Episode 367 - The Final Plague and the Exodus Begins - Exodus 12:29-5
12:29 At midnight the LORD struck down 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 the livestock. 30 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 someone was not dead. 31 Then he summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, “Up, go out from among my people, both you and the people of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as you have said. 32 Take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone, and bless me also!”
Ex. 12:33 The Egyptians were urgent with the people to send them out of the land in haste. For they said, “We shall all be dead.” 34 So the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading bowls being bound up in their cloaks on their shoulders. 35 The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. 36 And the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.
Ex. 12:37 And the people of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. 38 A mixed multitude also went up with them, and very much livestock, both flocks and herds. 39 And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough that they had brought out of Egypt, for it was not leavened, because they were thrust out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves.
Ex. 12:40 The time that the people of Israel lived in Egypt was 430 years. 41 At the end of 430 years, on that very day, all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt. 42 It was a night of watching by the LORD, to bring them out of the land of Egypt; so this same night is a night of watching kept to the LORD by all the people of Israel throughout their generations.
Ex. 12:43 And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the statute of the Passover: no foreigner shall eat of it, 44 but every slave that is bought for money may eat of it after you have circumcised him. 45 No foreigner or hired worker may eat of it. 46 It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the flesh outside the house, and you shall not break any of its bones. 47 All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. 48 If a stranger shall sojourn with you and would keep the Passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised. Then he may come near and keep it; he shall be as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. 49 There shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among you.”
Ex. 12:50 All the people of Israel did just as the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron. 51 And on that very day the LORD brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts.
I want to begin this episode with a few comments about something I didn’t mention in the previous episode, but that is evident in the text. First, while I discussed the LORD’s instruction regarding Passover, I failed to mention the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Both of these were to be observed at the same time, in the same way, every year. The Passover meal was the roast lamb with the bitter herbs and unleavened bread. The bitter herbs were to remind them of their oppression in Egypt. But the unleavened bread was not only for the Passover meal. They were not to eat anything with leaven for the next week. This was the Feast of Unleavened Bread. In fact, the text instructs them to have all leaven removed from the home for the entire week. This brings me to my next point. What’s the big deal about unleavened bread? First, the LORD is about to liberate them from Egypt, and they won't have time to proof their bread. Beyond the practical need not to slow down 600,000 men, plus women and children, by waiting for them all to prepare and bake leavened bread, I believe this communicates the importance of being attentive to the LORD’s leading. The LORD wants the Hebrews to listen and obey his commands in every respect. Carrying this principle forward, I don’t think the LORD expects anything less of his Church. Another aspect of this Feast of Unleavened Bread is that leaven symbolizes sin. In Galatians 5:9, the apostle Paul uses the expression “a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump of dough.” If you’ve ever baked a loaf of bread, you get the picture. The amount of yeast (leaven) is very small compared to the flour and water, but it has a significant effect, making the loaf much larger. As a small amount of yeast impacts the whole loaf, so does a small amount of sin affect many people. This is an important thing for Israel to learn as they depart from Egypt and proceed toward the land promised by the LORD.
Coming to our text for this episode, the tenth and final plague on Egypt happens exactly as the LORD had said it would. Imagine living in a country where, within a matter of hours, or perhaps only minutes, there was not a single home where there was not at least one person who died. Among a people who worshipped various gods, what would a tragic and widespread event like this lead you to think about your gods, especially when it did not affect one group of people among you who worshipped a different God? I believe that is the point the LORD is making to Egypt. Their gods are inferior.
The impact upon Pharaoh is immediate. His own son has died. He calls Aaron and Moses and tells them to leave with no conditions. His statement, “as you have said”, which he repeats twice in verse 31 and verse 32, reveals that this plague has, for the moment, broken him. He even asks them to bless him. (v. 32) To be honest with you, I still can’t get my head around that request. Is this Moses way of revealing to his readers that Pharaoh understood all along that Moses was a prophet or agent of the LORD, fully capable of blessing him, but refusing to accept God’s grace and mercy to him? I’m not really sure.
The Egyptians were no less anxious to get rid of the Hebrews. They readily handed over valuables to the Hebrews. They understood that further oppression of the Hebrews would lead to all of them being struck down.
Verse 37 says about 600,000 men, plus women and children, were leaving Egypt. The implication is that around 2 million people left Egypt. Bible scholars argue over this and suggest the number is inflated. Some have argued that Israelites were never enslaved in Egypt or that the number of years they were there is inflated. But archaeological finds and other evidence support the story of the Exodus and the time they were there. Even if the number of 2,000,000 is inflated, it’s safe to say that it was still a lot of people and an amazing event.
The final instructions for observing the Passover in verses 43-51 describe who may or may not eat the Passover and the conditions. In short, this was not an ordinary meal and should never be treated as such. This meal applied to those who were under the Abrahamic Covenant. This is why male sojourners who wanted to partake of the Passover meal had to be circumcised. That was the sign of the Abrahamic Covenant, and they had to become like Abraham's descendants.