Economic Destruction

Genesis 10:1-20

“And the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh: for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, that I might show these my signs before him: And that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son's son, what things I have wrought in Egypt, and my signs which I have done among them; that ye may know how that I am the LORD.” (Genesis 10:1-2)

Pharaoh had repeatedly ignored the plight of both Israel and his own people in refusing to acknowledge God. Genesis 6:3 warns, “…My spirit shall not always strive with man…” While God gives mankind repeated chances, there is a cutoff point. From this point on, Pharaoh would become increasingly irrational in his decisions. In the last few years we have seen several dictators reach this same point and eventually are overthrown.

God caused Pharaoh to become so determined to have his way he could no longer understand the consequences in order to accomplish his purpose, and his supporters would have the same attitude. God will use that attitude to show Israel his power and give them memories to inspire faith in future generations.

“And Moses and Aaron came in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? let my people go, that they may serve me.

Else, if thou refuse to let my people go, behold, to morrow will I bring the locusts into thy coast: And they shall cover the face of the earth, that one cannot be able to see the earth: and they shall eat the residue of that which is escaped, which remaineth unto you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which groweth for you out of the field: And they shall fill thy houses, and the houses of all thy servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians; which neither thy fathers, nor thy fathers' fathers have seen, since the day that they were upon the earth unto this day. And he turned himself, and went out from Pharaoh.” (Exodus 10:4-6)

Pharaoh was not willing to give up his pride and acknowledge there was anything he couldn’t control. The next event would be a plague of locusts such as they had never seen. A writer described living through infestations of locusts in Africa, stating that there were so many they stripped every bit edible plant even gnawing bark off trees and paint off buildings, leaving the ground completely bare behind them. Fortunately their paths were usually only a few miles wide. The Egyptians were familiar with these attacks, and understood exactly what was being described. When Moses said it would be worse than they had ever seen, it got their attention.

“And Pharaoh's servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?” (Exodus 10:7)

During Joseph’s time Egypt had saved a vast reserve of food that when coupled with what they were able to produce each year enabled them to survive. Government policies had eliminated the reserves. Both the hail and the livestock disease had wiped out most of their cattle, and the blood in the river had decimated the fish, largely eliminating those sources of food. The hail and fire had destroyed the early crops making them totally dependent on the later ones. They were facing food shortages even without the locusts and even a normal invasion of locusts would be disastrous. The people themselves begged Pharaoh to just set Israel free.

“And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh: and he said unto them, Go, serve the LORD your God: but who are they that shall go?

And Moses said, We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for we must hold a feast unto the LORD.

And he said unto them, Let the LORD be so with you, as I will let you go, and your little ones: look to it; for evil is before you. Not so: go now ye that are men, and serve the LORD; for that ye did desire. And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence.” (Exodus 10:8-11)

Under pressure from his own constituency Pharaoh demanded more information and a what initially sounded like a compromise. They would be allowed to go, but only if they left their families and belongings behind. In many ways his offer resembles those of our American administration and congress, with neither party willing to give any significant concessions, and the results were the same. Their discussions broke down and Pharaoh drove Moses and Aaron out, accusing them of causing the problems.

“And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land, even all that the hail hath left.

And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt: very grievous were they; before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such. For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 10:12-15)

The results of Pharaoh’s refusal to change his policies were entirely predictable. The remainder of Egypt’s food supply was wiped out, ensuring famine and possible economic collapse. For several years, Egypt would be dependent on outside sources for at least part of their food. It finally soaked in on Pharaoh that the crisis could not just be blown off.

“Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against you. Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and entreat the LORD your God, that he may take away from me this death only.” (Exodus 10:16-17)

Finally acknowledging that his policies had played a part in what had happened, Pharaoh requested that Moses pray for God to take away the locusts that were destroying their land before there was nothing left to save.

“And he went out from Pharaoh, and entreated the LORD. And the LORD turned a mighty strong west wind, which took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red sea; there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt.

But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go.” (Exodus 10:18-20)

Pharaoh was desperate to get something done, and would say or do almost anything, but as soon as there was a sign that things might not get worse, he went back to doing the same things. He still was not committed to making real change.

In my years as pastor, I have dealt with a great many people about everything from Alcoholism and drug use to financial and marital problems. I have watched people with diabetes, emphysema, and heart trouble. Many of them would temporarily cut back on the harmful activities, dieting or reducing their spending or smoking for a while resulting in temporary relief, Convinced they had solved the problem, they resumed the activity, quickly getting into even worse shape. Only those who committed to fundamental changes obtained permanent solutions.

It makes no difference whether we are discussing an individual, a business, or a government system, Problems will only be resolved when there is a willingness to make fundamental changes. Because there does not appear to be much willingness to make real changes in the modern way of life, I see little hope for a economic recovery or real revival today. However, just as individuals who took appropriate action to protect their property from the hail were spared most of the damage, individuals who act today can avoid most of the suffering that will entail for those who refuse.

“And Pharaoh said unto him, Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in that day thou seest my face thou shalt die. And Moses said, Thou hast spoken well, I will see thy face again no more.” (Exodus 10:28-29)

Pharaoh refused to even consider any other alternatives. He threatened to kill them if they opposed him any more. He still blamed Moses, rather than God.