Moses had a revelation that he was going to be a deliverer of the nation of Israel out of bondage to Pharaoh. However, instead of patiently waiting for the Lord to move in His time and power, Moses initiated an ill-advised and murderous effort without the Lord's direction. As a consequence, Moses spent forty unnecessary years in Midian, and the nation of Israel spent an extra thirty years in bondage to Egypt. However forty years in Midian greatly humbled the arrogant Moses, making him ready to be commissioned by the Lord for the work to which he had been called.

After an encounter with the Lord at the Burning Bush (Exodus 3:1-4:17), Moses returned to Egypt to confront the son of the Pharaoh from whom he had fled forty years previously (Exodus 4:18-31,7:7, Acts 7:24). In fact, Moses was very confrontational with the new Pharaoh, continually demanding that the entire nation of Israel leave Egypt to go worship the Lord in the desert. Every time Pharaoh refused, Moses made a prophetic proclamation, and released another plague on the Egyptian deities, Pharaoh, and the entire nation of Egypt (Exodus 5:1-10:29). However, rather than becoming more compliant to the demands of the Lord, Pharaoh became increasingly resistant, even against the expressed wishes of his own advisers and the desires of his own people, which lead to one final confrontation:

Now the LORD spoke to Moses ... "On ... the fourteenth day of the ... month ... the whole assembly ... of Israel shall kill [the male lamb without blemish] at twilight. And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.... It is the LORD's Passover.

'For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

'So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance. (Exodus 12:1-14, NKJV)

The nation of Israel obeyed the Lord, killed the lambs at twilight, applied the blood to the two side posts of their home doors and the lintel above those doors, and were spared the Lord's wrath. The nation of Egypt on the other hand, suffered the loss of the firstborn of their children and of all their livestock. Since the Egyptians so greatly feared the Israelites, they gave many costly gifts of silver, gold, jewelry, and clothing as bribes to leave (Exodus 12:33-36). Even though they had lived in Egypt for 430 years, most of that time in slavery and poverty, the Lord compelled the Egyptians to repay them for their time of service. The Lord had victoriously delivered His people from the domination of Pharaoh, lavished great gifts on the former Israelite slaves, and instituted a symbolic feast that has lasted over 5,000 years.

There are several aspects of faith revealed in this story: true faith simply obeys the Lord's commands, even in impossible situations. Second, true faith always stands with the Lord, even in the face of dreadfully intimidating opposition. Third, true faith gladly engages in symbolic acts as instituted by the Lord, even though those acts may not be fully understood. Fourth, the Lord always honors true faith; He will not abandon those who commit their faith to Him.

Copyright (c) 2008 Jon Straumfjord