Not only had God shown his power and ability to the Assyrian Pharaoh, but He also proved that He was more powerful than the gods the Egyptians worshiped.
But there was one more false god that He was going to prove He was more powerful than- Pharaoh was viewed as a “living god”, as was his son. And God was going to show that He was the most powerful!
Exodus 11:1-3- And the LORD said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence: when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether. Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbour, and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold. And the LORD gave the people favour 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.
Moses was very famous in Egypt. Not because he was the long, lost prince who murdered an Egyptian. It was because he was the servant of the Most High God!
Exodus 11:4-8- And Moses said, Thus saith the LORD, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt: And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts. And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more. But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the LORD doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel. And all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down themselves unto me, saying, Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee: and after that I will go out. And he went out from Pharaoh in a great anger.
Moses told Pharaoh that God was going to kill all the firstborn. He told Pharaoh that it didn't matter if you were a servant or a king, that no one would be beyond God's reach. And Pharaoh told Moses to get out.
Moses left Pharaoh's presence very angry! Was Moses angry because Pharaoh's stubbornness was going to cost countless lives? Was he upset that Pharaoh wouldn't listen to the Lord and blamed Moses for what was going wrong? I don't know.
But, there was something different about this wonder. It was not only to show the Might of God, but it was to make the children of Israel realize that God was to be obeyed by them, as well.
You see, God had instructions for everyone to follow. They could escape the killing of the firstborn only if they obeyed God to the letter! But, they would suffer the same consequences as the Egyptians if they disobeyed God.
Exodus 12:1-14- And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD'S passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.
God told them to take a lamb without blemish, and to keep it in their house for 14 days. This was to let the family get to know the lamb. It was to be a personal sacrifice. The children were going to start to care about this lamb.
When the 14 days were up, they were to kill the lamb, drain it's blood, and put the blood at the top and the sides of their front door. This was a very important step- the blood on the door posts was the only thing that would stand between them and death.
Then, they were to cook it a certain way and eat it a certain way. God never wastes anything!
Exodus 12:15, 17 - Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever.
Now, leaven is what makes bread rise. Without leaven, bread would be like a cracker. Leaven is a type of sin. God wanted the children of Israel to realize that He wasn't going to tolerate sin in their homes when they were suppose to be His people!
Matthew 16:11-12- How is it that ye do not understand that I spake [it] not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
Luke 12:1- In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
Christ says that leaven is false doctrine and hypocrisy. That means believing things that God didn't say and acting like a Christian when you are around other Christians, but acting like the world when you are anywhere else.
God wants His people to act like Christians whether other people are watching or not, because He is always watching!
Exodus 12:21-28- Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover. And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning. For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you. And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever. And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the LORD will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service. And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORD'S passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped. And the children of Israel went away, and did as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they.
Moses called the elders of Israel and told them what had to be done. The elders then went and told all the other Hebrew children.
God never changes. He told the elders and expected them to tell others. He picked out 12 disciples and had them tell others. He calls Christians to go out and tell others.
What does He want us to tell them? That Christ was the spotless passover lamb that shed His blood on Calvary, and when you die, the angel of death will pass over your soul and you will go to heaven to live with God forever!
God always has a reason. He told the children of Israel to use hyssop to put the blood on the door posts. Mary thought Christ was the gardener when she saw Him in the Garden of Gethsemane. Why? Was it because He was gathering hyssop to take His blood and put it where God commanded for our sins? I think so.
Exodus 12:29-31- And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle. 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 there was not one dead.
Oh, the consequences of not obeying God! The Bible speaks truth when it says in Romans 6:23- For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Pharaoh disobeyed God and is cost him the life of his firstborn son.
If we disobey God and don't get saved, it will cost us a life in hell. If we disobey God after we get saved and live like the world it could very well cost us the rest of our lives!
Exodus 12:31-33- And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as ye have said. Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also. And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men.
Pharaoh called Moses and told him to "get out!" He didn't want to manipulate the situation any longer. He realized that there was no bargaining with God.
The Egyptians also realized that if the Hebrew children didn't leave soon, it would be the end of them! So they told them to leave, and they helped them get out fast by giving them anything that they needed to go!
Exodus 12:35-37- And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: And the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians. And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children. And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle.
Exodus 13:17-22- And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt: But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea: and the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt. And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him: for he had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you. And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness. And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night: He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.
The people that left Egypt were slaves. They were going to have to become an army to be able to fulfill God's will for their lives. How does one begin to become a soldier? They go to boot camp! The Israelites were going to have to go through God's boot camp.
