101 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'Go in unto Pharaoh, for I have declared hard his heart, and the heart of his servants, so that I set these My signs in their midst, 2 and so that thou recountest in the ears of thy son, and of thy son's son, that which I have done in Egypt, and My signs which I have set among them, and ye have known that I 'am' Jehovah.' 3 And Moses cometh in—Aaron also—unto Pharaoh, and they say unto him, 'Thus said Jehovah, God of the Hebrews, Until when hast thou refused to be humbled at My presence? send My people away, and they serve Me, 4 for if thou art refusing to send My people away, lo, I am bringing in to-morrow the locust into thy border, 5 and it hath covered the eye of the land, and none is able to see the land, and it hath eaten the remnant of that which is escaped, which is left to you from the hail, and it hath eaten every tree which is springing for you out of the field; 6 and they have filled thy houses, and the houses of all thy servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians, which neither thy fathers nor thy father's fathers have seen, since the day of their being on the ground unto this day,'—and he turneth and goeth out from Pharaoh. 7 And the servants of Pharaoh say unto him, 'Until when doth this 'one' become a snare to us? send the men away, and they serve Jehovah their God; knowest thou not yet that Egypt hath perished?' 8 And Moses is brought back—Aaron also—unto Pharaoh, and he saith unto them, 'Go, serve Jehovah your God;—who and who 'are' those going?' 9 And Moses saith, 'With our young ones, and with our aged ones, we go, with our sons, and with our daughters, with our flock, and our herd, we go, for we have a festival to Jehovah.' 10 And he saith unto them, 'Be it so, Jehovah 'be' with you when I send you and your infants away; see—for evil 'is' before your faces; 11 not so! go now, ye who 'are' men, and serve Jehovah, for that ye are seeking;' and 'one' casteth them out from the presence of Pharaoh.
12 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'Stretch out thy hand against the land of Egypt for the locust, and it goeth up against the land of Egypt, and doth eat every herb of the land—all that the hail hath left.' 13 And Moses stretcheth out his rod against the land of Egypt, and Jehovah hath led an east wind over the land all that day, and all the night; the morning hath been, and the east wind hath lifted up the locust. 14 And the locust goeth up against all the land of Egypt, and resteth in all the border of Egypt—very grievous: before it there hath not been such a locust as it, and after it there is none such; 15 and it covereth the eye of all the land, and the land is darkened; and it eateth every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail hath left, and there hath not been left any green thing in the trees, or in the herb of the field, in all the land of Egypt.' 16 And Pharaoh hasteth to call for Moses and for Aaron, and saith, 'I have sinned against Jehovah your God, and against you, 17 and now, bear with, I pray you, my sin, only this time, and make ye supplication to Jehovah your God, that He turn aside from off me only this death.' 18 And he goeth out from Pharaoh, and maketh supplication unto Jehovah, 19 and Jehovah turneth a very strong sea wind, and it lifteth up the locust, and bloweth it into the Red Sea—there hath not been left one locust in all the border of Egypt; 20 and Jehovah strengtheneth the heart of Pharaoh, and he hath not sent the sons of Israel away.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Exodus 10:1-20
Commentary on Exodus 10:1-11
(Read Exodus 10:1-11)
The plagues of Egypt show the sinfulness of sin. They warn the children of men not to strive with their Maker. Pharaoh had pretended to humble himself; but no account was made of it, for he was not sincere therein. The plague of locusts is threatened. This should be much worse than any of that kind which had ever been known. Pharaoh's attendants persuade him to come to terms with Moses. Hereupon Pharaoh will allow the men to go, falsely pretending that this was all they desired. He swears that they shall not remove their little ones. Satan does all he can to hinder those that serve God themselves, from bringing their children to serve him. He is a sworn enemy to early piety. Whatever would put us from engaging our children in God's service, we have reason to suspect Satan in it. Nor should the young forget that the Lord's counsel is, Remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth; but Satan's counsel is, to keep children in a state of slavery to sin and to the world. Mark that the great foe of man wishes to retain him by the ties of affection, as Pharaoh would have taken hostages from the Israelites for their return, by holding their wives and children in captivity. Satan is willing to share our duty and our service with the Saviour, because the Saviour will not accept those terms.
Commentary on Exodus 10:12-20
(Read Exodus 10:12-20)
God bids Moses stretch out his hand; locusts came at the call. An army might more easily have been resisted than this host of insects. Who then is able to stand before the great God? They covered the face of the earth, and ate up the fruit of it. Herbs grow for the service of man; yet when God pleases, insects shall plunder him, and eat the bread out of his mouth. Let our labour be, not for the habitation and meat thus exposed, but for those which endure to eternal life. Pharaoh employs Moses and Aaron to pray for him. There are those, who, in distress, seek the help of other people's prayers, but have no mind to pray for themselves. They show thereby that they have no true love to God, nor any delight in communion with him. Pharaoh desires only that this death might be taken away, not this sin. He wishes to get rid of the plague of locusts, not the plague of a hard heart, which was more dangerous. An east wind brought the locusts, a west wind carries them off. Whatever point the wind is in, it is fulfilling God's word, and turns by his counsel. The wind bloweth where it listeth, as to us; but not so as it respects God. It was also an argument for their repentance; for by this it appeared that God is ready to forgive, and swift to show mercy. If he does this upon the outward tokens of humiliation, what will he do if we are sincere! Oh that this goodness of God might lead us to repentance! Pharaoh returned to his resolution again, not to let the people go. Those who have often baffled their convictions, are justly given up to the lusts of their hearts.