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. 2 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.
With all of these disasters facing Egypt
the Egyptians know that Moses is a very important person. God is about to do
something that will certainly result in Pharaoh not just letting the Hebrews go
but in him casting them out. The Egyptians will favor them with portable
wealth; jewels and gold. I am reminded of the Southern U.S. tongue-in-cheek
saying, “I’d rather owe it to you the rest of my life than cheat you out of it.”
It is interesting to note that later in history an Egyptian army will despoil
Jerusalem.
1Kings
14:25 And it came to pass in the fifth
year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem:
26 And he took away the treasures of the
house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king’s house; he even took away
all: and he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made.
11:4 ¶
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. 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.
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. 9 And the LORD
said unto Moses, Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you; that my wonders may be
multiplied in the land of Egypt. 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.
We’ve already discussed the importance of
the eldest son, not just as a child and object of affection, but as the
rightful heir to the family’s fortune and its gods in Genesis. There was no one
in an ancient family more important to the father, not even the mother. This
plague, this curse, would be a bitter affliction and it will cover not only the
human kingdom but the kingdom of beasts as well. Every commoner, every
impoverished peasant, and every man of authority will suffer under this burden.
The nation of Egypt is being judged like no other with judgment visited upon
gods and men and beasts.
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