January 21
Exodus 10–12
Scripture Text: Exodus 10:1–12:51
Series: Read the Bible in a Year
More plagues! This time, locusts cover the land because Pharaoh will not obey God's command to let the people go. This is written for our instruction; God will go to great lengths to get us to listen to him.
It seems that Pharaoh would relent but then pulls back, not allowing the people to leave. God sends a dense swarm of locusts over all of Egypt. They eat all the remaing vegetation. Pharaoh quickly calls Moses and Aaron back and asks for forgiveness of his sins, and that they implore their God to remove the locusts. Now God knew as well as you do (even if you're reading this for the first time), that Pharaoh will renege again. Nonetheless, he removes every locust from the land.
Pharaoh goes back on his promise and will not allow God's people to leave. So, God sends his ninth judgment. A plague of darkness covers the land of Egypt so heavily that it can be felt. Yet Goshen, where the Hebrews live in Egypt, had light. Pharaoh allows conditionally for the people to leave Egypt. But the conditions are not God's; they are Pharaoh's, so yet another plague must come.
Now the firstborn of Eqypt must die. This is merely God keeping his promise to Pharaoh (Exodus 4:22–23), and perhaps retribution for Pharaoh's offense against the Hebrews' firstborn (Exodus 1:15–16). All this time, Pharaoh has been gambling the lives of his own people because he will not humble himself before God.
The next section about the plundering of the Egyptians is curious. Why would the Egyptians give the Hebrews their valuables? Perhaps they viewed it as a payoff. Here! Take my goods, just leave already. Or perhaps the Lord somehow makes them favor the Hebrews, repaying them for their hard labor all those years.
Moses continues his final words to Pharaoh, promising the death of every firstborn son of Eygpt by midnight if Pharaoh will not let the people go. He does not.
God gives Moses instructions for making a new beginning for the Israelites. They are to prepare a special meal, taking blood from an unblemished lamb to paint the doorframes of their houses. When God sees this blood, he will pass over that house. It is hard for a Christian to not recognize the promised Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world and preserve life eternally through his own blood.
At midnight the Lord fulfills his promise to Pharaoh. The tenth plague is the death of the Egyptian firstborn sons. Phraoh finally insists that the people go. He essentially throws them out now (Exodus 12:39). But we know this is not the end of Pharaoh's torment of the Israelites.
The Passover is instituted for Israel and 430 years of servitude ends that night. But the hardship of the people is hardly over.
Today's Word Search Puzzle — Print and solve
Today's Jigsaw Puzzle — Solve it online
Bible Reading Plan brochure — print it two-sided, trifold, and use as bookmark
Share this post
Author
Rev. Dr. Mark E. Ryman has served as Pastor for St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Salisbury, NC, since 2021. Previously, Pastor Ryman served congregations in North Carolina and Ohio, as well as a call to specialized ministry with Sola Publishing.
Click Here For Content Archives