The Firstborn

The Firstborn
Words of Faith 10-24-2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2022
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Exodus 12
[29] At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well. [30] Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead.
[31] During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the Lord as you have requested. [32] Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go. And also bless me."
[33] The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and leave the country. "For otherwise," they said, "we will all die!" [34] So the people took their dough before the yeast was added, and carried it on their shoulders in kneading troughs wrapped in clothing. [35] The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing. [36] The Lord had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians.
[37] The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth. There were about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. [38] Many other people went up with them, as well as large droves of livestock, both flocks and herds. [39] With the dough they had brought from Egypt, they baked cakes of unleavened bread. The dough was without yeast because they had been driven out of Egypt and did not have time to prepare food for themselves.

It was a relatively simple thing that finally got the attention of Pharaoh-- the death of his own son. Sometimes it takes a personal consequence to get our attention.
Pharaoh's heart had been so hard that he defiantly ignored the previous judgments, which mostly just made life very miserable for his people. We can see that the true nature of Pharaoh was self-concern and not the welfare or comfort of his people. The only way to get his attention was a final grievous judgment, which took his son's life.
So, why not take only the son of Pharaoh if that was required? Why did so many have to die because of one selfish man? Perhaps the devastating judgment was needed so that it would be clear that the mighty hand of God Almighty was against Egypt and her idolatry. A single death might appear to be an unfortunate tragedy, but the death of many thousands touching every household in the nation could not be denied.
The death of the firstborn across the nation brought Pharaoh to his knees. He urged the Israelites to leave and then asked for their blessing. Pharaoh, for at least a moment, was a broken man. The sinful man considered a "god" was now humbled to the point of asking that Moses and Aaron bless him.
In the tenth plague, we see the very high cost of sin. The defiant sin of Pharaoh had caused a terrible consequence that touched many we might think of as "innocent." Of course, in the fallen and idolatrous world of Egypt there was no "innocence." Still, it was a painful judgment the people had to endure because of the stubborn heart of their leader. The consequence of sin is always widespread. Only those who had been obedient to sacrifice the Passover lamb and mark their doorframes with the blood of the Lamb escaped this devastating judgment.
The Lord struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well. The judgment did not respect wealth, position, or power. In fact, the judgment of sin goes all the way to the top even to the house of God.
It is remarkable to realize that the ultimate judgment and consequence for sin was the death of God's innocent firstborn, the only begotten Son of God. This is the bigger picture of the Passover. The judgment of death is born by Jesus, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. There was no other sacrifice that could forever take away the dreadful effect of sin.
The personal question for us is relatively simple. Have you marked the doorframe of your life with the blood of the Passover Lamb? This is what we do when we trust in the sacrificial death of Jesus. When we trust in the work of Jesus rather than our own religious works, we mark our own spiritual house and cross over from death to life.

Father, I give thanks that You were willing to give Your only Son to be the Passover Lamb. I give thanks for the work of Your mighty hand to set me free from the place of slavery and to give me life in Jesus. I rejoice to know that I am free to journey toward the promise You have for me. In Jesus' name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2022 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.