Exodus 10:4














Jehovah tells Moses, as the representative of Israel, that these glorious Divine actions in Egypt are to be matters of careful instruction in after ages. Each parent is to speak of them to his children, and each grandparent to his grandchildren. And is there not something particularly suggestive in this expression, "thy son's son"? It brings before us the aged Israelite, his own part in the toil and strife of the world accomplished, his strength exhausted, the scene of his occupations left to a younger generation, and he himself quietly waiting for the close. How is he to occupy his time? Not in utter idleness, for that is good for no man, however long and hard he may have worked. Some part of his thoughts, it may be hoped, goes out in anticipations of the full and unmixed eternity now so near; but some part also will go backward into time, not without pensive and painful interest. He looks from the eminence he has attained, and two generations are behind him, his children and his children's children. His own children are busy. The world is with them constantly, and its demands are very pressing. They hardly see their offspring from Monday morning till Saturday night. It is only too easy for a man to get so absorbed in seeking the good of strangers, as to have no time for his own household. The following extract from the biography of Wilberforce bears in a very instructive way on this point. "It is said that his children seldom got a quiet minute with him during the sitting of Parliament. So long as they were infants he had not time to seek amusement from them. Even whilst they were of this age, it made a deep impression on his mind when, one of them beginning to cry as he took him up, the nurse said naturally, by way of explanation, 'He always is afraid of strangers.'" And if this danger of distance between him and his children came to a man like Wilberforce, we may be sure that it comes to thousands who are less sensitive and conscientious than he was. What a field of usefulness, then, is here indicated for a grandfather! In his retirement, and out of his long experience, he may speak of principles the soundness of which he has amply established, and errors which he has had painfully to correct; he may point to a rich harvest gathered from good seed he has been able to sow. Thus the grandfather finds opportunities for useful instruction which the father, alas! may not even seek. Of such it may be truly said, "They shall bring forth fruit in old age" (Psalm 92:14). Notice here two points: -

I. IT IS WELL FOR THE YOUNGER TO LOOK FORWARD WITH CONCERN TO THE OCCUPATIONS OF A POSSIBLE OLD AGE. The very fact that life is uncertain dictates the prudence of a consideration like this. Life may be shorter than we expect it to be, but it may also be longer. We must not reckon on old age, but that is no reason why we should not prepare for it. Boys and girls can hardly be expected to look so far ahead; but those who have come to manhood and womanhood and some exercise of reflective power, may well ask the question, "How shall I occupy old age if it comes?" And surely it is much to remember that if each stage in life is occupied as it ought to be, then this very fidelity and carefulness will help to provide congenial occupation for the last stage of all. Who would wish to spend the closing years of life in such stupor and lethargy as come over only too many, when there are sources of interest and usefulness such as Jehovah indicates to Moses here? Old age might be a brighter and more profitable scene than it usually is. Who can tell, indeed, whether much of the physical prostration, pain, and sensitive decay, which belong to the aged and tend to shut them out from the world, might not be spared, if there were but a wiser life in earlier years, a life spent in obedience to the laws which God has given for life Many of the most important of these laws we either misunderstand or ignore altogether. Old age is a season into which we should not drift, but advance with a calm consideration of what we may be able to do in it, for the glory of God and the good of men. If we live to be old, what are our reminiscences to be? You who are on the climbing side of life, ask yourselves what sort of life you are making, what chapters of autobiography you may hereafter be able to write. Can anything be sadder than some autobiographies and reminiscences? There are such books, sad with expressed sadness, where the vanity of life is confessed and bewailed on every page. But there are other books, far sadder even than the former sort, just because of the very satisfaction with life which they contain. The men who have written them seem to look back in much the same spirit as once they looked forward. They looked forward with all the eagerness and enjoying power of youth, and they look back without having discovered how selfish, frivolous and unworthy their lives have been. At eighty they are as well pleased with their notion that man has come into this world to enjoy himself as they were at eighteen. Whether we shall live into old age is not for us to settle, nor what our state of body and circumstances may be if we do so live. But one thing at all events we may seek to avoid, namely, a state of mind in old age such as that in which Wesley tells us he found a certain old man at Okehampton. "Our landlord here informed us that he was upwards of ninety, yet had not lost either his sight, hearing, or teeth. Nor had he found that for which he was born. Indeed he did not seem to have any more thought about it than a child of six years old."

II. OBSERVE, CONCERNING WHAT THINGS IN PARTICULAR GOD WOULD HAVE THE OLD SPEAK TO THE YOUNG. Not so much concerning what they have done, but concerning what God has done for them. Every old man, however foolish, blundering and wasted his own career may have been, has this resort - that he can look back on the dealings of God. It may be that he has to think of a late repentance on his own part; it may be that he has to think a great deal more of God's mercy to him after years of utter negligence, than God's help to him through years of struggling obedience. Even so, he can magnify God most abundantly and instructively. Magnifying God is the thing which all Christians should aim at when they look back on the time covered by their own individual life, or over that long, large tract through which authentic history extends. "Tell what things I have wrought in Egypt, and my signs which I have done among them." There will never be lack of voices to celebrate the achievements of men. But what a grand occupation for the aged Christian to turn the thoughts of children to the achievements of God, such works as the overthrow of Pharaoh and the guiding into Canaan, and, above all, the work which he does in the hearts of those who believe in his Son. To look on the works of men, on all their selfishness and rivalry, to see how the success of the few involves the failure of the many - all this is very humiliating. But how glorious to speak of the works of God, to point him out in Creation, in Providence, in Redemption; and then to call on the young, all their life through, to be fellow-labourers together with him - what an occupation is here suggested for old age! The "grey-headed and very aged men" (Job 15:10) may thus do much for us. When Boaz became the nourisher of Naomi's grey hairs, Naomi took the child of Boaz and Ruth, laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it. And surely her nursing would include instruction, the telling of her own personal experiences to the growing Obed, full as these experiences were of things fitted to guide the youth to a good and noble manhood. A friend who called on C. M. Young, the celebrated actor, a few months before his death, reported that he gave a miserable account of himself, and wound up by saying, "Seventy-nine is telling its tale." True! Seventy-nine must tell a tale of exhausted physical energy, but the tale need not therefore be altogether doleful. Serious it must be, and not without touches of shame; but it will be the fault of the teller if it does not contain much to guide, inspire, and invigorate the young. (Job 32:9; Psalm 37:25; Titus 2:2-5; 1 Kings 12:6-8). - Y.

To-morrow will I bring the locusts.
"How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before Me?"

I. I SHALL SHOW OUR NEED OF HUMILIATION BEFORE GOD.

1. Let us inquire how we have acted toward God. As our Creator, our Governor, our Benefactor.

2. Let us inquire how we have acted toward our Lord Jesus Christ. Was made flesh. Died for us.

3. Let us inquire how we have acted toward the Holy Spirit. Rebelled, vexed, grieved, quenched.

II. I SHALL SHOW WHEREIN TRUE HUMILIATION CONSISTS.

1. In confession of our sin before God. Fully and unreservedly. With deep and ingenuous sorrow.

2. In believing application to God through Christ for pardon of our sin.

3. In renouncing our sins and commencing a course of obedience to God.

III. I SHALL SHOW THE EVILS OF DELAYING TRUE HUMILIATION BEFORE GOD.

1. The guilt (Romans 2:4, 5).

2. The folly. Stronger than He?

3. The danger. Pharaoh. Manasseh.

(1)Repentance is never too late.

(2)Repentance is never too soon.

(G. Brooks.)

I. IN WHAT DOES SOUL-HUMILITY CONSIST?

1. It does not consist in mournful verbal utterances, k humble word may conceal a proud spirit.

2. Nor in outward manifestations of repentance.

3. It is rather evinced in calm resignation to the will of God as revealed in His Word, and as made known in the conscience by the Holy Spirit.

II. HOW IS SOUL-HUMILITY TO BE OBTAINED?

1. By having a clear conception of the will of God and of the beauty of truth.

2. By allowing the varied discipline of life its due effect upon the soul. Pain ought to humble a man, reminding him of his mortality.

3. By submitting to the gentle influences of the Holy Spirit.

III. WHY IS SOUL-HUMILITY SO LONG DELAYED?

1. Because men will not give up their sins. Humility is the outcome of purity.

2. Because men will not yield to the claims of God.

3. Because men are rendered proud by exalted social position.

4. Men can give no reason for the delay of soul-humility.Humility is the richest and best ornament of the soul, and no good excuse can be assigned for neglecting to wear it. This ornament is but seldom seen in this vaunting age. It is welcome to the eye of heaven.Lessons:

1. Soul-humility should be manifested by man.

2. God's ministers should enforce it.

3. God's people should cultivate it.

4. Its absence cannot be excused.

(J. S. Exell, M. A.)

I. IT WAS THREATENED IN CASE THAT PHARAOH WOULD NOT GIVE THE ISRAELITES THE FREEDOM DEMANDED BY GOD (ver. 4). The good have in God a stern Defender.

II. THAT SOME MEN ARE MUCH MORE SENSITIVE TO THE THREATENINGS OF GOD THAN OTHERS (ver. 7).

III. THAT DIVINE THREATENINGS MUST MAKE MINISTERS FAITHFUL IN THE DISCHARGE OF THEIR DUTY (ver. 9). Denounce all attempts at moral compromise.

(J. S. Exell, M. A.)

1. A judgment.

2. A mystery.

3. A crisis.

4. An anxiety.

5. A hope.

(J. S. Exell, M. A.)

1. Then man can refuse to obey God.

2. Then man can dare the judgments of God.

3. Then man takes a great responsibility upon himself.

(J. S. Exell, M. A.)

1. Very grievous.

2. Darkening the light.

3. Devouring the fruit.

4. Entering the houses.

(J. S. Exell, M. A.)

1. As a reproof.

2. As a contempt.

3. As a prophecy.

4. As a relief.

(J. S. Exell, M. A.)

The Egyptians, in common with other nations whose ideas of religion were derived originally from Egypt, had particular deities to whom they appealed for help in times of particular necessity. There is reason to believe that they had gods to whom they looked for protection against locusts as well as against flies and vermin. Strabo, speaking of certain gods whose titles were derived from insignificant objects, says: "The inhabitants of Mount ?ta worshipped Hercules under the title of Hercules Cornopion, because he had delivered them from locusts. So the Erythraeans, who live near Melius, worship Hercules Ipoctonus, because he destroyed the ipes, or worms, which are destructive to vines: for this pest is found everywhere except in the country of the Erythraeans. The Rhodians have in their island a temple of Apollo Erythibius, so called from erysibe (mildew), which they call erythibe. Among the AEolians in Asia one of their months is called Pornopion, for this name the Boeotians give to parnopes (locusts), and sacrifices are performed to Apollo Pornopion. "The locust was esteemed sacred in Greece, and the Athenians wore golden cicadae, or grasshoppers, in their hair, to denote the antiquity of their race, as αὐτόχθονες, "of the land itself," or aborigines. Early historians tell us that the Greeks came originally from Egypt; Cecrops, the first king of Attica, was from Sais; Cadmus, from Thebes; and Danaus and Lynceus, with their colonies, from Chemnis. The locust-scarers of Greece and Asia were, therefore, in all probability, gods of the Egyptians in time of Pharaoh, and were put to shame, with the rest of their deities, by this unprecedented and miraculous visitation. Thus the winds from the four corners of heaven obey the command of Jehovah. As far as man is concerned, nothing is more uncertain, nothing more absolutely beyond control: "the wind bloweth were it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh or whither it goeth" (John 3:8). But God directeth it under the whole heaven; He calleth it, "Awake, O north wind, and come thou south (Song of Solomon 4:16); He gathereth the wind in His fists (Proverbs 30:4); "He bringeth it out of His treasuries" (Psalm 135:7). At God's command the east wind brought the locusts, in twenty-four hours, from the uttermost parts of the east, collecting them, it may be, from the far-off deserts of Arabia and Persia; and at God's command the west wind carried them away again, as far as the Red Sea. There they all fell down and perished. "I am tossed up and down as the locust" (Psalm 109:23), says David. These creatures were tossed up and down by the wind wherever God would send them. He had used them as His scourge, an instrument of punishment, in which He could have no pleasure; and when their ungrateful task was done, He drowned them in the sea. To those same depths the infatuated king who refused to be warned by the chastisement was presently to follow them, and with his miserable people, in their turn, to perish.

(T. S. Millington.)

People
Aaron, Egyptians, Israelites, Moses, Pharaoh
Places
Egypt, Red Sea
Topics
Behold, Border, Borders, Bring, Bringing, Coast, Locust, Locusts, Morrow, Refuse, Refusing, Territory, Tomorrow, To-morrow
Outline
1. God threatens to send locusts
7. Pharaoh, moved by his servants, inclines to let the Israelites go
12. The plague of the locusts
16. Pharaoh entreats Moses
21. The plague of darkness
24. Pharaoh again entreats Moses, but yet is hardened

Dictionary of Bible Themes
Exodus 10:4

     4669   locust

Exodus 10:3-6

     8833   threats

Exodus 10:4-6

     4843   plague

Library
Full Redemption
Now, it seems to me, that this grand quarrel of old is but a picture of God's continual contest with the powers of darkness. The mandate has gone forth to earth and hell: "Thus saith the Lord, let my people go that they may serve me." "No," saith Satan, "they shall not." And if he be compelled to yield one point, he still retains his hold upon another. If he must give way, it shall be inch by inch. Evil is hard in dying; it will not readily be overcome. But this is the demand of God, and to he last
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 6: 1860

A Poor Man's Cry, and what came of It
On this occasion I want to speak of what happens to those who do return to God; because many have newly been brought, through mighty grace. Some of them I have seen; and I have rejoiced over them with exceeding great joy. They tell me that they did distinctly lay hold on eternal life last Sabbath day; and they are clear about what it means. They came out of darkness into his marvellous light; they knew it, and could not resist the impulse at once to tell those with whom they sat in the pews, that
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 37: 1891

The Hardening in the Sacred Scripture.
"He hath hardened their heart."-- John xii. 40. The Scripture teaches positively that the hardening and "darkening of their foolish heart" is a divine, intentional act. This is plainly evident from God's charge to Moses concerning the king of Egypt: "Thou shalt speak all that I command thee; and I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply My signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. But Pharaoh shall not harken unto you, and I will lay My hand upon Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

Exposition of Chap. Iii. (ii. 28-32. )
Ver. 1. "And it shall come to pass, afterwards, I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions." The communication of the Spirit of God was the constant prerogative of the Covenant-people. Indeed, the very idea of such a people necessarily requires it. For the Spirit of God is the only inward bond betwixt Him and that which is created; a Covenant-people, therefore, without such an inward
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Exodus
The book of Exodus--so named in the Greek version from the march of Israel out of Egypt--opens upon a scene of oppression very different from the prosperity and triumph in which Genesis had closed. Israel is being cruelly crushed by the new dynasty which has arisen in Egypt (i.) and the story of the book is the story of her redemption. Ultimately it is Israel's God that is her redeemer, but He operates largely by human means; and the first step is the preparation of a deliverer, Moses, whose parentage,
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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