1 And the I AM said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, for I have made his heart stubborn, and the heart of his servants, that I might show these signs before him.
2 “And that thou may tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy grandson's, what things I have done in Egypt, and My signs which I have done among them, that ye may know how that I am the I AM.”
If Pharaoh had just let them go when they first asked, it would have appeared to be Pharaoh or Moses who freed the Israelites. God wanted to make sure everyone- from Pharaoh himself to the youngest Israelite slave- would know it was God who freed them. Because of Pharaoh’s stubborn heart this story has taught thousands of generations, millions of people, about God and His care and provision.
3 And Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh, and said to him, “This is what the I AM, God of the Hebrews, says, ‘How long will thou refuse to humble thyself before Me? Let My people go, that they may serve Me.
4 “If thou don't, if thou refuse to let My people go, it will happen that tomorrow will I bring the locusts into thy coast.
5 “And they shall cover the face of the earth, that one cannot be able to see the earth, and they shall eat the leftovers of that which remains to you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which grows for you out of the field:
6 “And they shall fill thy houses, and the houses of all thy servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians, which neither thy fathers, nor thy fathers' fathers have seen, since the day that they were on the earth to this day.’ “ And he turned himself, and went out from Pharaoh.
Moses didn’t even wait for a response from Pharaoh. He just left.
This plague will leave the land devastated and in famine.
We have had similar plagues in our American farmlands. Laura Ingalls Wilder records one in her book “By the Banks of Plum Creek.” It was rather horrendous. The only good thing she could find in the whole event was that they didn’t have feed the chickens. There were so many grasshoppers the birds were able to catch more than enough to feed themselves.
7 And Pharaoh's servants said to him, “How long shall this man be a snare unto us? Let the men go, that they may serve the I AM their God. Don't you know yet that Egypt is destroyed?”
The servants believed!
8 And Moses and Aaron were brought again to Pharaoh. And he said to them, “Go, serve the I AM, your God. But who are they that shall go?”
9 And Moses said, “We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go. For we must hold a feast unto the I AM.”
10 And he said to them, “The I AM will have to let you go, if you take your children with you! Thou have evil purposes."
“Yeah, right! You just intend to run away!”
11 “Nope. Go now ye that are men, and serve the I AM, for that is what ye wanted.” And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence.
12 And the I AM said to Moses, “Stretch out thine hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up upon the land of Egypt, and eat every plant of the land, even all that the hail has left.”
13 And Moses stretched out his rod over the land of Egypt, and the I AM brought an east wind on the land all that day, and all that night. And when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts.
14 And the locust went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt. Very bad were they. Before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such.
15 For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened, and they did eat every plant of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left, and there wasn't left any green thing in the trees, or in the plants of the field, through all the land of Egypt.
They stripped the land bare.
This is a direct attack against the god Seth, protector of crops.
Laura Ingalls Wilder describes the locusts marching across the land, and if something gets in their way they just go over. This meant their windows were black with locusts marching right over the house, and they had to keep the fire going, even though it was summer, to burn up the ones that tried to march down the chimney. If a window was left open a crack they would march in and cover the inside of the house. If this Egyptian plague was worse than this, it was very bad indeed.
16 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste, and he said, “I have sinned against the I AM your God, and against you.
17 “Now forgive, please, my sin only this once, and beg the I AM your God, that He may take away from me this death only.
He only meant this repentance as long as the trouble lasted. As soon as everything was good again, he forgot God.
18 And he went out from Pharaoh, and prayed to the I AM.
19 And the I AM turned a mighty strong west wind, which took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red Sea. There wasn't left one locust in all the coasts of Egypt.
20 But the I AM made Pharaoh's heart stubborn, so that he would not let the children of Israel go.
21 And the I AM said to Moses, “Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt.”
No warning this time.
22 And Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven. And there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days:
23 They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days. But all the children of Israel had light in their homes.
There is some debate about what exactly light is; is it particles? Wave lengths? No one knows for sure. And did God disrupt the light so it just ceased to exist? Or was this darkness the result of volcanic ash covering the country until every bit of light was useless?
It appears even artificial light (i.e. candles) didn’t work. This was an attack on Ra, the Egyptian sun god.
Yet, God’s people still had light.
Even in our darkest times and places there is some Light because God is there (“God is light and in Him is no darkness at all,” 1 John 1:5). God removed all light, including His own presence, so that the darkness could even be felt.
24 And Pharaoh called for Moses, and said, “Go ye, serve the I AM, only let your flocks and your herds stay here. Let your little ones also go with you.”
Pharaoh is giving in a little bit at a time, but is still trying to maintain control.
He may also have in mind to take these Israelite cattle while they are gone worshiping, since all the Egyptian cattle are now dead.
25 And Moses said, “Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the I AM our God.
26 “Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not an hoof be left behind, for that's what we must take to serve the I AM our God, and we don't know with what we must serve the I AM, until we get there.”
“God’s not going to tell us until we start worshiping which animals He wants sacrificed, so we need to take them all, just in case.”
27 But the I AM made Pharaoh's heart stubborn, and he would not let them go.
28 And Pharaoh said to him, “Get out of here! Beware that thou don't come to see me again! For in that day thou come to see me, thou shall die.
29 And Moses said, “Thou have spoken well. I will not see thee again.”
Moses is as tired of this whole thing as Pharaoh is.