Tag: The tenth plague

Morning Musing: Exodus 12:12-13

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“I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night and strike every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, both people and animals. I am the Lord; I will execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt. The blood on the houses where you are staying will be a distinguishing mark for you; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will be among you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

One of the ministries I follow fairly closely has a phrase they repeat pretty regularly. It goes like this: ideas have consequences; bad ideas have victims. When we believe things that are wrong, not only will we do things that are wrong, but bad things will eventually come to us and those around us. The wrong beliefs of the people of Egypt had finally brought them to the point we find ourselves addressing this morning. God was bringing judgment against the nation in the form of the death of all of its firstborn. We have talked about it once before. We’ll talk about it one more time in the days yet to come, Lord willing. Today, let’s take a look at a couple of details in this next part of the story that give us a better picture of what was really going on here, and the nature of God’s perfect justice.

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Morning Musing: Exodus 12:1-2, 11

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“The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, ‘This month is to be the beginning of months for you; it is the first month of your year. . .Here is how you must eat it: You must be dressed for travel, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. You are to eat it in a hurry; it is the Lord’s Passover.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

In John’s Revelation, when the last apostle is recording his vision of the various judgments that will culminate in the end of the world, in two of the three series of seven judgments, the final judgment is silence. Just as we are approaching what we are sure must be the end of everything, we are greeted instead with silence in heaven. Read in context and on its own terms, the moment is truly jarring because of how very unexpected it is. That’s a little like what we get here. We are ready for God to unleash His full fury on the Egyptians. Instead, we get something rather different from that. Let’s begin something new today as we explore together how God finally fulfilled His promise to bring His people out of Egypt.

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Digging in Deeper: Exodus 11:4-8

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“So Moses said, ‘This is what the Lord says: About midnight I will go throughout Egypt, and every firstborn male in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the firstborn of the servant girl who is at the grindstones, as well as every firstborn of the livestock. Then there will be a great cry of anguish through all the land of Egypt such as never was before or ever will be again. But against all the Israelites, whether people or animals, not even a dog will snarl, so that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. All these officials of yours will come down to me and bow before me, saying: Get out, you and all the people who follow you. After that, I will get out.’ And he went out from Pharaoh’s presence fiercely angry.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

In the animated film from DreamWorks Studios about the Exodus, Prince of Egypt, the real climax of the film is when the Angel of Death moves through the city inflicting the final plague on the people of Egypt – the death of the firstborns. Even for an animated offering for kids, the scene is disturbing. The animation is scary enough, but the concept is what is really horrifying. We read this dryly and move on to the next part of the story in part because we don’t want to think about what is happening here. Indeed, when Moses writes about the actual event in the next chapter, he doesn’t describe it in any more detail than we see right here. Today, though, let’s wrestle a bit with what is going on here and what to make of this final plague.

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Digging in Deeper: Exodus 11:1-3

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“The Lord said to Moses, ‘I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will drive you out of here. Now announce to the people that both men and women should ask their neighbors for silver and gold items.’ The Lord gave the people favor with the Egyptians. In addition, Moses himself was very highly regarded in the land of Egypt by Pharaoh’s officials and the people.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

If you are a parent, have you ever finally gotten so frustrated with your child’s refusal to do something you wanted them to do that you finally lost it and shouted something silly like, “You’re going to do it, and you’re going to like it too!”? Pharaoh didn’t want to let Israel go. The very idea of his doing that was ludicrous to him. He had subjugated them, not the other way around. Why on earth would he accede to their God’s demands to release them? He was clearly the more powerful god or else he wouldn’t have been able to do that. As God prepares to give Moses the instructions for the final plague to share with Pharaoh, He basically says, “Pharaoh is going to let you go, and he’s going to like it.” Let’s talk about what’s going on here.

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