Exodus Segment 3

The Fight: The True God Versus the Egyptian gods 

There are many great overviews given about Moses and the children of Israel in the Bible. The martyr Stephen in Acts 7 gives one of them. They are worth reading. Psalm 106, Nehemiah 9. 

Exodus 7:10 And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the LORD had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent.  

11a Then Pharaoh also called the wise men [so-called experts] and the sorcerers [witches 3784]:

[Exodus 22:18 Thou shalt not suffer a witch [a sorcerer 3784] to live.]  

11b now the magicians [the sacred scribes or priests, diviners, astrologers] of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments [magic spells].  

12 For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods. [And thus inflicted the first blow on the gods of Egypt.]  

13 And he hardened Pharaoh's heart, that he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.  

14 And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh's heart is hardened, he refuseth to let the people go.  

15 Get thee unto Pharaoh in the morning; lo, he goeth out unto the water; and thou shalt stand by the river's brink against he come; and the rod which was turned to a serpent shalt thou take in thine hand.  

16 And thou shalt say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness: and, behold, hitherto thou wouldest not hear.  

17 Thus saith the LORD, In this thou shalt know that I am the LORD: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood.  

18 And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall lothe to drink of the water of the river.  

19 And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams [canals], upon their rivers [7 streams of the delta], and upon their ponds [lakes or swamps where reeds grew], and upon all their pools [reservoirs] of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone. 

For purposes of irrigation, canals or channels made with wood or stone were cut in various directions, and artificial pools were made to receive the waters of the Nile at its annual overflow.

These included all the vessels in which the Nile water was kept for daily use. There were also stone reservoirs at the corners of the streets, and at other places, for the use of the poor. 

[irony] Now, surely Moses wouldn’t do anything that would hurt the poor; let alone the children. After all, God’s fight was only against Pharaoh and a few taskmasters and the magicians, certainly not against the poor and helpless. 

No, it was against a whole nation of idolaters, rich or poor, young and old. When leaders representing their country act in a devilish way, the whole nation is affected, and suffers. 

People all over the whole country of Egypt went to the Nile and would find it not as water, but rather as blood. Fishing boats, luxury yachts, pyramid stone transporters, fishing vessels suddenly find themselves on a river of blood instead of water. 

20 And Moses and Aaron did so, as the LORD commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.  

The first plague was directed against the Nile River, the life line of the country. There was great reverence for the Nile, it was regarded as a sacred stream, and was worshipped as a deity. It was called  “the father of life,” and “the father of the gods.” 

The god Hapi was supposed to supervise the annual flooding of the Nile, and the god Khnum {17. picture} was the guardian of the sources of the Nile River. With the Nile as blood, it was a poor representation as to their power.  

The Egyptians, especially the priests, were very particular in their external habits, and there was nothing which they held in greater abhorrence than blood, seldom admitting any bloody sacrifices. Thus, like Cain, not recognizing the need for blood to be shed for true redemption from sin. 

Their horror must therefore have been extreme when they found the river, which they worshiped as a god, turned into blood, which they regarded with such utter disgust.  

The true God is about to execute righteous judgment on the gods of Egypt also. 

Exodus 12:12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.  

Numbers 33:4 For the Egyptians buried all their firstborn, which the LORD had smitten among them: upon their gods also the LORD executed judgments.

Exodus 7:21 And the fish that was in the river died; and the [god] river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.  

22 And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, neither did he hearken unto them; as the LORD had said.  

They got it evidently from the water referred to in verse 24. They turned other water into blood, just for fun, so that they could prove that they could do it too. 

You can see how closely the adversary and his kingdom counterfeited everything that God and His kingdom were doing, not only to try and hide that the true God was involved, but look at how he was working to discourage Moses, to erode his believing. 

23 And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, neither did he set his heart to this also.  

24 And all the Egyptians digged round about [on either side] the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river.  

25 And seven days were fulfilled, after that the LORD had smitten the river.  

Fairly recently a group of scientist worked on a project to see if all the plagues of Egypt were intertwined in some manner of chain reaction that allowed each one to occur when it did. 

They discovered that in North Carolina fish were dying by the millions in their rivers. They found out that their flesh were being eaten by whitseria, a dynoflagelate that eats the flesh of fish, so that the fish leak blood into the water giving it a red look which would be extremely toxic. 

I’m not saying that this is how God allowed it to happen, but if you need a scientific explanation there’s one to consider. 

8:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me.  

2 And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs [toads]:  

3 And the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into thine house, and into thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed, and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thine ovens, and into thy kneadingtroughs:  

In Palestine beds were mats or couches, and could be moved; but in Egypt there had special bedchambers.  

4 And the frogs shall come up both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants.  

All Pharaoh had to do was to give the order and Moses would lose his head. He was only seperated by the hand of God, not by distance. Moses was protected by God, He was walking with God. A man from a nation of slaves facing an absolute ruler like Pharaoh!  

5 And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt.  

6 And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt. {18. Show green frog} 

Without fish to feed on their eggs toads can multiply quickly. Many would hatch, then abandon the toxic river for land. 

There is only one word in the Bible used in a general sense for frogs, toads, etc. Behavior described here is that of toads. Toads of the genus Bufo are common around the world and have large clusters of eggs.  

In fact, one individual toad can have hundreds or even thousands of eggs depending on the species. So there could have been millions of frogs in total. Toads are attracted to warmth and light sources. So are insects, which are their food.  

This mocked Heqat, a goddess pictured in the form of a frog. She was associated with birth and rebirth. One of her functions was to help the dead pharaoh on his journey to the sky.  

7 And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt.  

How did they tell the frogs apart; God’s green, adversary’s blue? {19. Blue frog, large frog} 

If the magicians were working for Pharaoh why would they want more frogs? They must have been working for the adversary. Once again they were mimicking by using the power of the adversary, or more rightly, the adversary was using them. 

8 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Intreat the LORD, that he may take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice unto the LORD.  

9 And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Glory over me: [Explain thyself to me] when shall I intreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses, that they may remain in the river only?  

10 And he said, To morrow. And he said, Be it according to thy word: that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the LORD our God.  

Of interest was that Pharaoh’s magicians could bring them but couldn’t get rid of them. 

11 And the frogs shall depart from thee, and from thy houses, and from thy servants, and from thy people; they shall remain in the river only.  

12 And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh: and Moses cried unto the LORD because of the frogs which he had brought against Pharaoh.  

13 And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and the frogs died out of the houses, out of the villages [enclosures], and out of the fields.  

14 And they gathered them together upon heaps: and the land stank.  

15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.  

The toads died in heaps. When they died nothing was there to eat the insects to keep them in check. Thus it is not surprising to find the next plagues are insect related. 

16 And the LORD said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.  

17 And they did so; for Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man, and in beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt.  

Lice, but not the lice we know today because this lice attacked man and beast. Today lice does not attack both. Also the land conditions weren’t right, lice do not thrive in dry, arid conditions but rather lice outbreaks are known in more northern latitudes with northern climates. 

Classification of insects came about with Aristotle about a thousand years later. He first seperated insects into classes like beetles, flies, etc. Insects were known in Egypt but over 100 species were alive at that time and could have been translated lice. 

Lice is derived from an Egyptian word meaning mosquito-gnats. The midge, a gnat-like insect is extremely small, you can’t hardly even see them. When they bite, you itch tremendously like lice.  

The midge bites both man and beast, but only transmits diseases to beasts. The Israelites would not have been affected because the midge is a weak flyer, 50 yards max and couldn’t reach their livestock.  

The third plague like the sixth and ninth came without warning. 

18 And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice [midge] upon man, and upon beast.  

It was not a question of bringing forth life because the frogs they brought forth had life. God allowed them to do so in the former cases to show the limits of their power; and, by contrast, to show that His power was unlimited. 

19 Then the magicians, said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God [Elohim]: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.  

These lice, the mosquito-gnats, the midges would pollute the priests who spent so much time purifying themselves. 

20 And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; lo, he cometh forth to the water; and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me.  

21 Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are.  

Ellipsis “of flies” supplied, but may not be just limited to flies only. The Hebrew root shows that there could have been all sorts of insects.  

22 And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth.  

23 And I will put a division between my people and thy people: to morrow shall this sign be.  

24 And the LORD did so; and there came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants' houses, and into all the land of Egypt: the land was corrupted [laid waste] by reason of the swarm of flies.  

It’s doubtful it was the testes fly because they are very tropical in nature, needing lots of rainfall, nor the black fly because they do not swarm and only increase gradually. 

It couldn’t have been the horse fly because even though its bite is painful, it’s highly unusual to have the numbers needed for this plague. However, the stable fly fits perfectly.  

It’s population can explode enorumusly. They bite and hurt. Animals like cattle and horses that lived in the area, their fecies would accumulate in the soil making the conditions ripe for this type of insect, and their one mile range would keep them from the livestock of the Israelites. 

This plague was another severe blow to all idolatrous worship and worshipers. Cleanliness was imperative. For this cause the priests wore linen, and shaved daily. Moreover it was designed to destroy the worship of Vadchit the fly god, and to manifest his impotence. 

25 And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land. 

Pharaoh’s first attempt at compromise. Pharaoh wanted Moses to compromise. Sacrifice in the land of Goshen. Moses knew what God’s Will really was.  

26 And Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the LORD our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us?  

They were going to sacrifice cattle, which were sacred to the Egyptians. Hathor, the cow goddess and Apis the bull god were revered in Egypt. {20. Hathor} 

27 We will go three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the LORD our God, as he shall command us.  

28 And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: intreat for me.  

29 And Moses said, Behold, I go out from thee, and I will intreat the LORD that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, to morrow: but let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD.  

Moses trusted and relied on God and not on anyone else. He believed God every step of the way. 

30 And Moses went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the LORD.  

31 And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; there remained not one.  

32 And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go.  

9:1 Then the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me.  

2 For if thou refuse to let them go, and wilt hold them still,  

3 Behold, the hand of the LORD is upon thy cattle [livestock] which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very grievous murrain. [pestilence]  

The fifth plague was aimed at all kinds of animal worship.  

4 And the LORD shall sever between the cattle [livestock] of Israel and the cattle [livestock] of Egypt: and there shall nothing die of all that is the children's of Israel.  

5 And the LORD appointed a set time, saying, To morrow the LORD shall do this thing in the land.  

Cattle futures traded wildly on the Egyptian stock exchange that day. Got milk? 

6 And the LORD did that thing on the morrow, and all the cattle [livestock] of Egypt died: but of the cattle [livestock] of the children of Israel died not one.  

7 And Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not one of the cattle [livestock] of the Israelites dead. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.  

There was a grievous murrain or pestilence on animals only. The most highly dangerous diseases originated in Africa in olden times and unfortunately is still true today. Plum Island off the coast of Connecticut, is where United States scientist are studying  these diseases today.  

African horse sickness is a virus that attacks horses, mules, asses but not cattle, sheep, or goats. This virus grows in cells that line the blood vessels and deteriorates them rapidly causing fluid that’s in the blood to get trapped in the animals lungs and the animals literally choke on their own bodily fluids.  

There is a related sickness called bluton which attacks cattle, sheep, and goats in much the same way. Both bluton and African horse sickness working together could have caused this plague.  

Both are easily transported by midges! Remember the midge can’t fly very far, thus the children of Israel’s livestock where safe from this plague. 

8 And the LORD said unto Moses and unto Aaron, Take to you handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh. 

[Freemen] Certain Eastern magicians pronounce spells on individuals or a village or even a country by taking ashes of cow dung or those from a common fire, and throwing them in the air, saying to the objects of their displeasure, “Such a sickness or such a curse shall surely come upon you.” 

This plague like the 3^rd and the 9^th was without warning. It was just done in Pharaoh’s sight. He must have known the meaning of sprinkling ashes in the air. 

9 And it shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt.  

Boils and blains were to be the result of the ashes, affecting both humans and animals. Animals that had not been in the field hadn’t been affected yet.   

[video] There is a bacterial infection called glanders that affects both humans and animals causing boils and can be transmitted by the staple fly. It affects horses, camels, oxen, pigs, and humans. It is a chronic progressive disease that can lead to death. 

The Israelites were without the one mile radius range that the staple flies can travel. 

[Wilson] Boils [7822] are defined as inflamed spots, inflammation, eruption, a burning sore, an ulcer..  

Deuteronomy 28 is the chapter that discusses the consequences of not keeping the Law. This chapter is known as “the curse of the law.” 

Deuteronomy 28:27 The LORD will smite thee with the botch [boils 7822] of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed.

35 The LORD shall smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore botch [7822] that cannot be healed, from the sole of thy foot unto the top of thy head.

Hezekiah was on his death bed while suffering from this before he got healed by the Lord. 

2 Kings 20:7 And Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. And they took and laid it on the boil, [the botch, 7822, the inflammation] and he recovered.

It definitely has ties to leprosy. The context of when this word is used in Leviticus is leprosy. 

Exodus 9:9 And it shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking

forth with blains upon man, and upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt.  

Whatever boils exactly were, they certainly were painful. Blains [76] is used only twice in the Bible, verse 9 and10. They are defined as blisters, boils, inflamed tumors, upon the body. It comes from the root word meaning “to swell.” 

10 And they took ashes of the furnace [kiln], and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven; and it became a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast.  

[EWB] One of the altars on which human sacrifices were sometimes offered to appease the Egyptian god Typhon or Seth  He’s the nasty god called The Evil Principle or The Evil Divinity, the god of wind and storms, chaos and disorder. 

Sacrifices were doubtless being offered to avert the plagues, and Moses, using the ashes in the same way, produced another plague instead of averting it. 

11 And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boil was upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians, all the land of Egypt. 

Another god that was mocked here was the god of healing and medicine. 

12 And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had spoken unto Moses.  

Moses was persistent because God had given him promises and every time the Lord spoke, Moses faithfully believed and walked out upon that Word which God had given him. 

13 And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me.  

God allowed a day of suffering with boils and blains before sending Moses to talk to pharaoh. There must have been many of Pharaoh’s court who called in sick this day. 

14 For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth.  

15 For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth.  

16 And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up [preserved thee], 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.  

With protein from fish and livestock in trouble, grain, the cereal crop, was the next target.

Hail was a plague directed against Osiris the ancient corn deity. He and his sister-wife Isis civilized mankind by teaching agriculture. His fertility cult was based in the Nile delta. {21. Osiris, Horus, Isis} 

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:  

Must have been quite painful to gather all your cattle with all those boils and blains.  

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 in 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.  

The countries of Israel and Jordan located just north of Egypt in the Middle East in 1997 received 4 feet of hail in short time span. Recently in Australia, hail the size of cantaloupe was recorded. 

24 So there was hail, and fire [lightening?] mingled with the hail, very grievous [massive], 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.  

Nut the sky goddess along with husband and brother Geb the earth god, were mocked here along with Tefnut, his mother, the goddess of moisture and father Shu, the god of air.  

26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail.  

A localized hailstorm would not have affected the Israelites. 

27 And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous, [the righteous one] and I and my people are wicked. [wicked ones] 

28 Intreat the LORD (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings [Heb. “Voices of Elohim” a strong superlative] 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, [hail didn’t affect Moses from  moving about] 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.  

31 And the flax and the barley was smitten: for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled [in the bud, blossomed].  

These ripened in the middle of February or early in March. Israel leaves in April. 

32 But the wheat and the rie were not smitten: for they were not grown up.  

33 And Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread abroad his hands unto the LORD: and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth.  

34 And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants.  

35 And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go; as the LORD had spoken by Moses.  

10:1 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:  

This eighth plague was directed at the god Serapis, who was supposed to protect the land from locusts. They came at Moses’ bidding, and retired only at his bidding. Thus the weakness of Serapis was manifest. 

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.  

The Lord kept telling Moses what was going to happen, but Moses had to keep making a decision to believe. These confrontations with Pharaoh had been going on for some time, and the Lord was now telling him that there was more to come. 

That takes believing, mature believing. Moses did not stagger or crumble under the responsibility, he believed God faithfully, plague after plague. 

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:  

They know locusts. They were well known in Egypt. The people knew of their danger and the disastrous affects of a locust plague. These migrating grasshoppers would come in and strip the land bare every so often.  

Just the thought of locusts would add to the fear and disheartenment of the people.

5 And they shall cover the face [eye, put for what is seen by it] 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.  

Second compromise attempt. Go, but  men only.  

Do you think Pharaoh slept well that night? Or any of Pharaoh’s servants that had heard what Moses had said? Pharaoh’s servants had to cringe when Pharaoh wouldn’t give in.  

12 And the LORD said unto Moses, [no compromise] 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 [massive] 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.  

Why didn’t Moses again make his request? The only answer, word of knowledge, word of wisdom. 

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.  

20 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go.  

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.  

The stretching forth of the hand toward heaven is another of the mocking of the magicians of Pharaoh’s court. This custom was done to deliver their prediction to illustrate that they had favor with their gods. 

This is the first of 4 instances of darkness in judgement on the earth. Matthew 27:45 At the time of the death of Jesus, Jude 13 , Revelation 16:10 are the other times.  

Exodus 10:22 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.  

Being sick and facing food shortages thick darkness covers the land, so thick that one couldn’t even see another person in the same room. [Sandstorm?] 

This was an extreme mockery of their top god, Ra, the sun god. Surely Ra could help the people against this intruder. Another god Thoth, the moon god never showed up either. He also was responsible for knowledge and writing.  There may be a related goddess of stars, Toth, who also was vacant when needed. 

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.  

Third compromise. Leave flocks and herds, but take all the people. Should you give in? You have all the women and children. No. No way. Do all the will of God and receive all the blessings of God. God had promised that they would leave and when they left it would be with all they owned and with all the riches, gold and silver, that was in Egypt. 

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.  

Moses with the right answer again. How does he come up with these? 

27 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them go.  

God had told Moses what to demand, and Moses was not settling for anything less than what the Lord had told him to. That is believing. 

The bartering between Pharaoh and Moses must have gotten very demanding on Moses’ believing to consistently be able, day after day after day stand up to that kind of pressure, that kind of demand on his believing, Pharaoh’s dishonest opposition 

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.  

Moses did not leave Pharaoh’s presence until after verse 8 of the next chapter. This is the FOS prolepsis; anticipating what is going to be, and speaking of future things as present. 

One more plague so horrible that pharaoh and all the people will bribe you to leave.  

Let’s review:  

Moses and Aaron enter the palace and demand freedom for the slaves, the children of Israel, to go three days journey into the wilderness to sacrifice unto their God. When they are denied this privilege, they threaten you with plagues. 

Fish are destroyed when the Nile River becomes polluted. Then frogs appear and over run the area. When they die, their corpses add to the pollution and release the insect population from its usual constraints.  

With the diseases spread by midges and flies, animal protein from cattle, sheep and goats become scarce and tainted.  

Then the working animals such as horses, donkeys and oxen are afflicted along with humans with severe virile and bacteria afflictions; as a result the crops are largely unharvested. 

Next huge hailstones hit causing tremendous crop damages. What is not destroyed by hail is eaten by locusts including the young shoots and seeds that would otherwise have offered hope. 

Then darkness, maybe a sandstorm, covers all remaining food supplies and creates a blanket that bakes any stored food stuff and accelerates rotting while the Egyptians are still confined to their houses. 

At this point, after roughly10 months of catastrophic misfortune as many as 2 ½ million Egyptians have been weakened and debilitated, rationing their meager stores in the face of famine, Moses says, “just one more, and it will be worse than the rest!” 

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 [ask]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 [middle of the night] 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.  

How many in this room are first born? 

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.  

Left Pharaoh with just one job left. {22. Pizzaman}