LESSON 10
THE EIGHTH AND NINTH PLAGUES
Exodus 10:1-29
—by E. L. Bynum
Introduction:
“The Lord would not command His servant again to enter the dangerous presence of the sullen prince, without a reason which would sustain his faith.” —Expositor’s Bible Commentary.
The word translated “hardened” can be translated, “for I have made his heart heavy.” The Lord is saying to Moses, “His foolhardiness is My doing and cannot go beyond My will: you are safe.”
I. THE EIGHTH PLAGUE: LOCUSTS vv. 1-20
A. Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh, vv. 1-7.
1. Pharaoh’s HEART CONDITION, v. 1;
Note: “As he that brings in a light blinds an owl; or as he that pours on water kindles the lime whereupon it is poured: so the Lord by publishing his commands, and by doing his miracles, hardened the heart of Pharaoh.” —John Trapp’s Commentary.
2. Moses is instructed so that OTHERS MAY HEAR of these things, vv. 1-2; 1 Samuel 4:8, “Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? these are the Gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness.”
3. God’s PURPOSE FOR PHARAOH is revealed, v. 2; Psalms 44:1, “We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old.”
4. God’s purpose for MOSES’ OFFSPRING, v. 2.
a. To worship the Lord, Exodus12:26-27, “And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? 27 That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORD’S passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped.”
b. To teach his children regarding how Jehovah redeem Israel out of bondage, Exodus 13:8, 14-15, “And thou shalt shew thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the LORD did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt. 14 And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this? that thou shalt say unto him, By strength of hand the LORD brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage: 15 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that the LORD slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of beast: therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all that openeth the matrix, being males; but all the firstborn of my children I redeem.”
5. Pharaoh is informed of God’s UNCHANGING PURPOSE, v. 3; Exodus 9:17, “As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go?’
6. Pharaoh’s need for HUMILITY, v. 3; Isaiah 2:11, “The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.”
7. The THREAT of the plague of LOCUSTS, vv. 4-6.
Note: Locusts are an occasional, though not a frequent scourge in Egypt. They are not bred there, and necessarily arrive from some foreign country. When they descend, their ravages are as severe as elsewhere. Locusts suddenly appear in the cultivated land coming from the desert in a column of great length. They fly across the country, darkening the air with their compact ranks, which are undisturbed by the constant attacks of kites, crows, and vultures, and making a strange whizzing sound, like that of fire, or many distant wheels. Where they alight they devour every green thing, even stripping the trees of their leaves. They always enter Egypt either from the south or from the east and necessarily come with a wind, since they cannot possible fly any considerable distance without one. Eclectic Note from Exodus.
a. This plague would be devastating, Joel 2:3, “A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.”
b. God will use the locust during the Tribulation Period, Revelation 9:3, “And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.”
8. According to v. 5, they would completely cover the ground and destroy what had not been destroyed by the hail.
9. The departure of Moses, v. 6.
10. The plea of Pharaoh’s servants, v. 7. The threat of the locusts to eat what remained from the hail brought Pharaoh’s servants to their senses.
B. The Third Compromise Offered by Pharaoh, vv. 8-11.
1. Moses and Aaron brought back to Pharaoh, v. 8.
2. Pharaoh’s SELFISH QUESTION, v. 8. He had been told who was going, but he was still hoping for a compromise.
3. Moses UNCOMPROMISING answer, v. 9.
4. Pharaoh’s compromise – “Go ye that are men, and serve the Lord,” vv. 10-11.
Note: He wanted to keep the women, children and possessions so that the men would have to return. That is still what the devil wants to do to families today.
5. Lessons from this proposal for compromise.
a. The devil would have Christian parents to leave their children and families behind in Christian service.
b. The devil would tell us not to force religion on our children.
c. God’s message is plain, Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
1. Don’t provoke your children, Ephesians 6:4, “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”
2. He will command his children to keep the way of the Lord, Genesis 18:19, “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.”
3. He is to teach God’s word diligently to his children, Deuteronomy 6:6-7, “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
4. Thus taught they will keep the way of the Lord, Genesis 18:19, “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.”
6. Pharaoh REFUSES Moses’ CONDITIONS and drives them out, v. 11.
C. The Plague Executed, vv. 12-15.
1. God’s command is to be obeyed always, v. 12.
2. Locusts (grasshoppers) blown in by the east wind, v. 13.
3. This was of course, an abnormal amount of locusts. v. 14.
a. The prophets likened the locusts to an INVADING ARMY, Joel 1-2; Amos 7:1-2, “Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me; and, behold, he formed grasshoppers in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and, lo, it was the latter growth after the king’s mowings. 2 And it came to pass, that when they had made an end of eating the grass of the land, then I said, O Lord GOD, forgive, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small.”
b. They were WITHOUT NUMBER, Judges 6:5, “For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it.” Isaiah 33:4, “And your spoil shall be gathered like the gathering of the caterpiller: as the running to and fro of locusts shall he run upon them.”
4. Their number and their devastating work. v. 15; Psalm 105:34-35, “He spake, and the locusts came, and caterpillers, and that without number, 35 And did eat up all the herbs in their land, and devoured the fruit of their ground.”
Note: “There are many recorded plagues of locusts, but none like this one. Grasshoppers were so great in our own land in the 30s, until the crops were stripped of every leaf and the shucks eaten off the ears of corn. Highways became so slick with crushed grasshoppers that traffic was dangerous. The railroad tracks became so slick that the driving wheels of, the train would simply spin on the rails.” —E. L. Bynum.
5. This plague was a BLOW AGAINST their god “SERAPIS,” who was SUPPOSED TO PROTECT them from locusts.
D. The Result of the Plague, vv. 16-20.
1. Pharaoh confesses his sin, v. 16.
Note: “I have sinned against the Lord.” “A fair confession, but forced and extorted. Thus the toad, if beaten on the belly, will vomit up his venom, and the malefactor on the rack will utter all. But as water heated, if taken off the fire will soon return to its natural coldness, yea, become colder after heating than before.” John Trapp’s Commentary.
2. He asks for forgiveness, v. 17.
Note: Again he did not repent. This is like some today who want forgiveness, but do not want to repent or really change.
3. Moses entreats the Lord, v. 18.
4. The removal of the locusts, v. 19.
Note: They were cast into the Red Sea, where the Egyptian army would soon be destroyed.
5. Pharaoh’s condition, v. 20.
6. These events foreshadow what is going to happen in the Tribulation, Revelation 9:3-11, “And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. 5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. 6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. 7 And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. 8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. 9 And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. 10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. 11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.”
II. THE NINTH PLAGUE: DARKNESS vv. 21-29
A. The Darkness Sent, vv. 21-23.
1. The children of darkness have DARKNESS, vv. 21-22.
a. The Egyptians worshiped the SUN GOD “Ra,” but their god FAILED.
b. When God WITHDRAWS THE LIGHT, only the darkness is left.
1) Egypt was ABANDONED by God, Proverbs 4:19, “The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.”
2) Egypt was WITHOUT HOPE, Ephesians 2:12, “That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world.”
c. Three days of darkness remind us of 3 hours of darkness at the cross. Matthew 27:45-46, “Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
1) He suffered for our sins on the cross, 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
2) God could not look upon His Son because of our sins, Habakkuk 1:13a, “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity:”
d. The UNREPENTANT SINNER shall be cast into outer darkness, Matthew 8:12, “But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Jude 13, “Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.”
2. The children of light have light, v. 23; John 3:19-21, “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”
a. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, 1 John 1:5-7, “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”
Note: Egypt had a darkness they could light up. Israel had a light which could not be put out.
b. We were in darkness, Ephesians 5:8, “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light.”
c. The light has shined in our hearts, 2 Corinthians 4:6, “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
B. The Fourth Compromise Offered, vv. 24-27.
1. The proposal: leave your flocks and herds, v. 24.
Note: He first sought to keep them IN, then to keep them NEAR the land, and then to keep PART of themselves in the land.
a. Now he wants them to go without any ability to serve the Lord. The devil wants our possessions.
b. This is an attempt to get them to try to make the best of two worlds, 2 Timothy 4:10, “For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.” Matthew 6:21, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
c. This would involve disobedience in stewardship. Malachi 3:8, “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.”
2. Moses’ reply, vv. 25-26.
a. Pharaoh must furnish the sacrifices, v. 25.
b. Not one hoof to be left behind, v. 26.
c. They did not know what they would need until they arrived, v. 26; Hebrews 11:8, “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.”
3. Pharaoh’s continued hardness, v. 27. The longer a person resists the truth of God, the harder their heart will get.
C. Pharaoh Delivered to Judgment, vv. 28-29.
1. Pharaoh’s harsh final statement, v. 28.
Note: The calm firmness of Moses provoked the tyrant. Frantic with disappointment and rage, with offended and desperate malice, he ordered him from his presence and forbade him ever to return.—Jamison, Fausset, Brown Commentary.
2. Moses’ ready acceptance, v. 29.
3. It is true that Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron by night, and ordered them to leave Egypt, and to take all their substance with them, Exodus 12:31, “And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as ye have said.”
—Outline by E. L. Bynum; Revision by Art Davison
STUDY QUESTIONS
1. What was the eighth plague brought upon Egypt?
2, What was the purpose of Moses telling his sons and his son’s sons about the signs and plagues?
3, What was the third compromise offered to Moses concerning Israel going into the wilderness to worship the lord? (Look up the first two.)
4. How did God bring this eighth plague upon the land?
5. How did God. rid the land of this plague?
6. What was the ninth plague upon Egypt?
7. What is so significant about this darkness?
8. How long did the darkness last?
9. How does this compare with the darkness surrounding the cross?
10. What was the fourth compromise offered to Moses concerning Israel going into the wilderness to worship the Lord?
11. How did Pharaoh threaten Moses?