Exodus 10:1 - Meaning and Application

Moses is instructed first. We may well think he was deeply troubled by Pharaoh’s stubbornness and by God’s severe judgments. He must have felt real sorrow for the ruin falling on Egypt, and he may have wondered where this struggle would end. God now tells him his purpose, not only to free Israel, but also to make his own name great. Moses is to record what God did in Egypt, so future generations will know it (Exodus 10:1, 2).

The ten plagues had to happen so they could stand as lasting proof. They show God’s ruling power over nature, since he commands every creature and uses them as he chooses, either as agents of his justice or as those who suffer it. They also show his victorious power over Satan’s kingdom, as he restrains evil and humbles the pride of enemies of his people. These plagues remain lasting signs of God’s greatness, the blessing of the church, and the evil of sin. They also warn people in every age not to provoke the Lord or fight against their Maker. The good these lessons have given the world more than repays the cost.

Pharaoh is then rebuked (Exodus 10:3). The Lord God of the poor, despised, and oppressed Hebrews asks, “How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me?” It is only right that even the greatest people should bow before the great God, and they do so at their own peril if they refuse. This was a repeated charge against rulers. Belshazzar, the Babylonian king, did not humble his heart (Daniel 5:22). Zedekiah, the king of Judah, did not humble himself before Jeremiah (2 Chronicles 36:12). Those who will not humble themselves, God will humble. Pharaoh had sometimes pretended to humble himself, but nothing was made of it, because his words were neither sincere nor lasting.

Then the plague of locusts is threatened (Exodus 10:4-6). The hail had beaten down the fruit of the land, but the locusts would come and eat what was left. Worse still, they would fill the houses, while earlier swarms had stayed in the fields. This disaster would be greater than any before it in that kingdom. When Moses had given his message and expected no better answer than before, he turned and left Pharaoh (Exodus 10:6). In this, Christ later taught his disciples to leave those who would not receive them and to shake the dust from their feet as a witness against them. Ruin is near for those whom the Lord’s messengers must rightly leave behind (1 Samuel 15:27, and following).

Pharaoh’s officials then step in, his ministers of state or private advisers, and urge him to make terms with Moses (Exodus 10:7). They do their duty by pointing out the terrible condition of the country, “Egypt is destroyed,” and by urging him to let the people go. They can see that Moses will remain a threat until this is done, and it is better to agree at once than to be forced later. The Israelites had become a heavy burden to Egypt, and now the princes were ready to be rid of them (Zechariah 12:3). It is a sad thing, and if possible should be prevented, when a whole nation suffers because of the pride and stubbornness of its rulers. The good of the people should be the highest law.

After that, a new negotiation begins between Pharaoh and Moses. Pharaoh agrees that the Israelites may go into the wilderness to sacrifice, but the dispute is over who may go (Exodus 10:8). Moses insists that they must take their whole families and all their possessions with them (Exodus 10:9). Those who serve God must serve him with everything they have. Moses argues that they are to hold a feast, so they need their families to share it and their flocks and herds to supply it, all for God’s honor.

Pharaoh will not allow that. He is willing to let the men go, pretending this is all they wanted, though that had never been the terms before. But he means to keep the children as hostages so the men will have to come back (Exodus 10:10, 11). In anger, he curses them and warns them that if they try to take the little ones, they do it at their own risk. Satan works in the same way to keep people from bringing even their children into God’s service. He is deeply opposed to early devotion, because he knows how much it weakens his own rule. Whenever something tries to keep us from training our children fully for God, we have reason to suspect Satan’s hand in it.

The treaty then falls apart at once. The men who had earlier gone out from Pharaoh’s presence (Exodus 10:6) are now driven out. Those who cannot bear to hear their duty will soon hear their doom. See 2 Chronicles 25:16. “Whom God means to destroy, he first gives over to blindness.” No man was ever so blinded to his own ruin as Pharaoh was.