Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
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Exodus
Book: Exodus
Chapter: 10
Overview:
The
Plague of locusts threatened;
Pharaoh, moved
By his
servants, inclines to let the Israelites go.
(1-11) The
Plague
of locusts.
(12-20) The
Plague of thick
Darkness.
(21-29)
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.
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.
21-29 The
Plague of
Darkness brought upon
Egypt was a dreadful
Plague. It was
Darkness which might be felt,
So thick were the
fogs. It astonished and terrified. It continued three days; six
nights in one;
So long the most lightsome palaces were dungeons.
Now
Pharaoh had time to consider, if he would have improved it.
Spiritual
Darkness is spiritual
Bondage; while
Satan blinds
men's eyes that they see not, he binds their hands and feet,
that they work not for
God, nor move toward
Heaven. They sit in
Darkness. It was righteous with
God thus to punish. The
blindness of their minds brought upon them this
Darkness of the
Air; never was mind
So blinded as
Pharaoh's, never was
Air So
darkened as
Egypt. Let us dread the consequences of
Sin; if
three days of
Darkness were
So dreadful, what will
Everlasting
Darkness be? The children of
Israel, at the same time, had
Light
in their
Dwellings. We must not think we share in common mercies
as a matter of course, and therefore that we owe
No thanks to
God for them. It shows the particular favour he bears to his
people. Wherever there is an Israelite indeed, though in this
dark world, there is
Light, there is a
Child of
Light. When
God
made this difference between the Israelites and the Egyptians,
who would not have preferred the
Poor Cottage of an Israelite to
the fine
Palace of an Egyptian? There is a real difference
between the
House of the wicked, which is under a
Curse, and the
Habitation of the just, which is blessed.
Pharaoh renewed the
treaty with
Moses and
Aaron, and consented they should take
their little ones, but would have their
Cattle left. It is
common for sinners to bargain with
God Almighty; thus they try
to mock him, but they deceive themselves. The terms of
reconciliation with
God are
So fixed, that though men dispute
them ever
So long, they cannot possibly alter them, or bring
them lower. We must come to the demand of
God's will; we cannot
expect he should condescend to the terms our lusts would make.
With ourselves and our children, we must devote all our worldly
possessions to the service of
God; we know not what use he will
make of any part of what we have.
Pharaoh broke off the
conference abruptly, and resolved to treat
No more. Had he
forgotten how often he had sent for
Moses to ease him of his
plagues? and must he now be bid to come
No more? Vain malice! to
threaten him with
Death, who was armed with such power! What
will not hardness of
Heart, and contempt of
God's
Word and
Commandments, bring men to! After this,
Moses came
No more till
he was sent for. When men drive
God's
Word from them, he justly
gives them up to their own delusions.