10-11 But he (Pharaoh) said to them, “The Lord be with you, if ever I let you and your little ones go! Look, you have some evil purpose in mind. No! Go, the men among you, and serve the Lord, for that is what you are asking.” And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence. 12 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, so that they may come upon the land of Egypt and eat every plant in the land, all that the hail has left.”

13 So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind had brought the locusts. 14-15 The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled on the whole country of Egypt, such a dense swarm of locusts as had never been before, nor ever will be again. They covered the face of the whole land, so that the land was darkened, and they ate all the plants in the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Not a green thing remained, neither tree nor plant of the field, through all the land of Egypt.

16-18 Then Pharaoh hastily called Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you. Now therefore, forgive my sin, please, only this once, and plead with the Lord your God only to remove this death from me.” So he went out from Pharaoh and pleaded with the Lord. 19 And the Lord turned the wind into a very strong west wind, which lifted the locusts and drove them into the Red Sea. Not a single locust was left in all the country of Egypt. 20 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go. Exodus 10:10-20 English Standard Version

There are many accounts in our generation of countries who have a 'cheap labour force' – I.e. people who are paid a paltry wage to mass produce whatever items are needed. In a similar way, we see how Pharaoh was desperately trying to keep the Israelites from leaving the country as it meant losing such a labour force. He had tried to bargain with Moses by saying they could go out to sacrifice to their God, but only the menfolk. But Moses insisted that God required everyone, even the children, to be allowed to leave. The result was that Moses and Aaron were driven out from Pharaoh's presence.

As with the earlier refusals by Pharaoh to obey God's instructions, it led to a terrible plague on the land. We are told that there was a dense swarm of locusts such as had never been before, nor would ever be again. The whole land was darkened by the density of the swarm and not a green thing remained of tree or plant of the field. But did you notice how God brought this plague about? (vs 13)

God used a 24 hour east wind to bring the enormous swarms of locusts into the land. And then, after Pharaoh begged for relief, God turned that wind into a very strong west wind. The wind lifted the locusts up and drove them into the Red Sea. If we look at a map of Egypt, that account makes perfect sense as the Red Sea is indeed to the east of Egypt. But notice how it was God who was directing the winds. The winds obeyed His commands.

Some time after this event, when the Israelites had left Egypt and were travelling through the wilderness to their new land, they complained to God about not having meat to eat. Psalm 78:26-27 tells us that God “caused the east wind to blow in the heavens, and by His power He led out the south wind; He rained meat on them like dust, winged birds like the sand of the seas.” Once again, the winds were obedient to God's command. No wonder Jesus' disciples were so amazed then when they encountered a severe storm on the Sea of Galilee, and were afraid they would drown. But Jesus stood up and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. The disciples said to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?” (Luke 8:25)

How sad it is that the winds obey the command of God, yet Pharaoh would not. Yes, we read that God hardened his heart, but we've also noted that Pharaoh had no intention of letting the people go anyway. Oh may we be a people who, like the winds of heaven, are just as swift to obey our Lord's commands.