Monday, June 15, 2020

Exodus 12:29-36 comments: the death of the firstborn




Exodus 12:29 ¶  And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle. 30  And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead. 31  And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as ye have said. 32  Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also. 33  And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men. 34  And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneadingtroughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders. 35  And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: 36  And the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians.
So, now God kills the firstborn from the highest to the lowest to the cattle. There was no one higher than Pharaoh or lower than a prisoner in his dungeons. Even the cattle were affected that the state and the populace depended on so for food. Cattle includes several different animals that mankind was dependent on.
Genesis 47:17  And they brought their cattle unto Joseph: and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses, and for the flocks, and for the cattle of the herds, and for the asses: and he fed them with bread for all their cattle for that year.
Exodus 9:3  Behold, the hand of the LORD is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very grievous murrain.
Exodus 34:19  All that openeth the matrix is mine; and every firstling among thy cattle, whether ox or sheep, that is male.
Why this seemingly symbolic death among the firstborn of the cattle? What was the significance of this? First remember God’s possession.
Psalm 50:10  For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.
Exodus 13:2  Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine.
No one owns property and no one owns an animal. All property and all life belongs to God, who created it. Under Capitalism everything belongs to an individual; presumably the hardest working, most ambitious, the most clever, or the strongest and well-born. Under Socialism everything belongs to the people through the government which then consists of  ambitious, clever, strong, and ruthless individuals. Both are blasphemous lies. All things belong to God and He will give all things to His people in time.
1Corinthians 3:21 ¶  Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; 22  Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; 23  And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.
Man is a steward of God’s possession and the Christian must remember that. We have dominion under authority of God. Dominion is power over something as defined in Ephesians 1:21 and Jude, verse 25.
Exodus 19:5  Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
Psalm 50:12  If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.
The firstborn of man and beast was to be set apart or sanctified for God’s purpose. This plague foretold what God would require of the Hebrews.
In typology man is born like a wild ass’s colt and can only be redeemed with a lamb, who is Christ.
Job 11:12  For vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass’s colt.
Exodus 13:13  And every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck: and all the firstborn of man among thy children shalt thou redeem.
1Peter 1:18  Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19  But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 20  Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, 21  Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.
Every household in Egypt suffered under this judgment. If you believe in the world of spirit, that is, if you believe in the Bible, there is a seamless flow from this physical world of flesh and blood into the world of spirit where an entirely different type of life, which we hardly can begin to understand, exists. As the physical universe represents less than 5% of what must be, as even atheistic scientists believe, the world of spirit is far greater than anything we can imagine. So, little babies and innocent beasts did not simply cease to exist or began suffering in some kind of manufactured place like Limbo but take their place in that world.
The Pharaoh is now ready to drive the Hebrews from the land. This is a terrible tragedy. The firstborn among men was to inherit and all of the heritage of a man passed through his all-important firstborn. The firstborn among beast was to be set apart for God and we will see this in Exodus 13:2. Keep in mind that all beasts belong to God but the firstborn among the Egyptian and later the Hebrew beasts were His for a special purpose.
            The Hebrews are ready to leave Egypt and the Egyptians weigh them down with abundant necessities for the trip and much treasure. Good riddance, I can imagine they thought. Just go away lest we all die.

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