Exodus 12:12 “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD.
Some things in life are hard to understand. Too often someone dies of whom we think they shouldn’t die in that way or in that timing. Even people in their nineties are expected to go on living forever. They themselves often say they have led a good life and are ready to go, but when it happens it surprises some people.
Death should not be a surprise. We are all headed that direction. But some deaths are a surprise. This is especially true of younger people. Our hearts and souls cry out in those moments, precisely because we know death was not part of the design package.
Even when people know it is coming, it can be a shock to those around them. So why am I discussing death this morning?
Something happened in ancient Egypt that shocked their world. In one night, every firstborn died. That would shock any nation. And the sad thing is, they were warned and given a way to prevent the death and they refused to exercise the “saved from death” option. That had to be a very loss.
They knew it was coming and they ignored the protection offered. Guilt ran rampant that night and probably for months to come. Some wives had told their husbands the details of what was needed to protect their child, but husbands ignored their wives. Those were some chilly relationships after that. Can I get an “Amen!”
But for those who did heed the “saved from death” option, there was joy and relief that took hold. This would provide a new storyline that would sustain generations over millennia. This became the story of the founding of a people. It was their story. It was their identity.
But it wasn’t just a story for those who survived and escaped Egypt. It became a story that the nations came to revere. They heard and responded to this God who rescued by death.
But even more so, the LORD had begun again with a people, flawed as they were. Just as in the waters of creation, Israel would rise from the divided waters and land on dry ground. They began a new journey to a land of promise.
Our writer wants us to know one of the reasons for these specific judgments. He lets us know why these plagues out of all the plagues that could have been brought were brought. They are each a judgment on the Egyptian gods.
Remember that Pharaoh had started this whole thing by denying the LORD. He had said, in essence, I don’t know the LORD, and since I am god to Egypt, I will choose to ignore what the LORD has to say. I’m in charge in this land. I do what I want to do, and no God can stop me.
But the LORD isn’t One to be stopped. His power supersedes all other powers. He is the Source. Every other entity is derivative. And Pharaoh had challenged the LORD to a dual.
The LORD had given Pharaoh and the people of Egypt ten chances to turn away from their gods to the LORD, but they had refused. Or at least most had refused. We know some listened and obeyed. Some Egyptians joined with the Israelites on the trek into the wilderness and across the Reed Sea. (The Reed Sea connects the reed basket that saved Moses from death.)
Are we going to ignore the LORD’s work in our midst? Are we going to harden our hearts and turn away? Or will we yield to His hand, His direction, His grace and mercy doing in our midst? Will we rejoice at the transformation of lives? Or will we choose death?
The Arnold Journey 