Moses—The Round 10 Knockout

 

Previously, in Moses—In Another Faceoff! (Exodus 9:13-10:29)—covering rounds 7-9 of the Divine Smackdown between God and Pharaoh—we saw that Pharaoh’s heart was so hardened toward God that even an unprecedent hail and fire storm, devastating swarms of locusts, and three days of oppressive and paralyzing darkness failed to bring him to his knees before the Holy One of Israel.  He was so determined to maintain his own claims to deity that, he refused to let the People of God go free even though his country lay in shambles.

But in this episode (Exodus 11:1-13:16), all of that will change.  For in this 10^th Round of the Smackdown, God will deliver a two-fisted knockout punch that will not only bring Pharaoh to the mat, but it will also provide the deliverance and freedom from bondage that Israel has needed for so long.

 

 

 

Episode #8 of Act 1, Scene 3 of God’s One Big Story
Cast:     Narrator     God     Moses     Pharaoh

Round 10—The Death of the Firstborn
(see notes on Egyptians & Death at the end of the post)

Setting the Stage: Last time, following the plague of darkness, Pharaoh told Moses that he and the Israelites could go worship the Lord but that they would have to leave their livestock behind—an offer which was immediately rejected by Moses. In response and in a fit of anger, Pharaoh ordered Moses to leave his presence and to never return. In spite of that, at the beginning of this episode, God sends Moses back to Pharaoh with His final ultimatum—let His People go or every firstborn person and animal in Egypt will die.

Narrator:  And the LORD said to Moses…

God:  I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will surely drive you out of here altogether.  Speak now in the hearing of the people, and let every man ask from his neighbor and every woman from her neighbor, articles of silver and articles of gold.

Narrator:  And the LORD gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people.  Then Moses said…

Moses:  Thus says the LORD: ‘About midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt; and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the female servant who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the animals.  Then there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as was not like it before, nor shall be like it again. But against none of the children of Israel shall a dog move its tongue, against man or beast, that you may know that the LORD does make a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.’

And all these your servants shall come down to me and bow down to me, saying, ‘Get out, and all the people who follow you!’ After that I will go out.

Narrator:  Then he went out from Pharaoh in great anger.  But the LORD said to Moses…

God:  Pharaoh will not heed you, so that My wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.

Narrator:  So Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh; and the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go out of his land.

********************************************

Narrator:  Now the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying…

God:  This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you.  Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household.  And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man’s need you shall make your count for the lamb.  Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats.  Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight.  And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it.  Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.  Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire—its head with its legs and its entrails.  You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire.  And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD’s Passover.

For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: (see Chart) I am the LORD.  Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance.  Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.  On the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation for you. No manner of work shall be done on them; but that which everyone must eat—that only may be prepared by you.  So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt.

Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance.  In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening.  For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses, since whoever eats what is leavened, that same person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land.  You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.

 

 

Narrator:  Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them…

Moses:  Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb.  And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning.  For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you.  

And you shall observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever.  It will come to pass when you come to the land which the LORD will give you, just as He promised, that you shall keep this service.  And it shall be, when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ that you shall say, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice of the LORD, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households.’ 

Narrator:  So the people bowed their heads and worshipped.  Then the children of Israel went away and did so; just as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.

And it came to pass at midnight that the LORD struck 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 livestock.  So Pharaoh rose in the night, he, all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead.  Then he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said…

Pharaoh:  Rise, go out from among my people, both you and the children of Israel. And go, serve the LORD as you have said.  Also take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone; and bless me also.

Narrator:  And the Egyptians urged the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste. For they said, ‘We shall all be dead.’  So the people took their dough before it was leavened, having their kneading bowls bound up in their clothes on their shoulders.  Now the children of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, and they had asked from the Egyptians articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing.  And the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.

Then the children of Israel, journeyed from Rameses to Succoth about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children.  A mixed multitude went up with them also, and flocks and herds—a great deal of livestock.  And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they had brought out of Egypt; for it was not leavened, because they were driven out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared provisions for themselves.

Now the sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years.  And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years—on that very same day—it came to pass that all the armies of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.  It is a night of solemn observance to the LORD for bringing them out of the land of Egypt. This is that night of the LORD, a solemn observance for all the children of Israel throughout their generations.  And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron…

God:  This is the ordinance of the Passover: No foreigner shall eat it.  But every man’s servant who is bought for money, when you have circumcised him, then he may eat it.  A sojourner and a hired servant shall not eat it.  In one house it shall be eaten; you shall not carry any of the flesh outside the house, nor shall you break one of its bones.  All the congregation of Israel shall keep it.  And when a stranger dwells with you and wants to keep the Passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as a native of the land. For no uncircumcised person shall eat it.  One law shall be for the native-born and for the stranger who dwells among you.

Narrator:  Thus all the children of Israel did; as the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.  And it came to pass, on that very same day, that the LORD brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt according to their armies.

 

 

*****************************************

Narrator:  Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying…

God:  Consecrate to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast; it is Mine.

Narrator:  And Moses said to the people…

Moses:  Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out of this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten.  On this day you are going out, in the month Abib.  And it shall be, when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, which He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, that you shall keep this service in this month.  Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the LORD.  Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days. And no leavened bread shall be seen among you, nor shall leaven be seen among you in all your quarters.  And you shall tell your son in that day, saying, ‘This is done because of what the LORD did for me when I came up from Egypt.’  It shall be as a sign to you on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the LORD’s law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand the LORD has brought you out of Egypt.  You shall therefore keep this ordinance in its season from year to year.

And it shall be, when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as He swore to you and your fathers, and gives it to you, that you shall set apart to the LORD all that open the womb, that is, every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have; the males shall be the LORD’s.  But every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb; and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. And all the firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem.  So it shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ that you shall say to him, ‘By strength of hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.  And it came to pass, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the LORD killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all males that open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’  It shall be as a sign on your hand and as frontlets between your eyes, for by strength of hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt.

****************************************

 

Our Review

To help us in our review of this episode, let’s break it down into the following sections…

— The Final Plague is Announced—

• • Moses is told to speak directly to the people;
  • The Hebrews are told to ask the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold;
  • The Egyptians comply because God gave the Hebrews favor and because Moses is highly respected by the Egyptians;
  • Even though the plague won’t happen for at least two weeks, the people are warned that it will affect every household—except those of the Israelites;
  • The normally meek Moses leaves Pharaoh in a very angry state and is warned by God that Pharaoh will not yield;
  • Pharaoh’s heart is once again hardened.

— The People are Prepared—

Keeping in mind that God’s purposes for the plagues were…

• • To reveal God in His Holiness to both the Israelites and the Egyptians;
  • To demonstrate His Power and Sovereignty to the world and over the ruler(s) of its systems;
  • To create faith in His people and to bring all who would come to repentance;
  • To execute judgment on sin and injustice; and,
  • To deliver His People from bondage, and free them up to become His Bride…

…when this episode begins, we find that the first nine plagues have only succeeded in accomplishing the first three of God’s purposes for this showdown. As devastating as the previous plagues have been, they still have not brought about God’s judgment on sin or the deliverance of His People. These things will not take place until the sins of the people have been paid for by death, and their redemption has been purchased through the substitutionary death of an innocent sacrifice.

Because the righteousness of a Holy God demands that any violations of His Laws be punished by death, and because…

…all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)…

…everyone in Egypt, both Egyptian and Israelite, were deserving of death. However, because God is also…

…rich in mercy, [and] because of His great love with which He loved us (Ephesians 2:4)…

…He is not going to wipe them all out. Instead, He is going to lay the sin of each member of every family on the firstborn male of that family—with the death of the one paying for the sins of the many. And the way that He will accomplish this is through the Passover. 

 

 

God’s Passover

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23).

So, to prepare the people for the coming plague, and to protect them from a visit by the Angel of Death, they were instructed to…

• • Select a one year old male Lamb, without blemish, on the 10^th day of the month—one Lamb per household, unless one was too much for one family;
  • Kill the Lamb at twilight on the 14^th day of the month but not to break any bones (John 19:36);
  • Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood, and strike the lintel and two door posts with it;
  • Not go out of the house until morning;
  • Roast the Lamb with fire and eat it—all of it—with bitter herbs and unleavened bread; and,
  • Eat the meal with their belts on their waists, their sandals on their feet, and their staffs in their hands (Ephesians 6:14-16).

They were further told that…

• • No foreigner or uncircumcised person was to eat of the Lord’s Passover;
  • This was to be a memorial meal that was celebrated throughout their history;
  • The Passover was to be followed by a seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread;
  • The Passover was to mark the beginning of their religious calendar* every year; and
  • They should ask their neighbors for articles of gold and silver. Not only were they due back wages for all their labors but these resources would later be used to furnish the Tabernacle where they would worship God.

*The Jews used two calendars—a civil calendar and a religious calendar.  The new year of the civil calendar began on the first day of the seventh month while the Passover marked the beginning of the year on the religious calendar. Not only do each of these feasts celebrate some aspect of the Israelites redemption, but they also provide a prophetic picture of the future redemptive work provided for all by Jesus Christ.

 

 

— The Plague is Executed

As promised, once the people had fulfilled the requirements for the Passover, “…the Lord struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt.” The only homes that Death bypassed were Israelite ones. In response, Pharaoh calls for Moses and Aaron and urges them to take the people, their flocks and herds, and leave the country. Fearing for their lives, the rest of the Egyptians essentially “bribe” the Hebrews to leave by giving them articles of gold, silver, and clothing.

— The People are Delivered

Bringing an end to their four hundred and thirty year sojourn in Egypt, an “army” of about six hundred thousand men, along with their wives and children, leave Ramses/Goshen and travel to Succoth (see map).

 

 

— The Firstborn are Consecrated to the Lord

At Succoth, Moses is ordered to consecrate to the Lord all of the firstborn males, both human and animal—that is, they were to be set apart for a holy or sacred purpose. By all rights, they should have died just like the Egyptian firstborns did, however, they were redeemed from the curse of death by their faith in the atonement made available to them through the sacrificial death of the Passover Lamb. The people are instructed that when they come into the land God has promised them, every firstborn male must be redeemed and every person must eat unleavened bread for seven days, as a reminder of what God did for them when He brought them out of Egypt.

This concept of the Firstborn is one that runs throughout scripture…

• • Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering…(Genesis 4:4).

• • On the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They shall be Mine: I am the LORD. (Numbers 3:13)

• • Everything that first opens the womb of all flesh, which they bring to the LORD, whether man or beast, shall be yours [the priest and Levites]; nevertheless the firstborn of man you shall surely redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem.  And those redeemed of the devoted things you shall redeem when one month old, according to your valuation, for five shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs.  But the firstborn of a cow, the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a goat you shall not redeem; they are holy. You shall sprinkle their blood on the altar, and burn their fat as an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma to the LORD.  And their flesh shall be yours, just as the wave breast and the right thigh are yours.  (Numbers 18:15-18)

• • He also destroyed all the firstborn in their land, the first of all their strength. (Psalm 105:36-37)

• • And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. (Zechariah 12:10)

• • And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. (Luke 2:7)

• • For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. (Romans 8:29)

• • He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation…And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. (Colossians 1:15, 18)

******************************************

In Summary

Here in this episode, God’s deliverance of the Hebrews from Egypt marks their Redemption as a People and their birth as the Nation of Israel. Prior to this, they had spent hundreds of years waiting for the promises God made to Abraham to be fulfilled. Now, it appears that the time has finally come for the Betrothal Period of the Marriage Covenant between God and Abraham to come to an end and for the Marriage between God and Israel to take place.  However, Pharaoh—like his spiritual father, Satan—is not about to bow to God. So join us for our next episode, Moses–The Final Showdown, where we will learn more about his last and fatal hurrah!

*********************************************

 

Notes on Egyptians and Death

     The ancient Egyptians’ attitude towards death was influenced by their belief in immortality. They regarded death as a temporary interruption, rather than the cessation of life. To ensure the continuity of life after death, people paid homage to the gods, both during and after their life on earth. When they died, they were mummified so the soul would return to the body, giving it breath and life. Household equipment and food and drink were placed on offering tables outside the tomb’s burial chamber to provide for the person’s needs in the afterworld. Written funerary texts consisting of spells or prayers were also included to assist the dead on their way to the afterworld.

To prepare the deceased for the journey to the afterworld, the “opening of the mouth” ceremony was performed on the mummy and the mummy case by priests. This elaborate ritual involved purification, censing (burning incense), anointing and incantations, as well as touching the mummy with ritual objects to restore the senses — the ability to speak, touch, see, smell and hear. The “opening of the mouth” ceremony dates back to at least the Pyramid Age. It was originally performed on statues of the kings in their mortuary temples. By the 18th dynasty (New Kingdom), it was being performed on mummies and mummy cases.

The journey to the afterworld was considered full of danger. Travelling on a solar bark, the mummy passed through the underworld, which was inhabited by serpents armed with long knives, fire-spitting dragons and reptiles with five ravenous heads. Upon arriving in the realm of the Duat (Land of the Gods), the deceased had to pass through seven gates, reciting accurately a magic spell at each stop. If successful, they arrived at the Hall of Osiris, the place of judgment.

Here the gods of the dead performed the “weighing of the heart” ceremony to judge whether the person’s earthly deeds were virtuous. The weighing of the heart was overseen by the jackal-headed god Anubis, and the judgement was recorded by Thoth, the god of writing.

Forty-two gods listened to the confessions of the deceased who claimed to be innocent of crimes against the divine and human social order. The person’s heart was then placed on a scale, counterbalanced by a feather that represented Maat, the goddess of truth and justice. If the heart was equal in weight to the feather, the person was justified and achieved immortality. If not, it was devoured by the goddess Amemet. This meant that the person would not survive in the afterlife. When a pharaoh passed the test, he became one with the god Osiris. He then travelled through the underworld on a solar bark, accompanied by the gods, to reach paradise and attain everlasting life.[1]

 

[1] Notes on Egyptians and Death courtesy of the Canadian Museum of History at https://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/civil/egypt/egcr04e.html]

Original paintings from the James Tissot collection at The Jewish Museum, New York, courtesy of Free Bible Images at https://freebibleimages.org/.
Map courtesy of headwatersresources.org.