The Locust Plague and Pharaoh's False Concession
The Lord turns Pharaoh’s hardened resistance into a stage for covenant instruction, generational testimony, and devastating judgment, while Pharaoh’s limited concession reveals that he still refuses true submission to the Lord’s command.
Exodus 10:1-20 (BSB)
1 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials, that I may perform these miraculous signs of Mine among them,
2 and that you may tell your children and grandchildren how severely I dealt with the Egyptians when I performed miraculous signs among them, so that all of you may know that I am the LORD.”
3 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and told him, “This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.
4 But if you refuse to let My people go, I will bring locusts into your territory tomorrow.
5 They will cover the face of the land so that no one can see it. They will devour whatever is left after the hail and eat every tree that grows in your fields.
6 They will fill your houses and the houses of all your officials and every Egyptian—something neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen since the day they came into this land.’” Then Moses turned and left Pharaoh’s presence.
7 Pharaoh’s officials asked him, “How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the people go, so that they may worship the LORD their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt lies in ruins?”
8 So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. “Go, worship the LORD your God,” he said. “But who exactly will be going?”
9 “We will go with our young and old,” Moses replied. “We will go with our sons and daughters, and with our flocks and herds, for we must hold a feast to the LORD.”
10 Then Pharaoh told them, “May the LORD be with you if I ever let you go with your little ones. Clearly you are bent on evil.
11 No, only the men may go and worship the LORD, since that is what you have been requesting.” And Moses and Aaron were driven from Pharaoh’s presence.
12 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt, so that the locusts may swarm over it and devour every plant in the land—everything that the hail has left behind.”
13 So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and throughout that day and night the LORD sent an east wind across the land. By morning the east wind had brought the locusts.
14 The locusts swarmed across the land and settled over the entire territory of Egypt. Never before had there been so many locusts, and never again will there be.
15 They covered the face of all the land until it was black, and they consumed all the plants on the ground and all the fruit on the trees that the hail had left behind. Nothing green was left on any tree or plant in all the land of Egypt.
16 Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you.
17 Now please forgive my sin once more and appeal to the LORD your God, that He may remove this death from me.”
18 So Moses left Pharaoh’s presence and appealed to the LORD.
19 And the LORD changed the wind to a very strong west wind that carried off the locusts and blew them into the Red Sea. Not a single locust remained anywhere in Egypt.
20 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go.
What is the big idea of Exodus 10:1-20?
The LORD turns Pharaoh’s hardened resistance into a stage for covenant instruction, generational testimony, and devastating judgment, while Pharaoh’s limited concession reveals that he still refuses true submission to the LORD’s command.
How does Exodus 10:1-20 point to Christ?
This passage shows the holy God who will not negotiate his claim over his people and who judges oppressive rebellion with sovereign power. Human resistance appears in Pharaoh’s refusal to obey unless obedience is reduced to his terms. The gospel clarifies that true deliverance requires more than relief from consequences; it requires redemption by God’s mighty hand, fulfilled finally through Christ, who accomplishes rescue not by bargaining with evil but by bearing judgment and leading his people into the worship and freedom of God.
How does Exodus 10:1-20 relate to the life and ministry of Jesus?
This passage is not a direct messianic prophecy, but it contributes to the biblical pattern of redemption remembered and taught across generations. The exodus becomes the foundational Old Testament act of deliverance to be rehearsed among God’s people. In Christ, the greater redemption is likewise proclaimed, remembered, and handed down through the gospel, baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and teaching the whole counsel of God.
Authorial Intent
To show that the LORD hardens Pharaoh and his officials within the unfolding judgment cycle so that his signs may be displayed in Egypt, remembered by Israel across generations, and known as the acts of the LORD.
Questions for Reflection
- Where does Pharaoh’s question, 'How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me?' expose the difference between regret and repentance?
- Why does Moses insist that young and old, sons and daughters, flocks and herds must go?
- How does Exodus 10:2 shape the way families and churches should teach the next generation?
- What does Pharaoh’s partial concession reveal about the danger of trying to obey God on our own terms?
- How does the complete removal of the locusts reveal the LORD’s mercy, and how does Pharaoh’s response reveal the hardness of sin?
- What warnings should leaders take from Pharaoh’s officials recognizing ruin before Pharaoh does?
Literary Context
This passage follows the hail plague in Exodus 9:13-35, where the Lord declared that Pharaoh had been preserved so divine power would be shown and the Lord’s name proclaimed in all the earth. Exodus 10:1-20 adds a generational purpose: Israel must recount these signs to children and grandchildren. The locust plague consumes what the hail left behind and brings Pharaoh’s officials into sharper tension with him. It also anticipates later memorial and teaching commands surrounding Passover and the exodus.
Historical Context
The eighth plague follows the hail that destroyed flax and barley while leaving later crops vulnerable. Pharaoh has confessed sin under pressure but hardened his heart once relief arrived. The locust plague now threatens the agricultural remainder, pressing Egypt toward ruin and showing that Pharaoh’s refusal harms the whole nation he claims to rule.
Chapter: Exodus 10
Locusts, Darkness, and the Signs Told to Future Generations
The LORD’s signs humble Egypt, instruct Israel’s generations, and reveal that Pharaoh cannot define the people, scope, or cost of worship.