Two plagues left. Locusts strip whatever the hail left standing, until there is nothing green in all of Egypt. Then a darkness so heavy that for three days no one moves — while Israel has light in their homes. Pharaoh’s own officials beg him to give in: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed? He offers terms, Moses refuses them, and Pharaoh throws him out with a death threat. And Moses walks out to deliver the last warning of all.
A study in Exodus 10-11 · Arthur Baldwin · StandUp4Jesus.Org · 8 min read
How Long Wilt Thou Refuse To Humble Thyself
“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.”
Exodus 10:3
The issue is named at last: not the labour force, not the economy, but humbling himself. Every plague has been an invitation to bow, and Pharaoh has treated bowing as the one thing he cannot do. This is what makes the whole contest a picture of something larger — a will that would rather be destroyed than yield.
Knowest Thou Not Yet That Egypt Is Destroyed
“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?”
Exodus 10:7
The king’s own court has seen enough. His counsellors ask the same question God asked — how long? — and answer it: the country is already ruined. Pharaoh brings Moses back, then offers a deal: the men may go, the families stay. It is not a concession; it is hostage-taking, keeping the women and children as surety that the men will come back.
“Pharaoh had endeavored to destroy the Israelites by hard labor, but he now pretended to have a deep interest in their welfare and a tender care for their little ones. His real object was to keep the women and children as surety for the return of the men.”
Ellen G. White · Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 271
There Remained Not Any Green Thing
“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.”
Exodus 10:15
Pharaoh calls for Moses “in haste” and says, “I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against you. Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once.” The wind changes, the locusts are gone — and so is the confession. This is the fourth time he has said some version of “I have sinned” and the fourth time it has meant nothing once the danger passed.
Darkness Which May Be Felt
“And there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days: 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.”
Exodus 10:22-23
The sun was Egypt’s chief god, and for three days it is simply switched off — a darkness thick enough to feel, that pins every Egyptian where he sits. And a few miles away, in Goshen, the lamps are burning. Ellen White reads even this as mercy: a last pause, deliberately given, before the plague that cannot be undone.
“Yet fearful as it was, this judgment is an evidence of God’s compassion and His unwillingness to destroy. He would give the people time for reflection and repentance before bringing upon them the last and most terrible of the plagues.”
Ellen G. White · Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 272
See My Face No More
“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. And Moses said, Thou hast spoken well, I will see thy face again no more.”
Exodus 10:28-29
Pharaoh’s last offer — go, but leave the flocks — is met with Moses’ flat “there shall not an hoof be left behind.” The negotiation is over. Pharaoh ends it with a death threat, and Moses accepts the terms: they will not meet again. The next words Moses speaks in the palace are God’s final sentence on Egypt.
About Midnight Will I Go Out
“And Moses said, Thus saith the LORD, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt: and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die… But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue… that ye may know how that the LORD doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.”
Exodus 11:4-7
This judgment was the first one announced, back at the burning bush — “Israel is my son, even my firstborn… I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn” (Exodus 4:22-23) — and it is kept for last. God has given Egypt every chance to turn. Now the difference between the two peoples, drawn plague by plague, comes down to one thing: which houses have blood on the door. That is the next chapter.
“God is long-suffering and plenteous in mercy. He has a tender care for the beings formed in His image. If the loss of their harvests and their flocks and herds had brought Egypt to repentance, the children would not have been smitten; but the nation had stubbornly resisted the divine command, and now the final blow was about to fall.”
Ellen G. White · Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 273
