Chapter 10

Locusts.  They will cover everything so that you cannot even see the ground.  They will fill the houses.  They will wipe out anything that is growing.  The land of Egypt will have no crops at all in process.  Each time, Moses tells Pharoah the plague will come the next day.  He always had overnight to think about it.  This time, Pharoah's servants tell him that Egypt is now ruined, and that he should at least let the men of Israel go and worship, just not the women, children and flocks.  Pharoah is losing control, he is losing the confidence of his servants and of his people.  His authority as Pharoah is being systematically undermined.  Pharoah calls Moses and offers to let the men only go.  Moses says they all need to go, and Moses leaves.  The next day, as foretold, the locust come and eat every green thing in Egypt.  As this goes on, Pharoah calls Moses again, tells him he has sinned, and pleads with Moses to just this once take away the plague.  Moses pleads with God, and the locusts are blown into the red sea by a strong west wind.  This time, it says that God hardened Pharoah's heart, and Pharoah recanted, and would not let the people go.  Is this a fourth lie, or has God now taken over the proceedings?

21 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt." [Exo 10:21 ESV]  So.  Water, earth, wind, fire, and now heaven itself is shown to be in God's power, under His command, and in His power alone.

Ninth Plague -Darkness that can be felt.  No one could get up from his place.  I imagine a darkness like Carlsbad Caverns - only darker.  There is an implication that fire and candles and such did not push back this darkness.  God wrought a change in the physics of light that could only be interpreted as supernatural, and he darkened the sky, a place that even the magicians and sages looked to as a source of supernatural portents even from their own gods.  And the God of Israel has now shown that he can manipulate the heavens and indeed light itself.  There was really nothing else to do but bring about the 10th plague.  When the lights go out, Pharoah tries another negotiation.  He calls Moses to him, so somehow, a messenger went to get Moses, and Moses came back to Pharoah.  This overrules the idea - to me at least - that even flames gave no light.  I think it better to see what happened as an intensifying of darkness.  It took more lumens to see.  And they did not have LED's, only torches, so an intense darkness.  Pharoah's offer is that all the people, regardless of age or sex, can go and worship, but they must leave their livestock behind.  Moses says no deal.  2021 - I had this right to start with.  For three days, no one can even move because of this darkness.  It s pitch dark.  Light does not penetrate this darkness.  Only after the three days is Moses summoned again to Pharoah.