Deeper Commentary
Exo 10:1 Yahweh said to Moses, Go in to Pharaoh, for I have
hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, that I may show these
My signs in their midst-
To be caught up in the downward spiral [as we all are at times] doesn't
mean that there's no way out. The hearts of Pharaoh's servants were
hardened (Ex. 10:1 cp. Ex. 9:34), and yet they did in fact soften when
they beg Pharaoh to let Israel go (Ex. 10:7; 11:8). Yet each refusal of
Pharaoh to soften his heart made it harder for him to soften it the next
time the opportunity was presented. And so it is with us. Conditional language is always used
about Pharaoh-if he were to refuse to release Israel, more plagues would
happen (Ex. 8:2; 9:2; 10:4 cp. 8:21; 4:23 RSV). In fact God wanted Pharaoh
to come to realize that there is none like Yahweh in all the earth- and
that was actually why He did not immediately kill Pharaoh, but rather
appealed to him through the plagues. That's how I read the enigmatic Ex.
9:24: "For now I should have put forth my hand, and smitten thee... and
thou hadst been cut off from the earth". Fretheim paraphrases this: "If I
had not had the intention of your knowing that there is none like me in
all the earth... then I should have put forth my hand and cut you off from
the earth. This is what you have deserved". The hardening of Pharaoh's
heart didn't mean that he was thereby bound to chose wrongly each time.
Indeed, the plagues themselves were designed to warn Pharaoh and thereby
appeal to him to change, in order to avoid worse plagues.
The same Hebrew words used of the hardening of Pharaoh's heart occur in
a positive context- for God also hardens or strengthens the hearts of the
righteous (Ps. 27:14; Is. 35:4). Indeed, Is. 35:4 speaks of how the
righteous shouldn’t have a weak or [Heb.] ‘fluid’ heart, but rather a
hardened one. Clearly enough, God solidifies human attitudes, one way or
the other, through the work of His Spirit upon our spirit. This is a
sobering thought- for He is prepared to confirm a person in their weak
thinking. But on the other hand, even the weakest basic intention towards
righteousness is solidified by Him too.
Exo 10:2 and that you may tell in the hearing of your son, and of your
son’s son, what things I have done to Egypt, and My signs which I have
done among them; that you may know that I am Yahweh-
Repeatedly God has held out hope that Pharaoh would "know that I am
Yahweh". But he had refused this, and it was God's hope now that His own
people would perceive the truths He had tried to teach Pharaoh, and come
to the required repentance and humility. For to know Yahweh, in the
Hebraic sense, is not so much to know facts about Him; but to be in
relationship with Him.
Exo 10:3 Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and said to him, This is what
Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘How long will you refuse to humble
yourself before Me? Let My people go, that they may serve Me-
"Humble yourself" is the word used for how the Egyptians had
afflicted or humbled the Hebrews (Ex. 1:11,12). The only way Pharaoh could
undo that was by afflicting / humbling himself before God. What was [and
is] required was not the desperate repentance of a moment, in the face of
urgent personal need, but humility as a permanent characteristic.
"Serve Me" could refer specifically to the initial request to keep a feast to Yahweh. But the call was for Israel to be allowed to change masters, from Pharaoh to Yahweh. They changed masters when they crossed the Red Sea, just as Paul says happens when we are baptized (Rom. 6). And the Red Sea crossing represented baptism into Jesus (1 Cor. 10:1,2). Like us, Israel were not radically free to do as they pleased. What happened was that they changed masters; hence the appeal to Pharaoh to let God's people go, that they may serve Him rather than Pharaoh. We too will only find ultimate freedom through this servitude to God's ways, and will finally emerge into the radical liberty of the children of God in the Kingdom age (Rom. 8:21).
Exo 10:4 Or else, if you refuse to let My people go, behold, tomorrow I
will bring locusts into your country-
Ex. 8:2; 9:2; 10:4 emphasize the real choice before Pharaoh; he was
refusing to let Israel go and "held" them. Babylon was warned that no
nation could "hold them fast [and] refuse to let [Israel] go [because]
their redeemer is strong" (Jer. 50:33,34). The Hebrew for "strong" is that
translated "hold". God had a stronger grip and claim on them than did
Pharaoh. They were Yahweh's, not Pharaoh's. And it could be argued that
Babylon-Persia did listen to this message, and allowed and encouraged the
exiles to return. We too are to learn from all this historical precedent;
that our hand is not stronger than God's.
The defining of a specific time, "tomorrow", was again in order to give Pharaoh the opportunity for repentance.
Exo 10:5 and they shall cover the surface of the earth, so that one won’t
be able to see the earth. They shall eat the residue of that which has
escaped, which remains to you from the hail, and shall eat every tree
which grows for you out of the field-
The 'covering' of Egypt with frogs in Ex. 8:6 and locusts in Ex.
10:5,15 looked ahead to the 'covering' of the Egyptians at the Red Sea
(Ex. 14:28; 15:5,10). It was an appeal for repentance, in the hope that
the final smiting would not be necessary. It was God's intention and hope
to save the Egyptians, but they would not.
Exo 10:6 Your houses shall be filled, and the houses of all your servants,
and the houses of all the Egyptians; as neither your fathers nor your
fathers’ fathers have seen, since the day that they were on the earth to
this day’-
The language of the locust plague here is alluded to throughout Joel,
where the invaders of Israel are likened to an unprecedented locust
invasion. Thus the filling of houses with locusts is repeated in Joel 2:9.
The idea was that an apostate Israel were to be treated as the Egyptians.
It is a theme with God that His apostate people are "condemned with the
world" (1 Cor. 11:32). If their hearts are really with Egypt / the world,
then they will share the judgments of this world. The time for separation
is now, just as the Egyptians had to identify with Israel if they wished
to escape the plagues. The Egyptians were likewise tempted to understand
the locusts as symbolizing an invading army- of Israelites. They would
destroy Egypt- unless they let them go. See on :26.
He turned himself about, and went out from Pharaoh-
Being easily
provoked was one of Moses' characteristics; consider how he turned himself
and stormed out from Pharaoh (Ex. 10:6; 11:8); how his anger waxed hot
when he returned from the mount, how he went out from Pharaoh in great
anger, how he first of all feared the wrath of Pharaoh and then stopped
fearing it; how Moses was "very wroth" at Israel's suggestion that he was
appropriating the sacrifices for himself; how he was "angry" with Eleazer
(Ex. 32:19; 11:8; Num. 16:15; Lev. 10:16,17). This temperament explains
his swings of faith. Was the Lord Jesus likewise afflicted? And yet Moses
went on to become the most humble of all men. It came to full term when
Moses' faith slipped for a moment; because his spirit was provoked by
Israel, so that he spoke unadvisedly with his lips and was therefore
barred from entering the land (although maybe such an apparently temporary
slip was the reflection of deeper problems?). Yet it does seem
uncharacteristic, a tragic slip down the graph of ever rising
spirituality. There must have almost been tears in Heaven.
Moses turned and left Pharaoh without asking for permission to leave. He didnt retreat from the King's presence by stepping backwards facing the king, but turned his back on him and walked out. He was showing total disrespect to Pharaoh as monarch. He was indeed acting as God to Pharaoh.
Exo 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 Yahweh, their God. Don’t you
yet know that Egypt is destroyed?-
The magicians had earlier admitted "This is the finger of God" (Ex.
8:19); but the courtiers had "hardened their hearts" like Pharaoh (Ex.
9:34). But now they are realizing the power of Yahweh. They were the
landowner class. But they had now lost their cattle and crops, and the
land was ruined.
"Not yet" suggests they sensed God had an intended point of realisation for Pharaoh and he needed to hurry up and get there. Likewise in :3 "How long will you refuse..".
Exo 10:8 Moses and Aaron were brought again to Pharaoh, and he said to
them, Go, serve Yahweh your God; but who are those who will go?-
Pharaoh surely originally intended to tell them to leave immediately;
but his lack of total capitulation to Yahweh meant that at the last
minute, he still brings in a proviso- 'Who will go?'. We have in him an
example of what happens when we offer God anything less than total
capitulation. Sinless perfection is not what's required- but total
capitulation to Him is.
Exo 10:9 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 to Yahweh-
This was an argument back against the idea that religion was just a
male preserve. Yahweh's covenant was with all His people, including women
and children. It was no mere hobby or external religious ritual.
Exo 10:10 He said to them, Yahweh be with you if I will let you go with
your little ones! See, evil is clearly before your faces-
The greatest Egyptian god was the sun–god Ra, and the Pharaoh was seen
as his manifestation on earth. It may be that Pharaoh alludes to this when
he threatens Moses: “Look, for there is evil [ra’a]
before you” (Ex. 10:10). And Yahweh’s response was to darken the sun and
create a darkness which could be felt (Ex. 10:21)
Exo 10:11 Not so! Go now you who are men, and serve Yahweh; for that is
what you desire! They were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence-
Pharaoh clearly saw that he was going to have to allow the entire
nation leave. But his rage increases as he realizes this, and desperately
clings on to his petty power.
Exo 10:12 Yahweh 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 herb of the land, even all that the hail has left-
The continual destruction of what had remained from the previous
plagues was a carefully calculated way of trying to bring the Egyptians
progressively towards repentance.
Exo 10:13 Moses stretched out his rod over the land of Egypt, and Yahweh
brought an east wind on the land all that day, and all the night; and when
it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts-
It was the east wind which was to open the Red Sea (Ex. 14:21). The
people were being taught that God could control the winds as He wished;
and "wind", ruach, is the word also used for God's Spirit-Angels.
But the east wind was to judge an apostate people of God (Is. 27:8; Jer.
18:17; Ez. 17:10; 19:12; Hos. 13:15). The idea was that an apostate Israel
were to be treated as the Egyptians. It is a theme with God that His
apostate people are "condemned with the world" (1 Cor. 11:32). If their
hearts are really with Egypt / the world, then they will share the
judgments of this world. The time for separation is now, just as the
Egyptians had to identify with Israel if they wished to escape the
plagues.
Exo 10:14 The locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in
all the borders of Egypt. They were very grievous. Before them there were
no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such-
Egypt at the time was 520 miles from north to south, and about 20
miles wide apart from at the Nile delta. This was a huge number of
locusts. The "locusts" appear to have been a special creation, never seen
before nor afterwards.
Time and again the prophets describe the judgments to fall upon Israel
in the same terms as they speak of the condemnations of the surrounding
nations. The message was clear: rejected Israel would be treated as
Gentiles. Thus Joel describes the locust invasion of Israel in the
language of locusts covering the face of Egypt (Joel 2:2,20 = Ex.
10:14,15,19). Israel’s hardness of heart is explicitly likened to that of
Pharaoh (1 Sam. 6:6); as the Egyptians were drowned, so would Israel be
(Am. 9:5-8). As Pharaoh’s heart was plagued (Ex. 9:14), so was Israel’s (1
Kings 8:38); as Egypt was a reed, so were Israel (1 Kings 14:15). As
Pharaoh-hophra was given into the hand of his enemies, so would Israel be
(Jer. 44:30). She would be “Condemned with the world...”.
Exo 10:15 For they covered the surface 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. There remained nothing green, either
tree or herb of the field, through all the land of Egypt-
The darkening of the land could refer to the locust clouds blotting
out the light of the sun. But it's likely a reference to the way that
their brown bodies and wings literally darkened the ground after settling
(:5). The destruction described would have been felt particularly by the
landowner class who surrounded Pharaoh.
Exo 10:16 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste, and he said, I
have sinned against Yahweh your God, and against you-
His previous summonings of Moses and Aaron in Ex. 8:8,25; 9:2 had
lacked this element of haste. We see a man increasingly desperate, being
forced to repentance. And his repentance has greater depth to it than
before in Ex. 9:27; for he realizes he has sinned also against Moses and
Aaron personally. The Lord puts his words in the mouth of the repentant
prodigal son. He had the right form of words, and probably the right
attitude of heart- at that moment. But the lesson is that repentance is
not a passing realization of sin, but a permanent change of attitude and
behaviour. And that is a critical lesson for all of us, for all time.
Exo 10:17 Now therefore please forgive my sin again, and pray to Yahweh
your God, that He may also take away from me this death-
Pharaoh asked Moses to pardon his sin, rather than asking Yahweh
directly. By contrast, David asks God directly to "pardon my sin" (Ps.
25:18; 32:5). Likewise Saul's mere religiosity is reflected by the way in
which he asks Samuel to "pardon my sin", when he ought instead to have
been asking this of God. For Yahweh is the God who delights to pardon sin
(s.w. Ex. 34:7). But whilst Saul uses the correct vocabulary, he
misdirects it- to Samuel and not to God. And he ends up using the very
phrase of Pharaoh (Ex. 10:17), also without ultimate sincerity.
Exo 10:18 He went out from Pharaoh, and prayed to Yahweh-
What Moses prayed for isn't recorded. It is left purposefully
ambiguous as to whether he simply prayed for the locusts to be removed, or
for Pharaoh's forgiveness. There are many such intentional ambiguities in
the Biblical narrative- to provoke our imagination and questions, so that
we might enter more fully into the narrative.
Exo 10:19 Yahweh turned an exceeding strong west wind, which took up the
locusts, and drove them into the Red Sea. There remained not one locust in
all the borders of Egypt-
The wind which blew the locusts in and then to blow them away
again, until "not a single locust was left" (Ex. 10:19) is just what
happened to the Egyptians- the wind blew the waters to and fro, and
left not a single Egyptian soldier alive (Ex. 14:21,28). The locust plague
was an appeal for their repentance, and an encouragement for them to
perceive what Yahweh could do again. The plagues began by affecting
everyone, but then focus in on the Egyptians and then zoom closer in upon
the personal possessions of Pharaoh. In Pharaoh's case, it would be true
to say that God's hardening activities gather momentum, like a swimmer
sucked closer and closer towards the waterfall. There has to come a moment
when the pull is now too strong, and the plunge is inevitable. It is that
moment which perhaps we need to fear more than anything else in human
experience.
"There remained not one" beetle (Ex. 8:31), locust (Ex. 10:19) nor Egyptian who pursued the Israelites (Ex. 14:28). The same phrase is used. Again we see how both Egyptians and Israelites were intended to learn from the plagues, and how this came to full term when "not one" of their enemies was left- thanks to the prayer of Moses.
Exo 10:20 But Yahweh hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he didn’t let the
children of Israel go-
Hebrew tends to reason through placing 'blocks' of ideas are put in
opposition to each other, or 'dialectic', in order to come to conclusions.
That's why we can read of God hardening Pharaoh's heart, and Pharaoh
hardening his own heart (Ex. 7:3; 8:15). To Greek, step-logic thinkers,
that's a worrying contradiction- only because they don't pick up the way
that Hebrew reasoning involves these kinds of statements being put in
opposition to each other, so that through the dialectic process we come to
understand what is meant.
This is a case of "Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness" (Is. 26:10). People like this "despise the riches of God’s goodness and forbearance and long-suffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads them to repentance". And so they "treasure up to themselves wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God" (Rom. 2:4,5). Paul surely wrote this in conscious allusion to Pharaoh, as a representative of all who will ultimately fail of God's grace.
Exo 10:21 Yahweh said to Moses, Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that
there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be
felt-
The rejected will be sent to a mist of darkness (2 Pet. 2:17). Thick
darkness is associated with God's judgment (Is. 8:22; Joel 2:2; Zeph.
1:15)- and recall how the judgment of darkness upon Egypt was so severe
that human movement required 'groping' (Ex. 10:21). Perhaps there will be
a literal element to this in the experience of the rejected. Be that as it
may, the utter pointlessness of life without God will be so
bitterly apparent. And yet they would not face up to it in their day of
opportunity.
The plagues upon Egypt recorded in Ex. 7-10 are frequently alluded to
in later Scripture concerning the judgments upon the apostate people of
God. The judgment of darkness is a case in point. Quite simply, God's rejected people suffer the judgments of this
world. All this has a powerful imperative for us. If we love the world, we
will be sent back into it. The Lord will effectively tell the rejected:
'Go back and watch telly. That's what you liked doing. Go back and sail
your pleasure boat, take a holiday to Spain, go back to the guys at the
bar and have another drink with them... that's what you always liked,
compared to the things of My people and My Kingdom'. And the last thing,
the very last thing, that the rejected will want is to go back to all
that. But they will have to. For in their lives, they made their answer.
The pointlessness of the life of the world will then be only too apparent
to them. As Adam was made to realize he was made of dust and must tend
that dust and then return to it, living a pointless existence, so the
rejected whom he typified will realize all too late the vanity of life in
the flesh. Rejected Israel in the wilderness had their years of prolonged
existence "consumed with vanity" (Ps. 78:33). The faithless of the new
Israel will go through the same. So let us, while we have opportunity,
learn the utter vanity of all else apart from the things of the Lord, His
people and His Kingdom.
The darkness would have been "felt" in that it may have been associated with a sandstorm which blotted out the sun's light.
Exo 10:22 Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and there was a
thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days-
Three days was the period associated with death and mourning. We
think of the Lord's death for three days. They were being taught that God
could bring about intense mourning and death- and they would all feel it,
as they felt this darkness (:21). The death of the firstborn was therefore
avoidable, and was only God's most desperate attempt, as it were, to bring
about their repentance. The plague of darkness was intended to help them
realize that He could slay them, and to elicit their repentance before He
did.
Exo 10:23 They didn’t see one another, neither did anyone rise from his
place for three days; but all the children of Israel had light in their
dwellings-
Israel in Egypt had light, but Egypt was in darkness. And
yet later, at the time of the Exodus, it was the Angel in the pillar of
cloud and fire that gave light to the Israelites and darkness to the
Egyptian pursuers. One possible conclusion could be that the guardian
Angel of each Israelite was physically with them at the time of the plague
of darkness, giving them light and yet darkness to the Egyptians. It seems
that great stress is placed in Scripture on the Angels physically moving
through space, both on the earth and between Heaven and earth, in order to
fulfil their tasks, rather than being static in Heaven or earth and
bringing things about by just willing them to happen. See on Gen. 18:10.
Again we see how the plagues were designed to teach. If Egyptians wanted light, they must go into the house of Israelites. This was to prepare then to go into their houses for salvation from the final plague. And Israelites only had light in their homes. They were taught to see their homes as the place of safety, to prepare them to abide in their homes during the death of the firstborn. It is only when we refuse to accept meaning in event that we fall into the sense that life is random and pointless, and we are held captive by the winds of fortune. And the many associations between death and darkness were to encourage them all to see that escape from death was only through association with God's people within their homes. And we have here the basis for house churches, light and escape from death for the world.
Exo 10:24 Pharaoh called to Moses, and said, Go, serve Yahweh. Only let
your flocks and your herds stay behind. Let your little ones also go with
you-
Again we see Pharaoh capitulating- and then putting on the brakes, by
trying to make some proviso. He agreed now that their women and children
could leave- but their animals must stay behind. Most of the animals of
the Egyptians had been slain, and so Pharaoh was desperate for animals.
But again we see the lesson- that anything less than total capitulation to
God is the same as resisting Him.
Exo 10:25 Moses said, You must also give into our hand sacrifices and
burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to Yahweh our God-
Pharaoh hardened his own heart (Ex. 7:22; 8:15,19,32; 9:7,34,35). And
yet God hardened his heart (Ex. 9:12; 10:1,20,27; 11:10; 14:8). The
references to God hardening Pharaoh's heart generally occur after Pharaoh
had first hardened his own heart. The fact Pharaoh hardened his heart was
a sin (Ex. 9:34), and yet God encouraged him in this. God offered Pharaoh
a way of escape after each of the plagues; all he had to do was to agree
to let Israel go. But the conditions got tougher the longer he resisted
God's demand: he finally had to not only let Israel go, along with their
animals, but also provide
them with sacrifices (Ex. 10:25). Likewise when Nebuchadnezzar lifted his
heart up, God hardened it (Dan. 5:20).
Exo 10:26 Our livestock also shall go with us. Not a hoof shall be
left behind, for of it we must take to serve Yahweh our God; and we don’t
know with what we must serve Yahweh, until we come there-
"Serve" is used in the sense of sacrifice. "Left behind" is the word
just used for how not a single locust "remained" in Egypt (:19). I
suggested on :6 that the Egyptians saw the locust invasion as representing
the swarming multitudes of Hebrews which had come into their land. And
Moses goes along with this parallel; he says that just as not a single
locust remained, so neither would a single Israelite animal. Just as Egypt
wanted the locusts to totally leave their land, so they had to let all
Israel leave.
Exo 10:27 But Yahweh hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he wouldn’t let them
go-
When Paul insists that God hardened Pharaoh's heart (Rom. 9:14-18), he
is not only repeating the Biblical record (Ex. 9:12,16; 33:19), but he is
alluding to the way that the Jewish Book of Jubilees claimed that
Mastema [the supposed personal Satan] and not God hardened Pharaoh's
heart.
Exo 10:28 Pharaoh said to him, Get away from me! Be careful to see my face
no more; for in the day you see my face you shall die!-
I discussed on :10 how Pharaoh could easily have apparently rid
himself of these plagues by slaying Moses and Aaron. The only reason I can
see for not doing so was his subconscious awareness that they were of God,
and he would suffer terribly if he did so. This is the tragedy of it all-
that Pharaoh had a conscience. But he refused to be led to follow it.
Exo 10:29 Moses said, You have spoken well. I will see your face again no
more-
The LXX makes this sound as if Pharaoh was as it were being judged
out of his own mouth: "And Moses says, Thou hast said, I will not appear
in thy presence again". Pharaoh had said that he wouldn't see Moses again,
and indeed he wouldn't- for he would soon be slain. That is the
implication of Moses' words. And yet according to Ex. 12:31, there was one
last brief meeting between them. So the idea may be that Moses would not
again appear before God's face again in intercession for Pharaoh and the
Egyptians. Pharaoh and Egypt were now beyond Moses' intercession and
prayer.
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