The Death of the Firstborn in Egypt: The Final Plague - Saved for the Glory of God | Studies in the book of Exodus

We turn to Exodus, chapter 11 and those 10 verses.

Exodus 11 · chapter mention

And this morning, we come to the final plague upon Egypt, the

death of the firstborn in all the land.

And these 10 verses of chapter 11 give us an overview of the message

given to Moses, but also tells us the response of Pharaoh.

Now, we don't actually hear from Pharaoh, but we're given a brief

report of how he responds.

This is now the moment when Israel gets ready to leave Egypt

after 400 years and make their way out into the desert and into

the wilderness.

Now, so far, Pharaoh and the Egyptians have faced the water being

turned into blood, making it completely unusable for everything

that they needed.

And remember, they worshiped the Nile.

They believed it to be a deity and a source of life.

And what do you do when that source of life becomes unusable?

And so even the first plague was a huge shift in the mindset for

these Egyptians.

Then came the plague of frogs, the amphibian that the Egyptians

worshipped as their deity for childbirth.

How their society kept going.

And all of a sudden, these frogs were everywhere, making a mockery

of the one they worshipped.

Then came the gnats, leading Pharaoh's magicians to declare that

it was an act of God.

And remember, these magicians couldn't do anything to stop them.

They could only add to the troubles.

And initially, this was a demonstration of their power.

Well, we can do what your God can do.

But as they went on, well, no, we don't want more of these problems.

We want less.

But these magicians of Pharaoh could never, could never do away

with them.

And so they had to declare that it was an act from God.

The fourth plague brought flies on the land that covered everything

except the land of Goshen, where the Israelites lived.

And here was God making that distinction between his people whom

he would rescue, and the Egyptians who had enslaved them.

Then came the plague on the livestock, crippling the economy

and the food chain.

And again, worship of a sacred animal.

The sixth plague was the plague of boils that broke out on

humans and animals.

And this was the last time we heard from Pharaoh's magicians.

They couldn't do anything more.

They had had enough.

The next two plagues hit the harvest of the land with the heel,

decimating the flax and barley crops, and then the locusts devouring

the wheat and the spelt, along with the trees and fruit crops.

Egypt was the breadbasket for the region.

That's why Israel went in the first place.

And now what they based their power on was completely gone.

It's probably the ninth plague that was the most hurtful of all

and the most fearful of all to the Egyptians, because the ninth

plague brought darkness on the land, not only defying the sun, which

the Egyptians worshipped as the greatest of all gods in creation,

but it also meant that they couldn't do anything for three whole

days walking around in the darkness, unable to work, unable

to really communicate well with those around them.

This darkness brought fear into the land.

But in all these plagues of punishment brought on Egypt, no matter

how bad it was going, no matter how much the economy was tanking

and people were starting to grumble.

Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, the ruler of all his people, refused

to let the children of Israel go.

If only he had, the plagues would have stopped.

And so now we come to the final and most impactful plague,

that of the death of the firstborn.

Now, I want to just say something here, because in our modern

society, we can become a little bit uncomfortable that this

would be one of the plagues, that this would actually be a punishment.

And yet isn't that the eternal punishment that falls on those who

do not receive Christ?

And so what we're seeing here, as we've seen throughout these plagues

in Exodus, is, is a foreshadowing of what is to come

for all those who reject what God requires of us, requiring us

to worship him as our true God.

And today, in these New Testament times, through his son,

Jesus Christ.

See, the punishment of our sin is death, but the gift of God is

eternal life.

Pharaoh refused God.

He decided he was better, and he never changed.

And so his punishment would come, as is the punishment of those

who reject God.

It is death.

Eternal death.

Now, I remember watching the 1956 epic by Cecil B. DeMille, the

Ten Commandments, starring Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner,

and it ran for three hours and 40 minutes.

It is the epic.

I have thought about watching it again, but I just haven't had

the time in this series.

And it told the story of Israel's exodus from Egypt.

And I can't remember much about how it started, but it took

the audience from the first finding of Moses in the bulrushes

on the Nile and concluded with Moses receiving the two tablets of

stone containing the Ten Commandments.

But the scene I remember most in the middle of the film was the

angel of the shadow of death that moved through the land on the

night of the Exodus.

Exodus, that first Passover.

The scene was dark, but the scene was silent.

And the camera focuses on one Egyptian official running through

the streets as this cloud of smoke, that was the best way DeMille

could could picture it.

This cloud of smoke came behind him, quite literally enveloping

everything that it passed.

And eventually the silence is broken as cries and wails go up as

the Egyptian households discover the death of their firstborn

sons.

The Hebrew families are all gathered in their homes, sharing

the Passover meal, waiting for the time to leave, waiting for that

moment of redemption.

And darkness had once again come over the land of Egypt.

We saw that darkness for three days in the ninth plague.

But here in the tenth plague, it would come on the land of Egypt,

and God's punishment on a sinful people would be complete.

Now, this image is the outworking of what we're told in

chapter 11, because chapter 11 is simply that similar format we're

used to, where Moses is told, and he then passes it on to Pharaoh

so that Pharaoh might have the opportunity to do the right thing

and let God's people go.

And so, after these long weeks of plagues, the final one is communicated.

And God is exact and precise in revealing it to Moses.

And he says in verses 4 and 5, this is what the Lord says, about

midnight, I will go throughout Egypt.

Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son

of Pharaoh who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the

slave girl who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the

cattle as well.

So verse four picks up where we left off at the end of chapter

10.

Remember, Moses said he would never see Pharaoh's face again, but

yet he has to communicate this to Pharaoh.

So we believe that it follows on from where we left there in chapter

10.

And Moses declares to Pharaoh this final announcement of judgment.

And in the middle of the night, the Lord will go out into

the midst of Egypt and.

And all the firstborn will die.

And this will happen at all levels of Egyptian society, from

Pharaoh's firstborn to the slaves, firstborn into livestock

as well as people.

All Egypt will experience this judgment in one way or another.

And a cry of unprecedented suffering will be heard throughout

the land, as verse six confirms to us.

Now, the word cry here is in fact the very term used to give the

expression to Israel's misery under Egyptian enslavement in Exodus

3.

This is the cry the Lord God heard from his suffering people.

And it will now be echoed as a cry of punishment on the Egyptians.

The only ones accepted will be the Israelites, who will face no

hardship.

Their cry has already been heard, and their prayers will now

be answered.

But it is The Egyptians who refuse to turn to God to cry out

to him as the Israelites did.

And so it is the Egyptians who will be punished.

And verse seven tells us, but among the Israelites, not a dog will

bark at any man or animal.

Then you will know that the Lord makes a distinction between

Egypt and Israel.

The image given here of not a dog barking tells us that there's

a difference in the land of Goshen compared to the rest of Egypt.

The result of God's action will be that Pharaoh and his servants

will know that the Israelites are his people and so experience

his protection and love.

They've seen something of that already.

Whenever Goshen, the land where the Israelites lived, was protected

from some of the plagues, indeed, Pharaoh's own servants will

come and they'll bow before Moses instead of Pharaoh and plead

with him to leave and all the people.

An act that humbly recognizes that the God who Moses represents

is the true king.

And this will be a complete turnaround by these officials.

Now, we've seen them concerned before about the hand of God upon

them, but now they respond in the way that they always should have

responded.

But Pharaoh, well, Pharaoh is a different person.

He will be different in his response to his officials.

He will remain as obstinate as ever.

It is at the end of verse 8, where Moses leaves the presence of

Pharaoh, that we are told he does, so hot with anger.

Now, we're not told here why Moses leaves this way, but the context

suggests that it is because of Pharaoh's stubborn and rebell refusal

to let the people go.

As elsewhere, rebellion against the Lord angers Moses.

And you would think by now, nine plagues later that have completely

decimated the land of Egypt, Pharaoh would take notice.

You think after nine times being told what's coming and happening,

he would believe it?

But verse 9 and 10 gives us the account of Pharaoh's response.

Verse 9 tells us that it is God who tells Moses that Pharaoh

will refuse to listen and let the people go.

Thereby, this most terrible of the plagues will come to pass.

And verse 10 tells us by way of confirmation, Moses and Aaron

performed all these wonders before Pharaoh.

But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart and he would not

let the Israelites go out of his country.

Even with all of this, even in everything that has been going on

for the weeks and months of these plagues, nothing changes because

Pharaoh believes he is still in control.

He will not let the people go, even though he has one last chance

to do so.

You see, the Lord further hardens his already hardened heart.

And in short, the Lord is sovereign over Pharaoh's disobedience,

and he he uses it to make his power and glory known in the earth.

And so Israel need not fear Pharaoh, but has every reason instead

to worship the Lord.

And this they will, because the Lord will bless them as they

leave the land.

And this account of the tenth plague is different than all the

rest, because verses one to three begins with telling us what

the outcome of the final plague will be.

We're told there that the people's release is would happen

and they would experience the favor of the people around them.

And so we're told in verse one that the people will be driven out.

Pharaoh won't simply let them go, he will drive them out to get

rid of them.

He wants them now to go.

Rather than being hard hearted against them, he now can't wait for

them to leave.

And as the people go, they're to be expectant of blessing, because

verse two tells us, tell the people God says that men and women

alike are to ask their neighbors for articles of silver

and gold.

And this is not simply going to be an impoverished people wandering

in the wilderness.

This is to be a people prepared for the promised land.

Now, of course, we know that they used their gold and their silver

of the Egyptians to make a false God that they would worship

because they perceived Moses was taking too long.

But nonetheless they would leave a wealthy people, and it would

be 40 years before they would take possession of the land of promise.

But they will enter it as people who still have some of the

wealth of the Egyptians with them.

And as an aside, verse three tells us the Lord made the Egyptians

favorably disposed towards the people.

And so this tells us that the children of Israel get what they

ask for as they leave in haste, with the cries and wails of

the people sounding all around them.

And it's going to be in chapter 12 that will confirm all

of this as the 10th plague takes hold.

But in its warning to Pharaoh, the people are prepared to leave

and to witness the mighty hand of God's salvation.

And so reaching this point in the account of God's people makes

us stop to look back on all that has happened, from the burning

bush in chapter three to looking ahead to the exodus of chapter

12.

And there are many things to learn about God from His miracles

in Egypt he sent the plagues in order to demonstrate his power,

his jealousy, his justice, his mercy and sovereignty.

In a word, God did it to show his glory.

And his glory is the sum total of all his perfections.

The history of the plague so ends with the summary in verse 9.

The Lord had said to Moses, pharaoh will refuse to listen to

you, so that my wonders may be multiplied in Egypt.

See, all of these plagues, all of these plagues that we've taken

time to look at were all part of God's plan to reveal his glory

in the salvation of his people.

Even Pharaoh's opposition was part of the plan.

Each time he hardened his heart, God performed another miracle

so as to multiply his wonders.

And God did it all for his glory.

And the same is true of everything that God has ever done.

It is all for his glory.

Why did God make the world?

It was for his glory.

That's what Psalm 19:1 Tell us.

Psalms 19:1

The heavens declare the glory of God proclaimed the work of his

hands.

He made human beings for the same reason.

And we know in the Genesis account we are the only part of the

creation that he records as saying, being very Good.

Well, Isaiah 43, in the second half of verse six and verse seven,

God says, bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends

of the earth.

Everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory,

whom I formed and made.

Therefore human beings are the crowning glory of God's creation.

But knowing that we would fall into sin, God made a plan for our

salvation.

And this too was for his glory.

The Apostle Paul confirms this in Ephesians 1:11,12 when he says

Ephesians 1:11

in him we were also chosen, having been predestined according

to the plan of him who works out everything in conflict conformity

with the purpose of his will, in order that we who were the first

to hope in Christ might be for the praise of his glory.

This is what God has done, everything from creation to the coming

of Christ.

And that salvation he offers it is for his glory.

That's why we say it is nothing of ourselves.

We cannot manufacture any of this.

Everything has been done, including our salvation, just like

the salvation of the children of Israel from Egypt.

It's for the glory of God.

And of course, to accomplish this saving plan, God sent His Son

into the world.

God the Son came to glorify God the Father in the salvation of

sinners.

And when his work was almost finished, Jesus Christ said In John

John 17 · chapter mention

chapter 17 and verse 4, I have brought you glory on earth by completing

the work you gave me to do.

So the work that finished redemptive work of Christ here on

earth that will be fulfilled in all of eternity was the glory

of God so that we can know a way.

This he did for you and for me.

So that we would not only see the glory of God, but we would know

it.

I wonder how taken you are with the God of our salvation.

I wonder, do you see his glory?

Oh, we often say we look at the mountains or we look out at the

sea and we can see his glory all around us.

And that is true.

But do you know his glory in here?

Does he capture your heart?

Does he mean more to you than anything else in this world?

Now, he doesn't ask you to give up the family and social responsibilities

you have, but he does ask you to glorify him above all else.

And we can be so quick to say, yes, we do.

But in practice, no, we don't.

For we allow unimportant things to take over our lives and

consume us.

That the glory of God we so eagerly desire is pushed out and

never has a chance to take hold.

Pharaoh was given the glory of God before him in all of the plagues.

And he refused.

And he faced the punishment he deserved for that refusal.

But we have the opportunity today to know God, to know his glory,

and to know that glory through his salvation through His Son, Jesus.

For there is no other way to be saved from the punishment that

our sins deserve.

Knowing Christ means knowing God and living by the leading of

the Holy Spirit.

And this is what it means to glorify God and enjoy him forever.

As Paul writes in Philippians 3:8.

Philippians 3:8

What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the

surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for

whose sake I have lost all things, I consider them rubbish that

I may gain Christ at least on three occasions in this series in

Exodus I have asked you, are you like Pharaoh?

I'm going to ask you again for a fourth time.

Are you like Pharaoh?

Where you have seen the glory of God displayed before you, yet

you reject him again?

Where you harden your heart because you say, I'm good living

and that's enough.

None of us can ever be good living enough.

I can't be good living enough.

We need Christ and we need those hardened hearts broken down.

And let me also say, if you.

If you have someone close to you whose hard is heart or whose

heart is hard, can I encourage you to pray for them that their hardened

heart will be softened?

Pray for them.

Pray for that very thing.

That they will see the glory of God and be so taken by his glory

that those hardened hearts will soften and they too will share

in that glory that you know and that you desire them to see Christ

alone.

But this day can I also say to the believer is the glory of God.

Your desire is the glory of God.

Your desire above all other things, because it needs to be.

Because when we know his glory, when we live in that salvation,

it changes us.

We lose our cantankerousness, we lose our anger and our woe is

me.

We completely change in who we are because our identity is not in

any man made person or emotion.

Our identity can only be in Christ.

And so I encourage you to pray on for that glory in your own life.

That as you know the glory of God, so you will live it.

That movie from 1956 was an epic movie.

And if you have time, those three hours and 40 minutes or whatever

it is, watch it.

It's very good.

But how more epic is the truth that we hear in scripture so that

we can know we can be saved for the glory of God for all eternity.

This is what he's calling each of us to do.

To know his glory more this day than anything else.

So that we will live in the joy of his salvation and be assured

of that home in heaven.

Why?

Why?

Why on earth would you want to be a pharaoh when you can be a son

and daughter of the living God?

Come to him and live only for him.

And indeed he will answer the very prayers and cries of your heart,

as he did for his people long ago, so that he will make us ready

for that day when Christ will come and take us home.

Let us pray.

Our Father God, we thank you that in your word you reveal to us

who you are, but also what your standard is.

And that standard is to love you and seek your glory and know

that glory in our own lives so that we will live by it.

It's not our glory, it is yours and yours alone.

So Father, help us to be people who are different from the

world, where our attitudes are different, where our hearts are different

because they're focused on Christ, where we do keep short records

of wrong, where we're not quick to jump and sound off, but

rather we're people, Father, who, as we were speaking with the

girls and boys, measure what we say.

We measure our reactions.

Because there, by the grace of God, go any of us.

So help us to live right by you, that this day we will respond

to your Word in a way that draws us closer to you, so that we

will know that delight of salvation now and forevermore.

And we pray these things in Jesus name.

Amen.

Sam.