Fear No Fear

(All scripture from Lexham English Bible, Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software)

God sent Moses and Aaron back to Pharaoh. God was giving Pharaoh what he had himself chosen: hardness of heart. But God wasn’t doing it to be petty or smitey. He was doing it so that the Israelites, their children, and their children’s children would know that Adonai IS the Lord.

So they went and demanded the release of their people. Pharaoh was warned of the destruction that would happen. That everything the hail hadn’t killed would be consumed by locusts (and according to Psalm 78:46 & 105:34, caterpillars also took part). Pharaoh’s servants pleaded with him. Their stance: how long will you keep this Moses and his people? Get rid of them or there isn’t going to be a country left! But Pharaoh refuses.

Moses went out and he stretched out his rod (the Rod of God) over Egypt and an east wind started up. By the morning, it had brought locusts. More than had ever appeared at one time together and more than would ever appear at one time together again. This was a once in a creation event. They ate every herb, every fruit, and everything green that had so far been spared. Nothing was left. Locusts (Exodus 10:12-15) were judgments against Nut, the sky goddess; and Osiris, god of the crops and fertility.

Pharaoh called them in and professed he had sinned against God as well as Moses and Aaron. He asked for his sin to be forgiven this one time and that the Lord would remove this death from him. Sorry to be in trouble, but not really repentant. Moses prayed, a strong west wind started blowing, and all the locusts ended up in the Red Sea (no mention of the fate of the caterpillars). But everyone knew Pharaoh wasn’t out of the woods.

Right after, God told Moses to stretch out his hand and darkness fell on Egypt. Not a slight twilight or stormy dark. Total dark. Darkness (Exodus 10:22-23) was judgment against Re, the sun god; Horus, a sun god; Nut, a sky goddess; and Hathor, a sky goddess. Now I’ve heard it said there was a total can’t see your hand in front of your face darkness inside and out. I’ve heard that it was total darkness outside (regardless of their efforts), but inside they had candles. I don’t know. It says it was a darkness so dark they couldn’t leave their places – beds? Homes? I don’t know. It was obviously supernatural. Especially since the Israelites had light in their homes. Outside they had what everyone else had. Inside? They didn’t have to try and stave off darkness with candles or stay frozen in bed. They had supernatural light that let them go about business as usual. For three days darkness shut down the kingdom of Egypt. That was all Pharaoh could take. He called Moses and told him they could go, but leave the livestock (maybe so he could seize them and replenish the country). Moses refused. No compromise (which you only do when you believe you can’t do better). Pharoah threw a hissy fit and yelled at Moses. Told him if he showed his face again, he’d die. Moses retorted you got it. You’ll never see my face again, and stormed out.

Now we have a little aside. The Lord again tells Moses about the final judgement (previously told to Moses before he came to Egypt – Exodus 4:23). Then Moses and Pharaoh have an interchange. If they really did agree not to see each other’s faces again, this must have happened before they split ways. Moses told Pharaoh that around midnight that night the Lord will go through Egypt and kill all the firstborn. Now, it doesn’t say firstborn SON. It says firstborn. BUT the Hebrew word is in a masculine tense, so the Rabbis have always taught ‘firstborn son’. Other than Pharaoh’s son, no individual child is mentioned, so I suppose it could have gone either way.  In any case, Moses proclaims the judgment and prophesies that Pharaoh’s servants would come and bow before Moses begging them to leave. He also says not a child of the Israelites would be lost. Not one. And then Moses stormed out in anger (which kind of fits with Exodus 10:28-29).

“And the Egyptians urged the people in order to hurry their release[a] from the land, because they said, “All of us will die!”” (Exodus 12:33)

Chapter Twelve holds two parts. One concerns Passover as a whole and the start of the ordinance of how they would keep it in the future, and the final plague. This Passover is not exactly what they did. It couldn’t be because it says they were rushed and could not prepare bread (verse 14). Passover includes seven days of preparation. So we have the gist of what they did that night mixed with a fuller instruction of how they would memorialize it in the future. What did they do that night? They roasted lamb, ate it, had unleavened bread and bitter herbs, and used the blood from the lambs to mark the doorposts of their homes. One lamb per family (or if a small family, shared with neighbours). Alternative possibility: since we know scripture is not always in linear order, but thematically, Moses could have been instructed to tell the Israelites what to do well in advance. They might have been following the seven-day festival rules. Either way, they did everything Moses asked them to. They had been totally convinced Moses was led by God.

At midnight the angel of death came and so did the Lord. Wherever there was lamb’s blood, the Lord prevented the angel of death from entering the home. Wherever there was no blood, the angel went in and the firstborn died. This was a judgement on decades of oppression and death inflicted on the Israelites and a refusal to obey the Lord over a LONG period of time. The Lord is merciful, but judgment comes to all eventually (Hebrews 9:27-28). Death of the firstborn (Exodus 12:29-30) was judgment against Min, god of reproduction; Heqet, goddess who attended women at childbirth; and Isis, goddess who protected children. Interestingly, since Pharaoh considered himself a god, his firstborn was also therefore considered a god.

Pharaoh sent a message to Moses: get out, take everything and go, and please bless me. He was totally defeated – remember the lesser is blessed by the greater. All the Egyptians also wanted them gone. Just like the Pharaoh of Joseph’s time promised, the best of Egypt was before them. The Egyptians gave them whatever they wanted. Not only the Israelites, but also a ‘mixed multitude’ went – Moses’ Egyptian mother Bithia went out with them (I Chron 4:18).

Out they went. As prophesied. As promised. It was a night of celebration. And according to Psalm 105:37, no one among them was feeble or sick. Considering their treatment of at least the last few decades, that is something to celebrate! That’s supernatural healing and favour! “And all the Israelites did as Yahweh had commanded Moses and Aaron; so they did. And it was on exactly this day Yahweh brought the Israelites out from the land of Egypt by their divisions” (Exodus 12:50-51).

Summary

Key Players: Moses, Pharaoh, God

Key Themes: Judgment, Blessing, Promises Kept

Key Verse(s): Exodus 10:8-11, 16-17, 24-26; 11:4-8; 12:12-13, 31-33, 42, 50-51