06/20/2008
Exodus 12:35 - 36 (HCSB) 35The Israelites acted on Moses’ word and asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. 36And the LORD gave the people such favor in the Egyptians’ sight that they gave them what they requested. In this way they plundered the Egyptians.
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Ten plagues have taken place:
All of these fell on the Egyptians but not the Israelites. The last, fell on all who had not sacrificed the Passover lamb and sprinkled its blood on the door posts. Through the first nine plagues, we are told that Pharaoh’s heart was hardened.
We are prone to ask: if God could harden the heart of Pharaoh, they why would he not just soften Pharaoh’s heart and let Israel go without all this fuss? This would be the human solution to the problem, but God had a bigger plan.
There are several reasons. God wanted Israel to leave Egypt permanently. He wanted the people to be ready to leave permanently and He wanted Egypt to want them to go permanently. The plagues on the Egyptians, and the resulting hardships imposed on the Israelites prepared both of them for this change.
Secondly, God wanted to provide for the Israelites on their journey. Had the Israelites left earlier and with the consent of the Egyptians, they would have left with only meager possessions. As the verse above describes, the Israelites went to their neighboring Egyptians asking for food, provisions, silver and gold. The Egyptians were so eager for them to leave that they gave them whatever they asked for.
Thirdly, God had another purpose in mind.
Exodus 9:15 - 16 (HCSB) 15By now I could have stretched out My hand and struck you (Pharaoh) and your people with a plague, and you would have been obliterated from the earth. 16However, I have let you live for this purpose: to show you My power and to make My name known in all the earth.
If Israel had left earlier with Egypt’s approval, generations thereafter would never know that it was the hand of God at work. Sociologists, historians, and anthropologists would look back at the event and simply chuckle that it was no more than the whim of the Pharaoh and not God at work. The Israelites would not have the Passover celebration as an eternal reminder of the coming of their redeemer.
The entire idea of Passover is a foreshadow of the Messiah. God gave His first (and only) son; The blood sprinkled on the door was from a single unblemished lamb – the symbol of Jesus. This lamb took the place of the first born son in the house. The blood on the door posts represent Jesus’ blood shed for us. And the death angle passing over their houses is a symbol of how God has looked past our debt of sin because of the blood of the lamb. There is so much more that can be taken from this single passage. But suffice it to say, God wanted to demonstrate His power; thereby, preserving for all generations the inexplicable events that allowed Israel to proceed to their promised land.
What is God doing in your life right now, to demonstrate His power?
Jeff Justus
Cleff Publishing
www.cleffpublishing.com
©2008 Cleff Publishing, all rights reserved.
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