Exodus 11:1-13:16--Death and Deliverance

Exodus 11:1-13:16
World English Bible

11 Yahweh said to Moses, “I will bring yet one more plague on Pharaoh, and on Egypt; afterwards he will let you go. When he lets you go, he will surely thrust you out altogether. 2 Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man ask of his neighbor, and every woman of her neighbor, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold.” 3 Yahweh 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.

4 Moses said, “This is what Yahweh says: ‘About midnight I will go out into the middle of Egypt, 5 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 mill, and all the firstborn of livestock. 6 There will be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there has not been, nor will be any more. 7 But against any of the children of Israel a dog won’t even bark or move its tongue, against man or animal, that you may know that Yahweh makes a distinction between the Egyptians and Israel. 8 All these servants of yours will come down to me, and bow down themselves to me, saying, “Get out, with all the people who follow you;” and after that I will go out.’” He went out from Pharaoh in hot anger.

9 Yahweh said to Moses, “Pharaoh won’t listen to you, that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.” 10 Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, but Yahweh hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he didn’t let the children of Israel go out of his land.

12 Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2 “This month shall be to you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year to you. 3 Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth day of this month, they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household; 4 and if the household is too little for a lamb, then he and his neighbor next to his house shall take one according to the number of the souls. You shall make your count for the lamb according to what everyone can eat. 5 Your lamb shall be without defect, a male a year old. You shall take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6 You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month; and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at evening. 7 They shall take some of the blood, and put it on the two door posts and on the lintel, on the houses in which they shall eat it. 8 They shall eat the meat in that night, roasted with fire, with unleavened bread. They shall eat it with bitter herbs. 9 Don’t eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted with fire; with its head, its legs and its inner parts. 10 You shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; but that which remains of it until the morning you shall burn with fire. 11 This is how you shall eat it: with your belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste: it is Yahweh’s Passover. 12 For I will go through the land of Egypt in that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and animal. I will execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt. I am Yahweh. 13 The blood shall be to you for a token on the houses where you are. When I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. 14 This day shall be a memorial for you. You shall keep it as a feast to Yahweh. You shall keep it as a feast throughout your generations by an ordinance forever.

15 “‘Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread; even the first day you shall put away yeast out of your houses, for whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. 16 In the first day there shall be to you a holy convocation, and in the seventh day a holy convocation; no kind of work shall be done in them, except that which every man must eat, only that may be done by you. 17 You shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this same day I have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations by an ordinance forever. 18 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. 19 There shall be no yeast found in your houses for seven days, for whoever eats that which is leavened, that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a foreigner, or one who is born in the land. 20 You shall eat nothing leavened. In all your habitations you shall eat unleavened bread.’”

21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said to them, “Draw out, and take lambs according to your families, and kill the Passover. 22 You shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two door posts with the blood that is in the basin. None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. 23 For Yahweh will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when he sees the blood on the lintel, and on the two door posts, Yahweh will pass over the door, and will not allow the destroyer to come in to your houses to strike you. 24 You shall observe this thing for an ordinance to you and to your sons forever. 25 It shall happen when you have come to the land which Yahweh will give you, as he has promised, that you shall keep this service. 26 It will happen, when your children ask you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ 27 that you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of Yahweh’s Passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians, and spared our houses.’”

The people bowed their heads and worshiped. 28 The children of Israel went and did so; as Yahweh had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.

29 At midnight, Yahweh 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. 30 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. 31 He called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, “Rise up, get out from among my people, both you and the children of Israel; and go, serve Yahweh, as you have said! 32 Take both your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone; and bless me also!”

33 The Egyptians were urgent with the people, to send them out of the land in haste, for they said, “We are all dead men.” 34 The people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading troughs being bound up in their clothes on their shoulders. 35 The children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they asked of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and clothing. 36 Yahweh gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. They plundered the Egyptians.

37 The children of Israel traveled from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot who were men, in addition to children. 38 A mixed multitude went up also with them, with flocks, herds, and even very much livestock. 39 They baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought out of Egypt; for it wasn’t leavened, because they were thrust out of Egypt, and couldn’t wait, and they had not prepared any food for themselves. 40 Now the time that the children of Israel lived in Egypt was four hundred thirty years. 41 At the end of four hundred thirty years, to the day, all of Yahweh’s armies went out from the land of Egypt. 42 It is a night to be much observed to Yahweh for bringing them out from the land of Egypt. This is that night of Yahweh, to be much observed by all the children of Israel throughout their generations.

43 Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the ordinance of the Passover. No foreigner shall eat of it, 44 but every man’s servant who is bought for money, when you have circumcised him, then shall he eat of it. 45 A foreigner and a hired servant shall not eat of it. 46 It must be eaten in one house. You shall not carry any of the meat outside of the house. Do not break any of its bones. 47 All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. 48 When a stranger lives as a foreigner with you, and would like to keep the Passover to Yahweh, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it. He shall be as one who is born in the land; but no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. 49 One law shall be to him who is born at home, and to the stranger who lives as a foreigner among you.” 50 All the children of Israel did so. As Yahweh commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did. 51 That same day, Yahweh brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies.

13 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Sanctify to me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of animal. It is mine.”

3 Moses said to the people, “Remember this day, in which you came out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand Yahweh brought you out from this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten. 4 Today you go out in the month Abib. 5 It shall be, when Yahweh brings you into the land of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, 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. 6 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to Yahweh. 7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days; and no leavened bread shall be seen with you. No yeast shall be seen with you, within all your borders. 8 You shall tell your son in that day, saying, ‘It is because of that which Yahweh did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ 9 It shall be for a sign to you on your hand, and for a memorial between your eyes, that Yahweh’s law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand Yahweh has brought you out of Egypt. 10 You shall therefore keep this ordinance in its season from year to year.

11 “It shall be, when Yahweh brings you into the land of the Canaanite, as he swore to you and to your fathers, and will give it to you, 12 that you shall set apart to Yahweh all that opens the womb, and every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have. The males shall be Yahweh’s. 13 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 you shall redeem all the firstborn of man among your sons. 14 It shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ that you shall tell him, ‘By strength of hand Yahweh brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage. 15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, Yahweh killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of livestock. Therefore I sacrifice to Yahweh all that opens the womb, being males; but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ 16 It shall be for a sign on your hand, and for symbols between your eyes; for by strength of hand Yahweh brought us out of Egypt.”

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The LORD lets Moses know that He is going to bring one more plague against Egypt, but this one is going to be different from all the rest.  Unlike the other plagues that have differentiated between the people that lived in Goshen from those that did not, this plague will be for all households living in Egypt, whether they are what we would label today Jew or Gentile.

This plague is going to go to war against the gods the Egyptians worshiped (specifically Pharaoh himself), but it is also the one that is going to point forward to the future salvation that the LORD is going to bring about for all people and this is going to be the event that marks the beginning of a new people and a new nation and will be their identity.  They are the people who are marked by the blood of the Passover lamb which will point to a people are covered by the blood of our better Passover Lamb (Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God) later.

Pharaoh refused to have Moses appear before him anymore, so he did not receive the warning of this plague, but there were some Egyptians who heard and listened and heeded the message and were saved from this plague.  It appears that all the people of Israel listened and all Israel was saved (we see something similar said in the book of Romans later about the end times), yet, I am sure that any who rejected God's one and only way that He made for them to escape this plague would not have escaped it simply because they were descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

The Israelites were commanded to get ready to leave at a moment's notice in the middle of the night.  Each household was to eat a meal of roasted lamb and unleavened bread (there would be no time to let bread leaven and rise).  Those who had small families and could not eat an entire lamb were to eat the meal with another family who would have some leftover so that nothing would be wasted.  Anything that was leftover was to be burned with fire--nothing was to be left until morning.  They were to eat the meal fully dressed and with sandals on their feet and with their staff in their hand.  The lamb was to be exsanguinated before cooking it and its blood collected and put on the lintel and two door posts.

God promises great things.  The Egyptians will give them all the riches of the land of Egypt (it was very wealthy) and that no one would harm them on their way out.  In fact, no dog was even going to bark at them.

So, what is it exactly that the LORD was going to do that would break Pharaoh? The LORD decided that He would take the lives of every firstborn in the land of Egypt with no distinction between Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female, or even man or animal.  Everything that had the breath of life in it and lived within the borders of Egypt was subject to this plague.  However, those who stayed inside a house marked by the blood of a Passover lamb, that family would would have the Destroyer pass over them (that is why the feast is called Passover).  They all deserved the same judgment for sin, but the LORD allowed the Passover Lamb to take the punishment that was deserved by that household and we start to see the idea of penal substitutionary atonement.  Though this sacrifice was good, it was part of a sacrificial system that would have to make sacrifices every hour of every day, every month, every year so that there was never a day off for the priests.  They were continually making blood atonement for the people and the book of Hebrews tells us that the blood of bulls and goats (the typical offerings that were made for substitutionary atonement) would never be sufficient because they were not a sacrifice of the same kind.  Only a man could truly die in place of another man, but each man who was a descendant of Adam had his own sin debt and therefore could not pay for the sin of another--no one is without sin, except God.  Therefore, God the Son would be born of a virgin and live a sinless life so that He could be our better Passover Lamb.  He had no leaven (a picture of sin), so the unleavened bread and the sacrificial lamb and the blood that we are marked by that causes judgment to pass over us all point to Christ.

The children of Israel did not realize how much of the gospel was told by this one event--slavery to sin, redemption by the price of a life that needed to be given, destruction and death for those who chose not to take the one and only way of escape but deliverance out of slavery and to a Promised Land for all those who believed and acted by faith to put their trust in the substitutionary atonement, a change in identity and new people group made of both believing Jews and believing Gentiles, and there are many more connections--just look for "Passover" and "Passover Lamb" in the New Testament and see how this story is not just for the Jewish people, but for all Christians, both Jew and Gentile to understand what Christ has done for us and our identity in Christ.

This is their Independence Day, but it is more than that.  If someone would not celebrate this feast, they were not allowed to be part of the people of God.  This was their identity.  It was part of the Law that everyone within the borders of Israel (both Jew and Gentile) at the time of this feast were required to observe and celebrate it--even if they were just passing through.  The only exception was if someone was ceremonially unclean, they could not participate (though there was a "make-up day" the following month and they were to make sure that they kept themselves ceremonially clean for that make-up day).  It is the most important thing about being a Jew or being in the land of Israel, so much so that you could be condemned to death if you rebelled and would not tell this story and would not participate in feast that told the story of judgment, salvation, redemption and blood atonement (the core elements of the gospel).  We now understand these same elements to be what we observe with the Lord's Supper and most churches would say that it is imperative that Christians regularly participate in the ordinance of the Lord's Supper to look back and to look forward, to look within and examine ourselves and look out to the world and see those who remain who are still meant to be brought in, and to grieve that this was the cost of our sin but to celebrate the victory that it brought over sin and death.  It is hard to believe that anyone would be a Christian and would not want to celebrate.  There is the same kind of "exception" to celebrating the Lord's Supper as there is to celebrating the Passover--those who are living in open rebellion are not to participate, but this should grieve them to not be able to participate and they should want to get right with the Lord and the Lord's people so that they can participate again as soon as possible.  This is largely the idea of excommunication and why at many churches the Lord's Supper is called Communion.  We can talk about this more as we go along, but I will say one last thing before we end today--it will be this very meal what we celebrate together with the Lord when He brings in His Kingdom (see Matthew 26:29 where Jesus leaves the celebration of the Passover feast unfinished and says He's not going to finish it until He finishes with them in His coming Kingdom).  This is not something just about the past, but about the future.