The Story of the Ten Plagues of Egypt, Continued (Exodus 11-12)

Plague Number 10 – Death of the Firstborn. The Lord told Moses he would bring one more plague upon Pharaoh and the people of Egypt. The king would then let the people go. In fact, the plague would be so bad that Pharaoh would almost drive them out of the country. In this last plague the oldest child in every family would die. A death angel would pass though Egypt, and even Pharaoh’s own son would die. Do you remember when Moses was born how Pharaoh made a law to kill all boy babies by throwing them into the river? Now the Egyptians are being punished in almost the same way. The Hebrew people, however, were told to kill a lamb and sprinkle its blood at the entrance of their homes. They would put the blood on the doorframe, overhead and on each side. When the death angel came into Egypt at midnight he would not go into the homes where he saw blood on the doorposts for God said, “When I see the blood I will pass over you.” Boys and girls, that reminds me of how Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins. When we trust in Jesus, his blood covers our hearts just as the blood of the lamb covered the doorposts and protected the Hebrews. Well it all happened just as God told Moses, and that night a great cry went up from the land of Egypt. In every house that was not covered by the blood the oldest son died. When Pharaoh looked on his own dead son and knew the same thing happened in ever home in Egypt, he sent a message to Moses. This is what he said: “Rise up, and get ye forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as ye have said. Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also.”