Exodus 10 & 11

Chapter 10:

          Verses 1-2: Once again, God gives the reason for the judgments against Pharaoh and his people: “…that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son’s son, what things I have wrought in Egypt…that ye may know how that I am the Lord.” (v.2) (Exodus 12:26-27, 13:8, 14, Deuteronomy 4:9, 6:7, 11:19, Psalm 44:1, 77:11-12, 78:5, 106:7-8, 114:1, 135:9, 136:10-11, Joel 1:3) Even today, more than 3,500 years later, we are telling our children of God’s signs and wonders that He did here in Egypt, and how He delivered His chosen people from the bondage of Pharaoh, just as our parents told us and our grandparents told them. God preserved all of this in His pure and perfect Word that we might know of this today and for all generations to come until the end of this world.
 
         Verses 3-6: Moses obeys God and goes before Pharaoh yet again with a warning of judgment if Pharaoh will not let the Israelites go. “How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me?” God asks of Pharaoh. (v.3) This time, the judgment for continued pride and disobedience will be locusts. (v.4) Moses warns Pharaoh that the locusts will consume those crops that were left intact from the hail and fire of the previous plague. (v.5) They will fill every house of every Egyptian, the like of which none of Pharaoh’s ancestors had ever seen. (v.6)
 
            Verses 7-11: By now, even Pharaoh’s own household has had enough of his stubborn pride. They beg Pharaoh to let the Israelites go for Egypt has been laid waste because of Moses and his God. (v.7) (Exodus 8:19, 9:20, 12:33) So Pharaoh calls Moses and Aaron before him again and asks them who among the Israelites will be going into the desert to worship God. (v.8) Moses answers that every man, woman, child and beast of the children of Israel will be leaving Egypt, for that was God’s command. (v.9) But now, for the third time, Pharaoh tries to bargain with Moses and with God. He says that only the men may go. The women and children must remain behind. (v.11) He then dismisses Moses and Aaron without any further discussion.
 
          Verses 12-15: God tells Moses to stretch out his rod over the land and an east wind brings the locusts upon all of Egypt. Like the serpent, the locust in the Bible is often used by God as a literal punishment as well as a symbol or metaphor of evil. (Deuteronomy 28:38, 42, 1 Kings 8:37, 2 Chronicles 6:28, 7:13, Psalm 78:46, 105:34, 109:23, Isaiah 33:4, Joel 1:4, 2:25, Nahum 3:15, 17) But the locust, or “grasshopper” as we know it today, is also used as an example of diligence and unity in Proverbs 30:27 as well as a food staple for John the Baptist (Matthew 3:4, Mark 1:6). And, once again, this particular judgment by God against the Egyptians foreshadows one of the judgments against the world in the Tribulation. (Revelation 9:3, 7)
           Locusts today, just as in Biblical times, will usually migrate in swarms and are deadly to crops. Verse 14 says that the locusts “…rested in all the coasts of Egypt: very grievous were they…”. There had been nothing like this in Egypt before this judgment, and there has been nothing like it since. Verse 15 goes on to say, “For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened…”. The locusts consumed every herb, every crop, and every green thing on every tree that survived the previous plague. There was absolutely nothing left in the fields or orchards after this judgment. But, as with all the previous judgments, the valley of Goshen wherein dwelt the Israelites was left untouched and supernaturally protected.
 
       Verses 16-20: This plague is at once so devastating and so deadly to all of Egypt that Pharaoh calls for Moses and Aaron “…in haste…”. (v.16) Once again, he gives a superficial confession of guilt. “I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you.” The key words in that sentence are “your God”. Pharaoh still refuses to acknowledge the one, true God as his God! He is not genuinely repentant for his pride and rebellion. Just as before, he is only paying lip service in false humility as verse 17 makes clear. “Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and intreat the Lord your God, that he may take away from me this death only.” (Emphasis mine.) As usual, Pharaoh completely misses the point of God’s judgments against him and his people. As I noted earlier, Pharaoh, like so many unbelievers today, refuses to bow and submit to God as his own Lord, master and savior. Pharaoh stubbornly refuses to acknowledge his own sin of pride and only wants deliverance from this one disaster. Thus he is only saying to Moses and Aaron what he knows they – and God – want to hear so that life will go back to normal.
        Nonetheless, Moses does as Pharaoh requests, and God honors the request. He brings about a mighty west wind that sweeps away every locust into the Red Sea. Not a single grasshopper remains in all of Egypt. (v.19) And, as predicted by God – and as in all the previous seven judgments – Pharaoh hardens his heart in pride and unbelief and refuses to let the Israelites go. (v.20)
 
          Verses 20-23: The ninth judgment comes without any warning by God and without any meeting of Moses and Pharaoh first. God tells Moses to “…Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt.” (v.21) Moses obeys, and there falls a “…thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days…”. (v.22) The darkness is so thick and so prevalent that none of the Egyptians could see one another, nor are they able to leave their houses for the entire three days. (v.23) But, as before, this judgment does not touch the Israelites in the valley of Goshen. There remains light in all their houses for these three days.
        This plague is no mere nightfall whereby the sun simply doesn’t rise for three days. The key phrase is in verse 21: “…darkness which may be felt.” God extinguishes every form and source of light, from the stars in the sky above to the lamps within the houses. From the very beginning of creation, God made a distinction between the light and the darkness. (Genesis 1:2, 4-5, 18) From that point onward, throughout the entire Bible, God is represented as the source of light and truth. (Genesis 1:16-17, 2 Chronicles 21:7, Nehemiah 9:12, Job 33:28, 37:15, Psalm 36:9, 56:13, 112:4, 118:27, 119:105, Proverbs 4:18, 13:9, Isaiah 60:19-20, John 1:4-5, 3:19, 8:12, 12:35, Romans 13:12, 1 Corinthians 4:5, 2 Corinthians 4:4, Ephesians 5:8, Colossians 1:12, 1 Thessalonians 5:5, James 1:17, 2 Peter 1:19, 1 John 1:5, 7, Revelation 21:23-24, 22:5) That is by no means a complete list of cross references containing the word “light”, and, for the sake of time and page, I will not indulge in a comparison of the theme of light and darkness as found in the Bible. That alone could be a whole series of lessons and sermons which are better left for another time.
            For the purposes of this topic here in Exodus, it is worth noting that God is again foreshadowing one of the judgements against the world during the Tribulation (Revelation 16:10), as well as emphasizing what life apart from Him will be like for those that refuse Him and His free gift of salvation. There will come a day when all the lost and the unbelieving will stand before God and answer for all their sins, including pride, rebellion and unbelief, and they will be cast into the lake of fire for all eternity. (Revelation 20:15, 21:8) But this is not fire as we know it. Jesus describes this future damnation as “outer darkness”. (Matthew 8:12, 22:13, 25:30) That means this fire, which is extremely painful to the point where the damned shall cry out and gnash their teeth for eternity, is a dark fire, a fire that gives no light whatsoever, a darkness that can be felt. The darkness that the Egyptians experienced here in Exodus 10 was but a mere taste of that eternal punishment that awaits all who, like Pharaoh, refuse to humble themselves and submit to God and His sovereignty and accept His free gift of salvation.
 
          Verses 24-29: Pharaoh’s final face-to-face meeting with Moses is one last effort to bargain with Moses and with God. Pharaoh tells Moses that the children of Israel may go, but all their livestock and herds must remain behind in Egypt. (v.24) Moses responds by bluntly stating that every single animal that belongs to the Israelites will be exiting Egypt along with the children of Israel. (v.26) Again, this was God’s command, and Moses is not compromising one iota. In response, Pharaoh’s heart is hardened by God, as predicted, and he says to Moses, “Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in that day thou seest my face thou shalt die.” (v.28) (It’s ironic that Pharaoh uses the words “see” and “seest” in the midst of such thick and consuming darkness.) Moses agrees. “…I will see thy face again no more.” (v.29) But, as usual, Pharaoh is wrong. He will see Moses one more time - in just a few hours, in fact, shortly after midnight. And this time he will indeed let the Israelites go.

Chapter 11:

        Verses 1-3: The best way to understand the timeline of these last two plagues is to read these first three verses of Chapter 11 as taking place before the scene of Moses’ second to last meeting with Pharaoh in 10:24-29. Verses 4-8 of this chapter are a continuation of that scene, while verses 9-10 should be read as a parenthetical summary of all that’s occurred since Moses’ first meeting with Pharaoh in chapter 5. The tenth and final judgment, the death of the firstborn son, takes place on the third night of the three days of darkness, the same evening as Moses’ penultimate scene with Pharaoh here in chapter 11.
            Just as God predicted to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:21-22), the Egyptians are more than willing to give to the Israelites of their wealth, as well as other provisions needed for their journey into the wilderness. (v.2) (Psalm 106:46) Moreover, God had also given Moses great favor and esteem in the eyes of the Egyptians, including Pharaoh’s household. (v.3)
 
           Verses 4-8: As noted above, these are the final words of Moses to Pharaoh, a continuation of the scene that ended the previous chapter. After telling Pharaoh that he spoke the truth when he stated that he would see Moses’ face no more (10:29), Moses then relays to Pharaoh God’s final judgment. “…About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt…” says the Lord. All the firstborn will die, from the son of Pharaoh all the way down to the eldest son of the lowliest servant, and even the firstborn of every animal among the Egyptian livestock. (v.5) The mourning of these deaths will cause such a great cry throughout the land, such as has never been heard before or since this time. (v.6) But among the children of Israel there would be no such cry, not even the barking of a dog against them. (Joshua 10:21) As before, God had marked His chosen people and set them apart from the Egyptians. (v.7)
            Moses’ final prediction to Pharaoh is that his servants and all his household would beg Moses and the Israelites to flee Egypt before the night is over. He then angrily storms out of Pharaoh’s presence. (v.8)