Hail is well-known to people as one of the substances that from time to time falls from the sky. What makes this downpour of hail different and surprising is the unheard-of size of the stones. That difference makes people speak of an act of God, implicitly acknowledging that this once-off phenomenon is more than a freak of nature. But instead of repenting of their rejection of the gospel (Revelation 14:6) and being sorry for celebrating their self-sufficiency and independence from almighty God, people hunker down in their rebellion and “curse God” for the plague. To say it differently, instead of acknowledging that the “god of this age” (John 12:31), Satan, has no future, people simply blaspheme God when he shows them the foolhardiness of their unbelief.
21 And great hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, fell from heaven on people; and they cursed God for the plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe.