CHAPTER 10

(1491 B.C.)

LOCUSTS

¹And the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh: for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, that I might show these My Signs before him (God used the stubbornness of the Monarch to reveal His Power; as shown here in Pharaoh, if a person wills resistance to God, the Lord Wills the ability to resist even more; if they will Righteousness, God Wills more Righteousness [Mat. 5:6]):

²And that you may tell in the ears of your son, and of your sons son, what things I have wrought in Egypt, and My Signs which I have done among them; that you may know how that I am the LORD. (God would do such great things in this situation that even the Holy Spirit would constantly speak of this particular time in the centuries that followed. The Psalms proclaimed this fact [Ps. 78; 105; 106; 68:6-7; 77:14-20; 81:5-6; 124:1-3; 135:8-9; 136:10-15].)

³And Moses and Aaron came in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him, Thus sa ys 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. (This was the seventh and final time that God would make this demand. This Verse also presents the great question that God ever asks the human family, How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me?)

⁴Else, if you refuse to let My People go, behold, tomorrow will I bring the locusts into your coast (the god Serapis was believed by the Egyptians to protect them from the locusts; this eighth plague struck at that belief):

⁵And they shall cover the face of the Earth, that one cannot be able to see the Earth: and they shall eat the residue of that which is escaped, which remains unto you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which grows for you out of the field (in other words, Egypt, for all practical purposes, would be completely destroyed):

⁶And they shall fill your houses, and 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 upon the Earth unto this day. And he (Moses) turned himself, and went out from Pharaoh (in other words, Moses didnt even wait for a response from Pharaoh).

⁷And Pharaohs servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God: do you not know yet that Egypt is destroyed? (This Verse proclaims, for the first time, that Pharaohs officers intervened and requested Pharaoh to yield.)

⁸And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh: and he said unto them, Go, serve the LORD your God: but who are they who shall go? (There was no reason for this question, considering that the demand had been very clear in the past; everyone who pertained to Israel would go.)

⁹And Moses said, We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for we must hold a feast unto the LORD. (Every Believer should ask for, and claim, the Salvation of the entirety of his family, excluding none.)

¹⁰And he (Pharaoh) said unto the them, Let the LORD be so with you, as I will let you go, and your little ones: look to it; for evil is before you. (In essence, Pharaoh, who concludes himself to be a god, pits himself against Jehovah. What a foolish move it would prove to be! The evil was not before Moses and Aaron, but before Pharaoh.)

¹¹Not so: go now you who are men, and serve the LORD (the third compromise is proposed by Pharaoh; he will let the men go to offer Sacrifice unto the Lord, but not the wives and children); for that you did desire. And they were driven out from Pharaohs presence (dismissed with hostility).

¹²And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land, even all that the hail has left (Mercy rejected, always and without exception, brings Judgment).

¹³And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts (the wind blowing from the east all that day and all that night should have been a warning to Pharaoh; however, and as stated, he who wills resistance to God has resistance willed to him by God).

¹⁴And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt: very grievous were they; before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such. (When the locusts had finished, there would not be a green thing left in Egypt. Such portrays the terrible devastation of sin.)

¹⁵For they covered the face of the whole Earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt. (If the officers of Pharaoh thought that Egypt was destroyed [Vs. 7], they now know that it is completely destroyed.)

¹⁶Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against you. (How many hours or days the locusts plagued Egypt before Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron, we arent told; however, it was probably only a few hours when Moses and Aaron were hastily called back. All sin, either directly or indirectly, is directed against God. It is an affront to His Holiness, His Righteousness, and to His very Being. It is the ruination of all that is good!)

¹⁷Now therefore forgive, I pray you, my sin only this once, and intreat the LORD your God, that He may take away from me this death only. (The Monarch said the right words; however, once again, his confession was a shallow-mouthed confession. The only answer for sin is the Cross of Christ.)

¹⁸And he (Moses) went out from Pharaoh, and intreated (requested of) the LORD.

¹⁹And the LORD turned a mighty strong west wind, which took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red Sea; there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt. (As the Lord removed all the locusts, which were destroying Egypt, likewise, He can remove all sin and its effects. The requirement is that we fully trust Christ and what He has done for us at the Cross [Heb. 10:12].)

²⁰But the LORD hardened Pharaohs heart, so that he would not let the Children of Israel go. (Again we state, he who wills resistance against the Lord is willed more resistance by the Lord.)

DARKNESS

²¹And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out your hand toward Heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt. (This is the ninth plague, and it robs the Egyptians of their supreme god, the Sun, and proved Jehovah Alone to be God. The Sun was worshipped by the Egyptians under the title of Ra. In fact, the name Ra came conspicuously forward in the title of the kings, Pharaoh, or rather Phra, meaning the Sun, which meant that Pharaoh was god. What a pitiful god he was!)

²²And Moses stretched forth his hand toward Heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days (Moses stretching his hands toward Heaven signified that God was in complete and full charge, and not man; whatever man may say or do, Heaven will always have the final word):

²³They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days: but all the Children of Israel had light in their dwellings. (In Goshen, there was light. This was literal; however, it was, as well, meant by the Holy Spirit to symbolize the spiritual light which the Children of Israel did have, and which the Egyptians did not have.)

²⁴And Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said, Go ye, serve the LORD; only let your flocks and your herds be stayed: let your little ones also go with you. (This was the fourth proposal by Pharaoh of compromise: A. Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land 8:25; B. Sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away 8:28; C. Go now you who are men [men only], and serve the Lord 10:11; and, D. Go ye, serve the Lord; only let your flocks and your herds be stayed 10:24.)

²⁵And Moses said, You must give us also sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the LORD our God. (Moses turns down flat this offer by Pharaoh, and further demands that Pharaoh provide them with sheep for the Burnt Offerings.)

²⁶Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not a hoof be left behind (the Believer should not allow Satan to have any part of ones possessions); for thereof must we take to serve the LORD our God; and we know not with what we must serve the LORD, until we come thither. (The statement of this Verse points to a lesson true at all times. The second step in the spiritual life is not revealed until the first is taken [Jn. 7:17]. Egypt must be left, that is the first step, before the nature of spiritual worship, which is the second step, can be learned.)

²⁷But the LORD hardened Pharaohs heart, and he would not let them go.

²⁸And Pharaoh said unto him, Get you from me, take heed to yourself, see my face no more; for in that day you see my face you shall die. (The reply of Pharaoh indicates violent anger.)

²⁹And Moses said, You have spoken well, I will see your face again no more. (It is generally believed that Moses did not leave out of the presence of Pharaoh with these particular words, but continued to address the Monarch for some little time, actually his parting words being those which are given in Verses 4 through 8 of the next Chapter.)