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The plague against the firstborn seems harsh because the innocent died because of the faults of the leadership of Mitsraim (Egypt). However, like with the life of Yosef (Joseph), that plague is a foreshadowing of the future death of an innocent First-born, Yeshua the Messiah.
There are some Christian commentaries that claim the first three plagues were experienced by the Israelites but I can’t find it supported in scripture. Psalm 105 tell us that all the plagues happen in Egypt, none of them affected the children of Israel, who were living in Goshen, not in Egypt.
Everything God did in Pharaoh’s presence strengthened Pharaoh’s heart against God. Pharaoh was not thinking or operating in his intellect but in his heart, in his inclinations.
Anything that comes from the East is bad news. These locusts were really bad news. messiah will come from the east and this will be bad news, He will come as a thief, not a hero or soft-spoken person. He will come with power, might and the power of God with Him.
From the time of Abraham and the events of Sodom and Gomorrah to this time, were about 400 years ago. God’s power as the destroyer, as El-Shaddai, was largely ignored or forgotten.
Why?
“… that you may tell in the hearing of your son, and of your grandson, how I made a mockery of the Egyptians and how I performed My signs among them, that you may know that I am the LORD.” (Ex. 10:2)
God wanted these stories to be a permanent part of Israelite history and identity.
The book of Exodus starts with the phrase that the current Pharaoh did not know of Joseph. How many of us really know who George Washington was? How many of us know who his Vice-President or Secretary of War were? Very few, unless they are history buffs so we should not judge Pharaoh too harshly because he did not know who the Israelites were or where they really came from.
By the end of these plagues, the Egyptians feared Moses more than any man ever. He brought forth death. They did not see God, they only saw Moses and Aaron.
Before the locusts came, Pharaoh tried to negotiate with Moses and Aaron to let the men go sacrifice but not the women and children. Moses refused and it says that Pharaoh basically divorced Moses and Aaron and drove them out of his presence. God wasn’t done with Pharaoh yet and although Pharaoh didn’t want to see Moses and Aaron again, Pharaoh would have to contend with Moses and Aaron again.
The locusts, which lasted for seven days, brought Pharaoh to a brief understanding of his sinfulness. We don’t know how long the previous plagues lasted, but we do know how long the locusts lasted.
The next plague was the plague of extreme darkness, which lasted for three days and this plague brought more fear onto the Egyptians than the prior plagues and Pharaoh was a little more accommodating but once the darkness was no longer a threat, Pharaoh “divorced” Moses and Aaron again, threatening to kill Moses if he dared to return to the palace.
God tells Moses that he will bring one more plague on the Egyptians that will cause Pharaoh not only to kick Moses and Aaron out but all the Israelites. The plagues were afflictions in which God laid His hand upon the Egyptians with violence. The Egyptians were stricken by God.
We don’t know how much time lapsed between the plague of darkness and the death of firstborn. In the interim:
“the LORD gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Furthermore, the man Moses himself was greatly esteemed in the land of Egypt, both in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people.” (Ex. 11:3)
The Egyptians don’t know what’s coming, only Moses, Aaron and Pharaoh knew that the death of the first-born was coming at some point. God said it would come upon Egypt at midnight, in the middle of the night, not in the sunlight hours. The children of Israel would not have to wait until dawn to leave.
God promises that this will be the only time He would ever inflict this type of curse on the Egyptians. Egypt only had to suffer death once, just as Yeshua only had to die once. God paid the ransom for the people of Israel with the first-born sons of Egypt. Yeshua’s death was not just for Israel but for all mankind.
All of these plagues, from the water and blood to the darkness are a pattern. They show us how God works not how man works or how man works with God.
- Plagues 1 and 2 in Pharaoh’s presence.
- Plague 3 not in Pharaoh’s presence.
- Plagues 4 and 5 in Pharaoh’s presence.
- Plagues 6 presented to Pharaoh but not in advance.
- Plagues 7 and 8 in Pharaoh’s presence, and he was warned in advance.
- Plague 9 not in the presence of Pharaoh, and he was not warned in advance.
God warned Pharaoh twice and then the third time God, in a sense, “let him have it” without warning. God did these things whether Pharaoh wanted it or not. He did these things because He is God and came to set Israel free.
Reader: Jeff. Speaker: Richard Agee. Summary: Tammy.