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Exodus 10:25 Darby English Bible (DARBY)

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25 And Moses said, Thou must give also sacrifices and burnt-offerings into our hands, that we may sacrifice to Jehovah our God.

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Exodus 29:1-46 DARBY

KJV ASV YLT WEB BBE STRONG

And this is the thing which thou shalt do to them to hallow them, that they may serve me as priests: take one young bullock, and two rams without blemish, and unleavened bread, and unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil -- of wheaten flour shalt thou make them. And thou shalt put them into one basket, and present them in the basket, with the bullock and the two rams. And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring near the entrance of the tent of meeting, and shalt bathe them with water. And thou shalt take the garments, and clothe Aaron with the vest, and the cloak of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and shalt gird him with the girdle of the ephod. And thou shalt put the turban upon his head, and fasten the holy diadem to the turban, and shalt take the anointing oil, and pour [it] on his head, and anoint him. And thou shalt bring his sons near, and clothe them with the vests. And thou shalt gird them with the girdle -- Aaron and his sons, and bind the high caps on them; and the priesthood shall be theirs for an everlasting statute; and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons. And thou shalt present the bullock before the tent of meeting; and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands upon the head of the bullock; and thou shalt slaughter the bullock before Jehovah, at the entrance of the tent of meeting; and thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it on the horns of the altar with thy finger, and shalt pour all the blood at the bottom of the altar. And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the net of the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and burn them upon the altar. And the flesh of the bullock, and its skin, and its dung, shalt thou burn with fire outside the camp: it is a sin-offering. And thou shalt take one of the rams, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram; and thou shalt slaughter the ram, and shalt take its blood, and sprinkle [it] on the altar round about. And thou shalt cut up the ram into its pieces, and wash its inwards, and its legs, and put [them] upon its pieces, and upon its head; and thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt-offering to Jehovah -- a sweet odour; it is an offering by fire to Jehovah. And thou shalt take the second ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands upon the head of the ram; and thou shalt slaughter the ram, and take of its blood, and put [it] on the tip of the [right] ear of Aaron, and on the tip of the right ear of his sons, and on the thumb of their right hand, and on the great toe of their right foot; and thou shalt sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about. And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle [it] on Aaron, and on his garments, and on his sons, and on the garments of his sons with him; and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him. Also of the ram shalt thou take the fat, and the fat-tail, and the fat that covereth the inwards, and the net of the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and the right shoulder -- for it is a ram of consecration -- and one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened [bread] that is before Jehovah; and thou shalt put all this in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons, and shalt wave them as a wave-offering before Jehovah. And thou shalt receive them of their hand and burn [them] upon the altar over the burnt-offering, for a sweet odour before Jehovah: it is an offering by fire to Jehovah. And thou shalt take the breast of the ram of consecration which is for Aaron, and wave it as a wave-offering before Jehovah; and it shall be thy part. And thou shalt hallow the breast of the wave-offering, and the shoulder of the heave-offering, that hath been waved and heaved up, of the ram of the consecration, of that which is for Aaron, and of [that] which is for his sons. And they shall be for Aaron and his sons, as an everlasting statute, on the part of the children of Israel; for it is a heave-offering; and it shall be a heave-offering on the part of the children of Israel of the sacrifices of their peace-offerings, [as] their heave-offering to Jehovah. And the holy garments of Aaron shall be his sons' after him, to be anointed therein, and to be consecrated in them. The son that is priest in his stead shall put them on seven days, when he cometh into the tent of meeting to serve in the sanctuary. And thou shalt take the ram of the consecration, and boil its flesh in a holy place. And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, at the entrance of the tent of meeting. They shall eat the things with which the atonement was made, to consecrate [and] to hallow them; but a stranger shall not eat [of them], for they are holy. And if [any] of the flesh of the consecration, and of the bread, remain until the morning, then thou shalt burn the remainder with fire: it shall not be eaten, for it is holy. And thus shalt thou do to Aaron, and to his sons, according to all that I have commanded thee: seven days shalt thou consecrate them. And thou shalt offer every day a bullock as a sin-offering for atonement; and the altar shalt thou cleanse from sin, by making atonement for it, and shalt anoint it, to hallow it. Seven days shalt thou make atonement for the altar and hallow it; and the altar shall be most holy: whatever toucheth the altar shall be holy. And this is what thou shalt offer upon the altar -- two lambs of the first year, day by day continually. The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer between the two evenings. And with the one lamb a tenth part of wheaten flour mingled with beaten oil, a fourth part of a hin; and a drink-offering, a fourth part of a hin of wine. And the second lamb shalt thou offer between the two evenings; as the oblation in the morning, and as its drink-offering shalt thou offer with this, for a sweet odour, an offering by fire to Jehovah. It shall be a continual burnt-offering throughout your generations at the entrance of the tent of meeting before Jehovah, where I will meet with you, to speak there with thee. And there will I meet with the children of Israel; and it shall be hallowed by my glory. And I will hallow the tent of meeting, and the altar; and I will hallow Aaron and his sons, that they may serve me as priests. And I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel, and will be their God. And they shall know that I am Jehovah their God, who have brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, to dwell in their midst: I am Jehovah their God.

Exodus 36:1-38 DARBY

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Then wrought Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every man that was wise-hearted, in whom Jehovah had put wisdom and understanding to know how to work all manner of work of the service of the sanctuary -- according to all that Jehovah had commanded. And Moses called Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every man that was wise-hearted, in whose heart God had put wisdom, every one whose heart moved him to come to the work to do it. And they took from Moses every heave-offering that the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of the sanctuary, to make it. And they still brought him voluntary offerings morning by morning. And all the wise men that wrought all the work of the sanctuary came, every man from his work which they wrought, and spoke to Moses, saying, The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work that Jehovah commanded to be done. Then Moses gave commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed through the camp, saying, Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the heave-offering of the sanctuary! So the people were restrained from bringing; for the work they had was sufficient for all the work to do it, and it was too much. And every wise-hearted man among those that wrought the work of the tabernacle made ten curtains of twined byssus, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: [with] cherubim of artistic work did he make them. The length of one curtain was twenty-eight cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits -- one measure for all the curtains. And he coupled five of the curtains one to another, and [the other] five curtains coupled he one to another. And he made loops of blue on the edge of one curtain at the edge of the coupling; he did likewise in the edge of the outermost curtain in the other coupling. He made fifty loops in one curtain, and he made fifty loops at the end of the curtain that was in the other coupling: the loops were opposite to one another. And he made fifty clasps of gold, and coupled the curtains together with the clasps, so that the tabernacle became one. And he made curtains of goats' [hair] for the tent over the tabernacle: eleven curtains did he make them. The length of one curtain was thirty cubits, and four cubits the breadth of one curtain -- one measure for the eleven curtains. And he coupled five of the curtains by themselves, and six of the curtains by themselves. And he made fifty loops on the edge of the outermost curtain in the coupling, and fifty loops made he on the edge of the curtain in the other coupling. And he made fifty clasps of copper to couple the tent, that it might be one. And he made a covering for the tent [of] rams' skins dyed red, and a covering of badgers' skins above [that]. And he made the boards for the tabernacle of acacia-wood, standing up; ten cubits the length of the boards, and one cubit and a half the breadth of one board; two tenons in one board, connected one with the other: thus did he make for all the boards of the tabernacle. And he made the boards for the tabernacle: twenty boards for the south side southward; and he made forty bases of silver under the twenty boards, two bases under one board, for its two tenons, and two bases under another board for its two tenons. And for the other side of the tabernacle, on the side toward the north, he made twenty boards, and their forty bases of silver, two bases under one board, and two bases under another board. And at the rear of the tabernacle, westward, he made six boards; and he made two boards for the corners of the tabernacle at the rear; and they were joined beneath, and were coupled together at the top thereof into one ring: thus he did to both of them in both the corners; and there were eight boards, and their silver bases: sixteen bases, under every board two bases. -- And he made bars of acacia-wood: five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the tabernacle at the rear, westward. And he made the middle bar in the midst of the boards reach from one end to the other. And he overlaid the boards with gold; and made their rings of gold [as] receptacles for the bars; and overlaid the bars with gold. And he made the veil of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined byssus: of artistic work he made it [with] cherubim. And he made four pillars of acacia[-wood] for it, and overlaid them with gold; their hooks were of gold; and he cast for them four bases of silver. And he made a curtain for the entrance of the tent of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined byssus, of embroidery; and its five pillars with their hooks; and he overlaid their capitals and their connecting-rods with gold; and their five bases were of copper.

Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Exodus 10

Commentary on Exodus 10 Matthew Henry Commentary

John Gill   Keil & Delitzsch   Robert Jamieson: Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible  

Chapter 10

The eighth and ninth of the plagues of Egypt, that of locusts and that of darkness, are recorded in this chapter.

  • I. Concerning the plague of locusts,
    • 1. God instructs Moses in the meaning of these amazing dispensations of his providence (v. 1, 2).
    • 2. He threatens the locusts (v. 3-6).
    • 3. Pharaoh, at the persuasion of his servants, is willing to treat again with Moses (v. 7-9), but they cannot agree (v. 10, 11).
    • 4. The locusts come (v. 12-15).
    • 5. Pharaoh cries Peccavi-I have offended (v. 16, 17), whereupon Moses prays for the removal of the plague, and it is done; but Pharaoh's heart is still hardened (v. 18-20).
  • II. Concerning the plague of darkness,
    • 1. It is inflicted (v. 21-23).
    • 2. Pharaoh again treats with Moses about a surrender, but the treaty breaks off in a heat (v. 24, etc.).

Exd 10:1-11

Here,

  • I. Moses is instructed. We may well suppose that he, for his part, was much astonished both at Pharaoh's obstinacy and at God's severity, and could not but be compassionately concerned for the desolations of Egypt, and at a loss to conceive what this contest would come to at last. Now here God tells him what he designed, not only Israel's release, but the magnifying of his own name: That thou mayest tell in thy writings, which shall continue to the world's end, what I have wrought in Egypt, v. 1, 2. The ten plagues of Egypt must be inflicted, that they may be recorded for the generations to come as undeniable proofs,
    • 1. Of God's overruling power in the kingdom of nature, his dominion over all the creatures, and his authority to use them either as servants to his justice or sufferers by it, according to the counsel of his will.
    • 2. Of God's victorious power over the kingdom of Satan, to restrain the malice and chastise the insolence of his and his church's enemies. These plagues are standing monuments of the greatness of God, the happiness of the church, and the sinfulness of sin, and standing monitors to the children of men in all ages not to provoke the Lord to jealousy nor to strive with their Maker. The benefit of these instructions to the world sufficiently balances the expense.
  • II. Pharaoh is reproved (v. 3): Thus saith the Lord God of the poor, despised, persecuted, Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? Note, It is justly expected from the greatest of men that they humble themselves before the great God, and it is at their peril if they refuse to do it. This has more than once been God's quarrel with princes. Belshazzar did not humble his heart, Dan. 5:22. Zedekiah humbled not himself before Jeremiah, 2 Chr. 36:12. Those that will not humble themselves God will humble. Pharaoh had sometimes pretended to humble himself, but no account was made of it, because he was neither sincere nor constant in it.
  • III. The plague of locusts is threatened, v. 4-6. The hail had broken down the fruits of the earth, but these locusts should come and devour them: and not only so, but they should fill their houses, whereas the former inroads of these insects had been confined to their lands. This should be much worse than all the calamities of that king which had ever been known. Moses, when he had delivered his message, not expecting any better answer than he had formerly, turned himself and went out from Pharaoh, v. 6. Thus Christ appointed his disciples to depart from those who would not receive them, and to shake off the dust of their feet for a testimony against them; and ruin is not far off from those who are thus justly abandoned by the Lord's messengers, 1 Sa. 15:27, etc.
  • IV. Pharaoh's attendants, his ministers of state, or privy-counsellors, interpose, to persuade him to come to some terms with Moses, v. 7. They, as in duty bound, represent to him the deplorable condition of the kingdom (Egypt is destroyed), and advise him by all means to release his prisoners (Let the men go); for Moses, they found, would be a snare to them till it was done, and it were better to consent at first than to be compelled at last. The Israelites had become a burdensome stone to the Egyptians, and now, at length, the princes of Egypt were willing to be rid of them, Zec. 12:3. Note, It is a thing to be regretted (and prevented, if possible) that a whole nation should be ruined for the pride and obstinacy of its princes, Salus populi suprema lex-To consult the welfare of the people is the first of laws.
  • V. A new treaty is, hereupon, set on foot between Pharaoh and Moses, in which Pharaoh consents for the Israelites to go into the wilderness to do sacrifice; but the matter in dispute was who should go, v. 8.
    • 1. Moses insists that they should take their whole families, and all their effects, along with them, v. 9. Note, Those that serve God must serve him with all they have. Moses pleads, "We must hold a feast, therefore we must have our families to feast with, and our flocks and herds to feast upon, to the honour of God.'
    • 2. Pharaoh will by no means grant this: he will allow the men to go, pretending that this was all they desired, though this matter was never yet mentioned in any of the former treaties; but, for the little ones, he resolves to keep them as hostages, to oblige them to return, v. 10, 11. In a great passion he curses them, and threatens that, if they offer to remove their little ones, they will do it at their peril. Note, Satan does all he can to hinder those that serve God themselves from bringing their children in to serve him. He is a sworn enemy to early piety, knowing how destructive it is to the interests of his kingdom; whatever would hinder us from engaging our children to the utmost in God's service, we have reason to suspect the hand of Satan in it.
    • 3. The treaty, hereupon, breaks off abruptly; those that before went out from Pharaoh's presence (v. 6) were now driven out. Those will quickly hear their doom that cannot bear to hear their duty. See 2 Chr. 25:16. Quos Deus destruet eos dementat-Whom God intends to destroy he delivers up to infatuation. Never was man so infatuated to his own ruin as Pharaoh was.

Exd 10:12-20

Here is,

  • I. The invasion of the land by the locusts-God's great army, Joel 2:11. God bids Moses stretch out his hand (v. 12), to beckon them, as it wee (for they came at a call), and he stretched forth his rod, v. 13. Compare ch. 9:22, 23. Moses ascribes it to the stretching out, not of his own hand, but the rod of God, the instituted sign of God's presence with him. The locusts obey the summons, and fly upon the wings of the wind, the east wind, and caterpillars without number, as we are told, Ps. 105:34, 35. A formidable army of horse and foot might more easily have been resisted than this host of insects. Who then is able to stand before the great God?
  • II. The desolations they made in it (v. 15): They covered the face of the earth, and ate up the fruit of it. The earth God has given to the children of men; yet, when God pleases, he can disturb their possession and send locusts and caterpillars to force them out. Herbs grow for the service of man; yet, when God pleases, those contemptible insects shall not only be fellow-commoners with him, but shall plunder him, and eat the bread out of his mouth. Let our labour be, not for the habitation and meat which thus lie exposed, but for those which endure to eternal life, which cannot be thus invaded, nor thus corrupted.
  • III. Pharaoh's admission, hereupon, v. 16, 17. He had driven Moses and Aaron from him (v. 11), telling them (it is likely) he would have no more to do with them. But now he calls for them again in all haste, and makes court to them with as much respect as before he had dismissed them with disdain. Note, The day will come when those who set at nought their counsellors, and despise all their reproofs, will be glad to make an interest in them and engage them to intercede on their behalf. The foolish virgins court the wise to give them of their oil; and see Ps. 141:6.
    • 1. Pharaoh confesses his fault: I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you. He now sees his own folly in the slights and affronts he had put on God and his ambassadors, and seems at least, to repent of it. When God convinces men of sin, and humbles them for it, their contempt of God's ministers, and the word of the Lord in their mouths, will certainly come into the account, and lie heavily upon their consciences. Some think that when Pharaoh said, "The LORD your God,' he did in effect say, "The LORD shall not be my God.' Many treat with God as a potent enemy, whom they are willing not to be at war with, but care not for treating with him as their rightful prince, to whom they are willing to submit with loyal affection. True penitents lament sin as committed against God, even their own God, to whom they stand obliged.
    • 2. He begs pardon, not of God, as penitents ought, but of Moses, which was more excusable in him, because, by a special commission, Moses was made a god to Pharaoh, and whosesoever sins he remitted they were forgiven; when he prays, Forgive this once, he, in effect, promises not to offend in like manner any more, yet seems loth to express that promise, nor does he say any thing particularly of letting the people go. Note, Counterfeit repentance commonly cheats men with general promises and is loth to covenant against particular sins.
    • 3. He entreats Moses and Aaron to pray for him. There are those who, in distress, implore the help of other persons' prayers, but have no mind to pray for themselves, showing thereby that they have no true love to God, nor any delight in communion with him. Pharaoh desires their prayers that this death only might be taken away, not this sin: he deprecates the plague of locusts, not the plague of a hard heart, which yet was much the more dangerous.
  • IV. The removal of the judgment, upon the prayer of Moses, v. 18, 19. This was,
    • 1. As great an instance of the power of God as the judgment itself. An east wind brought the locusts, and now a west wind carried them off. Note, Whatever point of the compass the wind is in, it is fulfilling God's word, and turns about by his counsel. The wind bloweth where it listeth, as it respects any control of ours; not so as it respects the control of God: he directeth it under the whole heaven.
    • 2. It was as great a proof of the authority of Moses, and as firm a ratification of his commission and his interest in that God who both makes peace and creates evil, Isa. 45:7. Nay, hereby he not only commanded the respect, but recommended himself to the good affections of the Egyptians, inasmuch as, while the judgment came in obedience to his summons, the removal of it was in answer to his prayers. He never desired the woeful day, though he threatened it. His commission indeed ran against Egypt, but his intercession was for it, which was a good reason why they should love him, though they feared him.
    • 3. It was also as strong an argument for their repentance as the judgment itself; for by this it appeared that God is ready to forgive, and swift to show mercy. If he turn away a particular judgment, as he did often from Pharaoh, or defer it, as in Ahab's case, upon the profession of repentance and the outward tokens of humiliation, what will he do if we be sincere, and how welcome will true penitents be to him! O that this goodness of God might lead us to repentance!
  • V. Pharaoh's return to his impious resolution again not to let the people go (v. 20), through the righteous hand of God upon him, hardening his heart, and confirming him in his obstinacy. Note, Those that have often baffled their convictions, and stood it out against them, forfeit the benefit of them, and are justly given up to those lusts of their own hearts which (how strong soever their convictions) prove too strong for them.

Exd 10:21-29

Here is,

  • I. The plague of darkness brought upon Egypt, and a most dreadful plague it was, and therefore is put first of the ten in Ps. 105:28, though it was one of the last; and in the destruction of the spiritual Egypt it is produced by the fifth vial, which is poured out upon the seat of the beast, Rev. 16:10. His kingdom was full of darkness. Observe particularly concerning this plague,
    • 1. That it was a total darkness. We have reason to think, not only that the lights of heaven were clouded, but that all their fires and candles were put out by the damps or clammy vapours which were the cause of this darkness; for it is said (v. 23), They saw not one another. It is threatened to the wicked (Job 18:5, 6) that the spark of his fire shall not shine (even the sparks of his own kindling, as they are called, Isa. 50:11), and that the light shall be dark in his tabernacle. Hell is utter darkness. The light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee, Rev. 18:23.
    • 2. That it was darkness which might be felt (v. 21), felt in its causes by their fingers' ends (so thick were the fogs), felt in its effects, some think, by their eyes, which were pricked with pain, and made the more sore by their rubbing them. Great pain is spoken of as the effect of that darkness, Rev. 16:10, which alludes to this.
    • 3. No doubt it astonished and terrified them. The cloud of locusts, which had darkened the land (v. 15), was nothing to this. The tradition of the Jews is that in this darkness they were terrified by the apparitions of evil spirits, or rather by dreadful sounds and murmurs which they made, or (which is no less frightful) by the horrors of their own consciences; and this is the plague which some think is intended (for, otherwise, it is not mentioned at all there) Ps. 78:49, He poured upon them the fierceness of his anger, by sending evil angels among them; for to those to whom the devil has been a deceiver he will, at length, be a terror.
    • 4. It continued three days, six nights (says bishop Hall) in one; so long they were imprisoned by those chains of darkness, and the most lightsome palaces were perfect dungeons. No man rose from his place, v. 23. They were all confined to their houses; and such a terror seized them that few of them had the courage to go from the chair to the bed, or from the bed to the chair. Thus were they silent in darkness, 1 Sa. 2:9. Now Pharaoh had time to consider, if he would have improved it. Spiritual darkness is spiritual bondage; while Satan blinds men's eyes that they see not, he binds them hands and feet that they work not for God, nor move towards heaven. They sit in darkness.
    • 5. It was a righteous thing with God thus to punish them. Pharaoh and his people had rebelled against the light of God's word, which Moses spoke to them; justly therefore are they punished with darkness, for they loved it and chose it rather. The blindness of their minds brings upon them this darkness of the air. Never was mind so blinded as Pharaoh's, never was air so darkened as Egypt's. The Egyptians by their cruelty would have extinguished the lamp of Israel, and quenched their coal; justly therefore does God put out their lights. Compare it with the punishment of the Sodomites, Gen. 19:11. Let us dread the consequences of sin; if three days' darkness was so dreadful, what will everlasting darkness be?
    • 6. The children of Israel, at the same time, had light in their dwellings (v. 23), not only in the land of Goshen, where most of them dwelt, but in the habitations of those who were dispersed among the Egyptians: for that some of them were thus dispersed appears from the distinction afterwards appointed to be put on their door-posts, ch. 12:7. This is an instance,
      • (1.) Of the power of God above the ordinary power of nature. We must not think that we share in common mercies as a matter of course, and therefore that we owe no thanks to God for them; he could distinguish, and withhold that from us which he grants to other. He does indeed ordinarily make his sun to shine on the just and unjust; but he could make a difference, and we must own ourselves indebted to his mercy that he does not.
      • (2.) Of the particular favour he bears to his people: they walk in the light when others wander endlessly in thick darkness; wherever there is an Israelite indeed, though in this dark world, there is light, there is a child of light, one for whom light is sown, and whom the day-spring from on high visits. When God made this difference between the Israelites and the Egyptians, who would not have preferred the poorest cottage of an Israelite to the finest palace of an Egyptian? There is still a real difference, though not so discernible a one, between the house of the wicked, which is under a curse, and the habitation of the just, which is blessed, Prov. 3:33. We should believe in that difference, and govern ourselves accordingly. Upon Ps. 105:28, He sent darkness and made it dark, and they rebelled not against his word, some ground a conjecture that, during these three days of darkness, the Israelites were circumcised, in order to their celebrating the passover which was now approaching, and that the command which authorized this was the word against which they rebelled not; for their circumcision, when they entered Canaan, is spoken of as a second general circumcision, Jos. 5:2. During these three days of darkness to the Egyptians, if God had so pleased, the Israelites, by the light which they had, might have made their escape, and without asking leave of Pharaoh; but God would bring them out with a high hand, and not by stealth, nor in haste, Isa. 52:12.
  • II. Here is the impression made upon Pharaoh by this plague, much like that of the foregoing plagues.
    • 1. It awakened him so far that he renewed the treaty with Moses and Aaron, and now, at length, consented that they should take their little ones with them, only he would have their cattle left in pawn, v. 24. It is common for sinners thus to bargain with God Almighty. Some sins they will leave, but not all; they will leave their sins for a time, but they will not bid them a final farewell; they will allow him some share in their hearts, but the world and the flesh must share with him: thus they mock God, but they deceive themselves. Moses resolves not to abate in his terms: Our cattle shall go with us, v. 26. Note, The terms of reconciliation are so fixed that though men dispute them ever so long they cannot possibly alter them, nor bring them lower. We must come up to the demands of God's will, for we cannot expect he should condescend to the provisos of our lusts. God's messengers must always be bound up by that rule (Jer. 15:19), Let them return unto thee, but return not thou unto them. Moses gives a very good reason why they must take their cattle with them; they must go to do sacrifice, and therefore they must take wherewithal. What numbers and kinds of sacrifices would be required they did not yet know, and therefore they must take all they had. Note, With ourselves, and our children, we must devote all our worldly possessions to the service of God, because we know not what use God will make of what we have, nor in what way we may be called upon to honour God with it.
    • 2. Yet it exasperated him so far that, when he might not make his own terms, he broke off the conference abruptly, and took up a resolution to treat no more. Wrath now came upon him to the utmost, and he became outrageous beyond all bounds, v. 28. Moses is dismissed in anger, forbidden the court upon pain of death, forbidden so much as to meet Pharaoh any more, as he had been used to do, by the river's side: In that day thou seest my face, thou shalt die. Prodigious madness! Had he not found that Moses could plague him without seeing his face? Or had he forgotten how often he had sent for Moses as his physician to heal him and ease him of his plagues? and must he now be bidden to come near him no more? Impotent malice! To threaten him with death who was armed with such a power, and at whose mercy he had so often laid himself. What will not hardness of heart and contempt of God's word and commandments bring men to? Moses takes him at his word (v. 29): I will see thy face no more, that is, "after this time;' for this conference did not break off till ch. 11:8, when Moses went out in a great anger, and told Pharaoh how soon he would change his mind, and his proud spirit would come down, which was fulfilled (ch. 12:31), when Pharaoh became a humble supplicant to Moses to depart. So that, after this interview, Moses came no more, till he was sent for. Note, When men drive God's word from them he justly permits their delusions, and answers them according to the multitude of their idols. When the Gadarenes desired Christ to depart, he presently left them.