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1 The Lord said to Moses, "I will bring one more plague upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go from here; indeed, when he lets you go, he will drive you away. 2 Tell the people that every man is to ask his neighbor and every woman is to ask her neighbor for objects of silver and gold." 3 The Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, Moses himself was a man of great importance in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's officials and in the sight of the people. 4 Moses said, "Thus says the Lord: About midnight I will go out through Egypt. 5 Every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the firstborn of the female slave who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the livestock. (Exodus 11)
Where does the time go, dear Friend? Here it is Friday and late as far as certain non-farmers who keep farmer's hours go. We had a late night, I was up at 3:50 (barely) and was nixed for a morning run, so I ran back to bed! It's amazing waking up at 8:30; but don't feel that's a good hour in which to be productive! So, here's the matinee edition of ConCafe, praying it blesses your day and life, and especially your spirit.
The last plague became a national holiday celebrated to this day by Jews around the world. It's hard to describe it in modern terms; a Thanksgiving without all the food, but key foods definitely involved, a Super Bowl Sunday without the game and the usually hideous halftime show, and sadly no commercials that companies pay millions to air. It is a sense of national pride and spiritual gratitude for the involvement of God in the lives and needs of His people. The 11th chapter of Exodus explains the coming of that event, but chapter 12 goes into the story more fully. All the plagues brought calamity to Egypt, and some of them may have cost people their lives, but Pharaoh in all of them saw this as an annoyance and it wasn't until death hit his home that he paid attention to God. What may have seemed like collateral damage to his people, when it involved his son, he understood that God indeed meant serious business.
This final event involved funding from the Egyptians, as you can read in verse 2 above. Hebrews were to ask their neighbors for objects of silver and gold, the currency of the time what traveled well. It also involved the death of sacrificial lambs, and pure and unblemished ones at that. The blood of the Passover lamb for each family would be used on the doorposts of each home. The blood would be placed on the top and sides of the doorpost in a way that many say resembles the cross on which the true Passover Lamb died many, many years later. That blood would serve as the symbol for the angel of death (aka "the destroyer") to pass over the home and spare the first born of that household. Even cattle would lose their firstborn as a result of this plague. At midnight, it happened as was foretold. In Exodus 12:29ff: "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 prisoner who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock." This hit Pharaoh's home and heart. He summoned Moses and Aaron to his palace and issued this decrees: ""Rise up, go away from my people, both you and the Israelites! Go, worship the Lord, as you said. 32 Take your flocks and your herds, as you said, and be gone. And bring a blessing on me too!" And their neighbors even joined in: 33 "The Egyptians urged the people to hasten their departure from the land, for they said, 'We shall all be dead.'"
The evening meal was unleavened bread and roasted lamb. The side dishes would include bitter herbs as a memorial to the bitterness of those years as slaves under Egyptian control. An answered prayer after only 430 years! And off they went, freed men and women, boys and girls to return back to the land promised to Abraham and Sarah.
God answers all prayers. Not all as we would like or as we ask, but answered nonetheless. And all prayers get answered in God's time, not ours. The first prayer of "Lord, please free me from slavery" saw those praying that prayer answered only upon their death. The ones who saw it answered in the way asked were the descendants of the first ones to utter that prayer. And the answer involved great cost, in this event, the lives of the firstborn of the neighbors, and a journey away from the known comforts and discomforts of what had been home for so many. Remember that as you continue to read the story of the Exodus! But above all else, remember the love and involvement of God in the lives and stories of His people; a love and involvement that continues to this day even in your life and mine. Lift your head and say thank You to God for all God continues to share with you and me.
PRAYER: Awesome God, thank You for being our God. You're a God of love and a God of action. You answer all prayers according to Your will and in Your time for each of us. Make us worthy, make us patient. Guide us to faithfulness in all things; this we pray in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Show gratitude for your freedom in God by sharing it with someone today!
Eradio Valverde
