By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the
king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. By
faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood,
lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them.
(Hebrews 11:27-28, NKJV)
Moses had a revelation that he was going to be a deliverer
of the nation of Israel out of bondage to Pharaoh. However,
instead of patiently waiting for the Lord to move in His
time and power, Moses initiated an ill-advised and
murderous effort without the Lord's direction. As a
consequence, Moses spent forty unnecessary years in Midian,
and the nation of Israel spent an extra thirty years in
bondage to Egypt. However forty years in Midian greatly
humbled the arrogant Moses, making him ready to be
commissioned by the Lord for the work to which he had been
called.
After an encounter with the Lord at the Burning Bush
(Exodus 3:1-4:17), Moses returned to Egypt to confront the
son of the Pharaoh from whom he had fled forty years
previously (Exodus 4:18-31,7:7, Acts 7:24). In fact, Moses
was very confrontational with the new Pharaoh, continually
demanding that the entire nation of Israel leave Egypt to
go worship the Lord in the desert. Every time Pharaoh
refused, Moses made a prophetic proclamation, and released
another plague on the Egyptian deities, Pharaoh, and the
entire nation of Egypt (Exodus 5:1-10:29). However, rather
than becoming more compliant to the demands of the Lord,
Pharaoh became increasingly resistant, even against the
expressed wishes of his own advisers and the desires of his
own people, which lead to one final confrontation:
Now the LORD spoke to Moses ... "On ... the fourteenth day
of the ... month ... the whole assembly ... of Israel shall
kill [the male lamb without blemish] at twilight. And they
shall take some of the blood and put it on the two
doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat
it. Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in
fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they
shall eat it.... It is the LORD's Passover.
'For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night,
and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt,
both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I
will execute judgment: I am the LORD. Now the blood shall
be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I
see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall
not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of
Egypt.
'So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep
it as a feast to the LORD throughout your generations. You
shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance.
(Exodus 12:1-14, NKJV)
The nation of Israel obeyed the Lord, killed the lambs at
twilight, applied the blood to the two side posts of their
home doors and the lintel above those doors, and were
spared the Lord's wrath. The nation of Egypt on the other
hand, suffered the loss of the firstborn of their children
and of all their livestock. Since the Egyptians so greatly
feared the Israelites, they gave many costly gifts of
silver, gold, jewelry, and clothing as bribes to leave
(Exodus 12:33-36). Even though they had lived in Egypt for
430 years, most of that time in slavery and poverty, the
Lord compelled the Egyptians to repay them for their time
of service. The Lord had victoriously delivered His people
from the domination of Pharaoh, lavished great gifts on the
former Israelite slaves, and instituted a symbolic feast
that has lasted over 5,000 years.
There are several aspects of faith revealed in this story:
true faith simply obeys the Lord's commands, even in
impossible situations. Second, true faith always stands
with the Lord, even in the face of dreadfully intimidating
opposition. Third, true faith gladly engages in symbolic
acts as instituted by the Lord, even though those acts may
not be fully understood. Fourth, the Lord always honors
true faith; He will not abandon those who commit their
faith to Him.
----------------------------------------------------
Jon Straumfjord is the author of numerous articles about
the Seven Spirits of God and the God of the Bible. He is
also the creator of the website http://www.7-spirits.com ,
and is the author of the book "The Seven Spirits of God."
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