The Eighth Plague: Locusts Exodus Lesson 10 10 Now the LORD said to Moses, Go in to Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his servants ( ), that I may show these signs ( ) of Mine before him, 2 and 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. 10:1-2 The LORD hardened Pharaoh s heart after the sixth plague but now the text says that the LORD also hardened the hearts of his servants or advisors. As we learned from the previous plague of hail, some of Pharaoh s advisors feared the word of the LORD and protected themselves as well as their servants and their livestock (9:20). But, others, like Pharaoh hardened their hearts (9:34). Once again, this shows that the LORD doesn t harden hearts unless people have already hardened them. Here, the LORD states that He is hardening their hearts to show His signs mighty things He has done in Egypt that Moses might tell his sons and grandsons. He wants the children of Israel to remember what He has done so that they will know ( yah-dah') He is the LORD. 3 So Moses and Aaron came in to Pharaoh and said to him, Thus says 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. 4 Or else, if you refuse to let My people ( ) go, behold ( ), tomorrow I will bring locusts ( ) into your territory. 5 And 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. 6 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 ( ). And he turned and went out from Pharaoh. 10:3-6 As Moses and Aaron go in to Pharaoh, we can assume that the message they gave him was the exact one the LORD had given them. The message is similar to earlier ones except this one begins with the rhetorical question of how long Pharaoh is going to continue before humbling himself before the LORD. Pharaoh is told to let God s people go in order that they may serve Him. But, if he refuses, the LORD will send locusts into Pharaoh s territory on the following day locusts that will cover the face of the land and eat everything left after the hail as well as the trees. While the locusts would be a terrible nuisance, the destruction of the remaining crops would portend starvation and death. The locusts will also fill all of their houses. There will be a plague of locusts such as their fathers and grandfathers had never seen a perfect complement to the sons and grandsons of verse 2. Like the severity of the plague of hail, Egypt had never seen so many locusts. With this warning, Moses turned and left the presence of Pharaoh. 1
7 Then Pharaoh s servants ( ) said to him, How long shall this man be a snare ( ) to us? Let the men ( ) go, that they may serve ( ) the LORD their God. Do you not yet know ( ) that Egypt is destroyed ( )? 10:7 Pharaoh s advisors have seen enough of the LORD s plagues so they try to reason with their king. How long is he going to allow Moses to be a snare or trap to him? They try to convince Pharaoh to allow the Hebrew men to go serve the LORD. Their question to Pharaoh reveals that they see the reality of the situation: Do you not yet know that Egypt is destroyed? The plagues have wreaked havoc and destruction on the land of Egypt! 8 So Moses and Aaron were brought again to Pharaoh, and he said to them, Go ( ), serve ( ) the LORD your God. Who are the ones that are going ( )? 9 And Moses said, We will go ( ) with our young ( ) and our old; with our sons ( ) and our daughters ( ), with our flocks and our herds we will go ( ), for we must hold a feast ( ) to the LORD. 10:8-9 Moses and Aaron are brought back before Pharaoh and the king tells them to go serve their LORD but he wants to know who s going with them. Moses states that everyone is going both young and old along with their flocks and herds. They are going to hold a feast ( chahg) or religious festival to the LORD. This is the first appearance of this noun ( ) in the Pentateuch although we encountered the Hebrew verb for holding a feast in 5:1. These words carry an inherent meaning of a pilgrimage along with the feast. 1 10 Then he said to them, The LORD had better be with you when I let you and your little ones go! Beware, for evil ( ) is ahead of you. 11 Not so! Go ( ) now, you who are men ( ), and serve ( ) the LORD, for that is what you desired. And they were driven out ( ) from Pharaoh s presence ( ). 10:10-11 The NKJV misses the sarcasm intended by Pharaoh. The ESV renders verse 10 like this: But he said to them, The LORD be with you, if ever I let you and your little ones go! Look, you have some evil purpose in mind. Pharaoh is not allowing women and children nor flocks and herds to leave Egypt. In fact, he makes it very clear when he tells the men to go and serve the LORD. The Hebrew word for men ( geh'- behr) in verse 11 makes its first of 66 appearances in scripture. It refers to men at the height of their strength valiant men or warriors. These should be able to make haste on their pilgrimage to serve the LORD and then return quickly. Pharaoh makes sure they understand that this is not negotiable by driving them out of his presence. 12 Then the LORD said to Moses, Stretch out your hand ( ) over the land ( ) of Egypt for the locusts ( ), that they may come upon the land ( ) of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land ( ) all that the hail ( ) has left. 13 So Moses stretched out his rod ( ) over the land ( ) of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind ( ) on the land ( ) all that day ( ) and all that night ( ). When it 1 Osborn, N. D., & Hatton, H. A. (1999). A handbook on Exodus (p. 242). New York: United Bible Societies. 2
was morning ( ), the east wind ( ) brought the locusts ( ). 14 And the locusts ( ) went up over all the land ( ) of Egypt and rested on all the territory of Egypt. They were very severe; previously there had been no such locusts ( ) as they, nor shall there be such after them. 15 For they covered the face ( ) of the whole earth ( ), so that the land ( ) was darkened ( ); and they ate every herb of the land ( ) and all the fruit of the trees ( ) which the hail ( ) had left. So there remained nothing green on the trees ( ) or on the plants of the field throughout all the land ( ) of Egypt. 10:12-15 Now that Pharaoh has refused to let everyone go, the LORD instructs Moses to visibly begin the initiation of the plague by stretching out his rod over the land of Egypt. The LORD then brought an east wind from Arabia and the Sinai Peninsula blowing all day and all night. The locusts began appearing the next morning as predicted. They came in such numbers as had never been seen before and would never be seen again. There could be no doubt that the LORD had brought this plague of locusts! They covered the land of Egypt and made it black in appearance. Some believe the land was darkened by the shadow cast by so many flying locusts. The locusts ate everything left by the plague of hail so that there was nothing green on the plants or trees. This plague was possibly aimed at Shu (pictured below), the Egyptian god of wind and air. 2 16 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste, and said, I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you. 17 Now therefore, please forgive my sin only this once, and entreat ( ) the LORD your God, that He may take away from me this death ( ) only. 18 So he went out from Pharaoh and entreated ( ) the 2 Kranz, J. (2014, November/December). 10 Critical Hits. Bible Study Magazine, 29. 3
LORD. 19 And the LORD turned a very strong west wind ( ), which took the locusts ( ) away and blew them into the Red Sea ( ). There remained not one locust ( ) in all the territory of Egypt. 20 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh s heart, and he did not let the children ( ) of Israel go. 10:16-20 It must not have taken Pharaoh very long to realize his mistake as he called for Moses and Aaron in haste. As he had done after the hail arrived (9:27), Pharaoh admitted he had sinned against the LORD but now against Moses and Aaron and the children of Israel. He asks Moses to forgive him and then implores him to pray to the LORD to remove this death a metaphor for the plague of locusts. 3 Moses then went out and prayed to the LORD who turned a very strong west wind which blew the locusts into the Red Sea ( yahm-soof'). Like the other annoying insects that had been part of the plagues, not one locust remained in all of Egypt. Once again, the LORD hardened Pharaoh s heart and he would not let the children of Israel go. The Ninth Plague: Darkness 21 Then the LORD said to Moses, Stretch out your hand ( ) toward heaven, that there may be darkness ( ) over the land ( ) of Egypt, darkness ( ) which may even be felt ( ). 22 So Moses stretched out his hand ( ) toward heaven, and there was thick ( ) darkness ( ) in all the land ( ) of Egypt three days ( ). 23 They did not see one another; nor did anyone rise from his place for three days ( ). But all the children ( ) of Israel had light ( ) in their dwellings. 10:21-23 Earlier in this study, it was suggested that the plagues came in triads. Like the third and sixth plagues, the ninth plague will be inflicted without petitioning or warning Pharaoh. The LORD simply tells Moses to stretch his hand toward heaven so that there would be darkness ( cho-shek') over the land of Egypt a darkness that could be felt ( mah-shosh'). This verb carries the meaning of groping and is used of blind Isaac feeling of Jacob in Genesis 27:22. This is the same type of darkness that existed at creation Genesis 1:2. Many seek to explain a darkness that could be felt by a continuous sandstorm but that is unnecessary. We are so accustomed to ambient light from both natural and man-made sources that it is difficult to imagine total darkness. Many of us have experienced brief moments of total darkness during cave tours when they briefly turn off all lights. When Moses stretched his hand toward heaven, there was a thick ( cho-shek') darkness ( ah-fay-lah') which literally is darkness of darkness. They were unable to see anyone next to themselves so they stayed in the same place for the three days of darkness. But, the children of Israel had light within their dwellings. Once again, the plague targeted the Egyptians so that they would know the LORD was making a distinction between His people and the Egyptians. The plague of darkness was certainly an affront to the many sun deities of the Egyptians, especially the god Re (Ra). 4 An image of Re is shown on the following page. 3 Osborn, N. D., & Hatton, H. A. (1999). A handbook on Exodus (p. 247). New York: United Bible Societies. 4 Roper, C.D. (2008). Exodus (p.168). Searcy, Ar: Resource Publications. 4
24 Then Pharaoh called to Moses and said, Go ( ), serve ( ) the LORD; only let your flocks and your herds be kept back. Let your little ones also go ( ) with you. 10:24 The plague of darkness seems to have had the desired effect as Pharaoh tells Moses that all the people can go serve the LORD but he says they must leave their flocks and herds behind. 25 But Moses said, You must also give us sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God. 26 Our livestock also shall go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind. For we must take some of them to serve the LORD our God, and even we do not know with what we must serve the LORD until we arrive there. 10:25-26 Moses makes it clear that they must take along their sacrifices and burnt offerings in order to sacrifice to the LORD. They must take their livestock and not a hoof will be left behind. They need livestock to serve the LORD and they won't know what they need until they get there. 27 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh s heart, and he would not let them go. 28 Then Pharaoh said to him, Get away ( ) from me! Take heed to yourself and see my face ( ) no more! For in the day ( ) you see my face ( ) you shall die ( )! 29 So Moses said, You have spoken well. I will never see your face ( ) again. 10:27-29 Once again, the LORD hardened Pharaoh s heart setting up the final plague to show Pharaoh and the Egyptians that He is the LORD. The king angrily tells Moses to get out of his sight because, if he sees him again, he will kill him. Moses accepts Pharaoh s death threat and assures him that he will never see the Egyptian king s face again. 5