Read Exodus 10-11 at least three times through this week.
1. At this point in the story, the magicians have disappeared from the scene (after 8:19). Now the court officials are pleading with Pharaoh to relent (10:7). Describe Pharaohs stubbornness. Is there such a thing as a good stubborn as well as a bad stubborn? If yes, whats the difference? Can you describe a time when you were bad stubborn? Good stubborn? How did you know? How did it affect others around you?
2. In 10:8-11, a short interchange between Pharaoh and Moses & Aaron is recorded. What is the point of Pharaoh asking who Moses wants to take with him? Is he just trying to barter? Is he calling Moses bluff (since men alone were responsible for sacrifices)? Was Moses request to go sacrifice just a ploy because the plan was to leave Egypt and never return? Was Pharaoh understandably upset at Moses request? On a human level, it looks like we have two parties (God and Pharaoh) that cannot do conflict resolution. Whats wrong with this perspective?
3. By the end of chapter 10, Pharaoh is now threatening Moses with death. So far then, Pharaoh has stubbornly refused, tried to rationalize (watching the magicians reproduce the first two plagues), bargained and bartered the details of the worship retreat Moses had planned, bartered some more, then turned cutthroat. Have you ever seen yourself or someone else go through this general process? What do you think is going on internally?
4. The next plague after Pharaohs threat is darkness- which is interesting since the Pharaoh was considered the son of Re (Re was the sun god). Again, a plague is not merely something bad, but an attack on a god or demi-god. The phrase darkness that could be touched (or felt) may mean that this darkness was the result of a sand storm that was known as the khamsin. The scorching sirocco winds blew through each spring enveloping the land in thick dust and sand, sometimes even blackening the sky. Such a darkness that could be felt may have been this incident. Just an FYI for your study time.
5. Finally, a direct plague hits Pharaoh as the first-born are killed. This was in response to the earlier attempt by the Pharaoh to kill the little boys of the Israelites (1:22) and was foreshadowed back in 4:21-23. This word for plague is also an interesting choice. In 9:14, the word for plague is maggephah which is a general term for a plague, whereas the word in 11:1 is nega which can be translated blow, assault, to strike. As you simply think about this passage: Any ponderings? Thoughts? Questions?