Exodus 11:1-12:20
On the one hand, it seems so vicious. Yet on the other hand, God Himself describes it as “displaying His wonders.” I mean, really, the killing of probably thousands, or tens of thousands or perhaps even hundreds of thousands of Egyptian-first-born males sounds vicious. Could not the Almighty do it some other way? Why did he choose this act? Maybe He chose this act for several reasons such as the Egyptian god being judged, the meaning and value of physical death versus spiritual death, and God’s own sacrifice to meet our need.
On previous days we saw that God killed the Egyptian gods with the judgment of each plague. There was one last god to slay. It was the god of self-worship. In the Egyptian pantheon of gods, Pharaoh was considered to be a god. As the head of the country, he was deified as the hope of all the people to obtain eternal life. Thus we have the elaborate burials to assist the dead Pharaoh in his journey in the afterlife. Normally the succeeding Pharaoh was the firstborn male. The first born male was the one of preeminence. In a sense the elevation of Pharaoh to the status of god was by extension a form of self-worship. It is a message that rings through all eternity that there is one thing God will not tolerate. It is the worship of ourselves over Him. It shouts at us through the judgment of the death of the firstborn! Everytime that I elevate myself above God, I should remember this plague and beware!
Another reason that he chose this act is that from His perspective our physical death is not as nearly critical as spiritual/eternal death. Many of those Egyptian first born were probably not at an age where they could understand the choice that God was asking of them, much less make a good moral choice. They were under the age of what we might call the age of accountability. If they were to continue to grow up in that culture, they would probably be confirmed in the pagan worship of the Egyptian Pantheon. They would never trust in Yahweh. They would eventually die in their spiritual death. Their spiritual death would then become permanent. For those children, their physical death before reaching the age of accountability would be a literal blessing. Sure, their physical life would be cut short, but they would spend eternity with the living God.
Finally, the Almighty chose this symbol because it represents His own sacrifice on our behalf that we might be rescued from eternal death. He planned the symbol before He created the world, Paul says in 1 Cor. 2:7, “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory,” and, in 2 Tim 1:9, “Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.” Before time began He determined that God the Son, the firstborn, would become flesh and die in our place. His holiness demands the death of sin. His mercy demands that He die in our place. Now, that is a wonder!
The firstborn male of every household would die. There was only one remedy. Only if a perfect and innocent lamb was slain, and his blood applied to the door of the house, only then would the firstborn be saved. When the blood was applied, the death angel would see it and pass over the household. The Lord had more than this one incident in mind. He was broadcasting for every generation for the next 1,450 years what He was planning to do for the human race. He would supply the Lamb whose death would be accepted for all who would come “under” the blood of the Lamb. We, who had made our own lives gods instead of submitting to the true God, would have opportunity to receive pardon and life! What a picture! What grace! What wonder! What Glory! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
