"The Last Straw" by Rod Bayley, 13 June 2010, Exodus 11:1-12:51

[Danny]

“Mary, Mary, we are elected.” With those words Abraham Lincoln
announced to his wife that he had been elected the 16th President of
the United States in the1860 election. But the country was at a
crossroads in that year. The tensions that had been mounting between
the North and the South over slavery, were reaching the breaking
point. For many in the south, Lincoln’s election was seen as the last
straw. Perceiving his opposition to the extension of slavery into the
territories as a threat to the very existence of the institution, they
decided that they had no other choice but to secede from the union.
South Carolina was the first in December 1860 and was quickly followed
by several others. Lincoln refused to acknowledge that secession was
constitutional and the die was cast. When hostilities broke out in
April 1861, he issued a call for volunteers to put down the rebellion,
and the civil war that had long been held at bay became a reality.

The American Civil War (1861–1865) involved eleven Southern slave
states who declared their secession from the United States against
the North. Both sides raised armies as the Northern Union assumed
control of the border states early in the war and established a naval
blockade. It remains the deadliest war in American history, resulting
in the deaths of 620,000 soldiers and an undetermined number of
civilian casualties. Ten percent of all Northern males 20–45 years of
age died, as did 30 percent of all Southern white males aged 18–40.
Victory for the North meant the end of the Confederacy and of slavery
in the United States, but the country had been brought to its knees.

As we consider Exodus 11 and 12 today, we see the superpower Egypt
brought to its knees by God. The most powerful nation on earth was
reduced to breaking point by the tenth and final plague. Unlike the
northern states of the U.S. who prevented the southern states from
leaving the Union, Egypt could no longer prevent the Israelites from
leaving. The slavery of the Israelites came to an end due to the
death of the first born - it was the last straw. Notice again what
the Lord had already told Moses about this final step in their
release, in verses 1 and 2 of chapter 11:
“Now the Lord had said to Moses, ‘I will bring one more plague on
Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go from here, and
when he does, he will drive you out completely. 2Tell the people that
men and women alike are to ask their neighbours for articles of silver
and gold.”

These instructions are simply a reminder of statements that have
already been given. Even before Moses had returned to Egypt, God had
told him in 4:22:23: “Then say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord
says: Israel is my firstborn son, 23and I told you, ‘Let my son go, so
he may worship me.’ But you refused to let him go; so I will kill
your firstborn son.” They act to highlight again, as we move towards
the finale, that God is completely in control of this process - He is
the sovereign King, and Pharaoh is just a pretender to such
authority. It would seem unlikely that the enslaved labour force
would plunder the citizens of the great superpower of the day, but in
verses 2 and 3 God will orchestrate even this to show that His people
will leave as the victors. They will walk out with the loot, as was
typical of a conquering army, but they will not even have taken a
swing at the opposition.

With this little interlude in verses 1 to 3, you could be forgiven for
thinking that the conversation between Pharaoh and Moses had ended in
chapter 10. But Moses is still standing before Pharaoh, even though
he is about to leave the palace for the last time. Moses needs to
first outline the 10th and final plague for Pharaoh, and then in verse
8 he will leave him. Notice God’s final message to Pharaoh in verses
4 to 6:
“So Moses said: ‘This is what the Lord says: ‘About midnight I will go
throughout Egypt. 5Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the
firstborn son of Pharaoh who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son
of the slave girl, who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn
cattle as well. 6There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt - worse
than there has ever been or ever will be again.”

Well, I guess these truths must have been shocking words even to hard-
hearted Pharaoh. Moses has to tell him that his own firstborn son,
and every other Egyptian’s firstborn son will die that night - God is
going to bring down the most horrific punishment ever dealt out to one
nation up to this point. It is also clear that God will differentiate
between His people and the Egyptians, as Moses goes on to explain in
verse 7. While loud wailing will fill the houses of Egypt, in the
area of Goshen where the Israelites reside, not even a dog will bark.
Terrible distress contrasted with complete calm.

Finally, in chapter eleven, which acts as a summary of the events that
will follow, we are reminded again in verses 9 and 10 that God has
orchestrated all these events. God had already told Moses that
Pharaoh wouldn’t listen, because God was hardening his heart, and that
as a result God would multiply His wonders. God is not simply
bringing judgment on Egypt for their idolatry and treatment of His
people, but He is also bringing glory to Himself as His name is made
known. God alone rules, and He always sees His will fulfilled.

See, we sometimes pretend like Pharaoh, that we really are in
control. But I couldn’t control who Christine and I were sat next to
in the Summit restaurant for my proposal 14 years ago, and so we ended
up next to a couple who were having their final meeting as they
discussed their divorce. I couldn’t clear the crowds on the Opera
House steps when I later proposed there instead. I haven’t managed to
play cricket, tennis or soccer for Australia, as I had planned - why I
can’t even get my children to barrack for the Manly Sea Eagles in the
NRL. I struggle with enforcing my will even on inanimate objects
which are designed to do what I want - just why are computers so
obstinate?

But God’s sovereign rule is real and comprehensive, and it is
emphasised in this decisive tenth plague, as God acts alone (v4). In
the previous nine, Moses and Aaron acted as mediators of God’s power,
but now they were spectators like everyone else - there was no rod of
God to be lifted up, or anything else. All ten of the disasters
inflicted on the Egyptians were acts of God, but the final one was
outstandingly so, for the Lord in person entered Egypt to exact a just
judgment (11:4; 12:12). And so the Word of God cannot be refused
endlessly.

This brings us to point two on your outline - ‘The Passover and the
exodus.” Throughout chapter 12 God gives very detailed instructions
for the Israelites, that they might properly prepare for the
Passover. Notice the detailed selection criteria which the Israelites
must follow to choose a lamb for sacrifice in verses 3 to 5:
“Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this
month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each
household. 4If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must
share one with their nearest neighbour, having taken into account the
number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb
needed in accordance with what each person will eat. 5The animals you
choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them
from the sheep or the goats.”

God wanted only the best - year old lambs without defect. Those in
their prime were to die in their place. Their substitute couldn’t be
the old or the crippled animals that were of little worth, but the
most precious - this was to be a costly death. And the only way that
they would be protected from the tenth plague is by the blood of their
sacrificial lamb. Notice the instructions that follow in verses 6 and
7:
“Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the
people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight.
7Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and
tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs.”

It was a meal designed to be eaten quickly, as we see in verse 8 to
11, but above all it was a meal designed to protect the household that
ate it. The blood “on the sides and tops of the doorframes” was an
instruction that must have seemed strange. You see, as far as outward
appearances were concerned, the first nine plagues had failed to
achieve their purpose. As readers with inside knowledge, we know that
the nine preceding acts of God were probationary (3:19). But to the
average Israelite, it must have seemed that Moses had failed, that God
had failed. They were still slaves, but they are called to exercise
faith in fulfilling all the requirements of this special meal, as it
must have seemed absurd that their deliverance would hinge on what
they were to do with a lamb and its blood. But they were to trust the
Lord’s word through Moses. While it focuses on Moses’ faith, we see
the necessity of faith at this crucial moment highlighted by the
writer to the Hebrews as he records in 11:28: “By faith he kept the
Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that the destroyer of the
firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.” Ever since the
fourth plague, the Israelites had been set apart from the Egyptians
(8:22), segregated by the Lord without any cooperative or obedient act
of their own. But now Israel must take a stand - they must put the
public mark of blood on their houses (12:7, 13).

No doubt they were wondering how this blood of the Lamb would work,
but God explained to Moses and Aaron how this elaborate plan would
save in verses 12 and 13:
“On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every
firstborn - both men and animals - and I will bring judgment on all
the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. 13The blood will be a sign for you
on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass
over you.”

The blood would be a sign, that would protect the inhabitants of the
house, ensuring that God would pass over that house without inflicting
death - hence the name of the Passover. The blood indicated that a
death had already occurred in the house - a substitutionary lamb had
died in their place. If they didn’t put the blood on their doorframe,
or they went out of their house before morning, they would not be
protected (v21-23). This reminds me of the famous C.S. Lewis quote in
the Narnia series, when it is asked by Susan whether Aslan the lion,
who represents God or Christ, is safe? “Safe?' said Mr. Beaver...'Who
said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe, but he's good. He's
the King, I tell you.” The Israelites could not take God almighty for
granted, and so they must obey or put their lives in jeopardy.

Not only were the Israelites to prepare for the Passover, but they
were to remember this remarkable event in the future. It was to be
marked annually by both a re-enactment of the Passover meal (v24-27),
and also the Feast of unleavened bread (v14-20). In verse 14 God
says: “This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to
come you shall celebrate it as a festival tot he Lord - a lasting
ordinance.” The only other matter that is to be perpetually
remembered is the Lord’s name (3:15), which gives us an indication of
how important the once-for-all, unique shedding of the blood of the
Passover lamb is.

Well, after detailed explanations are given to prepare for the
Passover and then remember the Passover, the Passover finally takes
place. The Lord strikes, exactly as He said he would, and of course
the outcome is that the Israelites finally leave. In verses 29 and 30
we have the account of the Lord striking down the firstborn, and then
there is the response from Pharaoh. Notice what is recorded in verses
31-32:
“During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, ‘Up!
Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the Lord as you
have requested. 32Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and
go. And also bless me.”
At the end of chapter 10 Pharaoh had sworn that he wouldn’t be
granting Moses an audience ever again, but he now summoned Moses and
Aaron. It indicates that all resistance has finished - Pharaoh has
been completely defeated and he does a back-flip. Pharaoh barks three
commands, each a different verb for go - ‘up’, ‘leave’, ‘go.’ As the
Lord had said, a time would come when Pharaoh would drive them out.
He even asks for a blessing, which can be understood as a request for
the removal of the curse that is upon them. It is the ultimate
capitulation - the king who had claimed ignorance of the Hebrew God,
who had even sought to match His wonders through his magicians, now
asks for a blessing. God has proved His presence and His power - the
Egyptians now know that He is the Lord.

The Israelites then plundered the Egyptians as God had predicted
(v33-37), and the exodus began (v37-39). Identifying Rameses and
Succoth and plotting the route of the exodus in detail is seemingly
impossible. But what is clear is that the numbers are astounding.
The 600,000 men are literally ‘able-bodied men’, which as some
commentators note would be those of military age only, so that the
total group leaving including women and children could be as large as
3 million people. If you’ve been in a crowd at a sports stadium and
felt overwhelmed as you left in a mass of 40 or 50 thousand people,
then this is 60 times greater. It is almost unimaginable, and
certainly unique in terms of so many people moving at once. What a
mighty, unforgettable moment of salvation for the Israelites after 430
years.

This brings us to the third and final point on your outline: ‘Jesus
fulfils the Passover in his own exodus.’ As we considered all the
details regarding the sacrificial lamb in the second point, you might
have noticed all the parallels with the work of Jesus on the Cross.
The Israelites were to select an unblemished lamb for the Passover,
and Jesus is our unblemished lamb. In 1 Peter 1:18-19 we read:
“For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or
gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to
you from your forefathers, 19but with the precious blood of Christ, a
lamb without blemish or defect.”

Notice that the language of blood is used - it is the shedding of his
blood, our lamb without defect. When did Jesus our unblemished lamb
shed his blood? When he died on the Cross, in fulfilment of the
events foreshadowed in the exodus. Indeed in Luke 9, Jesus meets up
with Moses, the Father’s instrument in the first exodus, and speaks of
his own exodus. Notice what Luke states in 9:30-31: “Two men, Moses
and Elijah, 31appeared in glorious splendour, talking with Jesus.
They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to
fulfilment at Jerusalem.” The word for ‘departure’ in verse 31 is
literally ‘exodus.’ You see, just as the exodus was the great
salvation event of the Old Testament which freed God’s people,
Christ’s exodus or departure via the Cross wins us freedom. It is
through his death and resurrection that we are redeemed. The reason
that his death can secure such a rescue for us, is because he is our
Passover lamb, our perfect substitute, who dies in our place, who
takes the punishment that we deserve for our sin. This was why he
laid down his life, why the sacrifice was necessary - he dealt with
our rebellion against God and won us forgiveness. In John 1:29, John
the Baptist proclaimed: “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin
of the world!” Taking up this theme that also, the apostle Paul
states in 1 Corinthians 5:7: For Christ our Passover lamb has been
sacrificed.”

And like the Israelites, we are to remember our salvation. That was
the crucial application for them, that they not forget God’s
redemption, and so it is with us. We are to continually remember the
Cross, which has saved us. We have an annual festival too, called
Easter, where we particularly stop and give thanks for our salvation.
But more than that, we are commanded by Jesus to share the Passover
meal regularly, which he transformed at the last supper so that it
focused on himself. And so as we share the Lord’s supper, we
symbolise the death of our Passover lamb - the bread representing his
body that was given for us, and the cup his blood shed (1 Cor.
11:23-25). The elements help us remember.

There’s a story of Baptist pastor from Dallas who was visiting the
home of one of his church’s members, when he saw a photo of a young
girl on the wall. The host said ‘that is my mother,’ and as tears
came to his eyes he continued, ‘I never saw her - she died in
childbirth when I was born. I look forward to seeing her in heaven.’
Just as the photo represented his mother and reminded him of her
sacrifice, so too the bread and cup represent Christ to us now and
remind us of His sacrifice until we see him face to face. We need to
remember Christ’s sacrifice for us, not simply monthly, but daily. We
are called to remember our rescue.