Sunday, November 26, 2006

Exodus 12

REDEMPTION IN THE PASSOVER


   Before we read and study chapter 12, we'll watch Zola Levitt's DVD: "The Miracle of Passover" and, time permitting, part of Zola Levitt videotape "The Seven Feasts of Israel - Video 1 - Passover". "The Miracle of Passover" video can also be viewed on-line at www.worshipradio.com/home/ZolaVideo.html


   Of all the Jewish holidays, Pesach (Passover) is the one most commonly observed, even by otherwise non-observant Jews. According to the 1990 National Jewish Population Survey (NJPS), more than 80% of Jews have attended a Pesach seder (seder is Hebrew for "order"). Pesach begins on the 15th day of the Jewish month of Nissan. The name "Pesach" (PAY-sahch, with a guttaral "ch" as in the Scottish"loch") comes from the Hebrew root Peh-Samech-Chet , meaning to pass through, to pass over, to exempt or to spare. Pesach lasts for seven days (eight days outside of Israel). The text of the Pesach seder is written in a book called the haggadah (Hebrew for "telling"). The haggadah tells the story of the Exodus from Egypt and explains some of the practices and symbols of the holiday. - Judaism 101 - Passover: www.jewfaq.org/holidaya.htm


(1) While the Israelites were still in the land of Egypt, the Lord* gave the following instructions** to Moses and Aaron:


*Lord: Yahweh


**instructions: These very specific instructions are laid out so that future generations will always remember how Israel was set free by God's mighty hand! There is more to the Exodus than simply delivering slaves from Egypt. The deliverance from Egypt is a new beginning for Israel - they are now a nation.


(2) “From now on, this month will be the first month of the year for you.


Exodus 13:4: On this day in early spring, in the month of Abib, you have been set free. This first month of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar usually occurs late March or early April. Passover was again celebrated a year later according to Numbers 9:1-14. The Israelites generally stayed away from naming the months. They usually used the numbers of the months in order to avoid the pagan associations with the Canaanites and the other peoples around them who had given them these various names. But, Abib is the Canaanite name for this month which roughly corresponds to our March and April. Later, when Israel was in exile in Babylon, they took the Babylonian names of the months, and the name of this month came known as Nisan.



(3) Announce to the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day* of this month each family** must choose a lamb*** or a young goat for a sacrifice, one animal for each household.


*tenth day: On the 10th day of Nisan, just as all the unblemished lambs were being taken into homes, to be cared for, protected and safe guarded, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a colt.


**family: The fathers were to act as the priests of the houses.


***lamb: John 1:29: The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

The Hebrew word seh is singular and can refer to either a lamb or a goat. Since English has no common word for both, the phrase “a lamb or young goat” is used in the translation.


Genesis 22:8-14: 8 God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together. When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice. At that moment the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am! “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son” Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the Lord will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”


Isaiah 53:6-7: All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all. He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.


1 Corinthians 5:7: Get rid of the old “yeast” by removing this wicked person from among you. Then you will be like a fresh batch of dough made without yeast, which is what you really are. Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us.


(4) If a family is too small to eat a whole animal, let them share with another family in the neighborhood. Divide the animal according to the size of each family and how much they can eat.


(5) The animal you select must be a one-year-old male, either a sheep or a goat, with no defects*.


*with no defects: 1 Peter 1:19: It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.


(6) “Take special care of this chosen animal until the evening of the fourteenth day* of this first month. Then the whole assembly of the community of Israel must slaughter their lamb or young goat at twilight.


*fourteenth day: Since the lamb was chosen on the 10th, this gave 4 days for the entire assembly to examine the lambs to ensure they were spotless - as Jesus was examined and found spotless. As Christ was crucified at the passover, he entered into Jerusalem four days before, the very day that the paschal lamb was set apart. Jesus Christ was examined by all classes of persons. It was during those four days that the lawyer asked him which was the greatest commandment?” It was then that the Herodians came and questioned him about the tribute money; it was then that the Pharisees tempted him; it was then, also, the Sadducees tried him upon the subject of the resurrection. He was tried by all classes and grades—Herodians, Pharisees, Sadducees, lawyers, and the common people. It was during these four days that he was examined: but how did he come forth? An immaculate Lamb! The officers said, “never man spake like this man.” His foes found none who could even bear false witness against him, such as agreed together; and Pilate declared, “I find no fault in him.” He would not have been fit for the Paschal Lamb had a single blemish have been discovered, but “I find no fault in him,” was the utterance of the great chief magistrate, who thereby declared that the Lamb might be eaten at God’s Passover, the symbol and the means of the deliverance of God’s people. -- http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/0054.htm - Charles Spurgeon


   What we call today as "the Last Supper" was in fact a Passover seder. Jesus being a Torah observant Jew, did all that was commanded. Jesus also explained each part of the service (Luke 22:14-20, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26.) After singing the traditional Psalms (Matthew 26:30), Jesus and the disciples went to the Mount of Olives. They proceeded to Gethsemane. At 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the High Priest stood at the Temple with the last lamb. All the lambs that had been sacrificed before this had been for individuals and families and slain by the heads of the household. The final lamb stood as a sacrifice for the whole house of Israel. The High Priest took the sharp knife and slit the throat of the unblemished lamb. At precisely 3 o'clock the High Priest spread out his arms, looked across the assembly and said, "It is accomplished." Across from the Temple, at exactly 3 o'clock the Perfect Lamb of God lifted His eyes, looked at His beloved city, His mother, the soldiers and spectators and He spoke, "It is accomplished." The Passover Lamb had died as a remembrance of God's deliverance and mercy. -- www.jesuscafe.org/resources/transcripts/passover99.html


(7) They are to take some of the blood and smear it on the sides and top of the doorframes of the houses* where they eat the animal.


*houses: The Passover sacrifice was later to be celebrated only in Jerusalem per Deuteronomy 16:2: Your Passover sacrifice may be from either the flock or the herd, and it must be sacrificed to the Lord your God at the designated place of worship - the place he chooses for his name to be honored. As the blood was applied to the top and each side of the doorway, this blood dripped down, forming a figure of a cross in the doorway.


(8) That same night they must roast the meat over a fire* and eat it along with bitter** salad greens and bread made without yeast***.


*over a fire: It was to be slain, and roasted with fire, denoting the sufferings of the Lord Jesus, even unto death, the death of the cross. The wrath of God is as fire, and Christ was made a curse for us.


**bitter: symbolizing the bitterness of their slavery in Egypt.


***yeast: What is yeast or leaven? Decomposition, the breaking down of substance; thus, leaven has become throughout the scripture a type of sin because of its decomposition, its breaking down, its effect of just permeating the whole by a process of deterioration or breaking down. It becomes a very fit picture of sin. Any sin tolerated or allowed has a way of just expanding until it takes over and controls your life. But it brings into your life that element of decomposition, the breaking down, filling the whole life. So leaven is, and it's to be excluded, they were to eat the unleavened bread, a memorial. "Seven days you'll eat unleavened bread; and the first day you'll put away leaven out of your houses." Jesus said, "I am the bread of life", and thus the bread of the Passover, the middle wafer was representing Jesus Christ. In the Passover meal, they have three wafers of unleavened bread in this little napkin thing. They take the middle wafer and they break it, and then they hide it, and the children have to go and find it. Now why they do this, they really don't know. But Jesus said, "I am the bread of life", He said, "this bread is my body broken for you". They break it, even as He was in the grave for three days. They hide it, and then they discover it and there's great rejoicing when it's discovered, a great celebration, "They found the broken bread." It's brought out. - Blue Letter Bible - Chuck Smith Commentary on Exodus 11-12: www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/chuck_smith_c2000/Exd/Exd011.html

In Deuteronomy 16:3, the unleavened cakes are called “the bread of affliction,” or the "the bread of suffering" which alludes to the alarm and haste of the Israelites. In later Judaism and in the writings of Paul, leaven came to be a symbol of evil or corruption, and so “unleavened bread” – bread made without yeast – was interpreted to be a picture of purity or freedom from corruption or defilement:
Deuteronomy 16:3: Eat it with bread made without yeast. For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast, as when you escaped from Egypt in such a hurry. Eat this bread—the bread of suffering—so that as long as you live you will remember the day you departed from Egypt.


(9) Do not eat any of the meat raw or boiled in water. The whole animal—including the head, legs, and internal organs—must be roasted over a fire.


(10) Do not leave any of it until the next morning. Burn whatever is not eaten before morning.


(11) “These are your instructions for eating this meal: Be fully dressed*, wear your sandals, and carry your walking stick in your hand. Eat the meal with urgency, for this is the Lord’s Passover**.


*Be fully dressed Hebrew Bind up your loins - they were to be fully dressed and ready to immediately leave. This was to show their faith that God was going to free them right away.


**Passover: Hebrew - pesah


(12) On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn son and firstborn male animal in the land of Egypt. I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt, for I am the Lord!


(13) But the blood* on your doorposts will serve as a sign, marking the houses where you are staying. When I see the blood, I will pass over** you. This plague*** of death will not touch you when I strike the land of Egypt.


*the blood: If a first-born Egyptian was in a Hebrew's home covered by the blood, he would not die. If a Hebrew was in a home not covered by the blood and he was the first born, he would die. The blood is what saved, not the fact of being a Hebrew! This is what redemption is - to save from captivity by paying a ransom, in this case the blood of the lamb. Redemption is a central theme throughout the Bible.

   So the blood was to be a protection, it was to be a seal for that house. A token by which when God sees the blood there on the doorposts, He would pass over that house and the firstborn would not die. However, in whatever house there was not the blood there over the doorposts, and on the side posts of the house, the firstborn in that house would be slain. The only protection and the only salvation was through the blood; no other hope, no other way, no other salvation, except through the blood applied by faith, because it had to be a step of faith on the part of the people. -- www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/chuck_smith_c2000/Exd/Exd011.html

Leviticus 17:11: for the life of the body is in its blood. I have given you the blood on the altar to purify you, making you right with the Lord. It is the blood, given in exchange for a life, that makes purification possible.

Hebrews 9:22: In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.

Hebrews 11:28: It was by faith that Moses commanded the people of Israel to keep the Passover and to sprinkle blood on the doorposts so that the angel of death would not kill their firstborn sons.


**pass over: literally "hover over", "spread my wings over you", "pause over".


***plague (negef) is literally “a blow” or “a striking.” It usually describes a calamity or affliction given to those who have aroused God’s anger


   The Hebrews had to not only BELIEVE that the blood on the doorposts would keep their firstborn safe, they had to ACT on that belief! So both faith and works were required.


(14) “This is a day to remember. Each year, from generation to generation, you must celebrate it as a special festival* to the Lord. This is a law for all time.


special festival*: Called the Feast of Unleavened Bread.


(15) For seven days* the bread you eat must be made without yeast. On the first day of the festival, remove every trace of yeast from your homes. Anyone who eats bread made with yeast during the seven days of the festival will be cut off** from the community of Israel.


*seven days: Obviously, this is meant for future generations since Israel leaves Egypt the next day.


cut off**: The phrase, "cut off from Israel", is used thirty-six times in the first five books of the Bible. It is mostly used in connection with violations of God’s law, in connection with worship, and sexual immorality.


(16) On the first day of the festival and again on the seventh day, all the people must observe an official day for holy assembly. No work of any kind may be done on these days except in the preparation of food.


(17) “Celebrate this Festival of Unleavened Bread, for it will remind you that I brought your forces out of the land of Egypt on this very day. This festival will be a permanent law for you; celebrate this day from generation to generation.


(18) The bread you eat must be made without yeast from the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month until the evening of the twenty-first day of that month.


(19) During those seven days, there must be no trace of yeast in your homes. Anyone who eats anything made with yeast during this week will be cut off from the community of Israel. These regulations apply both to the foreigners living among you and to the native-born Israelites.


(20) During those days you must not eat anything made with yeast. Wherever you live, eat only bread made without yeast.”


(21) Then Moses called all the elders of Israel together and said to them, “Go, pick out a lamb or young goat for each of your families, and slaughter the Passover animal.


(22) Drain the blood into a basin. Then take a bundle of hyssop* branches and dip it into the blood. Brush the hyssop* across the top and sides of the doorframes of your houses. And no one may go out through the door until morning.


*Hyssop - common weed available to everyone, like faith. See John 19:29.

In Leviticus 14:6, the ceremony for the cleansing of a leper used hyssop to apply blood. In Numbers 19:6 hyssop was used for to make the ashes of a red heifer for the water of purification. In Numbers 19:18 hyssop was used to apply the purification water. Hyssop was even connected with Jesus' great sacrifice for sin. John 19:29 points out when Jesus was offered sour wine to drink on the cross, the sponge soaked with it was put on a bunch of hyssop. This is why David, in his great Psalm of repentance, says purge me with hyssop (in the Hebrew text), and I shall be clean (Psalm 51:7). Hyssop was always connected with purification through sacrifice.


   Notice the blood was to be stricken on the side posts and on the upper door posts, not on the threshold, because the blood of this lamb is actually symbolic of the blood of Jesus Christ, which is never to be trampled under foot. The blood was to be a protection, it was to be a seal for that house. A token by which when God sees the blood there on the door posts, He would pass over that house and the firstborn would not die. However, in whatever house there was not the blood there over the doorposts, and on the side posts of the house, the firstborn in that house would be slain. The only protection and the only salvation was through the blood; no other hope, no other way, no other salvation, except through the blood applied by faith, because it had to be a step of faith on the part of the people. So today God has declared that the only hope of life, the only hope of salvation is through the blood of Jesus Christ. There is no other way. There is no other hope. - Blue Letter Bible - Chuck Smith Commentary on Exodus 11-12: www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/chuck_smith_c2000/Exd/Exd011.html


(23) For the Lord will pass through the land to strike down the Egyptians. But when he sees the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe, the Lord will pass over your home. He will not permit his death angel to enter your house and strike you down.


(24) “Remember, these instructions are a permanent law that you and your descendants must observe forever.


(25) When you enter the land the Lord has promised to give you, you will continue to observe this ceremony.


   This celebration is to be a lasting, eternal ordinance. Passover is not just an event, and it is not just for one night. It is a reminder not just of what God has done but of what He continues to do. - "The NIV Application Commentary - Exodus" – Peter Enns – Zondervan™.


(26) Then your children will ask, ‘What does this ceremony mean?’


(27) And you will reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt. And though he struck the Egyptians, he spared our families.’” When Moses had finished speaking, all the people bowed down to the ground and worshiped.


(28) So the people of Israel did just as the Lord had commanded through Moses and Aaron.


(29) And that night at midnight, the Lord struck down all the firstborn sons in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sat on his throne, to the firstborn son of the prisoner in the dungeon. Even the firstborn of their livestock were killed.


(30) Pharaoh and all his officials and all the people of Egypt woke up during the night, and loud wailing was heard throughout the land of Egypt. There was not a single house where someone had not died.


   God told Moses that Pharaoh would not let them go until he was forced to by God's mighty works (Exodus 3:19-20), and that this work would somehow touch the firstborn of Egypt (Exodus 4:21-23). Now the situation unfolds just as God said it would.


   This plague was directed against two significant Egyptian gods. First, Osiris was the Egyptian god thought to be the giver of life. Second, against the supposed deity of Pharaoh himself, because his own household was touched (the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne).


   Pharaoh once asked, And who is the Lord? Why should I listen to him and let Israel go? I don’t know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go. (Exodus 5:2) Now he knows that Yahweh is greater than all the Egyptian gods, and greater than Pharaoh himself - who was regarded to be a god.


(31) Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron during the night. “Get out*!” he ordered. “Leave my people—and take the rest of the Israelites with you! Go and worship the Lord as you have requested.


*Get out: Pharaoh isn't "letting" Israel leave; now he commands them! This is just what the Lord told Moses would happen (Exodus 11:1).


   Yet, Pharaoh had earlier said (Exodus 10:28) he never wanted to see Moses' face again!


(32) Take your flocks and herds, as you said, and be gone. Go, but bless me* as you leave.”


*bless me: Moses does not reply to that request. Pharaoh is here acknowledging the superiority of the Hebrew god to himself and to the gods of Egypt.


(33) All the Egyptians urged the people of Israel to get out of the land as quickly as possible, for they thought, “We will all die!”


(34) The Israelites took their bread dough before yeast was added. They wrapped their kneading boards in their cloaks and carried them on their shoulders.


(35) And the people of Israel did as Moses had instructed; they asked the Egyptians for clothing and articles of silver and gold.


(36) The Lord caused the Egyptians to look favorably on the Israelites, and they gave the Israelites whatever they asked for. So they stripped the Egyptians of their wealth!


(37) That night the people of Israel left Rameses and started for Succoth. There were about 600,000 men*, plus all the women and children.


*men Or fighting men; Hebrew reads men on foot. Exodus 38:26: This silver came from the tax collected from each man registered in the census. (The tax is one beka, which is half a shekel, based on the sanctuary shekel.) The tax was collected from 603,550 men who had reached their twentieth birthday. Numbers 1:44-47: They were registered by families—all the men of Israel who were twenty years old or older and able to go to war. The total number was 603,550. But this total did not include the Levites. This number would require a total population of about two million - a number that's hard to believe!


(38) A rabble of non-Israelites* went with them, along with great flocks and herds of livestock.


*non-Israelites: Hebrew ereb. Per verse 48, these had to be circumcised to celebrate the Passover. These non-Israelites later on got the Israelites into trouble. In Numbers we read where, Then the foreign rabble who were traveling with the Israelites began to crave the good things of Egypt. And the people of Israel also began to complain. “Oh, for some meat!” they exclaimed. (Numbers 11:4).


(39) For bread they baked flat cakes from the dough without yeast they had brought from Egypt. It was made without yeast because the people were driven out of Egypt in such a hurry that they had no time to prepare the bread or other food.


(40) The people of Israel had lived in Egypt* for 430** years.


*Egypt: Samaritan Pentateuch reads in Canaan and Egypt; Greek version reads in Egypt and Canaan.


**430: Genesis 15:13: Then the Lord said to Abram, “You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 years.

Acts 7:6-7: God also told him that his descendants would live in a foreign land, where they would be oppressed as slaves for 400 years. ‘But I will punish the nation that enslaves them,’ God said, ‘and in the end they will come out and worship me here in this place.’

Galatians 3:16-17: God gave the promises to Abraham and his child. And notice that the Scripture doesn’t say “to his children,” as if it meant many descendants. Rather, it says “to his child”—and that, of course, means Christ. This is what I am trying to say: The agreement God made with Abraham could not be canceled 430 years later when God gave the law to Moses. God would be breaking his promise.


(41) In fact, it was on the last day of the 430th year* that all the Lord’s forces left the land.


*on the last day of the 430th year - The very day that was foretold!


(42) On this night the Lord kept his promise to bring his people out of the land of Egypt. So this night belongs to him, and it must be commemorated every year by all the Israelites, from generation to generation.


(43) Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “These are the instructions for the festival of Passover. No outsiders are allowed to eat the Passover meal.


(44) But any slave* who has been purchased may eat it if he has been circumcised.


*slave: Obviously, slaves don't own slaves, so this refers to the years after they have left Egypt, and particularly after they've settled in the Promised Land.


(45) Temporary residents and hired servants may not eat it.


(46) Each Passover lamb must be eaten in one house. Do not carry any of its meat outside, and do not break any of its bones*.


*do not break any of its bones: None of the bones of the Passover lamb were to be broken. This looks forward to Jesus, the ultimate Passover Lamb, who had not one bone broken even in His crucifixion:

Psalm 22:17: I can count all my bones.
My enemies stare at me and gloat.

John 19:31-36: It was the day of preparation, and the Jewish leaders didn’t want the bodies hanging there the next day, which was the Sabbath (and a very special Sabbath, because it was the Passover). So they asked Pilate to hasten their deaths by ordering that their legs be broken. Then their bodies could be taken down. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead, so they didn’t break his legs. One of the soldiers, however, pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out. (This report is from an eyewitness giving an accurate account. He speaks the truth so that you also can believe.) These things happened in fulfillment of the Scriptures that say, “Not one of his bones will be broken,”


(47) The whole community of Israel must celebrate this Passover festival.


(48) “If there are foreigners living among you who want to celebrate the Lord’s Passover, let all their males be circumcised. Only then may they celebrate the Passover with you like any native-born Israelite. But no uncircumcised male may ever eat the Passover meal.


(49) This instruction applies to everyone, whether a native-born Israelite or a foreigner living among you.”


(50) So all the people of Israel followed all the Lord’s commands to Moses and Aaron.


(51) On that very day the Lord brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt like an army.



Luke 22:1-30: The Festival of Unleavened Bread, which is also called Passover, was approaching. The leading priests and teachers of religious law were plotting how to kill Jesus, but they were afraid of the people’s reaction. Then Satan entered into Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve disciples, and he went to the leading priests and captains of the Temple guard to discuss the best way to betray Jesus to them. They were delighted, and they promised to give him money. So he agreed and began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus so they could arrest him when the crowds weren’t around. Now the Festival of Unleavened Bread arrived, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed. Jesus sent Peter and John ahead and said, “Go and prepare the Passover meal, so we can eat it together.”
“Where do you want us to prepare it?” they asked him. He replied, “As soon as you enter Jerusalem, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you. Follow him. At the house he enters, say to the owner, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room where I can eat the Passover meal with my disciples?’ He will take you upstairs to a large room that is already set up. That is where you should prepare our meal.” They went off to the city and found everything just as Jesus had said, and they prepared the Passover meal there. When the time came, Jesus and the apostles sat down together at the table. Jesus said, “I have been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins. For I tell you now that I won’t eat this meal again until its meaning is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God.” Then he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. Then he said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. For I will not drink wine again until the Kingdom of God has come.” He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me.” After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you. “But here at this table, sitting among us as a friend, is the man who will betray me. For it has been determined that the Son of Man must die. But what sorrow awaits the one who betrays him.” The disciples began to ask each other which of them would ever do such a thing. Then they began to argue among themselves about who would be the greatest among them. Jesus told them, “In this world the kings and great men lord it over their people, yet they are called ‘friends of the people.’ But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant. Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table, of course. But not here! For I am among you as one who serves. “You have stayed with me in my time of trial. And just as my Father has granted me a Kingdom, I now grant you the right to eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom. And you will sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.


   Most scholars agree that the Last Supper was not a Passover Supper, but was instead done on the Preparation Day. The New Unger's Bible Dictionary says that the Preparation Day for the Passover was from the evening (end) of Nisan 13 until the evening (end) of Nisan 14 (page 411). E.W. Bullinger, in Appendix 156 to The Companion Bible, states: "Wednesday, Nisan 14th (commencing on Tuesday at sunset), was 'the preparation day', on which the crucifixion took place" (page 180).


John 18:28: Jesus’ trial before Caiaphas ended in the early hours of the morning. Then he was taken to the headquarters of the Roman governor. His accusers didn’t go inside because it would defile them, and they wouldn’t be allowed to celebrate the Passover.


1 Corinthians 5:7: ...Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us. So let us celebrate the festival, not with the old bread of wickedness and evil, but with the new bread of sincerity and truth.






On-Line Sources:



Off-Line Sources:



  • "Cruden's Complete Concordance" - Zondervan Publishing House

  • "Breath of the Holies: Secrets of Moses' Tabernacle" - DVD by Perry Stone

  • "In Search of the Mountain of God" by Robert Cornuke and David Halbrook - Broadman & Holman Publishers

  • "Life Application Study Bible" - New Living Translation version - Tyndale House Publishers

  • "Symbols of Judaism" by Marc-Alai Ouaknin - Barnes & Noble Books, publisher

  • "The Companion Bible" by E. W. Bullinger - Zondervan Publishing House

  • "The Exodus Revealed: Searching for the Red Sea Crossing" - (2001), DVD, Studio: Questar, ASIN: B00005AUE2, available from Amazon.com

  • "The Defender's Study Bible" -World Bible Publishers

  • "The Miracle of Passover" - DVD by Zola Levitt

  • "The NIV Application Commentary - Exodus" – Peter Enns – Zondervan™

  • "The Seven Feasts of Israel - Video 1 - Passover" - Zola Levitt

  • "The Ten Commandments" (1956 film) from Paramount Pictures, directed by Cecil B. DeMille, starring Charlton Heston as Moses

  • Unger's Bible Dictionary - Merrill F. Unger

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Saturday, November 25, 2006

Exodus 11

Plague 10: Death for Egypt’s Firstborn


(1) Then the Lord* said to Moses, “I will strike Pharaoh and the land of Egypt with one more blow. After that, Pharaoh will let you leave this country. In fact, he will be so eager to get rid of you that he will force you all to leave.


*Lord: Yahweh


(2) Tell all the Israelite men and women to ask* their Egyptian neighbors for articles of silver and gold.”


*ask: The Hebrew word is shaw-al' and means "request," "demand," and so on, as well as "borrow." There was no promise of returning the items. The children of Israel had worked as slaves for those from whom they received the valuable items.


(3) (Now the Lord had caused the Egyptians to look favorably on the people of Israel. And Moses was considered a very great man in the land of Egypt, respected by Pharaoh’s officials and the Egyptian people alike.)


(4) Moses had announced to Pharaoh, “This is what the Lord says: At midnight tonight I will pass through the heart of Egypt.


(5) All the firstborn sons will die in every family in Egypt, from the oldest son of Pharaoh, who sits on his throne, to the oldest son of his lowliest servant girl who grinds the flour. Even the firstborn of all the livestock will die.


   This is exactly what God told Moses what would finally happen in Exodus 4:21-24: And the Lord told Moses, “When you arrive back in Egypt, go to Pharaoh and perform all the miracles I have empowered you to do. But I will harden his heart so he will refuse to let the people go. Then you will tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son. I commanded you, “Let my son go, so he can worship me.” But since you have refused, I will now kill your firstborn son!’” This will be an attack on the god Osiris, the Egyptian god of the dead. Only Yahweh has power over life and death! This is also payback for what the other Pharaoh did to the firstborn of the Hebrews in chapter 1.


   The firstborn in Egyptian and Israelite cultures was significant, but the firstborn of Pharaoh was most important. Pharaoh was considered a god, the son of Re, the sun god, for the specific purpose of ruling over Re’s chief concern, the land of Egypt. For the purpose of re-creation, the supreme god assumed the form of the living king and gave seed which was to become the next king and the next “son of Re.” Moreover, the Pharaoh was the incarnation of the god Horus, a falcon god whose province was the heavens. Horus represented the living king who succeeded the dead king Osiris. Every living king was Horus, every dead king Osiris. To strike any firstborn was to destroy the heir, who embodied the hopes and aspirations of the Egyptians, but to strike the firstborn son of Pharaoh was to destroy this cardinal doctrine of the divine kingship of Egypt. Such a blow would be enough for Pharaoh, for then he would drive the Israelites out. - Net Bible: http://www.bible.org/netbible/index.htm


   Each night, according to Egyptian teaching, the sun fought and killed the snake Apophis who symbolized the hostile darkness, so that the sun could shine again. But this night it would not be the sun, but it would be Yahweh Who would go forth and he would slay, not the snake Apophis, but all the firstborn of the land of Egypt, including the firstborn of the house of Pharaoh who was himself destined to become an incarnation of the sun. Everything would be turned upside down. The gods of Egypt would be put into disarray. - Commentary on Exodus (part 2): www.geocities.com/genesiscommentary/exodus2.html


(6) Then a loud wail will rise throughout the land of Egypt, a wail like no one has heard before or will ever hear again.


(7) But among the Israelites it will be so peaceful that not even a dog will bark. Then you will know that the Lord makes a distinction* between the Egyptians and the Israelites.


*distinction: This "distinction" is implicitly what being sanctified means - to be set apart as holy, separated from the world for God's purpose.


   The whole point at issue has been the honoring of Yahweh as God of the whole earth. Those who honored Him would be safe (and this would apply even if they were Egyptians if they followed His instructions), those who refused to honor Him would experience His judgment. - Commentary on Exodus (part 2): www.geocities.com/genesiscommentary/exodus2.html


(8) All the officials of Egypt will run to me and fall to the ground before me. ‘Please leave!’ they will beg. ‘Hurry! And take all your followers with you.’ Only then will I go!” Then, burning with anger, Moses left Pharaoh.


   The scene is awesome. There in the throne room of Pharaoh, Moses looked around at all the high officials in Pharaoh’s court and indicated them. They were standing there horrified and angry and possibly a little apprehensive at the effrontery of Moses and totally subservient to Pharaoh. The last thing they had in mind was bowing to Moses. But he pointed out that despite themselves they would shortly bow to him and would plead with him to leave Egypt along with all his people. And then, once they had done that, he would go. We can imagine how they must have felt at that moment. They hated this man and what he had done to Egypt, but they were also terrified of him. For they had experienced what power he had. Yet they knew that Pharaoh had endured through it all and was still adamant, and they dared not oppose Pharaoh. What then could he possibly do to change Pharaoh’s mind? And yet in their heart of hearts there must have been fear at some unknown that they could not conceive of which might yet strike Egypt. And it was because they were not sure what he could do, that they let him go. - Commentary on Exodus (part 2): www.geocities.com/genesiscommentary/exodus2.html



   This was no longer the timid Moses. He was now equal to Pharaoh, no, even above him. And he was angry at all Pharaoh’s duplicity. Pharaoh had constantly made promises and then reneged on them. His word could no longer be trusted. Furthermore Moses himself had suffered the humiliation earlier of being hustled out of Pharaoh’s presence, no doubt with little ceremony. And that had been a humiliation for Yahweh too, for Moses was His ambassador. And so Moses strode out in hot anger without another word leaving Pharaoh bristling on his throne. But it was the righteous anger of Moses that would prevail. - Commentary on Exodus (part 2): www.geocities.com/genesiscommentary/exodus2.html


(9) Now the Lord had told Moses earlier, “Pharaoh will not listen to you, but then I will do even more mighty miracles in the land of Egypt.”


(10) Moses and Aaron performed these miracles in Pharaoh’s presence, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart*, and he wouldn't let the Israelites leave the country.


*hardened Pharaoh’s heart: Pharaoh had his mind made up long before the plagues began. He couldn't believe that someone was greater than he, the son of Amon-Ra.



On-Line Sources:



Off-Line Sources:



  • "Cruden's Complete Concordance" - Zondervan Publishing House

  • "Breath of the Holies: Secrets of Moses' Tabernacle" - DVD by Perry Stone

  • "In Search of the Mountain of God" by Robert Cornuke and David Halbrook - Broadman & Holman Publishers

  • "Life Application Study Bible" - New Living Translation version - Tyndale House Publishers

  • "Symbols of Judaism" by Marc-Alai Ouaknin - Barnes & Noble Books, publisher

  • "The Companion Bible" by E. W. Bullinger - Zondervan Publishing House

  • "The Exodus Revealed: Searching for the Red Sea Crossing" - (2001), DVD, Studio: Questar, ASIN: B00005AUE2, available from Amazon.com

  • "The Defender's Study Bible" -World Bible Publishers

  • "The Miracle of Passover" - DVD by Zola Levitt

  • "The NIV Application Commentary - Exodus" – Peter Enns – Zondervan™

  • "The Ten Commandments" (1956 film) from Paramount Pictures, directed by Cecil B. DeMille, starring Charlton Heston as Moses

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Friday, November 24, 2006

Exodus 10

Plagues 8 & 9:
Locusts & Darkness


(1) Then the Lord said to Moses, “Return to Pharaoh and make your demands again. I have made him and his officials stubborn* so I can display my miraculous signs among them.


*stubborn: Hebrew have made his heart and his officials’ hearts heavy.


   Here the Lord says that He hardened Pharaoh's heart, yet in Exodus 9:34 it says that he [Pharaoh] hardened his heart. Which was true? Both are true, and one does not deny the other. In hardening Pharaoh's heart, God allowed him to have what he sinfully desired - a hard heart. - David Guzik's Commentary on Exodus: www.enduringword.com/commentaries/02.html


(2) I’ve also done it so you can tell your children and grandchildren about how I made a mockery of the Egyptians and about the signs I displayed among them - and so you will know that I am the Lord.”


   God is telling Moses that he is to make a record of these plagues (signs) to pass on to the next generations and so that they would know that He was Yahweh! We are to teach our "next generations" about these miracles and the rest of God's word.


(3) So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord*, the God** of the Hebrews, says: How long will you refuse to submit to me? Let my people go, so they can worship me.


*the Lord: Yahweh


**God Elohim


(4) If you refuse, watch out! For tomorrow I will bring a swarm of locusts* on your country.


*locusts: This 8th plague was directed against the god Serapis who was supposed to protect the land from locusts and from Shu, god of the air. The creatures came at the command of Yahweh and went when He commanded them to go, proving He alone was God, and that the gods of Egypt were false and powerless. The locusts came (and went) at Moses' bidding. Locusts were described as an army in Joel 1:6: A vast army of locusts has invaded my land, a terrible army too numerous to count. Its teeth are like lions’ teeth, its fangs like those of a lioness.


(5) They will cover the land so that you won’t be able to see the ground. They will devour what little is left of your crops after the hailstorm, including all the trees growing in the fields.


(6) They will overrun your palaces and the homes of your officials and all the houses in Egypt. Never in the history of Egypt have your ancestors seen a plague like this one!” And with that, Moses turned and left Pharaoh.


(7) Pharaoh’s officials now came to Pharaoh and appealed to him. “How long* will you let this man hold us hostage? Let the men go to worship the Lord their God! Don’t you realize that Egypt lies in ruins?”


*How long: The magicians gave up in the face of Yahweh in Exodus 8:19 and now Pharaoh's officials are giving up! But, they blame Moses and do not acknowledge that a god that is superior to Pharaoh or to their gods is the cause of these problems. They're also suggesting to just allow the men to go, not the women and children.


(8) So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. “All right,” he told them, “go and worship the Lord your God. But who exactly will be going with you?”


(9) Moses replied, “We will all go—young and old, our sons and daughters, and our flocks and herds. We must all join together in celebrating a festival to the Lord.”


(10) Pharaoh retorted, “The Lord will certainly need to be with you if I let you take your little ones! I can see through your evil plan.


(11) Never! Only the men* may go and worship the Lord, since that is what you requested.” And Pharaoh threw them out of the palace.


*Only the men Satan's compromise! Pharaoh is planning to keep the women and children as hostages to force the men to return.


(12) Then the Lord said to Moses, “Raise your hand over the land of Egypt to bring on the locusts. Let them cover the land and devour every plant that survived the hailstorm.”


(13) So Moses raised his staff over Egypt, and the Lord caused an east wind* to blow over the land all that day and through the night. When morning arrived, the east wind had brought the locusts.


*east wind: It is the east wind that opens the Red Sea.


(14) And the locusts swarmed over the whole land of Egypt, settling in dense swarms from one end of the country to the other. It was the worst locust plague in Egyptian history, and there has never been another one like it.


   People who have seen clouds of locust in modern days have described how they look like a huge, black, threatening storm cloud in the distance until at last they come closer and it is apparent that the cloud consists of locusts. And then they arrive and the whole land is covered with them. But this was exceptional even compared with that. There were untold numbers of them. One Pharaoh of the 12th dynasty, Amenemhet, classed a plague of locusts as a calamity similar to a civil war, or to famine resulting from the failure of the Nile, and that was an ordinary one. The god Senehem is pictured in ancient Egypt as a locust, but he has clearly no control here. - Commentary on Exodus (part 2): www.geocities.com/genesiscommentary/exodus2.html. God appears to be removing everything that Joseph had done to save Egypt!


   There was one plague in Africa in 1926 that lasted 14 years. It destroyed 5,000,000 square miles. That is double the area of the United States. In one square mile of a locust plague there can be between 100 and 200 million locusts. They have recorded locust plagues that have been up to 400 square miles, 40 to 80 billion locusts. They literally cover the land. They eat everything in their path. Nothing can withstand them, and they strike terror. When they leave the land is ravaged. There is not a green leaf anywhere. There is not a green plant anywhere. Everything has been eaten right down to the ground. We don't have any feel for that over here, but over there it strikes terror in the hearts of people. The locusts move based upon the wind, so they can move a couple of miles a day or, if the wind blows harder, they can move as much as sixty miles a day and nothing is safe. - Studies in the Life of Moses (Peninsula Bible Church): www.pbc.org/library/files/html/14757_moses13.html


(15) For the locusts covered the whole country and darkened the land. They devoured every plant in the fields and all the fruit on the trees that had survived the hailstorm. Not a single leaf was left on the trees and plants throughout the land of Egypt.


(16) Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron. “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you,” he confessed.


(17) “Forgive my sin*, just this once, and plead with the Lord your God to take away this death from me.”


*Forgive my sin: Shows that simply asking for forgiveness of sins is not enough! Pharaoh, and we, must accept God's judgments and commands. The severity of the plague prompted Pharaoh to confess his sin against Yahweh and them, now in much stronger terms than before. He also wants forgiveness – but in all probability what he wants is relief from the consequences of his sin. He pretended to convey to Moses that this was it, that he was through sinning, so he asked for forgiveness “just this once.” He was trying to give Moses the impression that he had finally come to his senses, and that he would let the people go. But he had no intention of letting them go.


(18) So Moses left Pharaoh’s court and pleaded with the Lord.


(19) The Lord responded by shifting the wind, and the strong west wind* blew the locusts into the Red Sea**. Not a single locust remained in all the land of Egypt.


*west wind: Or perhaps “sea wind,” i.e., a wind off the Mediterranean.


**Red Sea: The Hebrew name here is Yam Suf, sometimes rendered “Reed Sea” or “Sea of Reeds.” Many English versions have used “Red Sea,” which translates the name that ancient Greeks used. The name Red Sea is currently applied to the sea west of the Arabian Peninsula. The northern fingers of this body of water extend along the west and east sides of the Sinai Peninsula and are presently called the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba or the Gulf of Eilat. In ancient times the name applied to a much larger body of water, including the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf (C. Houtman, Exodus, 1:109-10). The sea was deep enough to drown the entire Egyptian army later (and thus no shallow swamp land). God drives the locusts to their death in the water. He will have the same power over Egyptian soldiers, for he raised up this powerful empire for a purpose and soon will drown them in the sea. The message for the Israelites is that God will humble all who refuse to submit. - BibleGateway - Exodus 10: www.bible.org/netbible/exo10.htm


(20) But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart again, so he refused to let the people go.


(21) Then the Lord said to Moses, “Lift your hand toward heaven, and the land of Egypt will be covered with a darkness* so thick you can feel it.”


*darkness: This is a direct challenge to the Egyptian god Amon-Re, the sun-god and chief of the Egyptian gods. Pharaoh claimed to be a son of Amon-Re! This is the first of 4 instances of darkness in judgment: here, Matthew 27:45/Mark 15:33/Luke 23:44, Jude 13 and Revelation 16:10.


Matthew 24:29: Immediately after the anguish of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will give no light, the stars will fall from the sky,and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.


John 1:5: The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.


John 3:19: And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil.


John 8:12: Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”


John 9:5: But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.


John 12:46: have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark.


1 John 1:5: This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all.



   This plague is comparable to the silence in heaven, just prior to the last and terrible plague (Revelation 8:1). Here Yahweh is attacking a core Egyptian religious belief as well as portraying what lay before the Egyptians. Throughout the Bible, darkness is the symbol of evil, chaos, and judgment. Blindness is one of its manifestations (see Deuteronomy 28:27-29). But the plague here is not blindness, or even spiritual blindness, but an awesome darkness from outside (see Joel 2:2; Zephaniah 1:15). It is particularly significant in that Egypt’s high god was the Sun God. Lord Sun was now being shut down by Lord Yahweh. If Egypt would not let Israel go to worship their God, then Egypt’s god would be darkness. The structure is familiar: the plague, now unannounced (21-23), and then the confrontation with Pharaoh (24-27). - BibleGateway - Exodus 10: www.bible.org/netbible/exo10.htm


(22) So Moses lifted his hand to the sky, and a deep darkness covered the entire land of Egypt for three days*.


*three days: Just as Jesus was in that darkened tomb for 3 days and Jonah was in the belly of the sea monster. Three is the number of completeness.


(23) During all that time the people could not see each other, and no one moved. But there was light as usual where the people of Israel lived.


   The Egyptians couldn’t even see one another, and it’s even hinted at that they were unable to supply any sort of artificial remedy for this darkness.


(24) Finally, Pharaoh called for Moses. “Go and worship the Lord,” he said. “But leave your flocks and herds* here. You may even take your little ones with you.”


*your flocks and herds: Isn't it interesting that these slaves could own flocks and herds? The Hebrews were slaves but had a lot of freedoms too.


(25) “No,” Moses said, “you must provide us with animals for sacrifices and burnt offerings to the Lord our God.


   The point is that if Pharaoh told them to go and serve Yahweh, they had to have animals to sacrifice. If Pharaoh was holding the animals back, he would have to make some provision.


(26) All our livestock must go with us, too; not a hoof can be left behind. We must choose our sacrifices for the Lord our God from among these animals. And we won’t know how we are to worship the Lord until we get there.”


(27) But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart once more, and he would not let them go.


(28) “Get out of here!” Pharaoh shouted at Moses. “I’m warning you. Never come back to see me again! The day you see my face, you will die!”


(29) “Very well,” Moses replied. “I will never see your face again.”



On-Line Sources:



Off-Line Sources:



  • "Cruden's Complete Concordance" - Zondervan Publishing House

  • "Breath of the Holies: Secrets of Moses' Tabernacle" - DVD by Perry Stone

  • "In Search of the Mountain of God" by Robert Cornuke and David Halbrook - Broadman & Holman Publishers

  • "Symbols of Judaism" by Marc-Alai Ouaknin - Barnes & Noble Books, publisher

  • "The Exodus Revealed: Searching for the Red Sea Crossing" - (2001), DVD, Studio: Questar, ASIN: B00005AUE2, available from Amazon.com

  • "The Defender's Study Bible" -World Bible Publishers

  • "The Miracle of Passover" - DVD by Zola Levitt

  • "The NIV Application Commentary - Exodus" – Peter Enns – Zondervan™

  • "The Ten Commandments" (1956 film) from Paramount Pictures, directed by Cecil B. DeMille, starring Charlton Heston as Moses

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Sunday, November 19, 2006

Exodus 9

The 5th, 6th & 7th Plagues:

Livestock, Boils & Hail


According to Exodus, God sent the ten plagues on Egypt for the following reasons:

1) To deliver the Israelites (Exodus 3:8; 19–20; 6:1, 5).

2) To answer Pharaoh’s question: ‘Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice and let Israel go?’ (Exodus 5:2; 7:5; 8:22; 9:14).

3) So that the Israelites would know the power of Yahweh (Exodus 6:7; 10:2).

4) To show that the earth belongs to Yahweh, not to the Egyptian gods (Exodus 9:16, 29; 11:7).

5) To execute judgment on ‘all the gods of Egypt’ (Exodus 12:12).

-- The ten plagues of Egypt, Miracles or ‘Mother Nature’?: www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v27/i1/plagues.asp



The Plagues and the Exodus, by Dr. David Livingston www.ancientdays.net/plagues.htm


Yahweh's Purpose in the Plagues

   The first reason for the final plague was that the Egyptians may know that Yahweh is God! (Exodus 7:5; 8:10; 9:14-16,27; 10:16; 14:4.) The Lord is gracious in that He says over and over that He is doing this for the Egyptians that they might know He is the Lord. In fact, among the Egyptians, those who exercised faith were saved (Exodus 9:20-21; 12:38). Just as we today have an incentive to believe in Christ because of His miracles (John 20:31), so the Egyptians had opportunity to believe because of the plagues.


   The second reason for the plagues was that Israel might know Yahweh, their God, is The God and that there is no other (Exodus 10:1-2; 11:7; 14:31; Deuteronomy 4:32-35, Psalms 135:5-10). Some of the Israelites seem to have lost faith in Jehovah during their servitude. Possibly they were impressed with Egypt's gods since they seemed to be helping the Egyptians. But now Israel was to see evidence of Yahweh's absolute sovereignty and superiority over all the gods of Egypt. In fact, in Exodus 10:2, we read that the Lord mocked the Egyptian gods.


   Why didn't pharaoh believe? Why should he? He was a god! If he believed, he would lose his "divinity." But God hardened his heart. Why? Because, if he had repented and let Israel go after the first plague, all the gods of Egypt would have retained their greatness in the eyes of the Egyptians and of Israel. People had to suffer to demonstrate that all gods other than Yahweh were nothing.


   Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, summed it up well when he later said, "I know now that the Lord is greater than all other gods, because he rescued his people from the oppression of the proud Egyptians." (Exodus 18:11)


   Necessary in the plan for Israel's salvation was that they should do a simple, visible act. That was to take a lamb, kill it, and put some of its blood on the doorpost of their dwelling. Egyptian symbolism is interesting even in this act, for a door was a symbol of both entry and defense. And gates played a special role in the journey of the deceased through the nether world. For Israel, putting blood on the doorposts indicated that something done in one's heart is not enough. They had to act out their faith. Pharaoh could have saved his first-born if he had done that. But it would have destroyed the Egyptian system. In doing so, he would have acknowledged Yahweh as God. Furthermore, sheep were an abomination to the Egyptians.


   Yahweh's plan of salvation for Israel was not only to put down the gods of Egypt. God was calling out a people for Himself. This was His greater and higher purpose. For Israel to be a special people to the Lord, they had to break with the associations they had in Egypt.



(1) “Go back to Pharaoh,” the Lord* commanded Moses. “Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord*, the God** of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so they can worship me.


*Lord: Yahweh. The expression "the Lord said" or "commanded" occurs 45 times in Exodus according to Bullinger in "The Companion Bible".


**Lord God: Yahweh Elohim


(2) If you continue to hold them and refuse to let them go,


(3) the hand of the Lord* will strike all** your livestock***—your horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep, and goats—with a deadly plague.


*hand of the Lord: occurs in 3:19, 6:1, 13:3 and here and is normally associated with some mighty act of judgment. This is the first plague in which the term occurs, and it concerns the first plague that directly causes death - a pattern leading up to the death of the Egyptian army.


**all: The word “all” clearly does not mean “all” in the exclusive sense, because subsequent plagues involve cattle. The word must denote such a large number that whatever was left was insignificant for the economy. It could also be taken to mean “all [kinds of] livestock died.”


***livestock: The 5th plague, on the livestock (which provided food, milk, clothing and transportation), was a direct attack on Apis, the sacred bull god, and Mnevis, a bull-god symbol of fertility, as well as Hathor, the cow-like mother goddess, and Isis, the queen of the gods, who wore a cow’s horns on her head. They were all shown to be imposters. The original form under which Hathor was worshipped was that of a cow. Later she is represented as a woman with the head of a cow, and finally with a human head. She was the symbolic mother of Pharaoh, and the king of Egypt was referred to as "the son of Hathor."


   Horses and cattle were not only highly valued in the land of Egypt, but they were also sacred. "All Egyptians use bulls and bull-calves for sacrifice, if they have passed the test for 'cleanness'; but they are forbidden to sacrifice heifers, on the ground that they are sacred to Isis." -- http://www.padfield.com/2002/egypt_2.html (Against All the Gods of Egypt).


(4) But the Lord will again make a distinction between the livestock of the Israelites and that of the Egyptians. Not a single one of Israel’s animals will die!


(5) The Lord has already set the time for the plague to begin. He has declared that he will strike the land tomorrow.’”


(6) And the Lord did just as he had said. The next morning all the livestock of the Egyptians died, but the Israelites did’t lose a single animal.


   Yet, we read about Egyptian animals in verses 9-10 and 22! Some, such as Bullinger, believe this means "all kinds of cattle". Possibly, only the animals in the open field were affected.


   At this time of year, about January to April, the Egyptians kept their animals out in the field because it was good weather. About the end of April the weather became so hot they had to put them under cover to protect them. So the animals are out in the field about this time of year. So this plague is only going to affect those animals which are in the field on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the herds, and on the flocks. But the LORD will make a distinction [#1 because first of all it is only going to happen to the animals that are in the field and not under cover and #2 the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing will die of all that belongs to the sons of Israel. This time the land of Goshen is involved. God is going to go right down through Goshen and all the rest of Egypt and every animal that belongs to an Egyptian and is in the field dies. Every animal that belongs to a Jew and is in the field lives. Goshen is no longer a haven for Egyptians. -- Studies in the Life of Moses (Peninsula Bible Church): www.pbc.org/library/files/html/14753_moses11.html


(7) Pharaoh sent* his officials to investigate, and they discovered that the Israelites had not lost a single animal! But even so, Pharaoh’s heart remained stubborn**, and he still refused to let the people go.


*sent: I wonder if they brought back livestock from the Israelites to replenish what they'd lost. They certainly could have done so with no problem.


**stubborn: Hebrew heavy


(8) Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from a brick kiln, and have Moses toss it into the air* while Pharaoh watches.


*air: If Moses tosses the soot into the air, it will symbolize that the disease is falling from heaven.


(9) The ashes will spread like fine dust over the whole land of Egypt, causing festering boils to break out on people and animals throughout the land.”


(10) So they took soot from a brick kiln and went and stood before Pharaoh. As Pharaoh watched, Moses threw the soot into the air, and boils broke out on people and animals alike.


(11) Even the magicians were unable to stand before Moses, because the boils* had broken out on them and all the Egyptians.


*boils: The 6th plague showed the impotence of any of the gods of magic and healing, such as Hike and Thoth (Imhotep), to protect even the magicians from the boils, and thus from the power of Yahweh. Deuteronomy 28:27 The Lord will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, scurvy, and the itch, from which you cannot be cured.


   This plague was probably skin anthrax, a black abscess that develops into a pustule. This plague was accompanied by painful boils that affected the knees, legs, and soles of the feet (see Deuteronomy 28:35). This explains why Pharaoh's magicians could not stand before Moses. This medical malady was an affront to Imhotep, the god of medicine, Serapis, the deity in charge of healing, and to Thoth, the ibis-headed god of intelligence and medical learning.
-- http://www.padfield.com/2002/egypt_2.html (Against All the Gods of Egypt). This sixth plague, like the third, is unannounced.


   The magicians have lost their power, but Moses and Aaron are far from done! The magicians have been exposed as fakes and their magic cannot even save themselves! Satan's powers are limited.


(12) But the Lord hardened* Pharaoh’s heart, and just as the Lord had predicted** to Moses, Pharaoh refused to listen.


*hardened: This is the first place where it says God hardened Pharaoh's heart. Up to now Pharaoh has been hardening his own heart, but here God hardens Pharaoh's heart. He does it because Pharaoh has been given many chances to repent but continues to hardened his heart. So God, in His judicial wrath, Himself hardens Pharaoh's heart. But let me point something out to you. This does not say that Pharaoh can no longer make choices. It does not say that Pharaoh is lost beyond recall. We are going to see that in a minute. God does not go around willy-nilly hardening people. You can never ever blame God for your sin. If Pharaoh could not repent, Pharaoh could then blame God, "I couldn't repent because You wouldn't let me." But we can never pass the buck that way!-- Studies in the Life of Moses (Peninsula Bible Church): www.pbc.org/library/files/html/14755_moses12.html


**predicted - in 4:21. Pharaoh is just a tool in God's hand.


(13) Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh. Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so they can worship me.


(14) If you don’t, I will send more plagues on you* and your officials and your people. Then you will know that there is no one like me in all the earth.


*you: Hebrew on your heart


(15) By now I could have lifted my hand and struck you and your people with a plague to wipe you off the face of the earth.


(16) But I have spared you for a purpose—to show you my power* and to spread my fame throughout the earth.


*to show you my power: Greek version reads to display my power in you; compare Romans 9:17.


(17) But you still lord it over my people and refuse to let them go.


(18) So tomorrow at this time I will send a hailstorm* more devastating than any in all the history of Egypt.


*hailstorm: Hail is often associated with God's judgment - Joshua 10:11; Psalm 18:12; Isaiah 28:2, 17, 30:40; Ezekiel 13:11-13; 38:22.


   This would have been a very unusual occurrence, for the region around Cairo normally receives only two inches of rain per year.


(19) Quick! Order your livestock and servants to come in from the fields to find shelter. Any person or animal left outside will die when the hail falls.’”


(20) Some of Pharaoh’s officials were afraid because of what the Lord had said. They quickly brought their servants and livestock in from the fields.


   Some of Pharaoh's officials are getting the message and may be some of those who left with the children of Israel when they left Egypt.


(21) But those who paid no attention to the word of the Lord left theirs out in the open.


   Pharaoh didn't bring in the animals because he'd then have to admit that Ra, the great sun god, the national god of Egypt can do nothing . Pharaoh is one of the manifestations of Ra which makes him a god in his own right, and this is also true of his first born son whom God is going to take care of also. Pharaoh would have to go out and make a public act of putting all his cattle, sheep, camels, horses and all his flocks under cover because of the God of the slaves. Remember what God said, "Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews." In order to save his personal prosperity the "god" of Egypt would have to go out and publicly demonstrate that Yahweh is truly the God that can do this and that Ra cannot stop Him. So, out of pride, Pharaoh won't do that. Then when the slaughter occurs, he even goes and investigates and still won't give in. -- Studies in the Life of Moses (Peninsula Bible Church): www.pbc.org/library/files/html/14753_moses11.html. Pride is what is making Pharaoh "harden his heart". Does this apply to us today?


(22) Then the Lord said to Moses, “Lift your hand toward the sky so hail may fall on the people, the livestock*, and all the plants throughout the land of Egypt.”


*livestock: I thought all the livestock had already been killed in verse 6!


(23) So Moses lifted his staff toward the sky, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and lightning flashed toward the earth. The Lord sent a tremendous hailstorm against all the land of Egypt.


(24) Never in all the history of Egypt had there been a storm* like that, with such devastating hail and continuous lightning.


*storm: The Egyptian god Seteh manifested himself in the wind and storms. The 7th plague, of hail, and the 8th one, of locusts (brought by the wind), that destroyed the crops, attacked the various sky deities (e.g. Shu, Tefnut and Nut, deities of air, moisture and sky), who supposedly controlled the weather. The loss of crops showed the impotence of the gods of vegetation, agriculture and harvest (e.g. Geb and Seth).


(25) It left all of Egypt in ruins. The hail struck down everything in the open field—people, animals, and plants alike. Even the trees were destroyed.


(26) The only place without hail was the region of Goshen, where the people of Israel lived.


(27) Then Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron. “This time I have sinned,” he confessed. “The Lord is the righteous one, and my people and I are wrong.


(28) Please beg the Lord to end this terrifying thunder* and hail. We’ve had enough. I will let you go; you don’t need to stay any longer.”


*terrifying thunder: To us the hail would have been more frightening, but to Pharaoh the thunderings were the voice of Yahweh and to be feared the most. -- Commentary on Exodus (part 2): www.geocities.com/genesiscommentary/exodus2.html


(29) “All right,” Moses replied. “As soon as I leave the city, I will lift my hands and pray to the Lord. Then the thunder and hail will stop, and you will know* that the earth belongs to the Lord.


*you will know: This clause provides the purpose - “you will know….” It was not enough to pray and have the plague stop. Pharaoh must “know” that Yahweh is the sovereign Lord over the earth. Here was that purpose of knowing through experience. This clause provides the key for the exposition of this plague: God demonstrated his power over the forces of nature to show his sovereignty – the earth is Yahweh’s. He can destroy it. He can preserve it. If people sin by ignoring his word and not fearing him, he can bring judgment on them. If any fear Yahweh and obey his instructions, they will be spared. A positive way to express the expositional point of the chapter is to say that those who fear Yahweh and obey his word will escape the powerful destruction he has prepared for those who sinfully disregard his word. -- BibleGateway - Exodus 9: www.bible.org/netbible/exo9.htm.


   All of these plagues were unnecessary if they were done so that Pharaoh would release his hold on the Israelites. After all, couldn't God have simply picked up the Israelites and moved them to the promised land - or killed Pharaoh? No, the freedom of the Israelites is only part of the purpose of God - His main purpose was to demonstrate not only to Pharaoh but to the whole world including us who He is and to demonstrate His power over Satan and his gods.


(30) But I know that you and your officials still do not fear the Lord God.”


(31) (All the flax and barley were ruined by the hail, because the barley had formed heads and the flax was budding.


   In this plague the flax and barley crops were destroyed, which means this must have taken place in January.
-- http://www.padfield.com/2002/egypt_2.html (Against All the Gods of Egypt).


(32) But the wheat and the emmer wheat were spared, because they had not yet sprouted from the ground.)


(33) So Moses left Pharaoh’s court and went out of the city*. When he lifted his hands to the Lord, the thunder and hail stopped, and the downpour ceased.


*out of the city: Perhaps Moses waited until he was out of the city because he suspected that otherwise Pharaoh planned to kill him. Commentary on Exodus (part 2): www.geocities.com/genesiscommentary/exodus2.html


(34) But when Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail, and thunder had stopped, he and his officials sinned again, and Pharaoh again became stubborn*.


*stubborn: Hebrew made his heart heavy. So, Pharaoh's repentance was not genuine, as is true of many who ask God for forgiveness and repent and then turn around and continue with their sin.


(35) Because his heart was hard, Pharaoh refused to let the people leave, just as the Lord had predicted through Moses.



On-Line Sources:



Off-Line Sources:



  • "Cruden's Complete Concordance" - Zondervan Publishing House

  • "Breath of the Holies: Secrets of Moses' Tabernacle" - DVD by Perry Stone

  • "In Search of the Mountain of God" by Robert Cornuke and David Halbrook - Broadman & Holman Publishers

  • "Symbols of Judaism" by Marc-Alai Ouaknin - Barnes & Noble Books, publisher

  • "The Exodus Revealed: Searching for the Red Sea Crossing" - (2001), DVD, Studio: Questar, ASIN: B00005AUE2, available from Amazon.com

  • "The Defender's Study Bible" -World Bible Publishers

  • "The Miracle of Passover" - DVD by Zola Levitt

  • "The NIV Application Commentary - Exodus" – Peter Enns – Zondervan™

  • "The Ten Commandments" (1956 film) from Paramount Pictures, directed by Cecil B. DeMille, starring Charlton Heston as Moses

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