Exodus 10-The Eighth and Ninth Plagues
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday November 13, 2011
Journey Through The Bible Series: Exodus 10-The Eighth and Ninth Plagues
Lesson # 10
Please turn in your Bibles to Exodus 10:1.
Exodus 10:1-6 presents the record of the Lord giving Moses instructions concerning the eighth plague.
Exodus 10:1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may perform these signs of Mine among them, 2 and that you may tell in the hearing of your son, and of your grandson, how I made a mockery of the Egyptians and how I performed My signs among them, that you may know that I am the Lord.” 3 Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, that they may serve Me. 4 For if you refuse to let My people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory. 5 They shall cover the surface of the land, so that no one will be able to see the land. They will also eat the rest of what has escaped—what is left to you from the hail—and they will eat every tree which sprouts for you out of the field. 6 Then your houses shall be filled and the houses of all your servants and the houses of all the Egyptians, something which neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from the day that they came upon the earth until this day.’” And he turned and went out from Pharaoh. (NASB95)
The account of the eighth plague in chapter 10 is the second longest of the nine that lead up to the tenth and final plague.
In verse 1, the Lord says to Moses that He has hardened Pharaoh’s heart as well as the heart of his servants.
There are other passages of Scripture which teach that God hardened Pharaoh (Exodus 9:12; 10:20, 27; 11:10; 14:8).
There were prophecies that God would do this to Pharaoh (Exodus 4:21; 7:3).
However, the Scriptures also teach that Pharaoh would harden himself (Exodus 7:13, 14, 22; 8:15, 19, 32; 9:7, 34, 35).
Therefore, God’s hardening of Pharaoh is the direct result of Pharaoh first hardening himself in the sense of rejecting over and again God’s command to release the nation of Israel from her bondage to him in Egypt.
God permitted Pharaoh to exercise his volition repeatedly to reject His command to release the nation of Israel from her bondage in Egypt.
Pharaoh was responsible for his evil actions.
God’s hardening was His response to Pharaoh’s hardening or in other words, it was in response to Pharaoh repeatedly rejecting His command to release the nation of Israel from her bondage in Egypt.
Therefore, when it says that the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart it means that the Lord, in eternity past, decreed for Pharaoh’s negative decision to reject Him in time to take place.
By permitting it to take place, He was also giving Pharaoh a chance to repent.
It also gave the Lord an opportunity to glorify Himself in the sense of manifesting His power to Pharaoh, the Egyptians, the Israelites and the entire world.
In verse 1, the Lord says that one of the purposes of hardening Pharaoh’s heart was so that He might perform His signs, i.e. the ten plagues.
Verse 2 presents another purpose, namely, that the Israelites might tell their children and grandchildren what the Lord did to Egypt with these plagues.
The purpose of telling their children and grandchildren was so that they would trust in the Lord and how important it was to do so.
Also, the Lord in verse 2 says that He hardened Pharaoh’s heart so that the Israelite might know the Lord experientially.
This eighth plague like the previous seven was against another of the gods of the Egyptians, namely, Nut, the sky goddess as well as Osiris, who was the god of crops and fertility.
In verses 3 and 4, we have the record of Moses and Aaron confronting Pharaoh yet again and rebuking him for his arrogance and lack of humility and disobedience to the Lord’s command to let Israel go.
In these verses, we see Pharaoh receiving advanced warning with regards to this eighth plague, which was the case with the first, second, fourth, fifth and seventh plagues.
This was to give Pharaoh an opportunity to repent and spare himself and the Egyptians further suffering.
In verses 5-6, Moses announces to Pharaoh and his servants that a locust plague will destroy what’s left in the land from the plague of hail.
Exodus 10:7-11 presents the record of Pharaoh’s servants conversation with him as well as Moses’ conversation with Pharaoh prior to the eighth plague.
Exodus 10:7 Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not realize that Egypt is destroyed?” 8 So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, and he said to them, “Go, serve the Lord your God! Who are the ones that are going?” 9 Moses said, “We shall go with our young and our old; with our sons and our daughters, with our flocks and our herds we shall go, for we must hold a feast to the Lord.” 10 Then he said to them, “Thus may the Lord be with you, if ever I let you and your little ones go! Take heed, for evil is in your mind. 11 Not so! Go now, the men among you, and serve the Lord, for that is what you desire.” So they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence. (NASB95)
In verse 7, for the first time, we have the servants of Pharaoh complaining about his policy with regards to the Israelites.
They confront Pharaoh and ask him if he realizes what his policy towards the Israelites is doing to their nation.
Pharaoh’s question “who are the ones that are going?” reveals his stubbornness.
In verse 9 Moses tells him that not only the men are going to leave Egypt but also their women and children.
Verses 10 and 11 record Pharaoh issuing a threat to Moses and Aaron.
When Pharaoh says “may the Lord be with you” he is not blessing Moses and Aaron.
What Pharaoh is saying is that “may the Lord your God be as far from you as I am from giving you permission to go forth with your dependents.”
Ironically, Pharaoh will let them go and the Lord will be with them.
The phrase “for evil is in your mind” is incorrect since Pharaoh is not referring to the Israelites devising evil by leaving Egypt since it is according to God’s will.
If Pharaoh was referring to Israel leaving Egypt as evil, why would he tell them to look out?
What Pharaoh is actually saying here is a threat in the sense that he is in effect telling Moses and Aaron to look out since if they continue to issue demands to him, then he would do something to them!
This fits with Pharaoh driving Moses and Aaron out of his presence.
In Exodus 10:12-15, we have the record of the destruction caused by the locust plague.
Exodus 10:12 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up on the land of Egypt and eat every plant of the land, even all that the hail has left.” 13 So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the Lord directed an east wind on the land all that day and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. 14 The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled in all the territory of Egypt; they were very numerous. There had never been so many locusts, nor would there be so many again. 15 For they covered the surface of the whole land, so that the land was darkened; and they ate every plant of the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Thus nothing green was left on tree or plant of the field through all the land of Egypt. (NASB95)
Verse 12 records the Lord giving Moses the command to stretch out his hand over Egypt which resulted in the Lord directing an east wind to come over the land of Egypt all day and all night.
The following morning this east wind brought the locusts up from Arabia and the Sinai Peninsula.
Verse 14 says that there has been nothing like it in the history of Egypt and nor would this ever take place in the future.
The locusts are described as covering the entire land of Egypt so that the land was darkened.
In Exodus 10:16-20, we have the record of the Lord humbling and hardening Pharaoh.
Exodus 10:16 Then Pharaoh hurriedly called for Moses and Aaron, and he said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. 17 Now therefore, please forgive my sin only this once, and make supplication to the Lord your God, that He would only remove this death from me.” 18 He went out from Pharaoh and made supplication to the Lord. 19 So the Lord shifted the wind to a very strong west wind which took up the locusts and drove them into the Red Sea; not one locust was left in all the territory of Egypt. 20 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the sons of Israel go. (NASB95)
As was the case in Exodus 9:27 after the seventh plague, Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and acknowledges to them that he has sinned.
However, as was the case with the seventh plague, his admission of sin does not demonstrate that he is repentant since again he refuse to obey the Lord and let Israel leave Egypt.
He only admits his sin to stop his suffering as indicated by his plea in verse 17 to remove this death, i.e. the plague of locusts, from him.
After the seventh plague, Pharaoh requested that Moses intercede in prayer on his behalf and so we see the same thing taking place after the eighth plague.
After the seventh plague, Moses responded to Pharaoh’s request for prayer and he responds to Pharaoh’s request for prayer after the eighth plague.
The Lord responds to Moses’ intercession and ended the seventh plague and He again responds to Moses’ intercession and ends the eighth plague.
After the second and fourth plagues, Pharaoh requested Moses pray to the Lord to end these plagues and the Lord responded to Moses’ intercession and ended these plagues.
Exodus 10:21 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even a darkness which may be felt.” 22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days. 23 They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but all the sons of Israel had light in their dwellings. 24 Then Pharaoh called to Moses, and said, “Go, serve the Lord; only let your flocks and your herds be detained. Even your little ones may go with you.” 25 But Moses said, “You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice them to the Lord our God. 26 Therefore, our livestock too shall go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we shall take some of them to serve the Lord our God. And until we arrive there, we ourselves do not know with what we shall serve the Lord.” 27 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was not willing to let them go. 28 Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me! Beware, do not see my face again, for in the day you see my face you shall die!” 29 Moses said, “You are right; I shall never see your face again!” (NASB95)
The ninth plague like the third and sixth plagues did not come with advance warning for Pharaoh.
Like the previous eight plagues, the ninth plague was directed at the gods of Egypt, specifically, it was against Re, the sun god and Horus, another sun god as well as Nut, a sky goddess and Hathor, another sky goddess.
Verse 22 records that immediately after Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, the Lord brought thick darkness upon the land of Egypt for three days.
This darkness was immediate and not gradual but was instantaneous.
However, in the land of Goshen where the Israelites were located, the Israelites had light in their homes.
Verse 23 records that the Egyptians did not travel for these three days.
In verse 24, we have Pharaoh calling for Moses and telling him to go serve the Lord.
In verse 25, Moses responds by telling Pharaoh that these animals are needed in the worship of the Lord.
By keeping the livestock of the Israelites in Egypt, Pharaoh would be holding hostage the Israelites’ primary business, thus, he was not making an offer that could be accepted by the Israelites.
Verse 27 records Pharaoh’s refusal to let the Israelites go.
In verse 28, Pharaoh threatens Moses and Aaron with death if they return to him, which makes clear that he is finished negotiating with the two brothers.
This is the third Pharaoh who threatened to kill Moses since Thutmose I threatened to kill him as an infant and Thutmose III threatened to kill him after he killed an Egyptian.
In verse 29, Moses ominously tells Pharaoh that they will never see each other alive again.
This would appear to be a contradiction in light of what Exodus 12:31 says, namely that Moses and Aaron confront Pharaoh after the latter summoned them after the tenth and final plague which killed his first born son.
This apparent contradiction is resolved when we understand that when Moses says that he will never again see Pharaoh’s face he means that if he saw Pharaoh again, it would be at Pharaoh’s request to grant him and the Israelites permission to leave Egypt.
Moses will now only return to Pharaoh in order to hear him grant his request to let the Israelites leave Egypt and is through negotiating.
So we have a mutual determination to not to speak to each other again.
However, Pharaoh is forced by the tenth plague to send for Moses and beg that he and the Israelites leave Egypt.
Amenhotep II is attempting to intimidate and silence Moses which is outrageous for a sovereign in the ancient world when dealing with a prophet of God.
First of all, as a prophet of God, Moses would be given immunity since he was simply representing God and presenting Pharaoh with the Lord’s demands.
The violation of the immunity of a prophet in the ancient world was a serious breach of religion and law.
Pharaoh has brought all these problems on himself.
He was warned many times but yet stubbornly refused to acquiesce to the Lord’s demands.
If he complied with the Lord’s demands, he and his fellow countrymen would not have suffered as terribly as they did.
He accuses Moses as conducting himself in a manner worthy of death instead of admitting that he brought this destruction and suffering upon himself and his people.