1-2 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them, and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, that you may know that I am the Lord.”

3 So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? 4-6 Let my people go, that they may serve me. For if you refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country, and they shall cover the face of the land, so that no one can see the land. And they shall eat what is left to you after the hail, and they shall eat every tree of yours that grows in the field, and they shall fill your houses and the houses of all your servants and of all the Egyptians, as neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from the day they came on earth to this day.’” Then he turned and went out from Pharaoh.

7-9 Then Pharaoh's servants said to him, “How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not yet understand that Egypt is ruined?” So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. And he said to them, “Go, serve the Lord your God. But which ones are to go?” Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old. We will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds, for we must hold a feast to the Lord.” 10-11 But he 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. Exodus 10:1-11 English Standard Version

Verses 1-2 remind us that there was a purpose in the hardening of Pharaoh's heart by God. It wasn't a random act, and God was certainly not lashing out in a fit of anger as people may do. He hardened Pharaoh's obstinate heart so He could demonstrate His awesome power, and so that Israel's future generations would know that He alone is God. But did that mean Pharaoh was not to blame for his refusal to let Israel go? (vs 6)

That verse suggests that Pharaoh was still accountable to God. It was Pharaoh who, from the very start of the interactions with Moses, was unwilling to humble himself before the Lord. He thought the gods of Egypt were greater than this God who was calling his Hebrew slaves to leave the land. An unwillingness to humble oneself before the Lord will always lead to a miserable outcome.

Many, many years later, when Israel had been living for some time in the land God gave them, a young Jewish King named Josiah was told of a book of God's laws which had been found while the temple in Jerusalem was being repaired. He had the the book read to him and, upon realizing how far the people had drifted from God's ways and that judgment was imminent, we read that he tore his clothes. And God sent a message through a prophetess in the land saying: “Because your heart was penitent, and you humbled yourself before the Lord, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place.” (2 Kings 22:19-20)

Pharaoh, however, would not humble himself before God, and so another plague was to follow. It would be a devastating swarm of locusts eating up what had been left after the plague of hail. By now even his servants were exasperated with his stubbornness and urged him to give in. But he decided to try and reach some sort of compromise with Moses. (vs 7-9) But compromise isn’t the same as humility and obedience. We can't barter with God as to which sins we are willing to give up. To humble ourselves means to want to serve God with all our heart. What was Pharaoh's response to Moses' call for such obedience? (vs 10-11)

He had God's messengers driven out of his presence. It was as if he was shutting the door to any further discussion. O May God grant us to be those who humble ourselves before Him, and who yield ourselves completely to love and serve the Lord Jesus Christ.