Death of the Firstborn

Exodus 11

Pharaoh has called down death.  He thought he was speaking to Moses, but God will use Pharaoh's own words against him.

Then Yahweh told Moses, “I have one more disaster to bring against Pharaoh and Egypt. After this, he will ask you to leave Egypt. In fact, he will force you to leave this country. 

You must give this message to the Israelites: ‘Men and women, you must ask your neighbors to give you things made of silver and gold.’”  Yahweh caused the Egyptians to be kind to the Israelites. The Egyptians, even Pharaoh’s own officials, already considered Moses to be a great man.

God has indeed blessed Moses.  To be considered kindly, even after the weight of the plagues, is another type of miracle. 

And this statement about the gold and silver was predicted by God to Abraham (Genesis 15)

12 The sun began to go down and Abram got very sleepy. While he was asleep, a very terrible darkness came over him. 13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “You should know this: Your descendants will live in a country that is not their own. They will be strangers there. The people there will make them slaves and be cruel to them for 400 years. 14 But then I will punish the nation that made them slaves. Your people will leave that land, and they will take many good things with them.

Moses said to Pharaoh, “Yahweh says, ‘At midnight tonight, I will go through Egypt, and every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt, to the firstborn son of the slave girl grinding grain. Even the firstborn animals will die. 

I imagine this caused Pharaoh a deep inhale.  As the ruler of Egypt (I assume) he is the firstborn son in the family. And that means he will die at midnight. But, if he was the son born later into the family (displacing Moses), and - if he does not die - it really means he's an impostor on the throne, and that Moses is the one in command. 

The crying in Egypt will be worse than at any time in the past or any time in the future. But none of the Israelites or their animals will be hurt—not even a dog will bark at them.’ Then you will know that the Lord has treated Israel differently from Egypt. 

All these officials of yours will come down and bow to me. They will say, ‘Leave and take all your people with you.’ Only then will I leave!” Then in anger, Moses left the meeting with Pharaoh.

I never understood Moses's anger in this scene - until the 10 Commandments movie.  Charlton Heston portrayed his anger at Pharaoh for all this waste and death.

Then the Lord told Moses, “The reason Pharaoh did not listen to you is so that I could show my great power in Egypt.”  That is why Moses and Aaron did all these great miracles in front of Pharaoh. And that is why the Lord made Pharaoh so stubborn that he would not let the Israelites leave his country.

We are created by God, in His image.  Part of that image is a sense of fairness - of knowing what it good and right.  But this does not seem fair.

In the biggest sense, this is all God's game and His rules.  If He decided that kicking your wife, kissing your dog, and using babies as basketballs was good and right - then our universe would work in such a way that it WOULD be right.

But we're not in that universe.

When Abraham intervened on behalf of Sodom and Gomorrah, God listened.  I wonder, if Moses had prayed for Pharaoh, would God have ceased hardening his heart?  

Another part of the image of God is creativity.  God created using thoughts and words, so we know they are powerful.  Moses withheld words of intercession and forgiveness on behalf of Pharaoh, and all the Egyptian people who are showing kindness to him.  Is there a grudge in play?