LESSON 11
THE TENTH PLAGUE PROMISED
Exodus 11:1 – 12:20
—by E. L. Bynum
Memory Verse: Exodus 11:3, “And the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants, and in the sight of the people.”
Introduction:
“THE eleventh chapter is, strictly speaking, a supplement to the tenth: the first verses speak, as if in parenthesis, of a revelation made before the ninth plague, but held over to be mentioned in connection with the last, which it now announces; and the conversation with Pharaoh is a continuation of the same in which they mutually resolved to see each other’s face no more.” —Expositor’s Bible Commentary.
The proud Pharaoh is about to learn that God is able to humble him, and cause him to let Israel go. God is able to fulfill His purpose. Proverbs 19:21, “There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.” Isaiah 14:27, “For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?” Pharaoh will have to take back what he said, Exodus 5:2, “And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.”
I. THE TENTH PLAGUE ANNOUNCED Exodus 11:1-10
A. God’s Message To Moses And The People, vv. 1-3.
1. One more plague to come, v. 1.
2. Instructed to borrow wealth from the Egyptians, v. 2.
NOTE: Remember that they had been slaves and deserved compensation. Also, it was God who commanded them to do this. Egypt had been blessed by the presence of the Egyptians. The Hebrew word for “borrow” means, to inquire, request, to demand, ask, beg or borrow. God PROMISED Abraham that they would LEAVE Egypt with GREAT SUBSTANCE, Genesis 15:14, “And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.”
3. Moses and the people ARE FAVORED by the Egyptians, v. 3; This FULFILLS Exodus 3:21, “And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty:” AND Genesis 15:14, “And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.”
B. Pharaoh Learns About the TENTH PLAGUE, vv. 4-8.
NOTE: We take it that these verses are a continuation of Exodus 10:29, before Moses literally left the presence of Pharaoh, Exodus 11:8, “And all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down themselves unto me, saying, Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee: and after that I will go out. And he went out from Pharaoh in a great anger.”
1. The TIME of God’s judgment would come, v. 4; Job 34:20, “In a moment shall they die, and the people shall be troubled at midnight, and pass away: and the mighty shall be taken away without hand.” This exact day is not announced.
2. The firstborn would die; God had warned Pharaoh earlier, v. 5; Exodus 4:23, “And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.”
NOTE: “firstborn” “The Heb. word translated “firstborn” is applied only to males; and thus the announcement was that in every family the eldest son should be cut off. In Egypt, as in most other countries, the law of primogeniture prevailed-the eldest son was the hope, stay and support of the household. No greater affliction can be conceived, short of the general destruction of the people, than the sudden death in every family of him round whom the highest interests and fondest hopes clustered.” —-Eclectic Notes from Exodus.
a. The firstborn of THE EXALTED, including Pharaoh.
1) Firstborn SONS were CONSIDERED SACRED, and HEIRS to the family wealth and headship.
2) ISRAEL was God’s FIRSTBORN SON, Exodus 4:22, “And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:” Jeremiah 31:9c, “…for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.”
3) Jesus Christ was God’s FIRSTBORN Son, and he HAD TO DIE that we MIGHT LIVE, 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
b. The firstborn of the HUMBLE and those IN BETWEEN.
c. The firstborn of the BEASTS.
3. The GREAT CRY of Egypt, v. 6.
a. God was RIGHTEOUS in doing this, Galatians 6:7, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Psalms 89:14, “Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face.” Genesis 18:25, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
b. It was a sentence AGAINST EVIL Ecclesiastes 8:11, “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.”
4. The difference between Israel and Egypt made known, v. 7; Romans 11:22, “Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.”
a. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, Romans 9:15, 22, “For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction.”
b. Pharaoh would know that GOD MAKES THE DIFFERENCE between believers and unbelievers, 1 Corinthians 4:7, “For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?”
NOTE: The firstborn like the firstfruits were representative of the rest. Even the dogs, whose nature is to bark, were controlled by God.
5. God did this for the spiritual well being of Israel, Leviticus 17:7, “And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils, after whom they have gone a whoring….”
a. That they might fear Jehovah, Joshua 24:14, “Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.”
b. To cause them to cast away their idols, Ezekiel 20:6-8, “In the day that I lifted up mine hand unto them, to bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands: Then said I unto them, Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken unto me: they did not every man cast away the abominations of their eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt: then I said, I will pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.”
NOTE: These verses indicate that Israel as well as the Egyptians were wicked, and indicates the need for a sacrifice, and thus the Passover lamb.
6. What Pharaoh’s servants would do according to Moses, v. 8; Exodus 12:31, “And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as ye have said.”
C. The Stubborn Hard Hearted King, vv. 9-10.
NOTE: The scripture has foretold the incredulity of those who should hear the gospel, that it might not be a surprise nor stumbling-block to us, #John 12:37-38, “But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him: 38 That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?” Romans 10:16, “But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?” Let us think never the worse of the gospel of Christ for the slights men generally put upon it, for we were told before what cold entertainment it would meet with. —Matthew Henry’s Commentary.
1. God’s wonders were yet to be multiplied, v. 9.
2. Pharaoh’s heart is hardened, v. 10; Exodus 7:3-4, “And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt. 4 But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth mine armies, and my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments.”
3. What God could do about this, Proverbs 19:21, “There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.”
a. The Lord had purposed to do His will, Isaiah 14:27, “For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?”
b. God is able to abase those that walk in the pride of their hearts, Daniel 4:37, “Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase”.
II. INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PASSOVER AND THE FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD Exodus 12:1-20
A. Instructions For The Passover, vv. 1-14.
NOTE: “Pesach” (Passover) means to pass through and to pass over. God would pass THROUGH the LAND of Egypt with death, but he would PASSOVER the HOUSES where the blood was sprinkled. “Deliverance for the believer is BASED ENTIRELY upon the SHEDDING OF THE BLOOD of a divinely appointed SUBSTITUTE and its APPLICATION to the heart once for all. If death has taken place for us it CANNOT COME TO US.” Keith L. Brooks
1. The new beginning of the year, vv. 1-2.
NOTE: The month Abib, the “green ear month.” After the captivity it was called Nisan. It corresponds to our April. Nehemiah 2:1, “And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence.” Esther 3:7, “In the first month, that is, the month Nisan … to the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar.”
2. The lamb was CHOSEN the TENTH DAY, v. 3.
3. Provision was made for the SMALL household, v. 4.
NOTE: No mention is made of a lamb to small for an house, because the Lamb of God is sufficient for any house, indeed for the whole world.
b. John the Baptist IDENTIFIES the Lamb of God, John 1:29, “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”
c. Luke quotes ISAIAH, Acts 8:32-35, “The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus”.
d. Isaiah DESCRIBES the LAMB, Isaiah 53:7-8, “He was OPPRESSED, and he was AFFLICTED, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought AS A LAMB to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he OPENETH NOT-his mouth. He was TAKEN FROM PRISON and from JUDGMENT: and who shall declare his generation? for he was CUT OFF out of the land of the living: for the TRANSGRESSION of my people was he STRICKEN.”
4. The lamb to be UNBLEMISHED, v. 5. See Leviticus 22:20-25; Hebrews 7:26-27, “For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.”
b. Jesus the Lamb of God met all these requirements, Matthew 3:17, “And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”.
c. He was sinless, 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him”.
d. In him is no sin, 1 John 3:5, “And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.”
5. The lamb kept up until the 14th day, v. 6. Satan tried to keep Jesus from dying at the time of the Passover; because Satan knew He was the Lamb of God, Mark 14:1-2, “After two days was the feast of the passover, and of unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put him to death. But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar of the people.”
6. At that time, the WHOLE NATION were as priests, as are ALL Christians. The Levitical priesthood had not been established, Revelation 1:6, “And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 2:5, “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ”.
7. The BLOOD of the sacrifice APPLIED, v. 7; 1 Corinthians 5:7-8, “Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: 8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” It was not the life of the Lamb, but the blood shed in death and applied, Romans 3:25, Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.”
8. The flesh ROASTED and EATEN, with unleavened bread, vv. 8-9.
a. This is a TYPE of our FEEDING on Christ and OCCUPIED with His PERSON, John 6:54-56, “Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.”
NOTE: “SECURED BY THE BLOOD, the believer feeds on the Person of the Lamb of God, roast with fire, not raw. If Christ is not seen as the One subjected to the fires of God’s wrath against sin, one cannot feed upon Him. He cannot be an example if He is not first an atoning sacrifice.” —Keith L. Brooks
b. Leaven was a SYMBOL OF EVIL.
1) The Apostle Paul commands the Corinthians to PURGE THE EVIL from among them, 1 Corinthians 5:6-7, “Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us.”
2) Peter declares that we were NOT redeemed with CORRUPTIBLE THINGS, 1 Peter 1:18-19, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”
9. The remainder to be burned with fire, v. 10.
NOTE: “The sacrifice in all its ceremonial was to be completed within a single night. The rising sun was thus to see no trace of the slain lamb. In like manner the atoning work of Christ is not a progressive but a completed thing. It is not in process of being accomplished; it has been accomplished definitely and eternally. As a fragrant and hallowed memory Calvary’s costly sacrifice abides with God and the redeemed forever; but the sacrifice itself is past and completed. For God’s suffering Lamb the dark night of judgment is no more, and He lives on high in the eternal sunshine of Divine favor and love.” — W. W. Fereday, Quoted by Arthur Pink.
10. “And thus shall ye eat it,” v. 11.
a. “With your loins girded,” Ephesians 6:14, “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;”
NOTE: “The long robes of the East, as we are all aware, required the girdle in order that there might be no hindrance in the way of a march such as Israel now had before them. If they were allowed to flow loose, they would get entangled with the feet and overthrow the wearers; and the dust of the road would get upon them and defile them. The TRUTH it is which is to be our girdle, keeping us from the loose and negligent contact with ever-ready defilement in a world which the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life characterizes, and from the entanglement to our feet which lax habits prove.” —Arthur Pink, Gleanings in Exodus.
b. “Your shoes on your feet,” Ephesians 6:15, “And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;”
c. “Your staff in your hand,” Philippians 3:20, “For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:”
NOTE: The staff is the sign of pilgrimage. As they journeyed to the Promised Land, Israel were to pass through a wilderness in which they would be strangers and pilgrims. So it is with Christians as they pass through this world. Their home is not here: “Our citizenship is in heaven”. Therefore does God say, “I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims,” 1 Peter 2:11, “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;” —Arthur Pink, Gleanings in Exodus.
d. “And ye shall eat it in haste,” Matthew 24:44, “Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.”
NOTE: “They were to eat it in haste because they expected that any moment the Lord might come and pass over them; any moment they might be called to arise and go out of the land of bondage. They expected the imminent Coming of the Lord. That is to say, because the Coming of the Lord was imminent they expected it”. —Dr. Haldeman as quoted by Arthur Pink in Gleanings from Exodus.
11. God has warned that He would smite all the firstborn, v. 12; Exodus 4:23, “And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.”
12. He would also judge the gods of Egypt, v. 12; Numbers 33:4, “For the Egyptians buried all their firstborn, which the LORD had smitten among them: upon their gods also the LORD executed judgments.”
13. The protection of the blood, v. 13; Hebrews 9:22, “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.”
NOTE: This is a type of the blood of Christ. He made peace through the blood of His cross. Why did God pass over? The innocent substitute had died. God’s eye is not upon the house, but the blood. A poor house as good as a palace. His eye was not upon the people but upon the blood, 1 Corinthians 1:18, 23, “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. 23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;”
14. The Passover was to be kept as a yearly memorial, v. 14; Luke 22:19, “And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.”
B. The Feast of Unleavened Bread, vv. 15-20.
NOTE: This has been considered as a distinct ordinance, and not essentially connected with the Passover. The Passover was to be observed on the fourteenth day of the first month; the feast of unleavened bread began on the fifteenth and lasted seven days, the first and last of which were holy convocations. —Adam Clarke’s Commentary by Gary Gallant.
NOTE: “unleavened bread;” Leaven represents iniquity in its tendency to extend itself by assimilating what was exposed to its action. This ordinance then means the disallowance and putting away of all evil that belongs to man in his fallen state. —Eclectic Notes on Exodus.
1. Unleavened bread used for seven days, v. 15; Deuteronomy 16:3, “Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life.”
2. Great care was taken to make sure there was no leaven in the house, v. 15; 1 Corinthians 5:7, “Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:”
3. The first and seventh days were holy and no work could be done, v. 16.
a. “There shall be an holy convocation”—literally, calling of the people, which was done by sound of trumpets, Numbers 10:2, “Make thee two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shalt thou make them: that thou mayest use them for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps.”
b. “A sacred assembly”—for these days were to be regarded as Sabbaths—excepting only that meat might be cooked on them, Exodus 16:23, “And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.”
4. This was to be a yearly observance, v. 17.
5. The time of unleavened bread, vv. 18-20.
6. The penalty for disobedience, v. 19.
—Outline by E. L. Bynum; Revision by Art Davison