Exodus 10:1-11

¹ Then the LORD told Moses, “Go see Pharaoh, because I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, in order that I may show these, my signs, among them, ² and in order that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have humiliated the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, so that you may know that I am the LORD.” ³ So Moses and Aaron saw Pharaoh and said to him, “This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says, ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Send my people away, so that they may serve me. ⁴ Because if you refuse to send my people away, see, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory, ⁵ and they will cover the face of the land, so that no one can see the land. And they will eat whatever is left to you that escaped the hail, and they will eat every tree of yours that is growing in the field, ⁶ and they will fill your houses and the houses of all your servants and of all the Egyptians, something neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from the day they came to the land to this day.'”Then he turned around and went out from Pharaoh. ⁷ Then Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long shall this man be a snare to us? Send the husbands away, that they may serve the LORD their God. Do you not yet understand that Egypt is destroyed?” ⁸ 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?” ⁹ 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 But he said to them, “Let it be so” The LORD be with you, when I send you and your little ones away![1] See, you have evil in mind. ¹¹ Not so! Go now, the men among you, and serve the LORD, because that is what you are asking.” And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.

so that we may know

Pharaoh’s advisers could see the devastation happening. They suggested a compromise that would allow him to save face, but perhaps settle the matter: a temporary vacation of the warrior class, the husbands. The wives and kids and property would stay back in Egypt so that the men would not think of deserting their land. When Pharaoh inquired to Moses if that might be an acceptable compromise, Moses gently replied ‘no, it’s all or nothing.’ If Moses had conceded to this compromise, there never would have been an exodus.

Why was this struggle with the Egyptians happening? That question is answered quite thoroughly in this text. There are two reasons and an ultimate purpose.

1. God intended to display his power by showing his miraculous signs among the Egyptians (1). His people had been enslaved and in bondage, and that reflected upon his nature. The LORD is omnipotent, but for generations he has been allowing the gods of Egypt to appear to be in control. The plagues and the other signs were God’s way of setting the record straight. God wants to do the same thing today, for the same reason. He is tired of watching the world ignore his existence and deny his power.

2. God wanted to give his people a gospel story – a story of his deliverance — that they could pass on to their sons and grandsons (2a). Passing on this gospel story connects families to each other and bonds them to the LORD. The LORD is more than just “my shepherd” he the LORD of all the nations and families of the earth.

3. Demonstrating his sovereignty amid the struggle reminded the Hebrews who the LORD is. The ultimate purpose for the struggle was so that they would know that he is the LORD (2b). That is the ultimate purpose for the struggles that we experience as well. They drive us to seek a power outside ourselves. They force us to rely on something besides our self-sufficiency.

LORD, come to us today, and show your power to deliver us through the cross! Give us a gospel story to tell to our children and grandchildren. Demonstrate your sovereignty in our struggles so that we may know that you are the LORD.

[1] Pharaoh’s reply was sarcasm. He meant the opposite – that he never intended to send them away.