The Terrible Swift Sword

The Terrible Swift Sword Exodus 11 Context • God has delivered 9 plagues in patterned, clockwork fashion. • Now, the singular plague remains – the 10th plague is in a category all its own and was the plague the previous nine led toward. • Exodus 11 is an important addendum to Chapter 10 – Pharaoh asked to never see Moses’s face again and Chapter 11 details their final exchange. • Today, I would like to work through the Biblical material then close with an extended theological consideration. God Speaks to Moses (11:1-3) • “He will drive you out completely” foreshadows Pharaoh’s true intent and ultimate fate (11:1). • God predicts a great plundering – God is not content with a simple escape (11:2). • God predicts a great turn-around – Former slaves are held in high regard; a former fugitive is deeply honored. God Speaks to Pharaoh (11:4-8) • God makes 6 distinct Declarations: 1. Yahweh warns Pharaoh one last time. 2. Yahweh declares the time of the final plague. 3. Yahweh promise nationwide retribution. 4. Yahweh predicts nationwide sorrow. 5. Yahweh promises Israel’s total safety 6. Yahweh predicts national desperation. • Points to Ponder: 1. Yahweh himself will enact this plague directly. 2. Moses’s Irony: Israel’s foremen cried just like Egypt will cry. 3. Yahweh wards off hope of Egyptian retribution. 4. Pharaoh’s bargaining backfires – He will assent permanently God States the Tension (11:9-10) • God expresses twin truths that hang in tension: 1. Pharaoh will not listen. 2. The LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart. • Moses is a brilliant writer yet sees no need to explore how these truths work together. • It is both inevitable and right to ask, “Was God just in slaying Egypt’s firstborn?” Abraham (Genesis 18), Job (Job 8), and Paul (Romans 9) all under inspiration wrestle with this question. Let’s answer it with 10 biblical observations. Was God Just in Slaying Egypt’s Firstborn? 1. Egypt was guilty of genocide – the punishment fits the crime. • • Exodus 1:16-22: Two orders to kill all males Exodus 9:27: “I and my people are in the wrong.” 2. God warned of this outcome at the start and offered an escape at every point. • • • Exodus 4:23: “If you refuse … I will kill your firstborn.” Exodus 9:20: “Whoever feared …” Exodus 12:38, “A mixed multitude also went up with them” Was God Just in Slaying Egypt’s Firstborn? 3. The 10th plague is a singular event meant to warn the whole world. • • Exodus 10:2: “That you may tell in the hearing of your son …” Exodus 12:14-27: Passover celebrated perpetually in Israel 4. God is both giver and taker of life – every person has an appointed day of death. • • • Job 33:4: “The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” Hebrews 9:27: “It is appointed for man to die once.” Psalm 90:3: “You return man to dust” Was God Just in Slaying Egypt’s Firstborn? 5. God mercifully brings all children (and other innocents) immediately to heaven upon their natural death. • • • 2 Samuel 12:23: “I shall go to him” Psalm 23:6: “I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever” 1 Kings 14:12-13: “The child shall die … because in him there is found something pleasing to the LORD.” 6. God holds all people accountable for all their sins. • • Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death …” Hebrews 12:23: “God, the judge of all …” Was God Just in Slaying Egypt’s Firstborn? 7. God allows nations to suffer under the bad choices of wicked leaders. • • 2 Samuel 24: David’s census resulted in a terrible plague Isaiah 10: God’s use and judgement of Assyria 8. God is not criticized in our culture for “unfairness” when He chooses mercy over judgment. • • Jonah 4:11: “Should I not pity Nineveh … ?” Genesis 41: God showed tremendous mercy to a previous Pharaoh by saving him and Egypt from a severe famine – no other nation was shown such mercy. Was God Just in Slaying Egypt’s Firstborn? 9. God is the Potter; we are the clay. • • Jeremiah 18:6: “Like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand” Romans 9:21: “Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?” 10.God suffered a worse fate when He gave His Firstborn into the hands of wicked men to die for a world of sinners. • • Romans 8:32: God “did not spare his own Son but gave him for us all.” John 3:16: “God so loved the world that He gave his only Son.”