Exodus 10 Summary: A Concise Overview in 5 Minutes

Exodus 10 Summary - A Quick Overview

WHEN:

• Moses was born around 1591 B.C. and left Egypt at 40 years old (Acts 7:23).

• According to Exodus 7:7, Moses was 80 years old when he stood before Pharaoh as the representative of God.

CHARACTERS:

• Israelites (Hebrews) – They were the descendants of Jacob’s family that grew into a large nation. During this period of history, the Israelites were enslaved by the Egyptians.

• Moses – A Hebrew who grew up in the house of Pharaoh. He fled Egypt in Exodus 2 and went to live in Midian. God called him back to Egypt to deliver the Israelites from slavery.

• Aaron – Moses’ brother. The son of Amram and Jochebed.

• Pharaoh – The king of Egypt who defied the commands of the Lord. evi.

WHERE:

• The events recorded in Exodus 9 happened in Egypt.

• The Israelites lived in the land of Goshen, a region of Egypt.

• God destroyed a locust swarm by blowing them into the Red Sea.

OUTLINE:

• THE EIGHTH PLAGUE: LOCUSTS (10:1-20):

  • God hardened Pharaoh’s heart in order to show His mighty works in Egypt.

  • Moses and Aaron were told to return to Pharaoh and tell him a plague of locusts were going to devour Egypt and all its sustenance.

  • The Locusts would cover the face of the land, eat everything left over after the hail, and fill the houses of the Egyptians.  

  • Pharaoh’s servants had seen enough, and they begged Pharaoh to let the Israelites go into the wilderness to worship.

  • Pharaoh told Moses he would allow the Hebrew men to go, but they would have to leave their women, children, and livestock in Egypt.

  • God didn’t accept Pharaoh’s terms and, the next day, He sent the Locusts swarms to Egypt.

  • The swarms were dense “as had never been before, nor ever will be again.”

  • They ate all the plants, fruits, and trees that had been spared from the hail.

  • Pharaoh plead with Moses to take the Locusts away.

  • God sent a very strong east wind, which blew the locusts into the Red Sea.

  • God hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he would not let the people go.

• THE NINTH PLAGUE: DARKNESS (10:21-29):

  • God brought darkness on all of Egypt. It was pitch black and described as “darkness to be felt.”

  • For three days, no one in Egypt saw another person or left their house.  

  • The darkness did not affect the homes of the Israelites.

  • Pharaoh called Moses and gave him permission to worship in the wilderness, but required the Hebrews to leave their flocks and herds behind.

  • Moses told Pharaoh they needed to take their animals because they would need to make sacrifices to the Lord.

  • God hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he would not let the people go.

  • He told Moses he would kill him if he ever saw his face again.

APPLICATION:

• Can God harden a wicked person’s heart for His own purposes?

• He certainly can! He doesn’t owe any of us a 2nd, or 10th, or 100th chance.

• God hardened Pharaoh’s heart to prove a point and to write a story that would teach people about God’s supremacy and the foolishness of pride.

• We want to be very careful about the condition of our hearts. God doesn’t owe any of us His grace, and we certainly don’t want to find ourselves in a situation where our hearts have been so hard for so long that God is writing us into His story as an antagonist.