Context No. 2680 of 4322 · Exodus
Context · Reflection
Exodus 10:12-17: in context
12The LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up on the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land, even all that the hail has left.” 13Moses stretched out his rod over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind on the land all that day, and all night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. 14The locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the borders of Egypt. They were very grievous. Before them there were no such locusts as they, nor will there ever be again. 15For they covered the surface of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened, and they ate every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left. There remained nothing green, either tree or herb of the field, through all the land of Egypt. 16Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste, and he said, “I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against you. 17Now therefore please forgive my sin again, and pray to the LORD your God, that he may also take away from me this death.”
This is the eighth plague. Moses stretches out his hand, an east wind blows all day and night, and by morning locusts cover Egypt until nothing green is left on tree or field. The land is stripped bare.
Pharaoh calls for Moses and Aaron in haste and says the words we might long to hear: "I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against you." He even asks forgiveness "again." But look at what he asks next: take away from me this death. His confession is bolted to the relief he wants. He names the sin only to be rid of its consequence, and the moment the locusts lift his heart hardens once more. A confession aimed at ending the pain is not the same as a heart that has turned.
Do I confess my sin because I have come to hate it, or only because I want the ache of it to stop?
Sources
- Exodus 9:27: "Pharaoh sent and called for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, I have sinned this time."
- Proverbs 28:13: "He who conceals his sins doesn't prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy."
- 2 Corinthians 7:10: "For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, which brings no regret."