The historain says the Hebrew slaves did exactly as they were told. Miracles and deliverances, like surgical procedures, are delicate processes that require careful attention to detail and exact compliance. There is not time to argue. And it's not wise to mess with the details.
Imagine the pain. There is not a single Egyptian household that didn't overnight lose a dad, a brother, a son or daughter, a mother, a sister. Even those without first born children lost lifestocks and pets. It is devastion worse than pandemic levels.
So is pharaoh surprised? If he is, then he has only himself to blame. So far, God has done everything exactly as he says he would. He has even been warned about this devastating tenth plague. But he ignores the warning.
And for the first time, he is a victim of the plague. The privilege of royalty has probably shielded him from the fallout of the first nine plagues. But not even royal immunity spares him from this tenth plague - his son dies on the throne. He has been willing to risk other people's children on his spat with God. But now, he has lost a wager with his own flesh and blood.
As God predicted, the Egyptians can't wait for the Hebrews to go. But whereas a couple of weeks earlier, they would have left as slaves with meagre belongings. Now, two weeks and ten plagues later, they leave as victors who have pillaged a super world power. A bunch of nobodies leaving Egypt with all of its wealth.
No wonder the historian repeats the instuctions for annual re-telling of this story. And the annual re-enactment is done over a meal - an intimate feast with family and friends. The meal is oddly inclusive and exclusive at the same time. Only people who have a relationship with God can participate - so the food cannot be eaten outside of homes in case someone eats it "by mistake"; and the lamb cannot be disassembled to be shared with people who cannot eat.
Yet at the same time, anyone who wishes to participlate can do so by coming under the friendship contract God has with the Hebrews.
And so on this day, the Hebrews walked out of Egypt because God made a promise to their ancestors, and God heard their cries under the oppression of the Egyptian Pharaoh.
Write
Think about your faith story: remember your salvation story. What "instructions" did you follow? What did you "risk" on God's promise of deliverance? What "spoils" did God give you for victory over the things that oppressed you?
How do you need rescuing again today? What instructions God is asking you to follow to the letter? What do you need to risk to see what God can do? What will you get for letting God free you?
Who do you know is needing God's rescue?
Pray
What
is God saying to you today? What's Good News to you?
Talk to God about your own Exodus experience. Thank God for his pursuit of you, his attention to your cries for help, and for coming to your rescue.
Pray about your current struggles. Ask God for the help you need, the reassureance of his presence, and the courage to do what God ask to get rescue.
Pray for your friend who needs rescue. Ask God to show you how you can come along side and support your friend..
Pray for an experience of God's love, grace and mercy in the way he is with you, and the way he continues to rescues you, and the way he helps others find rescue through you.