Exodus 10:1-7 "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 shew 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. 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. 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?"
God always has a purpose. The LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart and the heart of his servants against the children of Israel. Pharaoh would promise to let them go, then he would change his mind. Regardless of how Pharaoh felt about the matter, God’s intent was to show the might works of His hand before Pharaoh and all of Egypt.
God also intended that the children of Israel would also acknowledge His might. He purposed for them to tell their children of the great and mighty hand of God in delivering them from Pharaoh. They would further rehearse the matter with their grandchildren. This would rise as a continuous testimony to the delivering hand of God. It was not just so they would know that He was the LORD but that they would know HOW He was the LORD.
Moses told Pharaoh that God was going to cover the land of Egypt with locusts if he did not let Israel go. The land had already been polluted with blood, frogs, and flies. The people had suffered from lice and an outbreak of painful boils. Hail had destroyed the majority of the crops that were up, although some had not yet grown up sufficient for the hail to destroy them (Exodus 9:31-32). But God was ready to utterly ravage the land or the sake of His people.
By this point, Pharaoh’s own advisors were turning against him. They asked him if he could not see that Egypt was already devasted. They were ready for him to quit dealing with Moses, but they wanted a compromise. Just let the men go; surely that would be sufficient to satisfy the LORD.
When we are left to our carnal nature, we will refuse to yield to God. We will refuse to acknowledge that the things that we have held dear are already destroyed to us. God is never a God of half-measures: He said to let all of Israel go, and he meant ALL (not just all the men). Look at the works that God has done in your life and the lives of those around you, and bear witness of Him to your children and your children’s children.
It is not enough to say He is God. We need to bear witness to all the ways we have seen that show He is God. Our lives need to declare HOW He is the LORD of our lives. We are truly surrounded on every side by the delivering power of God!