#21 – Exodus 10:21-11:10
Lights Out and Last Chance
Throughout the land of Egypt, water sources have been polluted. Homes filled with frogs and bugs. Crops and livestock wiped out. Bodies blistered with festering boils. The worst thunderstorm in Egypt’s recorded history terrorized the populace as hailstones pelted down. The citizens are ready for these recurring nightmares to end. But Pharaoh has a heart problem.
Plague #9: Darkness
No one is comfortable very long not being able to see their hands in front of their faces, literally. It’s one thing to willingly experience temporary blindness, and quite another to have a darkness that may be felt inflicted for three days. (Exodus 10:21-22 NASB.)
Those enduring isolation caused by the novel Coronavirus know what it means to “shelter in place.” Imagine doing so in a world gone dark. No dawn, sunlight, or twilight. No moon or twinkling stars. 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. (Exodus 10:23.)
No mention is made of Egypt’s wise men here. World class astrologers, these observers knew the heavens well. Eclipses could be explained; three days of total “lights out” could not. Especially when neighboring Goshen had light.
Pharaoh relents – almost
After Plague #8 Pharaoh was willing to let the Jewish men go off to worship in the wilderness. Now he’s extending the reprieve to include the women and children – but the flocks and herds must remain.
Moses is not in a negotiating mood. “Not a hoof will be left behind.” (Exodus 10:25-26 NASB.)
G-d is not finished with Pharaoh just yet. He hardens the king’s heart. (Exodus 10:27 NASB.)
And hardened it is. Pharaoh tells Moses, “Get away from me! Beware, do not see my face again, for in the day you see my face you shall die!” (Exodus 10:28.)
Moses responds, “You are right; I shall never see your face again!” (Exodus 10:29.)
But the L-RD has one more message for Pharaoh . . . .
“I’m going on a trip . . . .”
Since G-d appeared to Moses at the burning bush, He has been instructing His servant, preparing him for what lay ahead. Nine plagues have passed. Pharaoh has bent, but not broken.
Now the L-RD lets Moses know that the end is in sight. “One more plague I will bring on Pharaoh and on Egypt; after that he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will surely drive you out from here completely.” (Exodus 11:1.)
G-d goes on to remind[1] Moses to instruct the children of Israel upon their departure to ask their Egyptian neighbors for assistance. They are not just to ask for a sack lunch for their journey. They are to fill their sacks with articles of silver and articles of gold. (Exodus 10:2.)
A change of heart
The L-RD gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Furthermore, the man Moses himself was greatly esteemed in the land of Egypt, both in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people. (Exodus 11:3.)
What a difference a plague makes (or nine)! From despised slaves to finding favor with their oppressors is quite a change in status. Notably, just as the L-RD had been at work hardening hearts of Pharaoh’s servants (Exodus 10:1), He now softens them.
The final warning
But there is one heart that hasn’t softened: Pharaoh’s. The text does not record the details of when and where Moses had his final encounter with the Egyptian king (who had promised to kill him if Moses showed his face again). But the script for the last plague had been dictated by G-d back in the wilderness of Midian.
“When you go back to Egypt see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in your power; but I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.
Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the L-RD, “Israel is My son, My firstborn.
So I said to you, ‘Let My son go that he may serve Me’; but you have refused to let him go. Behold, I will kill your son, your firstborn.”’” (Exodus 4:21-23.)
Up till now the Egyptians had suffered physical pain and fiscal loss. They had seen piles of dead frogs and livestock. With G-d’s final judgment, humans would die – and not just Pharaoh’s son:
”And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of the Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the millstones; all the firstborn of the cattle as well.
Moreover, there shall be a great cry in all the land of Egypt, such as there has not been before and such as shall never be again.” (Exodus 11:5-6.)
The last shall be first
Our study in Exodus began with the enslavement of the Hebrews and Pharaoh’s edict to kill their baby boys. The Jewish people sighed, cried, and groaned because of their bondage and ill treatment.
The story has now come full circle. It is the Egyptians who will soon be wailing in anguish. “But against any of the sons of Israel a dog will not even bark, whether against man or beast, that you may understand how the L-RD makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.” (Exodus 11:7.)
Moses informs Pharaoh that his servants who have always prostrated themselves before him will soon be bowing down to Moses. They finally will insist that Moses depart with his people “and after that I will go out.” (Exodus 11:8.) Then Moses departed from Pharaoh “with his nose on fire.”[2]
Pharaoh will not listen
Are we surprised when G-d tells Moses that Pharaoh will not change? Once more He reveals His purpose in hardening Pharaoh’s heart: “so that My wonders will be multiplied in the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 11:9-10.)
Fear factor/Misery Index
Darkness is a source of primal fear, beginning in early childhood. Even adults get the shivers when we can’t see what’s out there at night.
Pharaoh’s stress level has hit the max. Still operating as though he is in control, he promised if he saw Moses again, he’d kill him. Of course, that was not G-d’s plan.
The Egyptians are more than ready for the Hebrews to depart.
Where is G-d?
On time and on target, the Sovereign of the Universe continues to orchestrate events. His four-century plan as revealed to Abraham includes an eighty-year-old Jewish man whose life was spared from a death sentence as an infant. The nation comprised of Jacob’s offspring has multiplied. As G-d’s firstborn they are about to be redeemed by His mighty hand and outstretched arm.
[1] Long before Joseph was sold into Egyptian slavery, the L-RD promised Abraham that after his descendants had been enslaved and oppressed 400 years in a land not their own, they would “come out with many possessions” (Genesis 15:13-14). Along with His initial instructions to Moses at the burning bush was G-d’s promise that He would grant the Jewish people favor in the sight of the Egyptians so they would not leave empty-handed. In addition to silver and gold, clothing would also be given freely (Exodus 3:21-22).
[2] In English we say, “His face flushed with anger.” The Hebrew idiom is “His nose burned.” Moses has had enough of Pharaoh’s stubborn pride and unwillingness to submit to the L-RD.
Click below to see all articles in this series or to sign up for notifications