Exodus 10: 1 – 29
I can’t see you
10 Now the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his servants, that I may show these signs of Mine before him, 2 and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and your son’s son the mighty things I have done in Egypt, and My signs which I have done among them, that you may know that I am the LORD.” 3 So Moses and Aaron came in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the LORD God of the Hebrews: ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, that they may serve Me. 4 Or else, if you refuse to let My people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory. 5 And they shall cover the face of the earth, so that no one will be able to see the earth; and they shall eat the residue of what is left, which remains to you from the hail, and they shall eat every tree which grows up for you out of the field. 6 They shall fill your houses, the houses of all your servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians—which neither your fathers nor your fathers’ fathers have seen, since the day that they were on the earth to this day.’” And he turned and went out from Pharaoh. 7 Then Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God. Do you not yet know that Egypt is destroyed?” 8 So Moses and Aaron were brought again to Pharaoh, and he said to them, “Go, serve the LORD your God. Who are the ones that are going?” 9 And Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old; with our sons and our daughters, with our flocks and our herds we will go, for we must hold a feast to the LORD.” 10 Then he said to them, “The LORD had better be with you when I let you and your little ones go! Beware, for evil is ahead of you. 11 Not so! Go now, you who are men, and serve the LORD, for that is what you desired.” And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence. 12 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land—all that the hail has left.” 13 So Moses stretched out his rod over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind on the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. 14 And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt and rested on all the territory of Egypt. They were very severe; previously there had been no such locusts as they, nor shall there be such after them. 15 For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they ate every herb of the land and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left. So there remained nothing green on the trees or on the plants of the field throughout all the land of Egypt. 16 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste, and said, “I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you. 17 Now therefore, please forgive my sin only this once, and entreat the LORD your God, that He may take away from me this death only.” 18 So he went out from Pharaoh and entreated the LORD. 19 And the LORD turned a very strong west wind, which took the locusts away and blew them into the Red Sea. There remained not one locust in all the territory of Egypt. 20 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go. 21 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness which may even be felt.” 22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. 23 They did not see one another; nor did anyone rise from his place for three days. But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings. 24 Then Pharaoh called to Moses and said, “Go, serve the LORD; only let your flocks and your herds be kept back. Let your little ones also go with you.” 25 But Moses said, “You must also give us sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God. 26 Our livestock also shall go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind. For we must take some of them to serve the LORD our God, and even we do not know with what we must serve the LORD until we arrive there.” 27 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. 28 Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me! Take heed to yourself and see my face no more! For in the day you see my face you shall die!” 29 So Moses said, “You have spoken well. I will never see your face again.”
Maybe you have seen this commercial. The scene is a back yard wedding with all the fancy set up. The camera focuses at the couple and their wedding party with the Pastor in the center. The minister says, ‘If anyone has anything aught of this couple, let him or her speak now.’ Then, all of a sudden a terrific storm hits and destroys the whole set up. All the guests and wedding party run into the house. Now inside the Pastor speaks and comments, ‘Okay, let us try this again. If anyone has anything this couple being wed let him or her speak now.’ The house immediately loses all power and lighting with everyone left in the dark. All of a sudden a couple of flashlights come on and the commercial ends with the saying, ‘Thank God for Eveready batteries.’
In the book of Revelation we read in chapter 16 verses 10- 11, “10 Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain. 11 They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.
Not half-light, not dimness, no flashlights, no candle lights, and not relative dark: total, pitch darkness. Darkness so dark you can't see your hand in front of your face, or even be sure whether your eyes are open or closed. Each individual confronts mind-bending isolation that plays tricks on their senses and produces disorienting hallucinations. Fumbling and crawling, never sure which next step might break their necks or worse. Eventually they give up even moving.
How does all this sound to you? It is not something I ever want to experience nor see others go through. Yet in today’s study we are going to see this same very thing happen to the Egyptian people. It is a pre run of what will again happen to all people on the earth who have rejected the loving forgiveness of our Great and Mighty Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
We note in this passage a distinct change of tone. No longer does Yahweh commence with the opening, ‘let My people go’. Instead He says ‘I have made strong (hardened) his heart and the heart of his officials in order to show my signs among them’. The end was near and He no longer looked for Pharaoh’s honest response. Yet He had also begun in the same way in 7.14, although there it was because Pharaoh had made strong (‘hardened’) his own heart. While Yahweh will still allow Moses and Aaron to make the call He recognizes that the time for agreement is really past. Pharaoh has broken his word too often.
10 Now the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his servants, that I may show these signs of Mine before him, 2 and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and your son’s son the mighty things I have done in Egypt, and My signs which I have done among them, that you may know that I am the LORD.”
The ‘I’ is emphatic. The end is approaching and Yahweh is making things work according to His plan.
The wonders wrought in Egypt had a number of purposes. They were not only intended to convince the Egyptians to finally send the children of Israel away, but also to strengthen the latter’s faith for the future and give an understanding that Yahweh is the One Who is there to act.
Our Holy Lord’s wonders were ‘signs’. They were intended to convince and give understanding. From them the Egyptians should have come to faith in our Holy God Yahweh. And for a time some did, as proof of this we learn of their obedience to God’s warning as they took their cattle inside to shelter from the hail (9.20). But once the worst was over they soon forgot and convinced themselves that maybe their gods had won after all. From them to the children of Israel yet to come were to know the significance of the name of Yahweh.
We probably do not sufficiently appreciate the subservience of a nation that has been enslaved for a long time. They had lost their spirit and had little resistance. When Moses had arrived they had seen the signs that Yahweh had given him and their hearts had been uplifted. But as soon as Pharaoh proved obstinate they had been like sheep and their resistance had collapsed and all they had been able to do was blame Moses. Indeed part of the purpose of the plagues was probably in order to stiffen their confidence in what Yahweh could do, and to teach them to rise above their problems, so that when they found themselves in the wilderness they would have some courage which would come from their confidence in Yahweh. And as we know that constantly failed, so much so that when eventually they arrived at the borders of the land their courage collapsed altogether and they failed to make their entry.
3 So Moses and Aaron came in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the LORD God of the Hebrews: ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, that they may serve Me.
Please note that our Holy Father God Yahweh no longer tells Moses and Aaron to do this. But they still make the same request that they may be allowed to worship Yahweh in the wilderness. The diplomatic show has to go on. However, the battle has produced in Pharaoh a total feeling of defiance. To yield now would be to admit Yahweh’s superiority over himself and the gods of Egypt. And that is indeed what Yahweh now demands. ‘You refuse to humble yourselves before me’. The Egyptians may not learn the lesson but the children of Israel would never forget it. It would be with them in their memories and in their Psalms forever. They knew now that their God was Supreme over all.
4 Or else, if you refuse to let My people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory. 5 And they shall cover the face of the earth, so that no one will be able to see the earth; and they shall eat the residue of what is left, which remains to you from the hail, and they shall eat every tree which grows up for you out of the field. 6 They shall fill your houses, the houses of all your servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians—which neither your fathers nor your fathers’ fathers have seen, since the day that they were on the earth to this day.’” And he turned and went out from Pharaoh. 7 Then Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God. Do you not yet know that Egypt is destroyed?”
The next promise is the coming of a vast cloud of locusts. Locusts were brought on the wind and were not common in Egypt, but they had had enough experience of them to be afraid of its happening. (10.7).
The female lays its eggs just below the surface of the soil where they may stay for many months until moisture allows them to hatch. Once the eggs hatch the locust has the general shape of an adult locust but is without wings which it takes five to six months to acquire. They are wholly vegetarian and in large numbers cause massive devastation, eating everything in the fields and stripping the trees bare. The weather conditions elsewhere, which we know to have been a reality because of the excessive inundation of the Nile, would cause them to breed in vast numbers, awaiting the wind which would carry them into Egypt. And when they came in large numbers they would appear like a vast cloud, darkening the sky, and wherever they settled they would denude the vegetation, and then attack the trees. No vegetation would be safe. All would be denuded or eaten.
No one would escape. Pharaoh, his high officials and his people would find their houses filled with them. They would be inundated. They would be in such vast numbers that locusts would be everywhere. Experience would demonstrate that, even when they tried to eat, a locust would be on their food, there to eat it before them. The suggestion may be, although it is not stated, that the children of Israel will not be included, for their houses are not mentioned.
Previously it has simply been ‘went out from Pharaoh’. Now Moses has been emboldened and is aware of his power. He wants Pharaoh to realize that he is in control. ‘He turned’. This time he does not pay Pharaoh the respect that Pharaoh usually demands and his subjects usually give. He openly and irreverently turns on his heel and stalks out. This is not the way Pharaoh is used to being treated. But Pharaoh is afraid of him. He has seen what he can do. So he lets him go. What supreme courage Moses had, for in the end he bore his burden alone, before that mighty array of powerful Egyptian aristocrats and priests. And no one knew more than he did what they had the power to do. Aaron no doubt discreetly followed him.
But the mighty array was more afraid of Moses than he was of them. They advised that Pharaoh give in. This was not direct criticism of Pharaoh. That was something that they would not have dared to attempt. No doubt Pharaoh called a meeting to discuss the situation and to seek advice, and so they gave it. His advisers came up with a compromise solution. Let Pharaoh agree to let the men go to serve Yahweh their God. But there is no doubt that they were uneasy for they asked Pharaoh, safe in his palace, whether he was really aware of the devastations that had struck Egypt. Did he realise what the situation now was? Egypt had been almost destroyed. They had still had the wheat and spelt, but now this plague of locusts could signal the end. Their last and final crops could be devastated.
8 So Moses and Aaron were brought again to Pharaoh, and he said to them, “Go, serve the LORD your God. Who are the ones that are going?”
So Moses and Aaron were recalled in accordance with the counselors’ advice. They were told that they could go and serve Yahweh, but first he wanted to determine as to who exactly would go.
9 And Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old; with our sons and our daughters, with our flocks and our herds we will go, for we must hold a feast to the LORD.”
Moses reply was not unreasonable. It was to be a wholehearted worship of Yahweh and everyone must be involved, both young and old. It would be a time of sacrifices and offerings and a time of feasting and gladness before Yahweh, thus they would also need their flocks and herds with them in order to provide the wherewithal.
10 Then he said to them, “The LORD had better be with you when I let you and your little ones go! Beware, for evil is ahead of you. 11 Not so! Go now, you who are men, and serve the LORD, for that is what you desired.” And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.
Pharaoh refused to consider their suggestion and put forward the worked out compromise. The adult men could go to serve Yahweh in the wilderness but only them. He was now deeply suspicious that they had some evil purpose and he wanted hostages. Perhaps, he thought, there were plans to meet up with some enemy so as to attack.
We see here a dig or insult issued by Pharaoh, ‘may Yahweh so be with you.’ It is an ironical comment. Did they really think that he would let Yahweh go with them like that? If he let them all go he would be giving Yahweh sole charge and renouncing his own authority, an unlikely scenario.
Now having spoken his last word they were driven from his presence. Pharaoh was not going to allow Moses to humiliate him again by turning round and once more walking out. So they were hustled out by soldiers. But Pharaoh was careful. He was still wary of what Moses could do. Things were definitely tense.
A question then to ask ourselves is as to why then did Pharaoh not have Moses immediately killed or arrested? The answer would seem to lie in superstitious dread. He knew that this being, whatever he was, had done such amazing things that who knew what might happen if he were physically attacked? It was something he dared not risk. And such would be the awe in which Moses was held that it is doubtful if Pharaoh could have found anyone to take on the job. Moses had truly become as a god to Pharaoh.
12 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land—all that the hail has left.” 13 So Moses stretched out his rod over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind on the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. 14 And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt and rested on all the territory of Egypt. They were very severe; previously there had been no such locusts as they, nor shall there be such after them. 15 For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they ate every herb of the land and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left. So there remained nothing green on the trees or on the plants of the field throughout all the land of Egypt.
Again it was the hand of Moses as he stretched out his staff that was seen to produce the plague. The result was a continual east wind that gradually, unknown at first to the Egyptians who did not know of the threat to the south of them, brought the huge numbers of locusts down to Egypt overnight. Locusts required a wind if they were to travel far. And their numbers were so vast, more than ever known before, that it would need a continual wind, and when they came the whole of Egypt was affected. As they came in like a great cloud in the sky, the sun was hidden, the land was darkened, everything was covered with them and they began to eat all the greenery that remained after the hail.
People who have seen clouds of locust in modern days have described how they look like a huge, black, threatening storm cloud in the distance until at last they come closer and it is apparent that the cloud consists of locusts. And then they arrive and the whole land is covered with them. But this was exceptional even compared with that. There were untold numbers of them.
All the vegetation and trees that remained were devoured and this probably included the now growing wheat and spelt. The economy of Egypt which had been devastated was now being totally ruined.
‘They covered the whole earth so that the land was darkened.’ The word used here is ‘ayin’ which usually means ‘eye’. It is therefore probable that this refers to the sun as ‘the eye of Re’. It was that that was hidden by the vast numbers of the locusts, darkening the land. Re had to stand by and do nothing. What a sight that would have been. The whole of the land darkened by one mass of locusts wherever the eye looked
16 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste, and said, “I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you. 17 Now therefore, please forgive my sin only this once, and entreat the LORD your God, that He may take away from me this death only.”
The final devastation, made even more apparent by the presence of locusts in the palace and the darkening of the sun, brought Pharaoh temporarily to his senses. Moses and Aaron had asked how long it would be before he humbled himself (10.3). Now he did humble himself and admit his guilt before Yahweh and before Moses. But it was only to be temporary as such conversions often are. No mention is made of the release of the children of Israel to serve Yahweh in the wilderness at this point, but it is assumed in the admission of guilt. For this was the reason for his guilt, that he had not let them go to serve Yahweh.
Look again at the statement from Pharaoh,‘ Take away from me this death only.’ This could refer to the death that would result from the famine which would result from the activity of the locusts, or it may refer to the darkening of the sun seen as the temporary death of Re. Pharaoh, as the living god Horus, and prospective Osiris, was vitally connected with the sun god Re. Re’s death would be his death.
18 So he went out from Pharaoh and entreated the LORD. 19 And the LORD turned a very strong west wind, which took the locusts away and blew them into the Red Sea. There remained not one locust in all the territory of Egypt. 20 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go.
‘He went out from Pharaoh.’ This time Moses did not turn and stalk out, nor was he thrust out. He recognized Pharaoh’s submission. This was no time for putting on a display of anger. He was prepared to be courteous when courtesy was deserved. It is never godly to be rude.
On Moses’ entreaty Yahweh sent a strong sea wind which drove the locusts into the sea of reeds granting complete deliverance. Not one was left in Egypt. Yet again we learn that once this had happened Pharaoh again changed his mind. He refused to let them go to worship Yahweh. However, it is again made clear that he was not frustrating Yahweh. His refusal was all in God’s plan. It was Yahweh Who was making his heart so strong.
As with the third and sixth plagues the next plague comes without introduction or warning, like a second hammer blow following a first.
21 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness which may even be felt.”
Pharaoh had seen what Yahweh had done to Re in the previous plague, which had affected him deeply, and now He struck again, this time without warning. The sun was blotted out and the land was in total darkness. This was not ordinary darkness.
22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. 23 They did not see one another; nor did anyone rise from his place for three days. But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.
Previously Moses had stretched out his staff (9.23; 10.13), now he merely stretched out his hand. It was the hand of Yahweh. He was growing in confidence and trust and no longer needed visible supports.
24 Then Pharaoh called to Moses and said, “Go, serve the LORD; only let your flocks and your herds be kept back. Let your little ones also go with you.”
Pharaoh now made a further concession. He was fighting desperately for his pride. All the people may go to worship Yahweh, but they must leave their flocks and herds behind. He knew that they would be reluctant to lose them and that without them they could not survive for long. They would have to come back. This suggests that by this stage he was suspecting that they were hoping to depart for good.
That it was Moses’ hope that they would leave permanently is clear. But that does not mean that it was his direct intention. He was simply doing what Yahweh had told him, and that was to go into the wilderness with the whole people of Israel and offer sacrifices. He was leaving in God’s hands what would follow.
25 But Moses said, “You must also give us sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God. 26 Our livestock also shall go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind. For we must take some of them to serve the LORD our God, and even we do not know with what we must serve the LORD until we arrive there.”
Moses now insisted that Pharaoh’s offer was not good enough. Their cattle and flocks must go with them. There could be no compromise. They would need sacrifices and whole burnt offerings, and until they arrived they would not know what Yahweh would demand. The ‘sacrifices’ would be partly consumed on the altar and partly shared among the worshippers, so that many would be required for the feast.
27 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. 28 Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me! Take heed to yourself and see my face no more! For in the day you see my face you shall die!”
Patience was running out on both sides. Pharaoh felt cornered and he did not like it. He had had enough. He would yield no further. Total surrender was too humiliating and unbecoming to a Pharaoh, so he warned Moses that if he ever came to see him again he would have him put to death. ‘See my face no more.’ The statement is intended to be ironic as the analysis above confirms. He wanted it to be known that Yahweh was not the only one who could prevent men seeing the faces of others. As far as he was concerned this was the end of any negotiation. Permission to worship Yahweh in the wilderness was now strictly denied. Let Moses be gone and let Yahweh do what He will.
29 So Moses said, “You have spoken well. I will never see your face again.”
Moses equally ironically confirms that Pharaoh also will not see his face again. The repetition brings home the illustration. Pharaoh is in his own thick darkness, and there is therefore nothing ahead for him but tragedy. Indeed circumstance will be such that he will soon wish to see Moses’ face.
In the behavior of Pharaoh we have a picture of the behavior of the world in its obstinacy against God. Like Pharaoh mankind will not yield to God’s approach. He may make pretence of submission but his heart is hardened and when it comes to the crunch he stands up for his own ‘rights’. He refuses to obey the voice of God. Thus does he bring himself into judgment?
