The answer was, “We will go with our young and our old; with our sons and our daughters, with our flocks and our herds will we go, for we must hold a feast to the Lord.”
The king was filled with rage. He cried, “‘Not so! Go now, you who are men, and serve the Lord, for that is what you desired.’ And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.” Pharaoh pretended to have deep interest in their welfare and a tender care for their little ones, but his real intent was to keep the women and children as a way to guarantee the return of the men.
Moses now stretched his rod over the land, and an east wind brought locusts. “They were very severe; previously there had been no such locusts as they, nor shall there be such after them.” They filled the air till the sky was darkened, and they devoured every green thing remaining.
Pharaoh quickly sent for the prophet and said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. ... Entreat the Lord your God, that He may take away from me this death only.” They did so, and a strong west wind carried away the locusts toward the Red Sea, but the king still kept on in his stubborn determination.
The people of Egypt were ready to despair, and they were filled with fear for the future. The nation had worshiped Pharaoh as a representative of their god; but many were now convinced that he was battling against One who made all the powers of nature the agents of His will. The Hebrew slaves were becoming confident of deliverance. Throughout Egypt there was a secret fear that the slaves would rise and take revenge for their wrongs. People everywhere were asking, “What will come next?”
Suddenly a darkness settled on the land, so thick and black that it seemed to be a “darkness which may even be felt.” Breathing was difficult. “They did not see one another; nor did any one rise from his place for three days. But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.” The sun and moon were objects of worship to the Egyptians. This mysterious darkness struck the people and their gods alike. (See Appendix, Note 2.) Dreadful as it was, this judgment was an evidence of God’s compassion and 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.
At the end of the third day of darkness Pharaoh summoned Moses and agreed to allow the people to leave, provided the flocks and herds were permitted to remain. “Not a hoof shall be left behind,” Moses replied firmly. The king’s anger burst forth uncontrollably. “Get away from me!” he cried. “Take heed to yourself and see my face no more! For in the day you see my face you shall die.”
Moses answered, “You have spoken well. I will never see your face again.”
“The man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people.” The king did not dare harm him, for the people looked upon him as the only one who possessed power to remove the plagues. They wanted the Israelites to be permitted to leave Egypt—it was the king and the priests who opposed the demands of Moses to the very end.
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