11:1.
“And the Lord said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague more upon
Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence: when he shall
let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether.”
God does
nothing by half measure. His judgments would secure not just the release of
His people Israel, but their urgent dismissal by a Pharaoh brought to his
knees by the plagues with which God had sought to lead him to repentant
obedience.
11:2.
“Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his
neighbor, and every woman of her neighbor, jewels of silver, and jewels of
gold.”
“Borrow” is
used here, not in the usual sense of requesting a loan which was to be paid
back: it means demand what was right. The Israelites had been
compelled to serve the Egyptians as bond slaves without wages, but now the
day of reckoning had come, and God saw to it that the long overdue wages
were paid.
And again, in
keeping with what is represented scripturally by silver and gold, the silver
is mentioned before the gold because, as we have noted already, silver
represents redemption; and gold, glory; and one must by faith accept God’s
priceless gift of redemption before he can become an heir of eternal glory.
11:3.
“And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover
the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s
servants, and in the sight of the people.”
“... favor” is
also translated grace, prestige; and “very great” means was highly
esteemed: well honored: feared.
11:4.
“And Moses said,
Thus saith the Lord, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt:”
11:5.
“And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of
Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the
maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts.”
That fateful
midnight - not of the day God spoke to Moses, but a later date appointed by
God - ended the day of grace, and began the day of judgment for Pharaoh and
his people; and so is it with every man who refuses to bow before God and
accept His gift of eternal life, by confessing himself a sinner, and by
trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior.
In scripture
the firstborn is a type of man in his natural state, and in the death of the
Egyptian firstborn we have the symbolic warning that a man must be born
again spiritually by confessing himself a sinner, and by trusting in Christ
as Savior and Lord, for it is written, “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the
kingdom of God,” 1 Corinthians 15:50, “You must be born again,” John 3:7.
That “midnight
hour” however, isn’t always the moment that brings a man to the end of his
earthly life. It may also be that instant when he unknowingly crosses the
invisible line that separates God’s mercy from His wrath; when He withdraws
the offer of pardon and salvation, and abandons the rebel to eternal doom,
permitting him to live sometimes for many more years, but without any
possibility of his ever being saved. Note again God’s solemn warning
relative to that dreadful possibility. “My spirit shall not always strive
with man ...” Genesis 6:3, “He, who being often reproved hardens his neck,
shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy,” Proverbs 29:1.
The
maidservant behind the mill was the lowly servant whose work was to grind by
hand the grain in the container behind which she sat.
11:6.
“And there was a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there
was none like it, nor shall be like it any more.”
That hopeless
bitter lament will be continued eternally by all who refuse to trust in the
Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. It foreshadows also the dreadful
horrors that will evoke worldwide wailing in the now imminent Great
Tribulation.
11:7.
“But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue,
against man or beast: that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a
difference between the Egyptians and Israel.”
Some scholars
understand this to mean not that no dog will bark against the Israelites,
but that not even a dog belonging to them will be harmed. They and their
animals will be spared, while the firstborn of the Egyptians’ animals will
die as well as the firstborn of their children.
11:8.
“And all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down themselves
unto me, saying, Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee: and
after that I will go out. And he went out from Pharaoh in a great anger.”
Proud Pharaoh,
refusing to acknowledge the supremacy of God, was about to be brought low,
as will be every other rebel. Under the judgments of Jehovah the proud king
who had refused to release Israel, would not only permit them to go: he
would urge them to depart.
11:9.
“And the Lord said unto Moses, Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you; that my
wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.”
The omniscient
Creator foreknew that Egypt’s rebel king would never abandon the path of
folly upon which he had embarked to his own unperceived destruction. He who
could have glorified God by obedience would be compelled to glorify Him even
by continued rebellion. And so is it still. God will be glorified as much
by the eternal punishment of the unrepentant sinner, as by the eternal
blessing of the saint.
11:10.
“And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh: and the Lord
hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go
out of his land.”
Pharaoh,
having chosen to harden his heart against Jehovah, was thus delivered to
eternal destruction. His self-chosen hardening of heart was made
irreversible, as will be that of every man who persists in rejecting the
striving of the Holy Spirit, as it is written, “My spirit shall not always
strive with man,” Genesis 6:3; “He, who being often reproved hardens his
neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy,” Proverbs 29:1.