Exo 10:1-29  Thou Hast Spoken Well, I will see thy Face Again no More

[Study Aired May 16, 2022]

Exo 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: 
Exo 10:2  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. 
Exo 10:3  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. 
Exo 10:4  Else, if thou refuse to let my people go, behold, to morrow will I bring the locusts into thy coast:
Exo 10:5  And they shall cover the face 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:
Exo 10:6  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.
Exo 10:7  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?
Exo 10:8  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?
Exo 10:9  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.
Exo 10:10  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. 
Exo 10:11  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. 
Exo 10:12  And the LORD said unto Moses, 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. 
Exo 10:13  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. 
Exo 10:14  And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt: very grievous were they; before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such. 
Exo 10:15  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. 
Exo 10:16  Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against you. 
Exo 10:17  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. 
Exo 10:18  And he went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the LORD. 
Exo 10:19  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. 
Exo 10:20  But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go. 
Exo 10:21  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. 
Exo 10:22  And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days: 
Exo 10:23  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. 
Exo 10:24  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. 
Exo 10:25  And Moses said, Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the LORD our God. 
Exo 10:26  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. 
Exo 10:27  But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. 
Exo 10:28  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. 
Exo 10:29  And Moses said, Thou hast spoken well, I will see thy face again no more. 

In the previous study, we saw that the plagues were having an effect on Pharaoh, as he came to admit that he and his people are wicked, but the Lord is righteous. He also agreed that the people of Israel should go and worship the Lord but that they should not go far. All these are to make us aware that the death of the old man or the flesh (Pharaoh) is a process, and that the mindset of the old man is that we can worship the Lord and still conform to the standards of this world.

We can see that the judgments (the plagues) were becoming increasingly grievous as we went from one plague to another. This increase in the intensity of judgment is to let us know that the Lord always prepares us to be able to bear His judgment. It is just like schooling; the test we pass in primary school cannot be compared with the examination we sit in the university. In a similar way, our trials increase in intensity as we mature in the things of God. However, the Lord prepares us adequately, so we can be able to bear our trials leading to the death of our old man.

1Ch 29:18  O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this forever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee:

Job 11:13  If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands toward him; 

1Co 10:13  There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

Today’s study continues with the Lord’s judgment of our old man (Pharaoh). Here we encounter the eighth and ninth plagues of the invasion of locusts and the covering of the land of Egypt with thick darkness. Let’s see what the Lord wants to achieve in our lives by sending us these plagues.

Exo 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: 
Exo 10:2  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.

One of the key lessons the Lord wants us to learn is that the resistance to the things of the Lord by the old man within us, signified by the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart, is all of the Lord. The Lord causes us to resist Him so that He will show us His signs.  In verse 2, we are given a reason for the Lord’s signs in Egypt – that we may know the Lord!! Indeed, the Lord’s ways are not our ways, neither are His thoughts our thoughts!! His wisdom is beyond comprehension. So, all our rebellious attitude toward the Lord at a certain point of our walk will lead us to know the Lord!!

Rom 11:33  O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! 
Rom 11:34  For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? 
Rom 11:35  Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? 

In the scriptures, additional reasons are given by the Lord for hardening our hearts and making it possible for Him to show us His signs and wonders. 

Heb 2:3  How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
Heb 2:4  God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?

These verses in Hebrews show us that the Lord is delivering us through His signs and wonders to possess this great salvation. This salvation which the Lord is preparing on our behalf is precious. Let us not throw away this salvation when things don’t go the way we envisage as if the Lord does not care about us. On the contrary, these suffering are the signs and wonders of the Lord’s deliverance. Were the plagues meant for enjoyment? No, they produced significant suffering to the people in Egypt, and the Lord is saying here in Hebrews 2:4 that they serve as a witness of the great salvation the Lord is preparing for us.

The signs and the wonders (the plagues) also testify that the Lord will intervene in our circumstance in all the things we are afraid of in this life!! 

Deu 7:19  The great temptations which thine eyes saw, and the signs, and the wonders, and the mighty hand, and the stretched out arm, whereby the LORD thy God brought thee out: so shall the LORD thy God do unto all the people of whom thou art afraid. 

What are you afraid of? That what you are going through may kill you? That your children may be wayward? That you may not be able to take care of your family? Surprisingly, the suffering we are going through is part of the Lord’s plague (signs and wonders) in our lives is to destroy our fears so that we may walk in this life without fear!!

Another reason why the Lord hardens our heart just like Pharaoh is so that with His outstretched arms and mighty hands, he will perform signs and wonders in our lives to make us aware that God is with us!! Just as the tempest rose when the disciples were crossing the sea in a boat with Jesus also in the boat, we must come to understand that the Lord is with us!!

1Sa 10:7  And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee, that thou do as occasion serve thee; for God is with thee.

Finally, the signs and wonders of these plagues in our lives are also to assure us that the Lord will deliver us from our enemies (the beast within and everything that opposes us and seeks to destroy us).

Dan 6:27  He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.

Exo 10:3  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.

The Lord’s desire to get rid of the old man (Pharaoh) within us is reiterated here in verse 3 where the Lord told Moses and Aaron to tell Pharaoh to let His people go so that they can serve Him. As long as the beast reigns within our members, there is no way we can please or serve the Lord. Here in this verse, we are told that the old man is proud and refuses to humble himself before the Lord. This means that if we refuse to humble ourselves before our brothers and sisters who represent Christ, then the old man or the beast within us is dominating us. For example, our refusal to submit to counsel by our brothers and sisters or our elders (Moses and Aaron) are all signs that the beast within us (Pharaoh) is alive and active.  We must humble ourselves under the Lord’s mighty hand so that in the fullness of time, He will lift us up.

1Pe 5:6  Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

Jas 4:6  But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. 
Jas 4:7  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 

Submitting ourselves to God includes submitting to the counsel of our brothers and sisters. That is one way of resisting the devil to flee from us.

The Plague of Locusts

Exo 10:4  Else, if thou refuse to let my people go, behold, to morrow will I bring the locusts into thy coast: 
Exo 10:5  And they shall cover the face of the earth, that one cannot tbe 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: 
Exo 10:6  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.

To understand the spiritual significance of the plague of locust, let’s visit the Books of Joel and Revelation, where there was an invasion of locusts, and this is what happened:

Joe 1:4  That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten. 
Joe 1:5  Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth. 
Joe 1:6  For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion. 
Joe 1:7  He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white. 
Joe 1:8  Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth. 

Rev 9:2  And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. 
Rev 9:3  And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 

Rev 9:7  And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. 

Rev 9:10  And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. 

Joe 2:2  A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.
Joe 2:3  A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them. 
Joe 2:4  The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run.

Comparing Joel chapter 1 with that of Revelation 9:7, we can deduce that the invasion of locusts represents evil workers who are false apostles but appear to us as those carrying the truth of the gospel (On their heads are crowns of gold). This is confirmed in Joel 2:4 where the appearance of these evil men are described as that of horses. This same description is given in Revelation 9:7. These evil workers or locusts have tails like scorpions as shown in Revelation 9:10. As we are aware, the tail here means that these workers teach lies which cause us a lot of pain during our time in Babylon.

Isa 9:15  The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.

This is what Paul said about these false apostles:

2Co 11:13  For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 
2Co 11:14  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 
2Co 11:15  Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

Exo 10:7  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?

There are two things we can learn from this verse. First, we, the elect, are a snare to both people of the world and our brothers and sisters in Babylon just as Moses became a snare to the people of Egypt.

Jer 50:24  I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon, and thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against the LORD. 

During our time in Babylon, we were striving against the Lord and His elect who became a snare against us. This paved the way for the Lord to come with His judgment. In other words, this snare is the opportunity the Lord is seeking, to come and judge us.

Jdg 14:4  But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.

Secondly, verse 7 also assures us that through the tribulations we are facing, the old man or the beast within us is being destroyed. This is made obvious by the statement of Pharaoh’s servants, admitting that Egypt is destroyed.

2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 

Exo 10:8  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?
Exo 10:9  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.
Exo 10:10  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. 
Exo 10:11  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.

The old man within us, represented by Pharaoh, does not want us to serve the Lord wholeheartedly as portrayed by Pharaoh asking Moses to let only the men go and serve the Lord leaving behind the children, women and their possessions. Serving the Lord demands our all, and without that, there is no way we can please the Lord. The Lord makes this clear to us as follows:

Deu 6:4  Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 
Deu 6:5  And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 

Psa 103:1  A Psalm of David. Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. 

Pharaoh’s request for Moses to go with the men and leave behind the cattle, the women and children has spiritual significance. As we are aware, the Israelite women represent the church. Leaving behind women as we go to serve the Lord means we are ignoring the importance of the church in our worship of the Lord. The importance of the church in our spiritual development cannot be overemphasized. It is through what every joint supplies that we become mature in our relationship with the Lord. Without the church, we would be blown about by every wind of doctrine. We are perfected by the church.

Eph 4:11  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 
Eph 4:12  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 
Eph 4:13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: 
Eph 4:14  That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 
Eph 4:15  But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: 
Eph 4:16  From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. 

Children are the result of the union between a husband and wife. Thus, children spiritually represent the righteousness of Christ that we attain through our union with Christ. Leaving behind the children to serve the Lord therefore implies ignoring the goal of our walk with Christ to bear His righteousness.

1Jn 3:10  In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

Rev 19:8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

Leaving behind the cattle to go into the desert to worship the Lord means ignoring our means of livelihood to go and serve the Lord.

Zec 13:5  But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am an husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.

What leaving our cattle to serve the Lord means spiritually is ignoring the need to work for a living while serving the Lord. This is what Paul had to say about this:

Act 20:34  Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. 
Act 20:35  I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

Exo 10:12  And the LORD said unto Moses, 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. 
Exo 10:13  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. 
Exo 10:14  And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt: very grievous were they; before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such. 
Exo 10:15  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. 

These verses highlight the coming of the plague of locusts and the destruction they caused. From Joel chapter 1, we can see the effects of the invasion by locusts.

Joe 1:9  The meat offering and the drink offering is cut off from the house of the LORD; the priests, the LORD’S ministers, mourn. 
Joe 1:10  The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth. 
Joe 1:11  Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished. 
Joe 1:12  The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men. 

Joe 1:15  Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come. 
Joe 1:16  Is not the meat cut off before our eyes, yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God? 

Joe 1:18  How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate. 
Joe 1:19  O LORD, to thee will I cry: for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field. 
Joe 1:20  The beasts of the field cry also unto thee: for the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness. 

The locust destroys all tree-bearing fruits in the field. Since we were carnal or worldly, even the little goodness in us is taken away, and we become worse off.

2Pe 2:20  For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.

The invasion of locusts makes the flock of sheep desolate because there is no food (Joel 1:18). As the Lord’s flock, the famine of the word of the Lord makes us desolate, forcing us to leave Babylon for greener pastures of the word of the Lord.

The rivers of water are dried up and the beasts of the field cry. Because of famine of the truth of the word of Christ, we, as beasts, are pained and therefore, cry out to the Lord for help.

Exo 10:16  Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against you. 
Exo 10:17  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. 
Exo 10:18  And he went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the LORD. 

Pharaoh’s admission that he had sinned is to let us know the deceitful nature of the old man within us. In the previous chapter (8), Pharaoh also admitted that he had sinned. However, these sins committed do not lead to godly sorrow which leads to repentance. Pharaoh’s admission of sin is just the sorrow of the world which works death.

2Co 7:10  For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

Exo 10:19  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.

It is very insightful to note that the Lord turned on a strong west wind which caused the locusts to be cast into the Red sea. The west can signify the sea as shown in the following:

Eze 47:20  The west side also shall be the great sea from the border, till a man come over against Hamath. This is the west side.

What this means is that all flesh (the sea) is a repository of evil and so every person who is dominated by the flesh is a potential locust (evil worker) to be used by the Lord to hurt His elect as part of His judgment against our flesh. That is why the Lord told us that He is sending us as sheep among wolves (evil workers or locust) in this world.

Mat 10:16  Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. 
Mat 10:17  But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; 
Mat 10:18  And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. 

The fact that the flesh is a repository of locusts is confirmed in Revelation chapter 9 where the locusts come out of the bottomless pit which represents the sea of flesh.

Rev 9:2  And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. 
Rev 9:3  And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 

Exo 10:20  But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go.

As we have said earlier, the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart, or our old man, by the Lord is for our benefit. This is shown as follows:

Rom 9:15  For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 
Rom 9:16  So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. 
Rom 9:17  For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.

The Lord hardening Pharaoh’s heart, or causing the old man within us to resist Him, is for us to appreciate the mercies of the Lord and to learn to show mercy as a result. This is not obvious when we are frustrated by our old man within us as we resist the Lord. However, in the final analysis, we shall come to know His mercies. One of the qualities that the Lord is inculcating within us is being merciful. This is because it is through the mercies we have received that we can show mercy to the masses of humanity which will result in the ultimate salvation of the whole world. Therefore, inasmuch as we need the Lord’s mercy, we must also show mercy to others in our daily lives.

Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: 
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. 
Rom 11:32  For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

Another lesson we can learn from the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart is that we come to see that this battle against the flesh is not our fight. It is the work of the Lord to deliver us from the old man or the flesh. By ourselves we can do nothing. As we can see, the resistance put up by Pharaoh is incomprehensible. That is why the beast within or the old man is compared to a mountain. A mountain can only be removed, not by might nor by power, but by the spirit of the Lord!! It is the word of Christ that destroys this mountain or the old man.

Zec 4:6  Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts. 
Zec 4:7  Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.

The Plague of Darkness

Exo 10:21  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. 
Exo 10:22  And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days: 
Exo 10:23  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.

The question is, “What is the spiritual significance of darkness?” The coming of Christ is the coming of light. So, Christ is the same as light, and light is the same as the word of the Lord. It is when light comes that we begin to see. Seeing means that we come to understand the mysteries of the word of the Lord. Darkness is the absence of light. This means that darkness refers to the absence of Jesus or the absence of the understanding of the word of the Lord. 

Mat 4:16  The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. 
Mat 4:17  From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 

Psa 119:105  Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. 

The plague of darkness is therefore the absence of the word of the Lord during our sojourn in this world and Babylon. This is contrasted with the presence of light in the camp of the Israelites who represent the elect. We, the elect, are given to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. However, to the people of the world and to our Babylonian brothers and sisters, it is all darkness – that is, they are not given to know Christ or the mysteries of the kingdom. The fact that the darkness covered the land of Egypt for three days is to let us know this is all part of the process of spiritual maturity through judgment.

Exo 10:24  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. 
Exo 10:25  And Moses said, Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the LORD our God. 
Exo 10:26  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.

As we have explained earlier, leaving behind the cattle to go into the desert to worship the Lord means ignoring the rearing of cattle as a means of livelihood to go and serve the Lord. That is what our old man (Pharaoh) delights in.

Zec 13:5  But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am an husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth. 

What leaving our cattle to serve the Lord means spiritually is ignoring the need to work for a living while serving the Lord. The effect of ignoring the need to work brings about the fleecing of the church as we see Babylonian pastors do. However, there may be times the church may support some of our brothers and sisters for various reasons for a period. This is what Paul had to say about this:

Act 20:34  Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. 
Act 20:35  I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

Peter warned us about those leaders who fleece the flock of the Lord:

2Pe 2:2  And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. 
2Pe 2:3  And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. 

Exo 10:27  But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. 
Exo 10:28  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. 
Exo 10:29  And Moses said, Thou hast spoken well, I will see thy face again no more. 

We have explained earlier the need for the Lord to harden Pharaoh’s heart. It is for our sake.  In verse 28, Pharoah stated that he does not want to see Moses again, of which Moses also affirmed that he will not see Pharaoh’s face again. Not beholding Pharaoh’s face again is the same as saying that the old man or the beast within shall not dominate us again. In other words, its death has come!!

2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked (the old man) be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 

We are grateful to the Lord that He has brought us this far. Our confidence is that, like Moses, we shall not see Pharaoh (the old man) again as the Lord is able to bring to completion what He has started!! May His name be praised!! Amen!!