Verse1 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.
Can you imagine the excitement Moses and Aaron must have felt after hearing the LORD’s words promising but one more plague. Moses was a humble and sensitive man who cared about people. He would not have killed the Egyptian who was attacking the Hebrew man if he had not possessed a keen sense of right and wrong and if he had not cared about people. To have been the instrument used by God to bring all the suffering upon the Egyptian people must have weighed heavily upon his heart and his thoughts. Now there was a light at the end of this process. He could be glad. So before leaving Pharaoh’s presence for the last time, he gave Pharaoh his last warning.
Verses 2-3 Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbour, and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold. 3 And the LORD gave the people favour 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.
Why was Moses to tell the Hebrews to gather jewels and precious metals from the Egyptian people? Well, perhaps because these items were some of the few things that had not been destroyed in the plagues. And as you will see later in the scriptures, these items were essential for the construction of the tabernacle. The word translated as “borrow” is the same as the word take. They would be taking the wealth and not borrowing it as it was not going to be returned.
The Egyptians must have been glad that the Hebrew people were planning to leave. It would seem that they were actually paying the slaves to go. The Egyptians may have become less enamored with their god, Pharaoh, who had failed to appease Moses’ God, and the LORD was causing the Hebrew people to find favor with the Egyptians. Finally, it would be impossible to not have respect and fear of Moses after all that had happened in the land.
Verses 4-6 And Moses said, Thus saith the LORD, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt: 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. 6 And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more.
The death of the firstborn beast and the firstborn person shows the reader just how wicked Pharaoh and his government were. Once again they refused to listen to Moses. They did not care about the consequences of the first nine plagues, and so the very worst thing that could happen had to come to pass to get their attention once and for all. The idea that the firstborn was limited to children has been presented in some churches, but the firstborn child is inter-generational. A senior could have a firstborn child who could have a firstborn child who would be the grandchild, and so on. They would all die. So a fifty year old woman could die because she was the firstborn of her parents, and her twenty year old firstborn child could die, and that twenty year old’s firstborn baby could die. Can you see the devastation that would occur with this plague? Indeed, Egypt was destroyed.
The calendar and the clock in the Bible are not what is used today. In Bible days the Hebrew new year did not start in January, but in March/April. The 24 hour day did not start at midnight, but at six in the evening. As stated in Genesis, the day went from darkness to light (representative of man going from the darkness of sin toward the light of the LORD), and not from light to darkness as is done today. So why did the LORD specify midnight? Not really sure. Perhaps because most people would be asleep and not prepared or aware of what was happening right in their very homes.
Application: The believer needs to remember that death to the LORD is not the end of a person. Death is the door through which all living things go to reach eternity. Those left behind in the world suffer the loss of their loved ones, but the individuals at the time of death go to the God that created them. So if this plague seems harsh, it was the LORD’s way to reach the blinded, unbelieving people in Egypt.
Verse 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.
Once again there would be a hedge of protection around the Hebrew people so that they would know their LORD, and Pharaoh and the Egyptian people would know Him also.
Application: Just as there was a difference between the pagan, idolatrous people of Egypt and the people of God, there is a difference between the believer of today and the God rejecting, idolatrous servants of the Devil. Scripture teaches that two masters cannot be served at the same time. A person is either serving God or serving the Devil. Those serving God will have a hedge of protection from the power and attacks of the demonic world.
Verse 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.
Moses gets angry for the first time. He warns Pharaoh that his very own servants will bow down to him instead of bowing in allegiance to Pharaoh and that they will beg him to take the Hebrew slaves and leave Egypt. These were the last days of the one world government of Egypt.
Application: Romans 14:11 “For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” As stated before, Moses is a type of Jesus Christ and the events surrounding his ministry and life point to the life and ministry of the LORD Jesus Christ.
Philippians 2:9-11 “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Verse 9 And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you; that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.
God always lets His ministers know what is going to happen beforehand, yet there is a need for faith on the part of His servants. Every step Moses and Aaron took in this rescue mission and the results of each phase were communicated by God to his servants so that they would have no surprises. But Moses and Aaron had to have faith that God would do what He said He would do. Moses and Aaron and the LORD worked as a team. What a privilege.
Verse 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.