Verses 1-2 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh: for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, that I might shew these my signs before him: 2 And that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son’s son, what things I have wrought in Egypt, and my signs which I have done among them; that ye may know how that I am the LORD.
As stated before, God was using Pharaoh’s hard heart to allow for the showing of His signs and wonders through the many plagues so that both the Hebrew and Egyptian people would know who the real God and Savior of mankind was and is. Remember that there were no easy means of communication in those days. Today an evangelist or Bible teacher can reach millions of people through the medium of television, radio, print, Internet, DVDs and CDs. Not so in Egypt. All information was by word of mouth from one person to another. So when the plagues were experienced by everyone, the message got to everyone. They in turn would tell their children to come what they had lived through and the message would be passed down, as it has been, to future generations. The proof is that the events of Exodus are being discussed here so that the reader can know that, “I am the LORD.”
Verses 3-6 And Moses and Aaron came in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? let my people go, that they may serve me. 4 Else, if thou refuse to let my people go, behold, to morrow will I bring the locusts into thy coast: 5 And 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 remaineth unto you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which groweth for you out of the field: 6 And they shall fill thy houses, and the houses of all thy servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians; which neither thy fathers, nor thy fathers’ fathers have seen, since the day that they were upon the earth unto this day. And he turned himself, and went out from Pharaoh.
It appears that Moses never got an answer from Pharaoh regarding how long he was going to resist. Like many political leaders today, Pharaoh was playing a chess game with Moses and Aaron at the expense of the people he was supposed to govern. Obviously he did not care about the people’s welfare or how his actions would affect the next generation. He wanted to hold on to political power as long as he could and he did not seem to understand that his opponent was not Moses and Aaron, but the Almighty God and that the battle was a spiritual one. He was blind to the truth.
Locusts were around before this plague because they, like other insects, would have been created by God on the sixth day of creation. They were not welcome visitors to the land as they were and still are very destructive to farmers and their crops. Only this last summer the hay growers near this writer lost a large part of their second and third cuttings due to a grasshopper invasion. Locusts and grasshoppers may be slightly different types depending on the country in which they reside, but the destruction and damage that they bring is universal. This was the eighth plague and more than likely, it would remove all hope from the Egyptian people of salvaging any crops for their survival.
Verse 7 And Pharaoh’s 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: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?
Although God had hardened the hearts of the servants as stated above in verse one, it appears that He was allowing them to have a grasp of the situation. They, like Pharaoh, were blinded to the fact that Moses was not the cause of their problems. God was. They needed to submit to Him and do what His spokesman Moses said. However, these servants, unlike Pharaoh, were at least aware that the plagues had destroyed Egypt.
Application: It is not uncommon to see the LORD allow an unbeliever to be reduced to a state of personal destruction such as a loss of wealth, a loss of health, a loss of a job or business, the loss of family, and/or the loss of social status. From the outside looking into the person’s situation, it may seem that God is being arbitrarily cruel to this person. But the believer needs to always remember that repentance and salvation in this world that leads to eternal life in the next world is the most important thing from the LORD’s perspective. If a person will not recognize their need for God, it is often necessary to reduce that person to a position where they can finally see that the only One that can help them out of the difficulties they are in is the LORD. Nothing is more important in this world than a person’s soul and eternal destiny. Nothing.
Verse 8 And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh: and he said unto them, Go, serve the LORD your God: but who are they that shall go?
Perhaps Pharaoh listened to his servants. We don’t really know. But it appears that he sent someone to bring Moses and Aaron to him. However, even though Pharaoh is now willing to make a concession and allow the people to go, there are conditions attached.
Verse 9 And 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.
This was not the answer Pharaoh wanted to hear. Remember that in most pagan cultures, women and children did not have significant status. It was a man’s world. From Pharaoh’s perspective, why would any god want women and children to sacrifice to them as they are of so little value? Also, Pharaoh believed that the Hebrew men would return to Egypt if their wives and children remained there. He couldn’t monitor the men when they were in the desert and therefore needed to have something to force them to return on their own. And if they did not return, women and children made very good slaves and would still add to the economic good of Egypt.
Verses 10-11 And he said unto 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. 11 Not so: go now ye that are men, and serve the LORD; for that ye did desire. And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence. 1
To paraphrase verse ten, Pharaoh is basically saying, “If I let this come to pass and let you go as well as your children, you will plot evil against me.” And so, in verse eleven he basically says, “Take it or leave it!” And then he throws Moses and Aaron out of the building in a show of anger and strength.
Verse 12 And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine 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 hath left.
Application: Truly wicked people cannot see that their actions can destroy. This plague of locusts could have been avoided if Pharaoh had done the right thing. Now the Egyptians would face starvation. Believers need to remember that, even though they are not wicked like Pharaoh but are forgiven of their wickedness by the shed blood of the LORD Jesus Christ, their actions can, without meaning to, cause spiritual destruction to another person. In chapter eight of 1 Corinthians the Apostle Paul cautioned the believers to be careful what they did because they could inadvertently cause the “weak brother” to perish. The discussion was about buying food at the market where it could be offered to pagan idols. The purchasing of the food by a mature believer was not sin, but if a baby believer saw it being purchased and thought it was sin, they were not to buy it. Verse 12 states, “But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ.” Be aware of how your words or actions may be seen and interpreted by others and always strive to bless rather than offend others.
Verses 13-15 And 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. 14 And 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. 15 For 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.
The word translated as “coasts” is the Hebrew word “gabul” and means borders. It seems that the locusts were contained within the borders of Egypt and that they were nowhere else. The word translated as “grievous” is the Hebrew word “kabed,” translated also as great. These were big bugs and massive in numbers so that the ground was obscured by their bodies and the ground looked black. These critters were specially prepared for such a time as this as they came in on an East wind and, according to verse 14 above, their kind was never seen again on the Earth. They were eating machines and they chewed up everything the fire and hail had left behind.
Application: The Bible teaches that there are four corners of the Earth and that there are spiritual applications regarding the four directions on the Earth. For example, God resides in the “sides of the North.” The direction of the East is often associated with sin and occult practices. As the scriptures are studied, look for the significance of the directions and see what you, the reader, can discover.
Verses 16-17 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against you. 17 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.
Back in chapter 9, Pharaoh acknowledged to Moses and Aaron that he had sinned and that he would let the Hebrew people go. But he lied. And he would continue to do so because God was hardening his heart. It is interesting that Pharaoh refers to the plague of locusts as a death. Also note that he describes the LORD as being Moses and Aaron’s God, indicating that he has no intention of accepting the true God as his own.
Application: Often people will repent in order to avoid judgement. This is what Pharaoh was doing. The repentance was not sincere. God knows the heart. As believers, we cannot determine if a person is truly repenting of their sins or just trying to avoid the situation they are facing. It is not our place to judge the person’s heart. However, Jesus said we could know a person by their fruits. Matthew 7:16 “Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?” If the person repents and continues to sin, something is not right. Righteousness and wickedness don’t mix. If the person repents and stops sinning and seeks to learn about the LORD and to follow His example as seen in the Bible, the repentance is probably genuine. Pharaoh of old is a prime example of being known by his fruits. He never changed.
Verses 18-20 And he went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the LORD. 19 And 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. 20 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go.
Here the LORD makes a West wind which blows the locusts into the Red Sea where they would drown. They therefore would not be able to reproduce and therefore would not be seen again. It can only be imagined what the waters of the Red Sea looked like when all these critters were floating on top of the waters. Foreign fishermen must have been astounded when these bugs started to fall from the sky all around them.
Application: Here the West wind cleanses the Earth of the polluting effect of the locusts and of the death they created. The direction of the West is seen in scripture as the direction of salvation.
Verses 21-23 And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt. 22 And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days: 23 They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.
Complete darkness can be felt. Just ask anyone who loses their sight rapidly due to injury and they will tell you that darkness can be felt. In this case, the darkness is also symbolic of the blindness of Pharaoh and his servants and, of course, it is symbolic of sin.
The Egyptians were polytheistic in their religious practices and therefore two of their gods were the sun god, Baal, and the moon goddess. This ninth plague would have been particularly frightening to the Pharaoh and the Egyptian people because their main god and goddess would seem to have died. The god that provided food and warmth and the seasons and times, and the goddess that provided fertility of their crops, animals and people could no longer help them. They could not see one another for moral support and they could not leave the place in which they were sitting or lying because they could not see to physically navigate their environment. The stars were no longer shining so their astrologers were out of work for the time being. Imagine no food, no drink, no bathroom trips to the outhouses, no bathing, no entertainment and no physical activities.
Application: Sin is spiritual darkness. A person can willingly engage in sin for so long that they cannot be brought back to the light of righteousness. Their hearts are progressively hardened, like Pharaoh’s heart, each time they choose to sin. Believers that have experienced the liberation from sin that occurs when the LORD Jesus Christ comes into their lives must never take the freedom and light in their lives for granted. It is a gift from God and to be cherished forever.
Application: Why was there darkness for three days? Why not five days, the Biblical number or death, or just two days? Because this plague was prophetic in nature in that it pointed to the time Jesus, God very God, would spend in the tomb after being crucified by the religious and political rulers of the day. Moses was challenging the religious and political leaders of the one world government of Egypt under divine direction from God. Jesus challenged the religious and political leaders of the one world government of Rome. Moses is a type of Jesus, and he led the Hebrew people out of captivity. Jesus led and is leading all people who will come to Him out of captivity (darkness) and into His spiritual kingdom (light) where there is freedom from sin, death and Hell.
Verse 24 And 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.
Pharaoh is still playing a game. If he gives some concessions, maybe Moses and Aaron will take what he is offering. At this point, he has agreed to let the men leave with their families, but he wants their livestock to remain? Why? Because he can only hope the people will perish in the desert without their cattle for food and that the cattle will replace the Egyptian cattle that are now destroyed and therefore save his nation.
Application: Like Pharaoh, the believer cannot bargain with God. It is “all or nothing.” The believer must learn to rely on the promises of the LORD through faith in His word and not resort to making promises to God he will not keep in order to get favor from God. For example, promising to give more money to the local church if God will reverse a financial loss, or promising to be a better Christian if God will heal a loved one will have no more results than Pharaoh admitting he had sinned and offering to do something to make amends. God expects obedience, and He rewards obedience. To know what God wants from the believer requires his/her learning the contents of His Bible and spending time in communication with Him in prayer.
Verses 25-26 And Moses said, Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the LORD our God. 26 Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not an hoof be left behind; 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.
Moses’ answer was, of course, “no way.” But because Moses was such a humble man who did not want to give offense, he gave Pharaoh a very plausible explanation as to why the Hebrew people would need to take their livestock with them.
Verses 27-29 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. 28 And Pharaoh said unto him, Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in that day thou seest my face thou shalt die. 29 And Moses said, Thou hast spoken well, I will see thy face again no more.
This was the end of the line for Pharaoh and Moses knew it. Pharaoh was cutting off all communication with Moses and Aaron and they knew that they would not stand before Pharaoh again. Now they would have to see what the God of the Hebrews would do next.
Application: For a believer who is obeying the LORD and sharing the Gospel with others, it is extremely difficult to understand the person who absolutely refuses to acknowledge that there is a God in Heaven and that they have need of Him in their lives. But like Pharaoh, people choose to see God no more. The only thing a believer can do is walk away. Can you, the reader, see why the LORD has spent so much time telling the story of the Exodus in His scriptures? The whole historical episode shows the religious and political condition of mankind today throughout the world and the choices people are making and will make that will either set them free, or cast them into bondage forever.