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The LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, for I have made his heart and the hearts of his servants stubborn, that I may show these signs of mine among them,
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and that you may tell your children and your children’s children how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I performed among them, so that you may know that I am the LORD.”
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Then Moses and Aaron went in 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.
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For if you refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory;
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they shall cover the face of the earth, so that the land cannot be seen, and they shall eat the rest that has escaped, what remains for you from the hail, and they shall eat every tree of yours that grows in the field.
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They shall fill your houses, the houses of all your servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians, such as neither your fathers nor your fathers’ fathers have seen, from the day they came upon the earth until this day.” Then he turned and went out from Pharaoh.
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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 realize that Egypt is surely ruined?”
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So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, and Pharaoh said to them, “Go, serve the LORD your God. But who exactly is to go?”
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Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old; with our sons and our daughters, with our flocks and our herds, for we must hold a feast to the LORD.”
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But Pharaoh said to them, “May the LORD be with you, if I let you go with your little ones! See, your purpose is evil!
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No, go now, only the men, and serve the LORD, for that is what you desire.” And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.
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Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt to bring locusts, and the locusts shall come up over the land of Egypt and eat every plant in the land, everything that the hail has left.”
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So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind over the land all that day and all that night; and when morning came, the east wind brought the locusts.
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Locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled in all the territory of Egypt, very many; before them there had never been such a multitude of locusts, nor would there ever be such again.
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For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened by them; and the locusts devoured all the plants of the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left, so that nothing green remained on tree or plant in all the land of Egypt.
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Then Pharaoh hurriedly called for Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against you.
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Now therefore, forgive my sin, I pray, only this once, and pray to the LORD your God, that he may remove this death from me.”
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So Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the LORD.
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And the LORD caused a very strong west wind to blow from the opposite direction, and it carried the locusts and cast them into the Red Sea: not one locust remained in all the territory of Egypt.
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But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that he would not let the Israelites go.
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Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the heavens, that darkness may come over the land of Egypt, a darkness that can be felt.”
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So Moses stretched out his hand toward the heavens, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days.
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No one could see his neighbor, nor could anyone rise from his place for three days; but all the Israelites had light in their dwellings.
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Then Pharaoh called Moses and said, “Go, worship the LORD; only your flocks and your herds must be left behind, and your children may also go with you.”
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But Moses said, “You must also give us sacrifices and burnt offerings, so that we may prepare them for the LORD our God.
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Our livestock also must go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for from them we must take to worship the LORD our God; and we do not know with what we must worship the LORD until we arrive there.”
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But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that he was not willing to let them go.
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Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me; take care, do not see my face again, for on the day you see my face, you shall die.”
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And Moses said, “Just as you have spoken! I will not see your face again!”
🪲🌑⚠️ Summary of Exodus 10
Exodus 10 contains the eighth plague (locusts) and the ninth (darkness). These are the last two great plagues before the death plague, and they show how God broke the pride of Egypt while still giving an opportunity to repent.
1. The LORD Hardens Pharaoh’s Heart (verses 1–2)
- The LORD declares that He intentionally hardened Pharaoh’s heart in order to:
“showing My signs and wonders” so that the people of Israel would tell them to their descendants.
- This is a form of generational testimony to the power and justice of God.
2. The Eighth Plague: Locusts (verses 3–20)
- Moses and Aaron gave warning to Pharaoh, who still refused to humble himself.
- Locusts were sent in great numbers:
Eating the remaining crops left after the hail.
Making the land dark by their number.
- Pharaoh’s officials began to plead that Moses and Aaron be allowed to go.
- Pharaoh finally allowed them to go, but only the men.
- God sent an east wind bringing the locusts, then a west wind carried them away after Moses prayed.
- Yet Pharaoh hardened his heart again.
3. The Ninth Plague: Darkness (verses 21–29)
- God commanded Moses to stretch out his hand toward the sky, and there came complete darkness for three days.
- The Egyptians could not see or move from where they were, but light remained in the dwellings of the Israelites.
- Pharaoh offered a compromise: the people of Israel could go, but they must leave their livestock behind.
- Moses refused because the people must bring offerings and sacrifices.
- Pharaoh became angry and said:
“Do not come before me again, for on the day you see my face, you shall die.”
- Moses answered:
“Just as you have said, I will not see your face again.”
📖 Main Teaching
- The Lord has a noble purpose even in the midst of judgment: that the next generation may know Him.
- Every compromise of Pharaoh shows that partial obedience is not true obedience.
- The Lord still preserves light for His people, even when the world is in darkness.
- Hardness of heart can keep a person from seeing light and truth.
- The Lord’s warnings, if ignored, will lead to final judgment.
✨ Spiritual Meaning
- Locusts symbolize destruction because of greed and sin. They devoured the fruit of hard labor, a sign that life without God is vain.
- Darkness for three days was not merely a natural disaster, but a symbol of a broken relationship with spiritual light.
- When Egypt was in utter darkness, Israel still had light—a picture that the Lord never abandons His people even in the midst of judgment.
- Pharaoh represents sin that keeps rejecting the truth, even when all the evidence is already clear.
