The Tenth Plague Announced

Right after the plague of darkness blotted out light in the land of Egypt for three days, Pharaoh met with Moses. During this interchange, as we saw in our study of Exodus 10:21–29, Moses and the king agreed that they would never see each other again. This meeting, however, did not end with the conclusion of chapter 10. Its description continues on into Exodus 11, for Moses does not leave the presence of Pharaoh until 11:8, after he announced the final plague on Egypt—the death of the firstborn (vv. 4–7). Exodus 11:1–3, then, serves as an explanatory comment from Moses and not as part of the record of the final meeting between Pharaoh and the Lord’s prophet. Verses 1–3 explain why in that last meeting Moses told the king that the death of the firstborn was coming—namely, because the Lord told him to make the announcement.

The death of all the firstborn in Egypt is the most significant of all the plagues and, as we will see, serves as the context in which the old covenant sacrament of the Passover meal was instituted (see ch. 12). Moses tells Pharaoh that God is about to strike dead all the firstborn in the land of Egypt. Every Egyptian from the highest official (Pharaoh) to those lowest in social status (the slave girl who ground grain into flour at the handmill) will lose his or her firstborn, and specifically the firstborn male child. Not even the animals of the Egyptians will escape this judgment (11:4–6). This will further devastate the economy of Egypt, for the plague of hail did not leave many animals alive, and now their offspring will suffer (see 9:13–35). The sins of the Egyptians will have consequences on the beasts of the field because the impact of human sin extends even to the animals and the rest of creation. No wonder, then, that all creation groans in anticipation for the renewal of all things (Rom. 8:19–22).

Not only will the last plague strike the economy, but it will decisively condemn the entire religious system of ancient Egypt. The Egyptians in Moses’ day believed that the gods went to war at midnight, so God’s choice to strike at midnight shows His superiority over all the supposed deities of Egypt. Moreover, the ancient Egyptians believed that the pharaoh was the incarnation of the god Horus and that when he died, the pharaoh’s firstborn son became the new incarnation of Horus and thus the new king. By killing Pharaoh’s firstborn son, the Lord throws Egypt’s belief system into chaos, demonstrating that the nation’s gods are impotent.