Exodus 10:21 ¶ And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt. 22 And Moses stretched forth 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 dwellings. 24 And Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said, Go ye, serve the LORD; only let your flocks and your herds be stayed: let your little ones also go with you. 25 And Moses said, Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the LORD our God. 26 Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not an hoof be left behind; for thereof must we take to serve the LORD our God; and we know not with what we must serve the LORD, until we come thither. 27 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. 28 And Pharaoh said unto him, Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in that day thou seest my face thou shalt die. 29 And Moses said, Thou hast spoken well, I will see thy face again no more.
A
rod turned into a serpent, infestations of frogs, lice, flies, a great plague
among the Egyptian cattle, boils on the Egyptians themselves, hail mingled with
thunder and lightning and fire, a gigantic swarm of locusts, and now; pitch
black, a darkness that can be felt it is so dark.
Now
Moses lays on the Pharaoh that their herds and flocks must go with them for
sacrifices and burnt offerings although we all know the intention is to make
their escape from Egypt. Pharaoh, who was willing to let the people and even
the children go, refuses to permit them take their animals. He says that he
will not see Moses and Aaron again and Moses makes his ominous sounding
statement.
Exodus,
chapter 11
Exodus
11:1 ¶ And the LORD said unto Moses, Yet
will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will
let you go hence: when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out
hence altogether. 2 Speak now in the
ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbour, and every woman
of her neighbour, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold. 3 And the LORD gave the people favour in the
sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of
Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants, and in the sight of the people.
With
all of these disasters facing Egypt the Egyptians know that Moses is a very
important person. God is about to do something that will certainly result in
Pharaoh not just letting the Hebrews go but in him casting them out. The
Egyptians will favor them with portable wealth; jewels and gold. I am reminded
of the Southern U.S. tongue-in-cheek saying, “I’d rather owe it to you the rest
of my life than cheat you out of it.” It is interesting to note that later in
history an Egyptian army will despoil Jerusalem.
1Kings
14:25 And it came to pass in the fifth
year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem:
26 And he took away the treasures of the
house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king’s house; he even took away
all: and he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made.
Exodus
11:4 ¶ And Moses said, Thus saith the
LORD, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt: 5 And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt
shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto
the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn
of beasts. 6 And there shall be a great
cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall
be like it any more. 7 But against any
of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or
beast: that ye may know how that the LORD doth put a difference between the
Egyptians and Israel. 8 And all these
thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down themselves unto me, saying,
Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee: and after that I will go
out. And he went out from Pharaoh in a great anger. 9 And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh shall
not hearken unto you; that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.
10 And Moses and Aaron did all these
wonders before Pharaoh: and the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that he would
not let the children of Israel go out of his land.
We’ve
already discussed the importance of the eldest son, not just as a child and
object of affection, but as the rightful heir to the family’s fortune and its
gods in Genesis. There was no one in an ancient family more important to the
father, not even the mother. This plague, this curse, would be a bitter
affliction and it will cover not only the human kingdom but the kingdom of
beasts as well. Every commoner, every impoverished peasant, and every man of
authority will suffer under this burden. The nation of Egypt is being judged
like no other with judgment visited upon gods and men and beasts.
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