Exodus 10:3-6

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.

The issue was not really the locusts. The issue was Pharaoh’s refusal to humble himself. The Lord goes straight to the heart of it and asks, “How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me?” That was the real crisis. Pharaoh had already seen enough to know that he was dealing with the true and living God, yet he still would not bow.

That is the way pride works. It can keep a man standing stiff even while everything around him is falling apart. Pharaoh was not short on information. He was not confused about the message. He simply did not want to yield. He would rather cling to his own will than humble himself before the Lord.

So the warning becomes even more severe. The locusts were about to come in numbers Egypt had never seen. They would cover the land so completely that the ground would disappear from sight. Whatever had survived the hail would now be consumed. The crops would be devoured. The trees would be stripped. The houses would be filled. What had been spared in one judgment would be swallowed up in the next.

That is how sin works when a heart keeps resisting God. What could have been dealt with early becomes something far more destructive. Pride does not stay contained. It spreads. It eats away. It leaves damage behind. Pharaoh thought he was holding his ground, but in truth he was dragging his whole land deeper into ruin.

There is also something powerful in the way Moses handles this moment. He delivers the word of the Lord and then turns and leaves. He does not linger to argue. He does not try to make the message easier to hear. He simply speaks the truth and walks out. Pharaoh is left alone with the warning of God ringing in his ears.

That is a sobering scene, because there comes a point when a man has heard enough. The word has been spoken. The warning has been made plain. What remains is the response. Pharaoh had been given opportunity after opportunity to humble himself, but each refusal only made the next judgment heavier.

Even here, there is still mercy in the warning. God tells Pharaoh what is coming before it arrives. He gives him space to repent. He gives him one more chance to do what is right. That is the kindness of God even in the middle of judgment. The Lord does not owe repeated warnings, but He gives them.

This passage is not just about Pharaoh. It is a warning to every proud heart. The safest place a man can be is low before God. Better to humble yourself willingly than to be brought low painfully. Pharaoh would not bow, and because he would not bow, he was about to be broken.