A Hard Heart

Through every blow on Egypt, every warning from Moses, every suffering of his people, the Pharaoh remained recalcitrant and defiant. Even when he tried to negotiate with God, or made promises he didn’t keep, Pharaoh’s heart was unyielding (v7). It can be distracting to focus on the phrase, “he made the king too stubborn to listen” (v12) and claim that he didn’t have a choice in the matter. Pharaoh’s path was chosen and his hard heart was a consequence and culmination of all his decisions up to that point.

Tell Your Children

Pharaoh is a stubborn child of God who is being disciplined and humbled. He continues to contend with God although his efforts are frustrated and fruitless. As Pharaoh negotiates with the Creator, he is reminded who is really in charge of Egypt. Ancient civilizations dreaded locusts and the Egyptians surely saw their arrival as divine judgment. This swarming army of voracious insects toppled the Egyptian god Set who protected crops.

Creation Undone

Darkness symbolizes evil, chaos and judgment. It’s the obvious opposite of light. In the beginning of the creation account in Genesis, God makes the formless and dark world light. This ninth plague unravels God’s creation and returns the land to chaos. It attacks Egypt’s most potent religious symbol, the sun god Ra, and Pharaoh himself who was considered the incarnation of Amon-Ra.

A Price to Pay

Pharaoh refused to release Israel, God’s firstborn son, and now God will take his firstborn son (Exodus 4:22-23). This tenth plague will not be reversed by Pharaoh’s insincere confession of sin—there is a price to pay. It dealt a final blow to the Egyptian false gods and undermined Osiris, the Egyptian giver of life. The stroke on the firstborn meant the entire community was being judged from the lowest to the highest. The death of Pharaoh’s firstborn wiped out the future divine king over the land.