Exodus 11 & Exodus 12

It’s quite difficult to read Exodus 11 without reading Exodus 12.  So I will be covering 2 day’s of Bible reading impresssions in just one post.  So this same post will be used for Friday and Saturday (Exodus 11 is pretty short anyway).  But if you have your views to share, please do so ….

Bible Passage:  Exodus 11 and Exodus 12

Exodus 11 announces to us the 10th and final plague that will befall the Egyptians.  If you thought the previous plagues were bad….this one was really really BAAADDD!

Exodus 12 follows by introducing to us the istituition of the Passover and the Feast of the Unleavened Bread.  It also marks the final breakdown of Pharaoh’s resistance.

God strikes dead all the firstborn of the Egyptians, from Pharaoh’s firstborn son down to the lowest servant’s firstborn and even the prisoner’s firstborn.  There is weeping and wailing in Egypt like never before.  In the middle of the night Pharaoh summons Moses and orders him and all the Israelites and all their livestock to get out of Egypt.  This time they actually leave, and as they depart the Egyptians give them all their silver and gold.

There are so many lessons concerning the Passover that one can focus on but as I was reading through the 2 chapters, a series of contrasts came to mind and I would like to share this instead.

But before that, I would just like to say that it was very important that the people followed all the instructions of God in the observing of the Passover so that they were spared from the plague.  Some of the instructions may have sounded weird and gross (smearing the top and sides of the doorframe with blood and burning the leftovers?), but when they did it, it saved the live of the first born in the family.

It is a telling reminder as we partake of the Holy Communion on this Saturday and let us prepare for it.

A Story of Contrasts

I am not sure how you felt when you were reading the previous chapters.  For me, I felt an equal amount of frustration, joy,  I also had a sense of wonderment and puzzlement.  And many other contrasting scenes also stood out for me and I think we can learn something from it all…

God’s Word Is Final

Firstly, after many times of Moses proclaiming to Pharaoh, “Let My People Go!”, Pharaoh finally now did let the people go.  If you noticed all the time when God was proclaiming the other plagues, He had said that Pharaoh would not let the people go, even though Pharaoh said he would at times.

But this tells me that ultimately God knows… and His Word is what matters.  His Word is what is true.  We can say what we want, we can guess what we can but ultimately, if God does not say it, it will not happen.

Unconditional Release

Up to this time, in the other plagues, we see that Pharaoh had either chose not to release the Israelites, or he had set conditional releases, for example, men without the women and children.

But now – everyone and everything of the Israelites can go – men, women, children, lifestock etc.

Man (Pharaoh) tried to resist God.  But ultimately, he had to recognize that what God wants, God gets.  And it was a very very painful lesson.

Enemies to Friends?

It is quite hard to imagine this isn’t it?  For many years, the Egyptians treated the Israelites as slaves.  And it started from Exodus 1:12 where it was said that the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and started to find ways to oppress them.

And after suffering all the previous plagues because of the God of the Israelites, you would have imagined that the Egyptians would continue to be wary of them, or even resent them even more.

But the amazing thing was that instead of all this, the Lord moved the Egyptians to favour the Israelites and give them their gold and silver as they leave.

Despite how badly the Egyptians treated the Israelites, we do not read of incidents where Israel conducted guerilla warfare against them and did bad things to the Egyptians.  Maybe this won the Egyptians over and it reminds of Romans 12:17-21…

Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written,

“Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.  Therefore

“ If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Can enemies become your friends? It’s possible when God is in the picture. And we follow the example of Jesus.

Justice?

In the first chapter of Exodus, we read about Pharaoh ordering all Hebrew baby boys to be killed.  Now, every firstborn in Egypt, from families of the highest order to the lowly slave, they will die in this plague.

The Israelites grieved back in Exodus 1. Then years of groaning and crying out to the Lord followed in the midst of all their oppression.

Now it was the turn of the Egyptians.  They grieved over the death in the family.  Loud, unprecendented wailings – but this time from the Egyptians.

A strong contrast can be seen here where there is silence among the Israelites.  They had been living under the harsh and very difficult regime of the Egyptian slave masters… now, not even a dog barks at them!

What are your feelings concerning this?  A sense of justice?  Pity?

Frankly, I am not sure how I feel but it seems almost a reversal of roles here!

God’s People

This passage also shows clearly for me that the Israelites were really God’s people!

God told Moses that this day of exodus was to be the first month or the year for them!

It is to be a very significant year in their lives – a time defining event… pretty much like a birth day, a national day or even the start of the Jewish calendar.  Now, I am not sure if there was one previously but it was clear that it does not matter any more… now they were God’s people and they are to keep God’s calendar – the Jewish calendar!

Furthemore, in the past, they were slaves of Pharaoh’s construction force.  Now, they belong to the Lord God, their Redeemer and also the God of their ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Also being an Israelite now is so different.  In the preceding chapters, it seemed to be a curse to be born into the family of an Israelite.  Now it was a good day to be one!

It was clear that the God of Israel is the only One True God. All the gods of Egypt could not compare to the Lord God.  Pharaoh was ignorant of this God.  In Exodus 5:2, when Moses first went to seek the release of the people of Israel, Pharaoh answered and asked who was this God that he should obey Him and let His people go?

Now Pharaoh knows … and knows that He is not to be ‘played’ for a fool.

For now, the Israelites also became believers and followers of the Lord God.  Before this, you could see that they were still a little unsure. But now, they know for sure that although “once we were Pharaoh’s slaves, but God brought us out” (Deut 6:21) – and now, they were God’s people.

Paul uses this event as a metaphor in Romans (6:17-20) to talk about the freedom from slavery to sin that God brings in Jesus. He can make that move, not just as literary license, but because in the exodus we learn something about the nature of God. God is the ultimate liberator, not just from physical oppressors but from the bondage of sin and unrighteousness in which humans entangle themselves.

All of us have things that bind us up.  Sin, guilt, and shame are the chains that enslave us most, the inability to do right and to be right, and the self-condemnation that comes with it.  “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8).

Not only do we see a strong contrasts in the events of the Israelites, we also see it in our lives.  In dealing with Pharaoh God put to death the firstborn of Egypt.  Now, in dealing with all of mankind, God allows the death of His own firstborn, God’s only born son, Christ Jesus.

God reverses the judgment of humanity and and takes it to himself in the person of His Son.  Christ bore our sin and guilt, and bears our judgment, taking it upon himself our shame so that we might be liberated and reconciled unto God.

Isn’t this a wonderful thing?

As we prepare to partake of our Passover tomorrow (or today – depending on when you read this), let us remeber His great love for us, His salvation for us and what is our response to being the people of God.