God, however, was not finished. In the ninth plague He went on to change the function of the sun (10:21-29). In the eleventh conflict between the Lord and Pharaoh, “there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days” (10:22). This darkness was so thick that it could be felt. It was not a vague, abstract darkness, but a solid, substantial darkness. Exodus 10:23 says of the Egyptians, “They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days.” Because of this thick darkness, all movement in Egypt ceased. For a period of three days, everything was terminated. Here we see God’s wisdom. In order to deal with the Egyptians, He did not use weapons that men regard as powerful. Instead, He used things such as frogs, lice, and flies. Exercising His control over the universe to change the principles and the natural laws, He sent upon the Egyptians a darkness so thick that it was impossible for anyone to move.
The third group of plagues was even more meaningful than the first two groups because in these plagues God dealt with the rain, the wind, and the sunshine. This made it impossible for the Egyptians to live. No wonder that Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long shall this man be a snare unto us? let the men go, that they may serve Jehovah their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?” (10:7, Heb.). Nevertheless, Pharaoh remained stubborn.
Pharaoh possessed an unusual ability to stand against God. He could endure all manner of suffering without being subdued. If I had been Pharaoh, I would have given in to the Lord’s demand at the time of the first plague. As soon as I saw the water turn into blood, I would have told the children of Israel to get out of my territory. But although the land of Egypt was smitten with plague after plague, Pharaoh remained stubborn, even when the functions of the universe related to Egypt were changed.
A number of times Pharaoh bargained with Moses and Aaron. In 10:8 Pharaoh said to them, “Go, serve Jehovah your God: but who are they that shall go?” (Heb.). Recognizing Pharaoh’s strategy, Moses replied, “We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for we must hold a feast unto Jehovah” (v. 9, Heb.). When Pharaoh heard this, he told them that evil was before them, meaning that the young ones were in danger of being accidently hurt or killed. Then Pharaoh required that the little ones remain with him and that the men go out to serve the Lord. Here we see Pharaoh’s subtlety. All parents know that it is extremely difficult for them to leave their children behind, because their heart is set on their children. Pharaoh realized this. Wanting to keep the little ones, he tried to bargain with Moses and Aaron. But they did not agree to Pharaoh’s request. Instead, Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the eighth plague, the plague of the locusts, came upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians.
During the plague of the thick darkness, Pharaoh again bargained with Moses and Aaron. This time he said, “Go ye, serve Jehovah; only let your flocks and your herds remain: let your little ones also go with you” (10:24, Heb.). Although he had been so grievously smitten by God, Pharaoh still would not hearken to His demand. Instead, he continued to bargain. To this bargain Moses responded, “Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice unto Jehovah our God. Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not a hoof be left behind” (10:25-26, Heb.).
According to 9:15 and 16, the Lord said to Pharaoh, “For if I had stretched out my hand, that I had smitten thee and thy people with pestilence, thou shouldest have been cut off from the earth. But for this cause I made thee stand, in order to show thee my power; and in order to declare my name throughout all the earth” (Heb.). Verse 16 indicates that it was God who made Pharaoh stand. In a sense, God supported him. God needed such a stubborn one to stand firmly. In himself, Pharaoh could not stand in this way; hence, God made him stand. In order to show His power and to declare His name throughout the earth, the Lord needed the stubborn Pharaoh.
We have pointed out that the plagues which came upon Egypt were not only for judgment, but also for the education of the Egyptians and the children of Israel. If we did not have the first fourteen chapters of Exodus, I do not believe we could know the world thoroughly or clearly see God’s attitude toward the world. Pharaoh was unique in that he was not subdued. He was not even subdued when the firstborn were slain. This is proved by the fact that he later pursued the children of Israel. God used Pharaoh to educate the Egyptians, the children of Israel, and His people throughout the generations. The church people today need to learn from these chapters in Exodus the nature, significance, and result of the life of the world and God’s attitude toward such a life. Only by receiving such a revelation can we truly hate the worldly life.
Many Christians today hate sin, but not very many hate the world. Nevertheless, James 4:4 says, “Know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” We may be very careful about losing our temper, but we may be extremely careless in guarding our hearts from loving the world. To lose our temper is sinful, but to love the world is to be an enemy of God. To God, worldliness is worse than sinfulness. Sinfulness is against God’s righteousness, whereas worldliness is against God’s holiness, which is higher than His righteousness. How we need the education afforded us by the book of Exodus! It is through the early chapters in this book that we come to see how God hates worldliness. If we have been educated by these chapters, we shall hate not only sin but worldliness also.
Some modernistic teachers have argued that God was not righteous in interfering with the situation in Pharaoh’s territory. According to their teaching, Pharaoh was not wrong in exercising his authority within his own jurisdiction. They failed to see that God used Pharaoh to educate His chosen people. For the fulfillment of His own purpose, God made Pharaoh to stand. God needed him and used him to teach His people many lessons.
I appreciate the plagues for the lessons they have taught me, especially concerning the world. I have been a Christian for more than fifty years, but I have never known the world in such a thorough way as I know it now through my most recent study of these chapters regarding the ten plagues. These plagues have taught me a number of lessons about the nature, significance, and consequence of a worldly life.
If we have seen the blood, the frogs, the lice, the pestilence, the boils, the hail, the locusts, and the darkness, we shall not need anyone to exhort us not to love the world. Spontaneously we shall see that the things of the world are not lovable, and we shall automatically stop loving the world. Do you love things such as frogs, lice, flies, pestilence, locusts, and darkness? Certainly not! However, you may love them unknowingly because you do not see them for what they really are. For example, you may think that the blood is water or that the lice are dust. Only when you see into the true nature of the things of the world will you stop loving them.
We thank the Lord for Pharaoh and his stubbornness. In Romans 9 Paul presents the case of Pharaoh as an example. Because Pharaoh would not be subdued, God sent one plague after another upon the Egyptians. In each plague there is a lesson for us. If we are deeply impressed with the significance of the plagues, we shall become detached from the world and come to hate the life of the world.
In the first plague there was blood, and in the ninth, darkness. Both blood and darkness signify death. Hence, the plagues went from death to death. The life of the world is altogether a matter of death. But according to Genesis 1 and 2, God’s ordination in His creation is from life to life. Because fallen man loves the world, God through the plagues exposed that the world is not from life to life, but from blood to darkness, from death to death. Between the blood and the darkness are the frogs, the lice, the flies, the pestilence, the boils, the hail, and the locusts. In the seventh, eighth, and ninth plagues, the functions of the universe related to Egypt were changed to indicate that the very atmosphere over Egypt was no longer suitable for human life. Instead, it issued only in death.
We have pointed out that Egypt is a type of the world. If we have a detailed vision of the world, we shall know God’s attitude toward it, and we shall spontaneously cease to love it. If we would be God’s dwelling place on earth, we must know the world in a thorough way, and the element of the world must be purged out of our being. Only through being separated from the world can we become God’s dwelling place. In God’s redemption we are not only saved from sin and from God’s judgment, but also separated from the world. According to Galatians 1:4, Christ gave Himself for our sins in order to deliver us from this present evil age. Full redemption thus includes both the Passover and the crossing of the Red Sea. After the children of Israel had been redeemed out of Egypt, God brought them to Mount Horeb, where they received the revelation concerning God’s dwelling place. The book of Exodus, therefore, gives us a clear view both of the world and of God’s dwelling place.
I am burdened especially for the young people. They have a promising future ahead of them. However, they still need to realize that everything related to the life of the world goes from death to death, with various plagues in between. If we love the world, every function in our universe will be changed, and all the resources of life will be destroyed. This is God’s judgment on the world as unfolded in the book of Exodus.