Exodus 10:1 – 20 “Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials, that I may perform these miraculous signs of Mine among them, and that you may tell your children and grandchildren how severely I dealt with the Egyptians when I performed miraculous signs among them, so that all of you may know that I am the LORD.”
So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and told him, “This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, so that they may worship Me. But if you refuse to let My people go, I will bring locusts into your territory tomorrow. They will cover the face of the land so that no one can see it. They will devour whatever is left after the hail and eat every tree that grows in your fields. They will fill your houses and the houses of all your officials and every Egyptian—something neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen since the day they came into this land.’” Then Moses turned and left Pharaoh’s presence.
Pharaoh’s officials asked him, “How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the people go, so that they may worship the LORD their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is in ruins?” So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. “Go, worship the LORD your God,” he said. “But who exactly will be going?”
“We will go with our young and old,” Moses replied. “We will go with our sons and daughters, and with our flocks and herds, for we must hold a feast to the LORD.” Then Pharaoh told them, “May the LORD be with you if I ever let you go with your little ones. Clearly you are bent on evil. No, only the men may go and worship the LORD, since that is what you have been requesting.” And Moses and Aaron were driven from Pharaoh’s presence.
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt, so that the locusts may swarm over it and devour every plant in the land—everything that the hail has left behind.” So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and throughout that day and night the LORD sent an east wind across the land. By morning the east wind had brought the locusts. The locusts swarmed across the land and settled over the entire territory of Egypt. Never before had there been so many locusts, and never again will there be. They covered the face of all the land until it was black, and they consumed all the plants on the ground and all the fruit on the trees that the hail had left behind. Nothing green was left on any tree or plant in all the land of Egypt.
Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you. Now please forgive my sin once more and appeal to the LORD your God, that He may remove this death from me.” So Moses left Pharaoh’s presence and appealed to the LORD. And the LORD changed the wind to a very strong west wind that carried off the locusts and blew them into the Red Sea. Not a single locust remained anywhere in Egypt. But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go.”
“Before God brought the next plague, He told Moses that the Israelites would be able to tell their children of the things they had seen God do in Egypt and how it showed them God’s power. The eighth plague, locusts, again focused on Nut, Osiris, and Set. The later crops, wheat and rye, which had survived the hail, were now devoured by the swarms of locusts. There would be no harvest in Egypt that year.” (What was the meaning and purpose of the ten plagues of Egypt? | GotQuestions.org)
Locusts! Very few things are as destructive as locusts. Locusts will eat nearly any kind of plant matter and may also feed on dead insects. The locusts that covered Egypt were so thick that the ground was black and the houses were full. Any grains stored in the houses were consumed by the locusts. Any crops that had survived thus far were gone! Egypt had been stripped of every kind of food and all vegetation. Nothing was left for people or for livestock.
Even the corrupt officials who had been trying to curry favor with Pharaoh finally asked him, “How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the people go, so that they may worship the LORD their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is in ruins?”
APPLICATION: Pharaoh’s heart is still so hard. The Bible states that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, but God could not possibly have done that had Pharaoh not first made the decision himself. People are not puppets, and the whole universe tilts on the axis of free will. We can freely choose to accept or reject God. All along, God has been trying to warn the Egyptians and some of them have come to believe that the God of the Hebrews is the God of the earth.
Pharaoh is bent on getting his own way, no matter what. In recent years, there have been dictators in various countries who have acted in this fashion, spoiling once vibrant economies. Apparently, these men did not care for their own citizens but only wanted absolute power, even at the expense of reducing their countries to ash heaps!
We need to pray for world leaders, that no people will have to suffer as did the ancient Egyptians, but that the leaders will listen to God and follow His leading.
PRAYER: Father God, we lift up world leaders and beg you to give them hearts of compassion for the citizens of their various countries. Cause these men and women to truly become public servants and not tyrants bent on maintaining power at all costs. Lord, send a world – wide revival! In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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