“Go, sacrifice to the Lord — let your sheep only and your herds remain." Moses answered: “All the flocks shall go with us." Thereupon the king hardened his heart again, and would not let the people go. Moreover he said to Moses: “Get thee from me. In what day soever thou shalt come into my sight, thou shalt die," Moses replied: “I will not see thy face any more" (Ninth plague.)
The Lord spoke again to Moses: “Yet one plague more will I bring upon Pharao and Egypt, and after that he will let you go and thrust you out.” Now Moses was a very great man in the land of Egypt in the sight of Pharao’s servants and of all the people.
Moses, therefore, spoke to all the people: “Thus saith the Lord: ‘At midnight I will enter into Egypt; and every first-born in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first born of Pharao, who sitteth on his throne, even to the first-born of the hand-maid that is at the mill, and all the first-born of the beasts; and there shall be a great cry in all the land of Egypt, such as neither hath been before, nor shall be hereafter. But with all the children of Israel there shall be no death, nor mourning, that you may know how wonderful a difference the Lord maketh between the Egyptians and Israel. And all these thy servants shall come down to me, saying: Go forth, thou and all the people that is under thee. After that we will go out.’ ” (Tenth plague.)
COMMENTARY.
The object of the plagues, with which God visited the Egyptians, was manifold. The plagues, which devastated Egypt, while they did not touch the land of Gessen, were sent, firstly, to teach Pharao and his people that the God of Israel was also Lord over Egypt, and the one True and Almighty God. Secondly, to convert the haughty king and force him to obey the commandments of God. Thirdly, to punish Pharao and his people for their unreasonable idolatry and their cruel oppression of the people of God. The Egyptians worshipped the Nile as a god, and now destruction was brought upon them by means of it. Disease killed the cattle which were objects of their worship; and lower creatures, such as gnats, flies and locusts, inflicted torments on them. Thus they were punished by the very things through which they sinned. Fourthly, the plagues were sent to teach the pagans that the gods whom they worshipped were vain and powerless; however earnestly they appealed to them, they could obtain no help from them.
