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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Exodus 10:1 - 10:11
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The Locusts Threatened
v. 1. 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 show these My signs before him,
v. 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. Since Pharaoh had hardened his heart in the first place, the Lord now gave him up to the doom which he had chosen for himself, and the last plagues had the purpose of completing his obduracy. of this fact Moses was informed, lest he become discouraged. At the same time the Lord had His own glorification in view; for the children of Israel, throughout their generations, should preserve the memory of the Egyptian plagues, in order to keep the fear of the Lord before them all the time.
v. 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. It is the same formula, but preceded by a threatening question, spoken in a much severer tone than heretofore. Would Pharaoh never learn to humble himself before the almighty power of the true God?
v. 4. Else, if thou refuse to let My people go, behold, tomorrow will I bring the locusts into thy coast. It is again a definite prediction, which marks the plague as a miracle.
v. 5. And they shall cover the face of the earth, literally, the eye of the earth, which is pictured as looking upon man in the ornament of its rich vegetation, 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, all the plants whose foliage had been stripped, but which had recovered from the plague of the hail, and shall eat every tree which groweth for you out of the field, the foliage and the fruit of the trees, down to the very bark.
v. 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. Besides working utter devastation in the land, the locusts would, in addition, fill all the dwellings with their nauseating presence, thus proving themselves a pest upon men as well as upon vegetation. And he (Moses) turned himself and went out from Pharaoh. He added no appeal to his announcement, the simple statement of the fact coming with crushing force.
v. 7. And Pharaoh's servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? They compared Moses to a trap, or snare, for catching animals and birds, and themselves to his victims. Let the men go that they may serve the Lord, their God. Knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed? The blind obstinacy of Pharaoh was plunging the entire nation into destruction. Their advice was evidently that the king should grant the request and dismiss the Israelites.
v. 8. And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh; and he said unto them, Go, serve the Lord, your God. He acted as though he were ready to accede to their desire. But who are they that shall go? literally, "Who and who else are those going?" He wanted exact information on that point.
v. 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, literally, "A feast of Jehovah is to us. " It was again a simple statement of fact, for Moses was no longer the humble supplicant.
v. 10. And he said unto them, Let the Lord be so with you, as I will let you go and your little ones. That was bitter blasphemy, that Jehovah should be their assistance in the same degree as Pharaoh was dismissing them; for he had no such intention, and he defied the Lord. Look to it; for evil is before you. He meant to say that he saw through their design of withdrawing the people from their labors.
v. 11. Not so; go now, ye that are men, and serve the Lord; for that ye did desire. He intimated that he had understood them as asking only for leave of absence for the men. And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence. The tyrant acted in a purely arbitrary manner and against better knowledge; for such is the way of unbelievers in waging war against the Lord's people.