Scripture Reference: Exodus 8:20-10:29
5. Threatening
Please read Exodus 10:21-29 for the background to this section.
We don’t know how long after the locusts left Egypt that God sent the ninth plague, but the darkness over the land for three days proved that Jehovah was greater than Ra (or Re) and Horus, both of whom the Egyptians revered as sun gods. The darkness wasn’t the natural result of a sandstorm but was a miracle from the hand of the God of the Hebrews. There was light for the Israelites in the land of Goshen, just as there would be light for them as they marched out of Egypt (Exodus 14:19-20). The people of Egypt (symbolic of the world) walk in the darkness, but the people of God walk in the light (John 3:19-21; 1 John 1:5-10).
Always ready to call for help when he was in trouble, Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and made one more offer. The Jews could go on their journey to worship the Lord, but they couldn’t take their flocks and herds with them. Pharaoh’s plan was to confiscate all their livestock to replace what he had lost in the plagues, and then send his army to bring the Jews back to Egyptian slavery. Moses and Aaron rejected the offer, not only because they saw through his crafty plan, but because they knew that Israel had to obey all the will of God.
Pharaoh was a proud man, and proud people don’t like to be outwitted by those whom they consider their inferiors. Moses and Aaron had refused his four offers and had insisted that he let the Israelites go. These two humble Jews had proved themselves more powerful (through God) than the exalted Pharaoh of Egypt, a son of the gods. By His mighty judgments, the God of the Hebrews had brought the great nation of Egypt to its knees; and both the leaders and the common people in the land held Moses in high regard (Exodus 11:3).
Pharaoh was a beaten man, but he wouldn’t admit it. Instead, he used his authority to try to intimidate Moses. He warned Moses that if he came back into the palace to see Pharaoh, he would be killed. There were to be no more official audiences before Pharaoh.
But before Moses left the throne room, he delivered God’s final warning about the last plague, the death of the firstborn (Exodus 11:4). Pharaoh then threatened to kill Moses if he saw him again, but God was going to slay every firstborn son in the land of Egypt and then drown Pharaoh’s crack troops. In spite of what Pharaoh said about not seeing Moses again, on Passover night, Pharaoh would once again call for Moses and plead for his help (Exodus 12:31).
The hardening of Pharaoh’s heart is a warning to all of us. If the sinful human heart doesn’t respond by faith to God’s Word, it cannot be transformed by the grace of God (Ezekiel 36:26-27; Hebrews 8:7-13). Instead, it will become harder and harder the longer it resists God’s truth. No matter how often God may send affliction, it will only provoke more disobedience. In the last days, when God sends His terrible judgments on the world (Read Revelation Chapters 6-16), people will curse God and continue in their sins, but they will not repent (Revelation 6:15-17; 9:20-21; 16:9, 11). There will be a whole world full of men and women like Pharaoh who will behold God’s judgments and miracles and still not repent. God does give mankind the ability to choose their destiny, but the choice comes with a warning if left unheeded.
“The Holy Spirit says, ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts’ ” (Hebrews 3:7-8).
“It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31).
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD 