Another warning to Pharaoh

God hardened Pharaoh’s heart to show His mighty works in Egypt.

Moses and Aaron were told to return to Pharaoh and tell him a plague of locusts were going to devour Egypt and all its sustenance. The Locusts would cover the face of the land, eat everything left over after the hail, and fill the houses of the Egyptians. 

Pharaoh relents but seeks conditions

The Israelites want to go out and have a feast in the wilderness. The sacrifice to God always led to a feast with what had been sacrificed so the two are linked. The less people set down together the more there is opposition. When people sit down together and eat together, they can see the commonality that they have with each other rather than magnify the differences. This is why political leaders need to spend time together and when they do, they invariably eat together as they discuss world affairs. It is a real test of basic civilisation if they can do that! There is an intimacy with a meal that goes beyond a phone call or meeting at Starbucks! There is also a need for families to have these rituals where they sit down and eat together and not just for Christmas. The centre of religious life in a Jewish home is the table especially for the Shabbat.

Pharaoh’s servants had seen enough, and they begged Pharaoh to let the Israelites go into the wilderness to worship. Pharaoh told Moses he would allow the Hebrew men (males) to go, but they would have to leave their women, children, and livestock in Egypt. Pharaoh is trying to negotiate.

The plague of Locusts comes

God didn’t accept Pharaoh’s terms and, the next day, He sent the Locusts swarms to Egypt. The swarms were dense “as had never been before, nor ever will be again.” They ate all the plants, fruits, and trees that had been spared from the hail. Pharaoh plead with Moses to take the Locusts away. God sent a very strong east wind, which blew the locusts into the Red Sea. It is the wind itself that brings the locusts, so it is a heavenly phenomenon.

Another false repentance by Pharaoh

God hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he would not let the people go. From Pharaoh’s perspective he is not stupid. He knows that if he lets them all go with their families and livestock that they are not coming back! We also know that from God’s perspective that they are not coming back. Everyone has to go, or no one goes. The Lord changes the wind to carry them away.

Categories: Exodus

Tags: bible, Exodus, god, moses, pharaoh