Day 6: Exodus 11-12
Three points may help us to wrap our minds around this situation. First, Moses, the one who is speaking to Pharaoh on behalf of God at this point, is alive only because of his mother’s willingness to break the law: Pharaoh’s law that every baby boy born to the Israelites had to be thrown into the Nile River and killed (Exodus 1:22). Second, this is not the first plague or the initial way that God revealed himself to the Egyptians. This is the tenth clear and incontrovertible demonstration of power by an almighty God over the national gods of Egypt. Each time, the individual plague was intended to cause Pharaoh’s heart to be softened and let God’s people go out of slavery, but each time, Pharaoh refused. Third, the covenant relationship between Yahweh and Israel is often portrayed as a father-son relationship. Yahweh had seen his beloved son enslaved by a cruel and oppressive nation for over 400 years, and he was going to rescue him. As the Lord instructed Moses to say to Pharaoh, “This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son, and I told you, ‘Let my son go, so he may worship me.’ But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son” (Exodus 4:22-23). As we have seen before with the flood and as we will see later with the exile and ultimately the crucifixion of Jesus, a righteous and just God brings rightful judgment upon rebellion and sin.
In his mercy, God made a provision for Israel and allowed one life to substitute for another. The only way the Israelites could be spared was to spread the blood of a lamb on their doorpost. The blood of this lamb would allow the destroying angel to pass over that household, since a sacrifice had been made on their behalf. The Israelites were to prepare a specific meal laden with significance, including “bitter herbs” to remind them of the bitterness of slavery and “bread made without yeast” to allow them to leave in haste (v. 8). This meal was so significant that immediately, God decreed that this day would be commemorated every year as a lasting ordinance and reminder of what God had done. And that very night, after 430 years in slavery, God used Moses as his mediator and spokesperson to lead his people out of slavery.
This event of the Exodus and the Passover became a critical staple of memory and faith in the lives of the Israelites. Historical books, prophets, and Psalms all refer back to this event regularly as a reminder of what God had done. As the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ are the focal point of salvation history for New Testament believers, the Exodus and Passover were the focal point of salvation history for Old Testament believers. Ultimately, Jesus himself would become our Passover Lamb, allowing another’s life to be substituted in place of our own (1 Corinthians 5:7). It will again be through the blood of a Lamb without defect: the firstborn son of God.
Questions for reflection and discussion: How would you explain the tenth plague to someone uncomfortable with the idea of God killing the Egyptian firstborns? What elements of the Exodus and the Passover are reflected in the lives of believers today? How is Christ our Passover Lamb?
