Exodus 12:3, 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14
Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying: In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household... 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of 6 and ye shall keep it unto the fourteenth day of the same month; and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at dusk. the first year; ye shall take it from the sheep, or from the goats; 7 And they shall take of the blood, and put it on the two side-posts and on the lintel, upon the houses wherein they shall eat it... 12 For I will go through the land of Egypt in that night, and will smite all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. 13 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and there shall no plague be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. 14 And this day shall be unto you for a memorial, and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.
For four hundred years the Jewish people were enslaved in Egypt. That is so many generations that they would forget what freedom was like. Finally God acted to rescue them and free them from slavery. He raised up a leader whose name was Moses.
Many times God asked Moses to speak to pharaoh to release the Jewish people. But the Pharaoh was stubborn, and refused to listen. Nine plagues and nine miracles were performed in front of Pharaoh, warning him to let the Jewish people go. But he refused to listen. Then Moses announced one final plague. Let’s read to us right out of the Bible (infra).
Pharaoh was warned, but he refused to listen. The death of every first born child of every family in one night unless they believed that God would do what He said he would do.Why would God do this? What purpose is served by God to take the life of the first born in every single family? The purpose is stated very clearly in Exodus 11:7 “So that you may understand how the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.”
There is a difference between how the Lord treats His people, and how He treats those who are not. But rather than turn to Him and become one of His people, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened against God. His heart was hardened. 17 times it says that Pharaoh hardened his heart against God. Do not continue to harden your heart against God. Let’s look to see what happened to Pharaoh.
To say that His heart was hardened is not merely a metaphor on his stubborn refusal to turn to the Lord in faith, but also about his destiny in eternity. According to Egyptian religious beliefs, there was an afterlife—especially for Pharaoh. If the Pharaoh ruled well, and had a good heart and would enter into paradise and join his eternal queen Isis. But if he was cold and cruel, and his heart was hard, then he would not. To determine whether pharaoh’s heart was soft or hard their gods would take his heart and weigh it on a balance. On the once side of the balance would be his heart, and on the other would be a feather. If his heart were good, it would be as light as a feather. But if his heart were hard like a stone, then he wouldn’t make it.
Pharaoh’s heart was heard and he refused to listen to Moses or the true God. To say that his heart was heard is to say that even in his own religious system he is not going to make it. You will not make it if you are Egyptian, or Indian, or American or Persian with a heart that is hardened against the true God.
Trust in God... He will do as He says!
