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.

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.