Ten Plagues of Egypt
163
Pharaoh Again Hardens His Heart
The answer was, “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 Lord.”
The king was filled with rage. He cried, “Not so: go now ye that
are men, and serve the Lord; for that ye did desire. And they were
driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.” Pharaoh pretended to have deep
interest in their welfare and a tender care for their little ones, but his
real object was to keep the women and children as surety for the return
of the men.
Moses now stretched forth his rod over the land, and an east wind
brought locusts “Very grievous were they; before them there were
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no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such.” They filled
the sky till the land was darkened, and devoured every green thing
remaining.
Pharaoh sent for the prophet in haste, and said, “I have sinned
against the Lord your God, and against you... . Entreat the Lord your
God, that He may take away from me this death only.” They did so,
and a strong west wind carried away the locusts toward the Red Sea.
Still the king persisted in his stubborn resolution.
The people of Egypt were ready to despair, and they were filled
with fear for the future. The nation had worshiped Pharaoh as a rep-
resentative of their god; but many were now convinced that he was
opposing himself to One who made all the powers of nature the min-
isters of His will. The Hebrew slaves were becoming confident of
deliverance. Throughout Egypt there was a secret fear that the en-
slaved race would rise and avenge their wrongs. Everywhere men were
asking, What will come next?
Suddenly a darkness settled upon the land, so thick and black that it
seemed a “darkness which may be felt.” Breathing was difficult. “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.” The sun and
moon were objects of worship to the Egyptians. In this mysterious
darkness the people and their gods alike were smitten.
Yet fearful as it was, this judgment is an evidence of God’s
compassion and unwillingness to destroy. He would give the people