Locusts and Darkness

Genesis 10

Then
the Lord said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh. I have made him and his officials
stubborn so that I can do these miraculous signs among them. You will be able
to tell your children and grandchildren exactly how I treated the Egyptians and
what miraculous signs I did among them. This is how you will all know that I am
the Lord." So
Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, "This is what the Lord
God of the Hebrews says: How long will you refuse to humble yourself in my
presence? Let my people go to worship me. If you refuse to let my people go, tomorrow
I will bring locusts into your country. They will cover the land so that the
ground can''t be seen. They will eat everything left by the hail, including
every tree still standing in the fields. They will fill your houses and the houses
of all your officials and those of all the Egyptians. Your parents and
ancestors never saw anything like this from the time they first came here until
now." Moses turned and left Pharaoh. Then Pharaoh''s officials asked him,
"How long will this man hold us in his grip? Let the Israelite men go to
worship the Lord their God. When will you realize that Egypt is ruined?"
So
Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. "Go, worship the Lord your
God," he said to them. "But exactly who will be going?" Moses answered,
"Everyone! We''ll be taking our young and old, our sons and daughters, our
flocks and herds with us. For us it''s a pilgrimage festival in the Lord''s
honor." Pharaoh
said to them, "The Lord would have to be with you if I would ever let you
take your women and children along. I know you''re up to no good! No! Only the
men may go to worship the Lord, since that''s what you''ve been asking for."
Then Moses and Aaron were thrown out of Pharaoh''s palace.

The Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out
your hand over Egypt to bring locusts. They will invade Egypt and eat up every
plant in the land--everything left by the hail." Moses held his staff over the land of
Egypt, and the Lord made a wind from the east blow over the land all that day
and all that night. By morning the east wind had brought the locusts. They invaded
all of Egypt and landed all over the country in great swarms. Never before had
there been so many locusts like this, nor would there ever be that many again. They
covered all the ground until it was black with them. They ate all the plants
and all the fruit on the trees that the hail had left. Nothing green was left
on any tree or plant anywhere in Egypt. Then Pharaoh quickly called for Moses and
Aaron and said, "I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. Please
forgive my sin one more time. Pray to the Lord your God to take this deadly
plague away from me." Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the
Lord. Then
the Lord changed the wind to a very strong west wind. It picked up the locusts
and blew them into the Red Sea. Not one locust was left anywhere in Egypt. But
the Lord made Pharaoh stubborn, so he did not let the Israelites go.

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Lift
your hand toward the sky, and a darkness so thick that it can be felt will
come over Egypt." Moses
lifted his hand toward the sky, and throughout Egypt there was total darkness
for three days. People
couldn''t see each other, and no one went anywhere for three days. But all the
Israelites had light where they were living. Then Pharaoh called for Moses and said,
"Go, worship the Lord! Even your women and children may go with you, but
your flocks and herds must stay behind." But Moses said, "You must allow us
to take our animals for the sacrifices and burnt offerings we have to make to
the Lord our God. All
our livestock must go with us. Not one animal must be left behuse some of them for worshiping the Lord our God, and we won''t know what
we''ll need until we get there." But the Lord made Pharaoh stubborn, so he
refused to let them go. Pharaoh
said to Moses, "Get out of my sight! Don''t ever let me see your face
again. The day I do, you will die." "You''re right!" Moses answered.
"You''ll never see my face again."