In Exodus 7, we begin to see God orchestrating the plagues on Egypt. Pharaoh has refused to obey Yahweh's commands to release the Hebrews. But, as we examine the plagues, it’s important to keep in mind that the plagues will not convince Pharaoh to release the people of Israel. God is clear about that in Exodus 7.

So the purpose of the plagues is not persuasion, it’s revelation. Pharaoh is not going to listen, but he is going to see. He's going to understand what it means that Yahweh is Yahweh. That is the purpose of the plagues, and, like we saw a couple weeks ago, that purpose statement gets repeated over and over again in these chapters. All of this, Yahweh says, is so that they may know I am Yahweh.