Exodus 11:1 And the LORD said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence: when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether.
2 Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbour, and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold.
3 And the LORD gave the people favour 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 And Moses said, Thus saith the LORD, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt:
5 And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts.
6 And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more.
7 But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the LORD doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.
8 And all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down themselves unto me, saying, Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee: and after that I will go out. And he went out from Pharaoh in a great anger.
9 And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you; that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.
10 And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh: and the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go out of his land.
Egypt had come through some very difficult times by this time. Pharaoh was a stubborn man. He refused to bow to the LORD. He expected the Hebrews to bow to him, but he was not going to bow to the LORD. The vanity of man when he is lifted up with pride. He cannot see his own foolishness.
The LORD was not finished here yet. When the LORD begins His judgment upon a person or a people, He carries it through to His chosen end. He does not bend to the whims and schemes of those who need to be punished.
This is a warning to humanity. The Bible declares that the LORD God is love. He is merciful and gracious. He is slow to anger. He is also just and true. The wicked will be cast into the lake of fire. There is no exit from that place. The majority of mankind is just as foolish as Pharaoh was. They are walking in defiance of the LORD. Some think they have the power to force others to believe them instead of the LORD. Others foolishly follow their own imaginations and think everything will work out well for them.
It is important to accept the LORD as He truly is. He is the true God. He has the right to set the standard for man. Man can argue, but he loses every time. Adam was not better off for disobeying God. Mankind was not better off because Adam disobeyed God. The flood of Noah’s time reminds us that it is extremely foolish to reject the true God. The flesh says it is rewarding to go against God. The conscience knows it is not good.
In our text the LORD told Moses He had one more plague to bring against Pharaoh and Egypt. With that plague, Pharaoh would let the Hebrews go. This plague would be extremely powerful.
Before God would enact this plague, He told Moses to tell the Hebrews to go and “borrow” from their neighbours. Generally when you borrow something, you intend to return it. The Egyptians would be happy to borrow whatever the Hebrews asked for and they would be happy to have them keep it as well.
God was setting up a repayment plan here. For a number of years the Hebrews had been the slaves to the Egyptians. None of the Egyptians had criticized Pharaoh for abusing the Hebrews. The land of Egypt was benefitting greatly from this cheap labour they were getting from the Hebrews. The Egyptians did not have to put out this hard labour and it was all good then.
However, now the LORD was going to see to it that the Hebrews were rewarded for their labour. The difference was that the Egyptians would not like the end result. This was their choice. When a person chooses to defy the LORD, they should think carefully of what they are getting themselves into.
We read that the LORD moved in the hearts of the pagan Egyptians so that they would treat the Hebrews with great respect. The LORD also had made Moses to be seen as a great man in Egypt. Moses had been directed by God to do things that the magicians could not do. The magicians could not duplicate many of the plagues and they did not have the power to stop any of the plagues that the LORD sent.
In verse 4 Moses instructed the people with what to expect. It would happen at about midnight. All the firstborn of Egypt would die. That would include the firstborn among the people as well as the livestock. This would be a great shock to the Egyptians. There would be a great cry of mourning throughout the land. This would not be one son that would die. This would be the firstborn of every family.
In verse 7 we again see that the LORD would separate out the Hebrews. No one would touch them. No one would think of hurting them. The people would see again that the LORD put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.
It is important to note that distinction. Since God named Abram and took him out of Ur of the Chaldees, He had made a difference between Abraham and his descendants and the rest of humanity. This does not mean others could not know the fear of the LORD. It means that the LORD would work in and through Israel to show His greatness to mankind. Individual Jews are just as accountable to the LORD as individual Gentiles.
In verse 8 we see that Moses told Pharaoh all about this last plague. He told him what his response would be. Moses was quite stirred by Pharaoh’s actions and also by what God was planning. He left Pharaoh at that time in great anger. Moses was fed up.
In verse 9 the LORD again reminded Moses that Pharaoh would need to experience the full extent of this next plague. He was not about to be broken. The LORD would use Egypt as a long standing object lesson.
Moses and Aaron had been faithful. They had done all that the LORD had commanded them to do. The LORD was not going to stop until His purpose was fulfilled. Unlike Canada, France and the UK, God was not playing games. These three countries want to reward Hamas for being a terrorist organization. If Canada were to actually stick to its stipulations for Hamas, Canada would never agree to a “Palestinian” state. We know that Canada has no backbone when it comes to true justice. They will go after those who oppose their draconian plans, but they love those who hate Israel and anyone that pretends to be a Christian. That is why our country is being destroyed. Evil is being promoted and those who oppose the tyranny being promoted are being punished.
Canada is nothing. It will fall. Israel will not fall. It is struggling now, but it will not fall. It will face some real severe challenges yet, but it will not fall.
Those who are truly saved, can take comfort in the God of Moses. We may not always see things turn around for the good. In fact we may see more and more pressure put on us for speaking the truth. However, we know the end of the story. We know how things end up. We know that there is a rest to those who walk in the fear of the LORD. We also know there no rest for the wicked.
I would rather be on the LORD’s side than fighting against Him.
Pastor Bartel
