Pharaoh’s stubbornness forced God to slaughter the firstborn. Especially in ancient times, the firstborn represented the strong one and the most lovable one. Even today parents may lavish special care upon their firstborn child. In the tenth and last plague, the firstborn of the Egyptians and even the firstborn of their beasts were killed.
When I was young, I disagreed with God regarding the slaughter of the firstborn. Now I can see that God did this according to His sovereignty. There was no need for Him to gain man’s approval before taking this action. He simply gave commandment to the angels, and they carried it out. Do not reason that in doing this God was not loving. Remember, according to the Bible, God is not only loving, but also sovereign. Elsewhere in the Scriptures we see that God is full of mercy and rich in kindness and forgiveness. The New Testament clearly declares that God is love. But the very God who is love came in, according to His sovereignty, to slaughter the firstborn.
In 12:30 we are told that among the Egyptians there was “not a house where there was not one dead.” This slaughter took place at midnight (12:29), the time when people usually enjoy the best sleep. That was the time the angels came to slay the firstborn, the strongest and most lovable ones in all the families in Egypt. By this last plague Pharaoh was subdued (11:1; 12:21-30, 33). He and his servants rose up in the night and called for Moses and Aaron, telling them that they and the children of Israel should go forth out of Egypt and serve the Lord. Pharaoh was subdued to such an extent he was willing to let all Israel go, not only with their little ones, but also with their flocks and herds (12:31-32). He even asked Moses and Aaron to bless him. He and all the Egyptians actually drove the children of Israel out of Egypt (v. 33). The Egyptians were even willing to give the children of Israel whatever they asked. They were willing for the whole nation to be plundered by Israel (v. 36).
When the slaughter of the firstborn of the Egyptians was taking place, the children of Israel were preserved from any kind of bothering and were at rest, enjoying God’s salvation. Exodus 11:7 says, “But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know that Jehovah doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel” (Heb.). Where God’s people were, there was no disturbance at all. Under God’s sovereignty, the dogs were not even allowed to bark. While the Egyptians were weeping and crying out, the children of Israel were enjoying a pleasant time. This also manifests God’s sovereignty.
Although Pharaoh was subdued by the last plague, he was only subdued temporarily. After the children of Israel had left Egypt, Pharaoh regretted what he had done and pursued them with chariots. Once again, Pharaoh’s heart became hard. This also was according to God’s sovereignty so that the Egyptians might know that He is the Lord (14:4). Only after the Egyptian forces had been buried in the Red Sea was the Lord finished with Pharaoh. God had no further use for him. Do not say that in His dealings with Pharaoh God was not loving. Once again I must point out that here the question is not love, but sovereignty.
Praise the Lord that in these chapters in Exodus we see the sovereignty of God! We need to worship God for His sovereignty. We should say, “Lord, I worship You for Your sovereignty because Your sovereignty reflects Your mercy. Lord, I am weak and sinful. Sometimes I am even rebellious. But I thank You, Lord, that my heart has been softened and is always willing to repent. Lord, I thank You for giving me such a soft heart.” If you do not know that you should worship God for His sovereignty, you may not realize His mercy to you. But if you know God’s sovereignty, you will thank Him for His mercy. You will realize, even as you come to the meetings of the church, that you are under the Lord’s sovereign mercy. Consider how many people are involved with sinful things or with worldly things. But we desire to come together in the Lord’s presence, to listen to His word, to seek what is on His heart, and to practice being one with Him. This is according to God’s sovereign mercy. Praise Him that we are under His sovereign mercy!
It is of the Lord’s mercy that we can attend the church meetings. Many of us can testify that the happiest nights of the week are the meeting nights. If there were no meetings to attend, what would we do with all our time? In our free time we would be miserable. Praise the Lord that, according to His sovereign mercy, we can come together in the meetings!
The more we recognize God’s sovereignty, the more grateful we shall be for His mercy. Hallelujah, God’s mercy has been sovereignly bestowed upon us! By His mercy, we are not stubborn like Pharaoh. Sometimes we may be stubborn, but in the Lord’s sovereign grace, we can be stubborn only for a short while. Then we repent, either to the Lord or to one we have wronged. This desire to repent is the Lord’s mercy to us.
The morning is an excellent time for us to repent and make confession to the Lord. I thank the Lord that every morning we can have a new beginning. As we spend time with Him, we may realize that we have made mistakes. Then we repent, confess, and experience a genuine spiritual cleansing. What a mercy that we are willing to repent, to confess, and to be cleansed by the Lord! This shows that we are destined not to be Pharaohs, but to be sons of God, sons of mercy.
We should not read these chapters in Exodus as a mere story. These chapters are a valuable portrait revealing the sovereignty of God. Thank the Lord that in the Bible there is a section dedicated to showing forth God’s sovereignty. We need to ponder these chapters again and again, until we see God’s sovereignty and worship Him for it. For years we may have worshipped God for His love, but not for His sovereignty. Now we must worship Him as the sovereign One. We should say, “Lord, You are the sovereign God. Because of Your sovereign mercy, I am one of Your children. Hallelujah, You have predestinated me to be one of Your sons, not to be a Pharaoh.” In a time when so many are given to worldly entertainments, we have the desire to seek the Lord and to meet together in His presence. In God’s sovereign mercy, our hearts have been inclined to Him. Because of His mercy to us, we seek Him day by day. Praise Him that we are not today’s Pharaoh, but today’s Moses!
In the conflicts between God and Pharaoh we also can learn the proper way to work for God. The proper way is not to labor or to endeavor, but to represent Him. Just as Moses was sent by God, so we also must be sent by Him.
Exodus 11:3 says, “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.” Moses did not fight or even work hard. As God’s representative, he simply came to see Pharaoh again and again. Moses did not come on his own. Every time he came, he came as one sent by God. Furthermore, he did not speak to Pharaoh on his own. He always spoke what the Lord had told him to say, letting Pharaoh know what God required of him. Therefore, Pharaoh was actually not listening to Moses and dealing with him; he was listening to God and dealing with God. Moses was God’s ambassador, God’s sent one. The way to work for God is to be such a representative of God.
I would remind the co-workers that there is no need for us to endeavor so much. This does not mean that we should be idle or lazy. It means that we should spend more time to contact the Lord. In our prayer, we should not pray so much for our work. Instead, we should pray to touch the Lord, to know His heart, and to sense His feeling. We need to stay in His presence until He saturates our being. Then we shall represent Him, and He will send us forth. Remember, it is not up to him who runs nor to him who wills, but to God, the One who shows mercy (Rom. 9:16). There is no need for us to run or to will. Our need is to represent God and to be His sent ones.
An apostle is a sent one. He is sent by the person he represents. As God’s sent ones, we need to have the assurance that wherever we may be, we are there as God’s representatives. We are insignificant and very weak. Actually, we are nothing. But we represent God. As God’s representatives, we do not speak our own words or carry out our own work. We are the bush, and the Lord is the fire burning in the midst of the bush. The fire and the bush are one. When we are in this reality, it is difficult to distinguish the bush from the fire. This reminds us of Paul’s word in 1 Corinthians 6:17: “He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.” The proper way to work for God is to have the assurance that we represent the One whom we love and serve. Wherever we go, we go not by ourselves, but with Him and in Him.
In these chapters in Exodus we see both the stubborn Pharaoh and Moses, God’s representative. By Pharaoh God made Himself manifest as the sovereign God, but in Moses God had one to represent Him and to execute His will. Praise the Lord that none of us are Pharaoh but we all are Moses, those who are one with the Lord! In His sovereignty and mercy, wherever we go, we go with the Lord, we represent Him, and we execute His will. May we all worship the Lord for His sovereignty and thank Him for His mercy!