I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth. 17 As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go? 18 Behold, to morrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now. 19 Send therefore now, and gather thy cattle, and all that thou hast in the field; for upon every man and beast which shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought home, the hail shall come down upon them, and they shall die. 20 He that feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses: 21 And he that 'regarded not the word of the LORD left his servants and his cattle in the field. 22 ¶ And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven, that there may be hail on all the land of Egypt, upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt. 23 And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt. 24 So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. 25 And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field. 26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail. 27¶And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. 3 28 Intreat the LORD (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer. 29 And Moses said unto him, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands unto the LORD; and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that thou mayest know how that the earth is the LORD's. 30 But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will not yet fear the LORD God. THE blindness and obstinacy of men afford no reason why we should cease from our office and work. If sinners will not hearken, they must abide the consequence; but we must not shut our mouth, nor fail to warn them of their peril. Pharaoh resists message after message, and disregards judgment after judgment; but God will not be deterred from his purpose of delivering his people; nor must Moses cease to demand their release. We must still go on with our work of teaching and exhortation, whether men "will hear, or whether they will forbear." (Ezek. ii. 5.) Such is the reflection forced upon our minds by the events related in this chapter. One striking wonder, and three successive judgments, Pharaoh had altogether disregarded. What follows? Because he is stubborn and rebellious, shall Jehovah desist from his purpose? Because he will not hearken, shall Moses cease to speak? No. "Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me (v. 1). If he refuse, my hand shall still be stretched out, and my power shall still be felt. Upon all the cattle there shall be a very grievous murrain. Is the haughty tyrant humbled? No; "his heart was hardened, and he did not let the people go." Again, the Lord visits him with another sore calamity. Ashes of the furnace became boils breaking forth with blains, upon man, and upon beast, and upon all the Egyptians. Does he relent under this visitation? No; his heart is hardened; "he hearkened not unto them, as the Lord had spoken unto Moses." Further, the Lord sends forth another tremendous visitation. There shall be a very grievous hail throughout all the land of Egypt, "such as hath not been since the foundation thereof even until now." So the Lord sent thunder and hail; and the fire ran along upon the ground, and every thing exposed to its fury was destroyed. Is he humbled now? No; the heart of Pharaoh was hardened; neither would he let the children of Israel go. Is not this a most awakening history of the stubbornness and rebellion of this wicked man? Who will not hear, and fear, lest such should be his own awful career, and his own tremendous end? But in each of these visitations there are some things recorded, which tend to aggravate the guilt of Pharaoh to a very great degree. "None of the cattle of the children of Israel died." been good for that man if he had not been CHAPTER X. 1 God threateneth to send locusts. 7 Pharaoh, moved by his servants, inclineth to let the Israelites go. 12 The plague of the locusts. 16 Pharaoh sueth to Moses. 21 The plague of darkness. 24 Pharaoh sueth unto Moses, 27 but yet is hardened. Was not that significant? AND the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh: for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, that I might shew these my signs before him: "The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils." Did not that convey a lesson? "Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail" (v. 26). Ought not that to have arrested his regard? Moreover, the Lord had plainly told him, that he would make the land as remarkable by his judgments, as he and his people were noted for their sins and rebellion; and indeed, in his sovereign purpose and righteous decree, God had determined to shew in him his power, and to declare his name throughout the earth (v. 14—16). Would he not ponder the awakening and humiliating truths thus conveyed? Moreover, we hear him saying, "I have sinned this time; the Lord is righteous; and I and my people are wicked" (v. 27). Will he not come to a better mind now? Alas! no. Pride regains its wonted dominion; he cannot stoop in this manner; he must maintain the dignity of his character. The people shall not go. He will not hearken to the voice of the Lord. His heart is hardened. Again, should we not inquire, what do these things teach us? Is not Pharaoh one among many? We are expressly told, that there are those whose latter end is worse with them than the beginning." (2 Pet. ii. 20.) There are those of whom it is said, "It had 66 2 And that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son's son, what things I have wrought in Egypt, and my signs which I have done among them; that ye may know how that I am the LORD. 3 And Moses and Aaron came in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? let my people go, that they may serve me. 4 Else, if thou refuse to let my people go, behold, to morrow 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 residue of that which is escaped, which remaineth unto you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which groweth 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 upon the earth unto this day. And he turned himself, and went out from Pharaoh. 7 And Pharaoh's servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed? 8 And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh: and he said unto them, Go, serve the LORD 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 LORD. 10 And he said unto them, Let the LORD be so with you, as I will let you go, and your little ones: look to it; for evil is before you. 11 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. 12¶ And the LORD said unto 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 herb of the land, even all that the hail hath left. 13 And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. 14 And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt: very grievous 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 herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt. 16 ¶ Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against you. 17 Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and intreat the LORD your God, that he may take away from me this death only. 18 And he went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the LORD. 19 And the LORD turned a mighty strong west wind, which took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red sea; there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt. 4 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. 6 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. In reading these interesting and awakening records of Holy Writ, we should always bear in mind the purpose for which they were written; and seek to draw improvement from every truth and every event, as we proceed. Two things are especially noticed respecting these tremendous judgments, which befell the land of Egypt. The one is, the instruction of the world at large; as in the last chapter (v. 16), "that my name may be declared throughout the earth.” The other is, the special edification of the Israelites themselves. This the Lord declares in the chapter we have now read (v. 2), "that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son's son, what things I have wrought in Egypt; that ye may know how that I am the Lord." Let us always remember this. Every thing declared, promised, done, or to be done, is intended to teach us that the Lord is the Saviour of his people, and the God of the whole earth. The whole contest between God and Pharaoh turned on this point, whose will was to be done; whose word was to be obeyed? That the Lord should be honoured and obeyed, was nothing but right. That Pharaoh refused thus to honour and obey him, shewed that he was an obstinate sinner, and a determined rebel in the sight of God. The question was, "how long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me?" That sooner or later Pharaoh must bend, no one could doubt. For "shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it?" (Is. x. 15.) The longer he refused to submit, the sorer will be his doom when it takes place. Another judgment is denounced. "To morrow will I bring the locusts into thy coast; and the whole land shall be devoured. He seems to have paid no heed; the messenger departs from Pharaoh. Alarmed at this renewed visitation, his servants advise him to let the people go. He appears to pay some regard to their advice. He grants permission for them to go and serve the Lord. But it is no sooner spoken, than he qualifies or recalls it. Or, if they must go, it must be as he pleases, and not as God required; if not, they put him to death! He has now arrived at the climax of his course. He now stands before us a prepared murderer, armed with vengeance, and ready to embrue his hands in Moses's blood. What shall we say ? Is not this a fearful subject? As in the case of this wicked man, is there not a certain point at which every sinner arrives, before the wrath of God breaks forth for his destruction? Oh! that they who are treading in Pharaoh's steps may think of this in time. Oh! that they may call their ways to remembrance; that they may repent of their wickedness, and cry to God for his pardoning mercy, before it is too late! CHAPTER XI. 1 God's message to the Israelites to borrow jewels of their neighbours. 4 Moses threateneth Pharaoh with the death of the firstborn. shall not go at all: and they were "driven AND the LORD said unto Moses, Yet will out from Pharaoh's presence." His heart was hardened. After this the Lord sends another judgment. There shall be "darkness over all the land of Egypt; even darkness which may be felt." Again Pharaoh gives a sort of qualified permission for their departure, and again he speedily recalls it; as if he repented of his own repentance (if it may be so called), in yielding so far to the demand for their release. Again his heart is hardened; "and he would not let them go." As in the former judgments, there were some peculiar aggravations; so we discover the same here also. The tyrant seems now almost to stand alone. His servants advise him for his good. He hearkens not to them. He shews, at times, some sort of relentings and misgivings. He instantly stifles them. He sees the Israelites are specially guarded and protected under all these judgments. He enquires into the fact, and finds it is so. But this only serves to irritate him the more. Another feature now appears in his awful character. Hitherto he has been proud, stubborn, rebellious; now he becomes angry and malicious. Hitherto he had disregarded the message of Moses; now he hates the very sight of his person. He forbids him to come any more into his presence; and declares, if he ventured to do so, he would instantly 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. 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. THE very awful state of Pharaoh's mind, exhibited at the close of the last chapter, might lead to the conclusion, that the Lord would not much longer bear with that "vessel of wrath fitted," as he evidently was, for the "destruction" which was about to come upon him. (Rom. ix. 22.) Here we are plainly told that one judgment more would accomplish the deliverance of the Israelites. Moses is therefore commanded to give certain directions to them preparatory to their release. For, strange to say, Pharaoh would be as anxious to thrust them out altogether, as before he had been desirous of retaining them under his hand. Even in the sight of the people the Lord would give them favour, and they would try to conciliate their esteem by every token in their power; there was nothing they would refuse them. As the one had profited by their labours, so now shall the other be enriched by their spoils. At any rate, they would be glad to rid themselves of the burden, fearing what might yet happen if they further refused to let them go. How wonderful would this be! That they should be anxious to send the people away after all the resistance they had made! That they should send them away, too, in such a manner, enriched by their own treasures voluntarily bestowed upon them! Surely he must be blind indeed who does not see here the special finger and the mighty hand of God! And cannot the Lord still work wonders on the behalf of his oppressed church and people? Can he not raise them from their lowest depressions? Can he not deliver them from their sorest trials? Can he not make their very enemies to be their helpers; and, when it pleaseth him, cause the very hands which have added to their burdens, or been enriched by their spoils, to minister to their wants, and supply their necessities? Oh! let us look back upon the past, and see how wonderfully the Lord hath often interposed for the preservation and safety of his beloved people! Oh! let us look forward, and in the prospect of whatever may befall the saints, confidently rely on the same tender love, and the same Almighty arm, for further deliverances and future blessings; till all the redeemed shall stand on the heavenly shore, and shout their complete deliverance for ever and ever! This last visitation would be the most terrible of all. In the middle of the night the Lord would go forth, and smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, without exception, from the least to the greatest. The cry that would arise from that tremendous judgment would be such as never had been heard before, nor would be like it again; whilst at the same time the children of Israel would be at peace in their dwellings. Does not this denote the frightful condition of the wicked in the terrible day of the Lord, and the happy state of his people? Oh! what desolation will then take place when the Lord shall arise to judgment! What cries will then be heard among all the multitudes of the lost! Not only one here and there, but incredible numbers everywhere; some crying to the rocks to fall on them; others calling to the mountains to cover them; all dreading the terrible effects of the coming of the great day of God's righteous wrath, and feeling themselves utterly unable to stand! Will not this misery be hell begun in the heart? Will not those evils be the fearful prelude to everlasting burnings? (Rev. vi. 16.) But where, and how, will the Lord's redeemed be found in that glorious day? Safe and happy. They will arise to life and peace. They will look up, and lift up their heads, knowing that their everlasting redemption is nigh. To them death will be swallowed up in victory. (1 Cor. xv. 54.) No terror will be felt in their heart; no tear will drop from their eye; no cry of anguish or alarm will fall from their lips. They will see and realise their deliverance, and praise the Lord for evermore. |