28 And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: entreat for me.

29 And Moses said, Behold, I go out from thee, and I will entreat the Lord that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, to morrow: but let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.

30 And Moses went out from Pharaoh, and entreated the Lord.

31 And the Lord did according to the word of Moses; and he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; there remained not one.

32 And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go.

Pharaoh agreed to the demands being made, even for Israel to depart into the wilderness to perform their sacrifices. Now that Pharaoh had given his word, Moses assured him that he would entreat the Lord, but Moses already anticipated Pharaoh’s deceit and warned him against it. Pharaoh, however, went right ahead and betrayed his word for a second time.

I’m really not sure what Pharaoh expected to happen when he broke his word this time. He had already seen that God would return with greater affliction, so it should have been clear that he was only making his situation worse. And not just marginally worse, either. The curses were about to enter an entirely new tier of suffering. The turning of the staff to a snake and the river to blood can be considered as the first phase of God’s curses, transfigurations that were merely meant to frighten Pharaoh without causing lasting harm. The second phase was the irritation and annoyance of frogs, lice, and flies. Now, though, would begin the third phase, in which the curses would deal in actual death! I believe Moses’s warning that Pharaoh must not deal deceitfully was insinuating that if he tried to test God further, the Egyptians would enter into this new order of suffering, but Pharaoh chose to walk that path anyway.

And, according to verse 32, Pharaoh really did choose it. I’ve mentioned this verse before, but let’s take note of it one more time. In other passages it says that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, but here it says that “Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also.” The “also” suggests that Pharaoh was the one who hardened his heart in the previous instances as well, not God. As I’ve mentioned previously, I think it is this reading and interpretation that makes the most sense.