Catastrophic events that occur in life can leave an indelible mark on the human mind. Likewise, times of despair that are turned into hope and assurance are never forgotten. Such must have been the setting for the events that transpired over three thousand years ago in the land of Egypt.
Repeated pleas from Moses to free the Hebrews from over four hundred years of slavery were answered with broken promises. In His love and grace, not willing that even the cruel Egyptian Pharoah should perish in unbelief, God repeatedly revealed His power.
However, the rejection of God’s warnings only hardened the thinking of Pharaoh to the point that … “the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was not willing to let them go. Pharaoh said to Moses, “Get out of my sight! Make sure you do not appear before me again! The day you see my face you will die.” “Just as you say,” Moses replied, “I will never appear before you again” (Ex 10:27-29 NIV). Pharoah had mistakenly concluded that he was in full control of the destiny of God’s chosen people. The divine intent to establish a nation through which the Messiah-Savior would come into the world could not be hindered.
“I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go from here, and when he does, he will drive you out completely” (Ex 11:1 NIV). A night of terror or trust was pending, based on one’s response to … “This is what the LORD says: ‘About midnight I will go throughout Egypt. Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the slave girl, who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well. There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt — worse than there has ever been or ever will be again” (Ex 11:4-6 NIV).
Though judgment was near, God offered grace. “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn — both men and animals — and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD. The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt” (Ex 12:12-13 NIV).
The divine alternative to terror was trust placed in the message of deliverance. “Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. Not one of you shall go out the door of his house until morning. When the LORD goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down” (Ex 12:21-23 NIV). The message went out throughout the land, for the Scripture notes that besides the Israelites … “Many other people went up with them, as well as large droves of livestock, both flocks and herds” (Ex 12:38 NIV).
The deliverance of these people was achieved on the basis of faith in what God had said. From a spiritual perspective, faith in God’s offer of salvation, because of the Work of Christ on the Cross in paying for the sins of every individual, is a matter of trusting God at His word. To accept or refuse this offer is a personal choice. “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God” (John 1:12-13 NIV).