“Yet one plague more I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will drive you away completely." (Exodus 11:1 - emphasis mine) Today's the day. It will be finished. The Israelites will be freed. Pharaoh will suffer. God's power will be shown and His name magnified. The Israelites will be given favour in the sight of their Egyptian neighbours. Then they will go. Yet one more plague ...
But what is this last plague, this straw that will break the camel's back? "So Moses said, “Thus says the LORD: ‘About midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt, and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the cattle. There shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there has never been, nor ever will be again. But not a dog shall growl against any of the people of Israel, either man or beast, that you may know that the LORD makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.’" (Exodus 11:4-7)
Death will mark the Israelites' freedom. They shall be emancipated at the cost of the Egyptians' blood. Their liberty march will be to the wail of the Egyptian mourners. All so the glory of God could be shown.
But before this plague actually took place, it was first only threatened, giving Pharaoh one last chance. (Exodus 11:1-8) But when Pharaoh clearly chose, once again, to refuse the Israelites' release (Exodus 11:9-10), action had to be taken. Before that happened, though, the Lord put the Passover in place, in which the Israelites were to mark their doorways with a lamb's blood, so that when the Angel of Death came to kill the Egyptian firstborns, it would pass over the Israelites' houses. This symbolism would later represent Jesus' death, when the perfect Lamb became a sacrifice for us, saving us from sin and death.
"At midnight the LORD struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians. And there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where someone was not dead. Then he summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, “Up, go out from among my people, both you and the people of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as you have said. Take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone, and bless me also!”" Is it just me, or is it kind of interesting that even though our perturbed Pharoah told Moses and Aaron that they'd never see his face again (Exodus 10:28-29) ... they did? Twice? And the second time, they were specifically summoned to his presence. The HCSB Study Bible simply suggests that Pharaoh "could not keep his resolve." Still ... it's peculiar.
Well when Moses and Aaron arrived at Pharaoh's palace, they found a man more perturbed than usual. "Up!" Pharaoh must have groaned, choking back anger, fear, pain, tears. "Go out from among my people, all of you. Go, serve the Lord. Take your animals. Be gone! And bless me also!" Did anyone else notice that interesting phrase that seems like a tack-on at the end of his rant? "Get out, go, be gone ... but don't forget to bless me!" But why? Was Pharaoh simply scared? Did he want something else? The HCSB offers a bit of insight on this too: "Pharaoh's desire for blessing recalls earlier dealings of Egyptians and others with God's people that show things could have been far different for him." That's exactly it. If Pharaoh's cold hostility had capsized just one plague sooner, his son would still be alive. "If onlys" and "what ifs" probably clouded his brain. But it was too late, Pharaoh. Much too late ...
Well, the Israelites were free. Exodus 12:36 tells us that they were given favour in the sight of their Egyptian neighbours and were given lots of free stuff. And then they grabbed their belongings and left. They were on the move. God's purpose and plan had come about exactly as He had predetermined. The plagues proclaimed His power, and our perturbed Pharaoh finally let the Israelites go, though at a high cost. I'd quote Shakespeare and say with a sigh, "All's well that ends well," but in reality, this story didn't end so well. Blood flowed through the streets of Egypt. The Israelites were free, but because of their sin, they were destined to wander 40 years in the desert before they were given a land of their own. But don't be discouraged, be uplifted! Because if it wasn't for the 10 plagues, God's power, and one perturbed Pharaoh, the gears of the rest of Biblical history wouldn't be set in motion. And if they weren't set in motion, then our perfect sacrificial Lamb, Jesus Christ, would never have died for the sins of His people. So praise God that the Israelites are free, and, because of Christ, we are set free from the bondage of sin and death!
But what is this last plague, this straw that will break the camel's back? "So Moses said, “Thus says the LORD: ‘About midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt, and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the cattle. There shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there has never been, nor ever will be again. But not a dog shall growl against any of the people of Israel, either man or beast, that you may know that the LORD makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.’" (Exodus 11:4-7)
Death will mark the Israelites' freedom. They shall be emancipated at the cost of the Egyptians' blood. Their liberty march will be to the wail of the Egyptian mourners. All so the glory of God could be shown.
But before this plague actually took place, it was first only threatened, giving Pharaoh one last chance. (Exodus 11:1-8) But when Pharaoh clearly chose, once again, to refuse the Israelites' release (Exodus 11:9-10), action had to be taken. Before that happened, though, the Lord put the Passover in place, in which the Israelites were to mark their doorways with a lamb's blood, so that when the Angel of Death came to kill the Egyptian firstborns, it would pass over the Israelites' houses. This symbolism would later represent Jesus' death, when the perfect Lamb became a sacrifice for us, saving us from sin and death.
"At midnight the LORD struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians. And there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where someone was not dead. Then he summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, “Up, go out from among my people, both you and the people of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as you have said. Take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone, and bless me also!”" Is it just me, or is it kind of interesting that even though our perturbed Pharoah told Moses and Aaron that they'd never see his face again (Exodus 10:28-29) ... they did? Twice? And the second time, they were specifically summoned to his presence. The HCSB Study Bible simply suggests that Pharaoh "could not keep his resolve." Still ... it's peculiar.
Well when Moses and Aaron arrived at Pharaoh's palace, they found a man more perturbed than usual. "Up!" Pharaoh must have groaned, choking back anger, fear, pain, tears. "Go out from among my people, all of you. Go, serve the Lord. Take your animals. Be gone! And bless me also!" Did anyone else notice that interesting phrase that seems like a tack-on at the end of his rant? "Get out, go, be gone ... but don't forget to bless me!" But why? Was Pharaoh simply scared? Did he want something else? The HCSB offers a bit of insight on this too: "Pharaoh's desire for blessing recalls earlier dealings of Egyptians and others with God's people that show things could have been far different for him." That's exactly it. If Pharaoh's cold hostility had capsized just one plague sooner, his son would still be alive. "If onlys" and "what ifs" probably clouded his brain. But it was too late, Pharaoh. Much too late ...
Well, the Israelites were free. Exodus 12:36 tells us that they were given favour in the sight of their Egyptian neighbours and were given lots of free stuff. And then they grabbed their belongings and left. They were on the move. God's purpose and plan had come about exactly as He had predetermined. The plagues proclaimed His power, and our perturbed Pharaoh finally let the Israelites go, though at a high cost. I'd quote Shakespeare and say with a sigh, "All's well that ends well," but in reality, this story didn't end so well. Blood flowed through the streets of Egypt. The Israelites were free, but because of their sin, they were destined to wander 40 years in the desert before they were given a land of their own. But don't be discouraged, be uplifted! Because if it wasn't for the 10 plagues, God's power, and one perturbed Pharaoh, the gears of the rest of Biblical history wouldn't be set in motion. And if they weren't set in motion, then our perfect sacrificial Lamb, Jesus Christ, would never have died for the sins of His people. So praise God that the Israelites are free, and, because of Christ, we are set free from the bondage of sin and death!
"The LORD sets the prisoners free; the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. The LORD will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the LORD!" Psalm 146:7-10