Exodus 10:10-1910And 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. 11Not 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. 12And 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. 13And 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. 14And 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. 15For 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. 16Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you. 17Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and entreat the Lord your God, that he may take away from me this death only. 18And he went out from Pharaoh, and entreated the Lord. 19And 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. (Exodus 10:10‑19)
Pharaoh seemed to forget that God had warned “I will bring the locusts into thy coast” as he now made it plain to Moses that he would not accept his terms. Their release would be only “as I will let you go... go now ye that are men, and serve the LORD.” If worship would be according to the king’s pleasure, well enough, but it must be the men alone who would be temporarily released. The crafty dictator well knew that if the parents alone went they would soon be back with the children again. But Moses knew that this would neither be adequate for the people, nor acceptable to God. How could the pants truly worship Him in the wilderness if their children were abandoned to a pagan and idolatrous Egypt? If the little ones were to be held in the land the parents might as well remain too. Pharaoh’s proposal would mean only half a deliverance and Moses knew that God’s standard was “all or none.”
Beloved Christian parents, this is a subject worthy of careful consideration. How sad to witness some who, though themselves maintaining an outwardly upright and spiritual activity, are all the while caress of their children’s spiritual welfare — leaving them largely to their own wills and ways, unsheltered in a wicked world. Ah, how the enemy of the soul relishes such carelessness. Gladly will he forfeit a victory with the parents if he can but gain the children! May there be with every father and mother more of the spirit of Moses, who would not forsake the little ones to the enemy.
The refusal of this offer aroused the king’s anger and Moses and Aaron “were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.” verse 11. But this was to prove again another tragic mistake on his part, for it brought forth the eighth judgment. As Moses stretched his rod over the land, an east wind sprang up, bringing with it the dreaded locusts in such numbers “which neither thy fathers, nor thy fathers’ fathers have seen.” How these people must have vainly cried as they looked westward and saw the clouds of locusts bearing down. But any such cries were of no avail, “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... through all the land of Egypt.”
A terrified Pharaoh turned again to the only source of relief. He had before proved the mercy of God when he expressed repentance and although, no doubt, with great reluctance, he acknowledged again that his only escape lay in humbling himself. “Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against you, now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and entreat the LORD your God, that He may take away from me this death only.”
Moses accordingly entreated the LORD and He turned the wind in its course, the locusts being blown to their death in the Red Sea. “There remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt.” verse 19.
ML 12/15/1968