Exodus 10:12-29

the Plagues of Locusts and of Darkness

Exodus 10:12

The locust is the most terrible plague of Eastern lands. The heat intense; the air languid; the sound as of a strong breeze; the sun darkened by a cloud of living things, which cover the earth several inches thick and devour every green thing, Exodus 10:15. Notice the extorted confession, at last, of sin, Exodus 10:16. Many hearts and lives are devastated by these locust-cares, which eat up all the blades of promise and darken heaven. At the first trace of genuine repentance, however, they are borne away.

The Hebrew word for darkness is the same that is used in Genesis 1:2. The sun was one of the chief deities of Egypt, hence the horror that paralyzed her population, Exodus 10:23. But there was light in Goshen. See Psalms 112:4 and John 8:12. Pharaoh proposed one last compromise. See Exodus 10:24. Moses made a grand answer. The whole universe shall share in our redemption, Romans 8:20. Jesus will be content with nothing less than all the purchased possession.