Exodus 11:1-10: "1 And the LORD said to Moses, 'I will bring yet 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. 2 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.' 3 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. 4 Then Moses said, 'Thus says the LORD: "About midnight I will go out into the midst 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 handmill, and all the firstborn of the animals. 6 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. 7 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." 8 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.' Then he went out from Pharaoh in great anger. 9 But the LORD said to Moses, 'Pharaoh will not heed you, so that My wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.' 10 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."
Unfortunately, in this lectionary all of the plagues are skipped, except this last one, the death of the firstborn sons of Egypt. This death did not just apply to the Egyptian people alone, but to all their livestock and animals as well. This is done, as the Lord God tells us in this pericope, so that Pharaoh, and all Egypt with him, would know that the Lord does make a difference between the Egyptians and the Israelites.
Pharaoh did not believe that the Israelites were special, that they had been chosen by God. He believed they were just looking for an excuse to get out of their work. And perhaps he believed that if he let them go, they would not return. Of course, this appears to be the Lord's intention from all that He tells Moses. But on account of the hardness of Pharaoh's heart, that is, his unbelief, even after nine plagues that revealed that God not only existed, but that He was more powerful than any of the false gods of the Egyptians, he still refused to acknowledge that the Lord God was the true God. It seems from the reading, since the Egyptians are said to hold Moses and the Israelites in high favor on account of the plagues, that Pharaoh is pretty much alone in his hard-heartedness.
The Egyptian people seem to get it. The Lord God is the true God, and He has chosen Israel to be His people. This is perhaps why they give their silver and gold objects so readily to the Israelites, as a form of worship, or offering, to the Lord God, by proxy of the Israelite nation. That the Israelites receive the spoils of Egypt shows the return of the favor upon the Egyptians, who through hard labor and oppression, and slavery spoil the Israelites. Through this slavery the Egyptians had taken from the people of Israel. Mystically speaking this is a picture of the end times. For the Egyptians represent the harsh oppression and slavery of sin, death and the devil, and the Israelites are the people of God. This spoiling of the Egyptians is the Israelites' victory over them, and this represents the final victory that the people of God will enjoy on the last day, when we obtain our eternal victory, and our right to leave this oppressive world, and we will obtain the spoils of victory, the crown of life.
This crown of life is the crown that our dear Lord Jesus, the Firstborn of God, won for us by His death on the cross. Our Lord bore a crown of thorns, but we are given a crown of garland, which represents our eternal victory. In the same way that the firstborn sons of Egypt are killed because of the sin and unbelief of Pharaoh, so too, is the Firstborn Son of God killed for the sin and unbelief of the world. He stands in proxy for us, taking on the punishment that we deserve. We should have been left weeping and wailing, just like the Egyptian people, but our Lord Jesus takes our place, and our punishment.
We see in this two things, one, the refusal of Pharaoh to act as a proxy for his people, and two, judgment of God. For in this plague alone, God comes down from His throne to enact the punishment on the people, in all the other ones, Moses acted on God's behalf, but in this plague He enacts the punishment Himself. We see in this the picture of the cross, where our Lord Jesus acts as both the High Priest, offering the Lamb up as a sacrifice for us, and the Lamb who is sacrificed. Our Heavenly Father enacts the punishment on His own Son, for us. He also accepts the sacrifice, and frees us from the penalty of sin, having received one for all, the one sacrifice for atonement that saves all mankind from sin.
God be with you!
Deacon Dulas
Pharaoh did not believe that the Israelites were special, that they had been chosen by God. He believed they were just looking for an excuse to get out of their work. And perhaps he believed that if he let them go, they would not return. Of course, this appears to be the Lord's intention from all that He tells Moses. But on account of the hardness of Pharaoh's heart, that is, his unbelief, even after nine plagues that revealed that God not only existed, but that He was more powerful than any of the false gods of the Egyptians, he still refused to acknowledge that the Lord God was the true God. It seems from the reading, since the Egyptians are said to hold Moses and the Israelites in high favor on account of the plagues, that Pharaoh is pretty much alone in his hard-heartedness.
The Egyptian people seem to get it. The Lord God is the true God, and He has chosen Israel to be His people. This is perhaps why they give their silver and gold objects so readily to the Israelites, as a form of worship, or offering, to the Lord God, by proxy of the Israelite nation. That the Israelites receive the spoils of Egypt shows the return of the favor upon the Egyptians, who through hard labor and oppression, and slavery spoil the Israelites. Through this slavery the Egyptians had taken from the people of Israel. Mystically speaking this is a picture of the end times. For the Egyptians represent the harsh oppression and slavery of sin, death and the devil, and the Israelites are the people of God. This spoiling of the Egyptians is the Israelites' victory over them, and this represents the final victory that the people of God will enjoy on the last day, when we obtain our eternal victory, and our right to leave this oppressive world, and we will obtain the spoils of victory, the crown of life.
This crown of life is the crown that our dear Lord Jesus, the Firstborn of God, won for us by His death on the cross. Our Lord bore a crown of thorns, but we are given a crown of garland, which represents our eternal victory. In the same way that the firstborn sons of Egypt are killed because of the sin and unbelief of Pharaoh, so too, is the Firstborn Son of God killed for the sin and unbelief of the world. He stands in proxy for us, taking on the punishment that we deserve. We should have been left weeping and wailing, just like the Egyptian people, but our Lord Jesus takes our place, and our punishment.
We see in this two things, one, the refusal of Pharaoh to act as a proxy for his people, and two, judgment of God. For in this plague alone, God comes down from His throne to enact the punishment on the people, in all the other ones, Moses acted on God's behalf, but in this plague He enacts the punishment Himself. We see in this the picture of the cross, where our Lord Jesus acts as both the High Priest, offering the Lamb up as a sacrifice for us, and the Lamb who is sacrificed. Our Heavenly Father enacts the punishment on His own Son, for us. He also accepts the sacrifice, and frees us from the penalty of sin, having received one for all, the one sacrifice for atonement that saves all mankind from sin.
God be with you!
Deacon Dulas
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