightning. The devastation to their herds demonstrated that Israel’s God was not merely a tribal deity, but the one true God with authority over creation (Psalm 24:1). For the Israelites, the memory of these plagues became a reminder that their rescue from Egypt was accomplished by God alone, a truth they were to pass on to future generations, lest they repeat the mistake of forgetting the Lord’s deeds and wandering into disobedience.
God’s deliverance of His people through signs and wonders foreshadows the New Testament narrative of Jesus Christ, where divine power was again revealed to redeem humanity from sin (Romans 5:8). In both accounts, the Creator brings judgment on evil and frees the oppressed, reminding believers to trust His perfect will, no matter how formidable the obstacle.
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Psalms 78:48 meaning
As the psalmist recounts the story of God’s mighty works, he proclaims, “He gave over their cattle also to the hailstones And their herds to bolts of lightning.” (Psalm 78:48). This passage reflects a moment from the plagues on Egypt, when the Almighty judged the Egyptians’ livestock to show His sovereignty and to persuade Pharaoh to release the Israelites from bondage (Exodus 9:22-26). In the timeline of biblical history, Moses—who likely lived in either the 15th or 13th century BC—delivered God’s message to Pharaoh prior to these calamities. Geographically, Egypt lay to the southwest of the Promised Land, in the northeastern part of Africa. Elsewhere, Scripture connects the Egyptian people to Mizraim, a son of Ham, which explains references to the nation being in the “tents of Ham” (Psalm 78:51).
By describing how the Lord “gave over” the cattle, the verse underscores His absolute power. The Egyptians, who worshiped numerous deities, learned that the God of Israel could control nature’s forces—in this instance, pounding hail and fiery lightning. The devastation to their herds demonstrated that Israel’s God was not merely a tribal deity, but the one true God with authority over creation (Psalm 24:1). For the Israelites, the memory of these plagues became a reminder that their rescue from Egypt was accomplished by God alone, a truth they were to pass on to future generations, lest they repeat the mistake of forgetting the Lord’s deeds and wandering into disobedience.
God’s deliverance of His people through signs and wonders foreshadows the New Testament narrative of Jesus Christ, where divine power was again revealed to redeem humanity from sin (Romans 5:8). In both accounts, the Creator brings judgment on evil and frees the oppressed, reminding believers to trust His perfect will, no matter how formidable the obstacle.