1 Then YHVH said to Moses, "Go in to Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them,
2 and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your son's son how I have made sport of the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them; that you may know that I am YHVH."
3 So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and said to him, "Thus says YHVH, the God of the Hebrews, 'How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me.
4 For if you refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country,
5 and they shall cover the face of the land, so that no one can see the land; and they shall eat what is left to you after the hail, and they shall eat every tree of yours which grows in the field,
6 and they shall fill your houses, and the houses of all your servants and of all the Egyptians; as neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from the day they came on earth to this day.'" Then he turned and went out from Pharaoh.
7 And Pharaoh's servants said to him, "How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve YHVH, their god; do you not yet understand that Egypt is ruined?"
8 So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh; and he said to them, "Go, serve YHVH, your god; but who are to go?"
9 And Moses said, "We will go with our young and our old; we will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds, for we must hold a feast to YHVH."
10 And he said to them, "YHVH be with you, if ever I let you and your little ones go! Look, you have some evil purpose in mind.
11 No! Go, the men among you, and serve YHVH, for that is what you desire." And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence.
The spiritual consciousness demands all, the old, young, children and herds; which include all the ideas of the consciousness. But the material ruler in control will allow only the intellect, represented by the men, to be freed. The emotions, represented by the women; the results of the union of intellect and emotions, represented by the children; the spiritual ideas, represented by the flocks; and the physical body, represented by the herds, would be left behind. This is not sufficient for the spiritual consciousness, and is the cause of yet more pain.
12 Then YHVH said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come upon the land of Egypt, and eat every plant in the land, all that the hail has left."
13 So Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and YHVH brought an east wind upon the land all that day and all that night; and when it was morning the east wind had brought the locusts.
Locusts are great devourers of life-giving things. There is an indication here that all of life must be used by the spiritual, not the material; that all the life of the individual is to be used to develop the spiritual consciousness. It will be destroyed, or taken from the use of the purely lower, material consciousness and given to the use of the spiritual.
14 And the locusts came up over all the land of Egypt, and settled on the whole country of Egypt, such a dense swarm of locusts as had never been before, nor ever shall be again.
15 For they covered the face of the whole land, so that the land was darkened, and they ate all the plants in the land and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left; not a green thing remained, neither tree nor plant of the field, through all the land of Egypt.
16 Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron in haste, and said, "I have sinned against YHVH, your god, and against you.
17 Now therefore, forgive my sin, I pray you, only this once, and entreat YHVH, your god, only to remove this death from me."
18 So he went out from Pharaoh, and entreated YHVH.
19 And YHVH turned a very strong west wind, which lifted the locusts and drove them into the Red Sea; not a single locust was left in all the country of Egypt.
20 But YHVH hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go.
21 Then YHVH said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward the heavens that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt."
22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days;
23 they did not see one another, nor did any rise from his place for three days; but all the people of Israel had light where they dwelt.
The three days of darkness are symbolic of the final preparation of the soul as it travels to enlightenment. It is necessary to be in the body of the whale or to be in the tomb for a symbolic period of three days. This represents the death of the body or lower consciousness which must precede the new birth or resurrection into the new life of the spiritual consciousness.
24 Then Pharaoh called Moses, and said, "Go, serve YHVH; your children also may go with you; only let your flocks and your herds remain behind."
But still the lower consciousness will not relinquish control over our thoughts, our flocks and herds. We have one more challenge to face before we will have achieved our freedom from the tyranny of the lower self.
25 But Moses said, "You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to YHVH, our god.
26 Our cattle also must go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we must take of them to serve YHVH, our god, and we do not know with what we must serve YHVH until we arrive there."
27 But YHVH hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them go.
28 Then Pharaoh said to him, "Get away from me; take heed to yourself; never see my face again; for in the day you see my face you shall die."
29 Moses said, "As you say! I will not see your face again."