ENTER
The last three of the Ten Plagues are visited on Egypt: a swarm of locusts devours all the crops and greenery; a thick, 
palpable darkness envelops the land; and all the firstborn of Egypt are killed at the stroke of midnight of the 15th of the month of Nissan.
God’s first command to be given to the people of Israel: to establish a calendar based on the monthly rebirth of the moon. The Israelites are also instructed to bring a “Passover offering” to God: a lamb or kid is to be slaughtered and its blood sprinkled on the doorposts and lintel of every Israelite home, so that God should pass over these homes when He comes to kill the Egyptian firstborn. The roasted meat of the offering is to be eaten that night together with matzah (unleavened bread) and bitter herbs.
The death of the firstborn finally breaks Pharaoh’s resistance and he literally drives the Children of Israel from his land. So hastily do they depart, there is no time for their dough to rise, and the only provisions they take along are unleavened. Before they go, they ask their Egyptian neighbors for gold, silver and garments, draining Egypt of its wealth.
The Children of Israel are commanded to consecrate all firstborn and to observe the anniversary of the Exodus each year by removing all leaven from their possession for seven days, eating matzah, and telling the story of their redemption to their children. They are also commanded to wear tefillin on the arm and head as a reminder of the Exodus and their resultant commitment to God.
Filed under: Weekly Readings
DARKNESS
The ancient Egyptians called the experiential absence of divinity “darkness by day.” How much more frightening is the reversal of nature! They worshiped the sun not only as the source of their well-being but as the regenerator of creation on a daily basis. From the Middle Kingdom on, the king was venerated as the son of Re, the living incarnation of the sun.”The mystery of solar rebirth is in fact the central, salvational element in Egyptian religion” (Jan Assmann, The Mind of Egypt, p. 209).
Hence, it is no accident that darkness unites the final three plagues that God hurls against Egypt. The locusts darken the face of the earth, if not the sky itself (10:5, 15). The darkness that follows is so thick that one could touch it (10:21-22).
Life, Liberty and Happiness
In the hierarchical world of Pharaoh every person is assigned a place, with the large majority in servitude to the state. According to the dictates of this type of society it is very difficult, if not impossible, to change one’s station in life. Once a slave always a slave! To facilitate the escape of their people from the bondage of slavery in Egypt, Moses and Aaron confronted the very premise upon which Pharaoh’s kingdom was based. They were claiming the values of God’s Kingdom, also expressed in the American Declaration of Independence, that “all men are created equal” and the Creator of all has endowed each person with “unalienable rights” among these being “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” The definition of these values, however, takes some concerted thought!
A large aspect of freedom is the ability to take responsibility for one’s life and actions; to make decisions and to act upon them. A slave does not have these options. He does not own his life and he therefore has no liberty. His “pursuit of happiness” is severely stunted as a result. The Hebrew name for Egypt is Mitzrayim, which means bonds or constrictions. As slaves, the Israelites were bound and constricted in Egypt. God’s people, the family of Jacob, were beaten down, deprived of freedom, without hope or a future. Their cry was a wordless cry of utter futility and despair. A pain-filled, silent howl pierced the heavens. God heard, and we are told: “God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel–and God knew” (Exodus 2:24-25). What did He know? It seems, in part, that the time of their Redemption from Egypt had come.
The power of God is made evident throughout the land of Egypt in a spectacular series of plagues until even the highest court officials and magicians declare that this is “the finger of God” (Exodus 8:19). Pharaoh, however, remains hardened and unrelenting until the climax of the final plague touches his and every Egyptian home with the death of their first-born. Finally he issues the command to Moses: “Go!”
A Hasty Departure
It is the middle of the night. The door to freedom is open, but it may soon swing shut! By morning Pharaoh may again rescind his decision. The Israelites, however, are prepared and ready to leave immediately. They have followed the directions of God as given to Moses. A specially chosen lamb was slaughtered and its blood applied to the doorposts and lintels of their homes.
What then transpires becomes the establishment by God of the Festival of Passover “as a statute forever” (12:14;17). On the evening that the Angel of Death passed over their homes and entered those of the Egyptians, the Israelites roast the lamb and eat it in haste, together with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. At midnight they are dressed, with their belts fastened, their feet shod with sandals and their staffs in their hands (12:11). The command goes forth and they set out on their journey to physical and spiritual freedom, together with many people who have seen the power of the true God and have chosen to join them (12:38).
The Festival of Passover is a wonderful reminder that slavery can be overcome and freedom is possible and real. We need to bear in mind, however, that a hasty, hurried dash for freedom is not the ideal. It is bound to be incomplete. A rushed, physical escape does not mean that one’s soul and mental attitudes are altered and set free. Physical release and spiritual freedom do not automatically ensure inner peace and “happiness”.
“…in the Messianic era, “when the LORD has bared His holy arm before all the nations, and all the earth shall see the salvation of our God” (Isaiah 52:10)] we are told, “You will not depart in haste, nor will you leave in flight” (Isaiah 52:12).
The Exodus from Egypt demonstrated that it is God’s will that human beings be freed from bondage, able to stand upright with the liberty to make choices and take responsibility for their life and actions. The reality of the limitations that accompany physical liberty is clear. We are often still beset with tribulations and become overwhelmed with frustration and disappointment. The “pursuit of happiness” seems futile. Again one raises a painful howl to heaven!
Lamb of God
Once more, in the fullness of time, God hears the cry of the heart and this time He chooses the perfect, spotless Lamb – His own first-born Son. Historically, the people were crying out for another physical liberation from the oppression of the Pharaoh-like Roman occupiers. This time, however, God desired to bring about a deeper, more complete release from inner bondage, to be made available to all peoples. He offered a greater freedom in the precious shed blood of the Passover Lamb, to be applied in humility to the doorway of one’s heart. He canceled the effects of repented sin, and made the way for all to draw near as redeemed children of God. He offered the opportunity to transcend physical limitations and to pursue true and lasting peace and joy through His Living Word and His Spirit of Holiness.
One like Moses – Jesus Christ – came as a servant. He left the glory of the fully Divine and became fully human. He took on the limitations and constrictions of physical existence in order to make possible the complete liberation of all mankind. He became the Passover Lamb, the striped and pierced unleavened bread, the cups of wine, the bitter herbs – all of which, if we partake, leads us into full Liberation and Redemption. In Him, we can even now enter the ‘Messianic era’ without fear or haste, but with hearts filled with true hope and joy.