[And He Walks With Me] Exodus 10
1-20 In vs 1, God claimed, I have hardened [Pharaoh’s] heart, but in vs 3, Moses confronted Pharaoh by asking, How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? (emphasis added). For a discussion on the interplay between these two competing assertions, see notes on 7:3; 8:15, 20-32; 9:8-12.
Again, the supernatural nature of this plague is revealed in Moses’ ability to predict its nature, magnitude, and timing with exacting precision (4-6) and to effect its end by [appealing] to the Lord (18). Add to this the fact that ANE cultures generally considered infestations of locusts “as a clear sign of divine outrage and punishment.”[51] Indeed, the whole account of the plagues, and Exodus 10 especially, leans heavily into the fact that God was using the typical playbook of an angry god smiting his opponents.[52]
Faced with another imminent plague, Pharaoh did adopt a more reasonable tone. Instead of denying the request outright, he asked in vs 8, Exactly who will be going? So also, even after he refused to allow the entire nation to depart, Pharaoh attempted to bargain his way out of the situation, offering to allow just able-bodied men to go and worship the Lord. God is not interested in conditional surrender, especially when those conditions result in someone else maintaining effective control over his people and kingdom. See note on 8:20-32.
In arid climates, locusts are a constant threat. The insects thrive in drought conditions, and while a swarm may consist of millions of individual locusts, they function as a single unit. This is actually hinted in the original language which, contrary to the way most modern translations render the term in the plural, actually refers only to “the locust” and “it.”[53] In particular, the species Schistocerca gregaria, a.k.a., the desert locust, is both prevalent in western Asia and northern Africa and highly prone to swarming. The devastation that these swarms caused was well known throughout the ANE. In fact, locusts remain a threat in modern times. In 1954, approximately 50 locust swarms invaded Kenya, covering a total of approximately 1,000 square kilometers and rising to more than 1,000 meters in altitude. The largest of these swarms covered 200 square kilometers and consisted of an estimated 10 billion individual locusts. Such a swarm was capable of stripping in a single day fields that would have fed thousands of people for weeks. In the 1980s, a similar invasion lasted three years and resulted in famine for 40 of the 54 countries on the African continent.[54]
When Moses announced the plague of hail, some of Pharaoh’s officials ordered their livestock and servants into shelters but said nothing (see 9:20 and note on 9:13-35). Now, however, they broke their silence, and their words in vs 7 are striking for two reasons. First, they mark a substantial shift in the popular perception of the Israelites. Previously, the Israelites were seen as key to the Egyptian economy: without them, Egyptian industry would be crippled. Now, however, they are seen as a snare to us, holding them back and leading to their destruction. Israel was no longer a resource but a threat, a shift which moved the goal from exploiting the Hebrews and maintaining status quo to expelling the Hebrews in order to salvage whatever survived of Egypt. Second, they did not mince words when they attempted to convince Pharaoh to reconsider the decision to hold the Israelites: Don’t you realize yet that Egypt is devastated? Such candid criticism was astonishing[55] and clearly indicated the erosion of the officials’ faith in Pharaoh.
21-29 The ninth plague, darkness over the land of Egypt, was not prefaced by a visit from Moses to Pharaoh. It was simply assumed the Pharaoh would understand it was the result of his latest refusal to allow the Hebrews to leave Egypt. How this darkness was achieved is a matter of some debate, with some arguing for God, the creator of light, supernaturally shutting it off while others argue he used more natural means such as a sandstorm.[56] More important than the mechanics of the plague is the message. Egyptians worshiped the sun as a manifestation of deity, though the name of that deity shifted through history.[57] Pharaoh was believed to be the earthly incarnation of this god,[58] and it was believed that the daily appearance of the sun represented divine blessing.[59] The fact that the sun would not appear for three days, then, represented to the Egyptians the withdrawal of divine favor. More than that, though, the fact that the sun was shut off for Egypt but continued to shine for the Israelites was a poignant declaration that Israel’s God was both responsible and superior to Egypt’s.
The Hebrew term rendered can be felt (CSB) is māšaš (וְיָמֵשׁ – H4959). Does this represent the depth of the darkness (i.e., it was so dark that the Egyptians had to grope their way through it as a blind person)? Does it represent the nature of the darkness (i.e., it was a palpable darkness that they felt deep in their souls)? Was it a combination of the two?
Once again, Pharaoh attempted to make a deal which would appease the Lord while tethering Israel to Egypt and maintain Pharaoh’s control. See note on 8:20-32.
Notice that darkness was the penultimate plague, the final warning to repent before the catastrophic death of every firstborn throughout Egypt (see 11:1-10; 12:29-42). Throughout history, light has represented much more than the ability to see. It has also represented love, warmth, understanding, goodness, and hope. Indeed, it was the first thing God created and represented the most basic blessing which was available to all of creation. The removal of light, then, represented the revocation of all these things. This is why God waited so long before unleashing this plague on Egypt. His judgment never begins with the removal of all love, warmth, understanding, goodness, hope, and blessing, but the longer we refuse to surrender, the more these things are taken away until we are left in utter darkness. Indeed, the record of this plague builds to Pharaoh’s decree, Make sure you never see my face again, and Moses’ climactic response, I will never see your face again. Moses’ departure from Pharaoh’s presence represented the final departure of God from the people of Egypt. Truly terrible things happen in the dark.
[51] Keener and Zondervan 2016, Exodus 10:4
[52] Wells 2016, Exodus 10:4
[53] Adeyemo 2010, Exodus 10:1-20
[54] Wells 2016, Exodus 10:4
[55] Adeyemo 2010, Exodus 10:1-20; Wood 1996, Exodus 10:1-20
[56] Adeyemo 2010, Exodus 10:21-29
[57] Wells 2016, Exodus 10:22
[58] Adeyemo 2010, Exodus 10:21-29
[59] Wells 2016, Exodus 10:22