Exodus 10 - Outline of Exodus (Book Notes menu page)
10:1 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh:
for I have hardened {HB=kabad, honored} his heart, and the heart of his servants,
that I might shew these my signs before him:
10:2 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.
The signs, which revealed the identity of the LORD to Pharaoh and the Egyptians (Ex 9:14),
were also meant to reveal Him to Israel. cp. Ex 13:8,9,14; Deu 4:9; 6:20-23
10:3 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.
10:4 Else, if thou refuse to let my people go,
behold, to morrow will I bring the locusts into thy coast {ie., borders}:
10:5 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:
10:6 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.
10:7 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?
Plague #8 - Locusts consume crops -
All of the crops that had survived the hail storm would be destroyed. v.5; cp. 9:24-25,31-32
  • False gods judged - Serapsis, the protector from locust plagues.
    Osiris, god of crops; plus numerous "insect gods."
  • God's answer - He commands the armies of locusts,
    which foreshadow the destructive armies of the future Day of the LORD (Joel 1:4,15; 2:1-5-f).
  • Magicians' response - They counseled Pharaoh to let Israel go. They understood that,
    due to the previous plagues, Egypt was already destroyed (HB=abad, to perish).
    They could ill afford further losses.
  • Pharaoh's response -
    1. Prior to the plague:
      • he agreed to let them go, on condition of another compromise (v.8-11).
      • he refused, when Moses & Aaron rejected this compromise.
    2. Following the damage of the plague (v.14,15):
      1. he called for Moses & Aaron 'in haste' (ie., with anxious urgency).
      2. he confessed that he had sinned (v.16).
      3. he asked Moses to forgive him, and to entreat the Lord to remove the locusts (v.17-19).
      4. his heart was hardened... he would not let the people go (v.20).
10:8 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?
10:9 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.
10:10 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.
10:11 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.
Pharaoh's sarcastic answer (in v.10) may be paraphrased...
'Look: If I did let you go, to expose your children to danger, you would need the LORD's help.'
Pharaoh proposed four compromises (in the course of the ten plagues).-
The believer today faces similar compromises with the world system.
  1. Stay in the land. Ex 8:25-27
    ie., 'Be a Christian, but not a narrow one.' cp. 2Cor 6:14-18; Gal 1:4
  2. Don't go too far away. Ex 8:28-29
    ie., 'Don't be too unworldly.' cp. 1Sam 15:3,20-23; 2Pet 2:20,21
  3. Go... but leave the children behind. Ex 10:8-11
    Pharaoh briefly considered the departure of young and old, but quickly changed his mind, under the pretense of protecting the children from dangers.
    ie., 'Do what is best for the children. Don't expose them to hardship for the sake of Christ.'
    Influenced by the world's values, godly parents often pursue worldly prosperity and position for their children, to the neglect of their greater riches.
    cp. v.2; Deu 6:6-9; 11:16-21; Mat 6:33; Eph 6:4
  4. Go... but leave your flocks and your herds. Ex 10:24-26
    ie., 'Don't squander your resources in God's service.'
    cp. Mat 6:19-21; Prov 3:9,10; 2Cor 9:6-8; Php 4:19
    "Were the whole realm of nature mine,
    That were a present far too small;
    Love so amazing, so divine,
    Demands my heart, my life, my all."
    [hymn, 'When I Survey the Wondrous Cross']
10:12 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.
10:13 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.
10:14 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.
10:15 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.
10:16 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said,
I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against you.
10:17 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.
10:18 And he went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the LORD.
10:19 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.
10:20 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart,
so that he would not let the children of Israel go.
that he may take away... this death only.-
Pharaoh, ever concerned with the crisis of the moment, failed to understand that the successive plagues foreshadowed eternal judgment. cp. Rom 6:23; Heb 9:27,28
He was already under the sentence of death, and in great spiritual darkness.
10:21 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.
10:22 And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven;
and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days:
10:23 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.
10:24 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.
10:25 And Moses said, Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt offerings,
that we may sacrifice unto the LORD our God.
10:26 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.
10:27 But the LORD hardened {HB=chazaq, strengthened} Pharaoh's heart,
and he would not let them go.
Plague #9 - Darkness 'that could be felt' {HB= mashash, to feel, to grope} (v.21)
engulfed Egypt for three days (v.23).
But Israel had light in their dwellings (cp. Ex 8:22; 9:4,26; Isa 60:2,3; Col 1:13; 1Pet 2:9).
  • False gods judged - Ra, the sun god. Horus, a sun god.
    The names 'Potiphar' (Gen 39:1) and 'Potiphera' (Gen 41:45) mean 'belonging to Ra (ie., to the Sun).' The city of On was a center of sun worship.
  • God's answer - see Isa 45:7
  • The magicians' response - (silence) cp. Rev 16:10,11
    Pharaoh's servants regarded Moses as a man of 'exceedingly great' importance. (Ex 11:3)
  • Pharaoh's response -
    1. he offered another compromise (which was rejected by Moses).
    2. his heart was hardened... he would not let Israel go...
    3. he forbade Moses to see him again.
10:28 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.
10:29 And Moses said, Thou hast spoken well, I will see thy face again no more.
Pharaoh warned Moses against approaching him again, under penalty of death.
Yet, he and his people were already under the LORD's sentence of death. cp. v.17
Before the morning would come, Pharaoh would expel the children of Israel from Egypt.
Moses would never appear before him again.
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