Exodus 10

The promised locust plague (vs. 1-11)—The Lord sends Moses and Aaron back to Pharaoh to warn him that the next plague would be locusts: “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. 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” (vs. 5-6). As I noted before, these great plagues were not just for Pharaoh’s learning; the Lord intended for His own people to remember them: “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” (v. 2). Never forget that the Israelites were surrounded by a pagan, polytheistic people, and that describes all the peoples of the ancient Near East. For them to break away from that to serve only one God was going to take, literally, almost 1,000 years. Such makes the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob so remarkable, that they indeed believed in only god, when everyone around them was worshipping multiple deities.

Pharaoh’s advisers counseled him to heed Moses and “Let the men go” (v. 7)—only the men—for “do you not yet know the Egypt is destroyed?” Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron back to him, and relented, “Go, serve the Lord your God,” but with the hesitation, “Who are the ones that are going?” (v. 8). When Moses told him that everybody and everything (flocks and herds) would go, Pharaoh balked. “The LORD had better be with you when I let you and your little ones go!” (v. 10). He was, in effect, going to hold the children hostage to make sure his slave laborers returned. So, no deal.

The eighth plague—locusts (vs. 12-20)—The plague hit. Locusts plagues were devastating in the ancient Near East. The insects would come literally by the millions and eat almost everything. A famine nearly always ensued. This horde would “eat every herb of the land--all that the hail has left” (v. 13). That did not mean that the Egyptians had absolutely no food at all remaining; there would be some in storage that the locusts could not get to. But they pretty much wiped out everything that was left in the field. “They were very severe; previously there had been no such locusts as they, nor shall there be such after them” (v. 14). The locusts were so thorough that “there remained nothing green on the trees or on the plants of the field throughout all the land of Egypt” (v. 15). And Egypt was a pretty big country, folks—hundreds of miles in length. Think of the massive numbers of locusts it would take to devour everything in that large a geographical space.

Pharaoh then called for Moses and Aaron “in haste” (v. 16), confessed his sin (again), and besought them that they would “entreat the LORD your God” (he wasn’t Pharaoh’s god) “that He may take away from me this death only” (v. 17). Moses honored his request and the Lord honored Moses’ (vs. 18-19). But not surprisingly, Pharaoh ended up with a hard heart again and he didn’t let the children of Israel go (v. 20).

The ninth plague—darkness (vs. 21-29)—With no announced warning, the ninth plague was sent—“darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness which may even be felt” (v. 21). Perhaps the reader has been inside a tourist cavern and the lights have been turned off. Utter blackness. That seems to be the case here. The darkness lasted for three days. The Egyptians “did not see one another; nor did anyone rise from his place” (v. 23). What can one do in that kind of darkness? Why they did not use some form of artificial illumination is unstated; such was available in ancient Egypt. Be that as it may, the land of Goshen had light (v. 23).

Pharaoh relented—but again, not totally: “Go, serve the LORD; only let your flocks and your herds be kept back. Let your little ones also go with you" (v. 24). This time they could take the children, but not the flocks and herds. Give the guy credit for ingenuity; like most politicians, he’s trying to negotiate. But Moses said there would be no compromise: “not a hoof shall be left behind” (v. 26). The people needed animals to sacrifice (v. 25). Thus, Pharaoh’s heart was again hardened (v. 27) and he wouldn’t let Israel depart. He became angry and told Moses and Aaron never to appear before him again. “’For in the day you see my face you shall die!’ And Moses said, ‘You have spoken well. I will never see your face again" (vs. 28-29). Of course, they did see each other again. Moses is not speaking by inspiration here. It is possible that he was as angry as Pharaoh and responded, in effect, “You’re right, buddy, I’m never coming back here again.” Moses was simply speaking his mind at the moment and did not yet know what the future held or what God’s plan entailed.