“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, that it may become gnats through all the land of Egypt.’ ”The gnats appeared to eat the dead frogs which had littered the ground. “They did so; and Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff, and struck the dust of the earth, and there were gnats on man and beast. All the dust of the earth became gnats through all the land of Egypt. The magicians tried with their secret arts to bring forth gnats, but they could not; so there were gnats on man and beast. Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had said” (Ex 8:16-19).
“Now the Lord said to Moses, “Rise early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh, as he comes out to the water, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me. “For if you do not let My people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and on your servants and on your people and into your houses; and the houses of the Egyptians will be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they dwell. “But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where My people are living, so that no swarms of flies will be there, in order that you may know that I, the Lord, am in the midst of the land. “I will put a division between My people and your people” (Ex 8:20-23). Again Pharaoh said he would let the people go if Moses stopped the flies. But when God stopped the flies, Pharaoh again reneged on his promise.
The Lord continued on with His plagues one after another. He caused all the Egyptian cattle to die. He caused great painful boils to afflict man and best. He brought the greatest hail storm ever to be seen In Egypt, ruining all the crops. He brought an infestation of locusts to strip the land of all vegetation. He brought a great darkness (blackness) to cover the land for 3 days. Each time Pharaoh’s heart was hardened and he refused to let the people go (Ex Chapters 9-10). This all set the stage for the last plague, the greatest of all.
“Now the Lord said to Moses, “One more plague I will bring on Pharaoh and on Egypt; after that he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will surely drive you out from here completely” (Ex 11:1). God never wavered from the plan He originally spoke to Moses that He would deliver the Israelites. Moses had gained esteem not only from the Israelites but the Egyptians themselves. So He said: “Speak now in the hearing of the people that each man ask from his neighbor and each woman from her neighbor for articles of silver and articles of gold” (Ex 11:2). The Israelites were not going to leave Egypt empty handed. Besides these items would be needed for what they were going to do in the wilderness. “Moses said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘About midnight I am going out into the midst of Egypt, and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of the Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the millstones; all the firstborn of the cattle as well” (Ex 11:4-5).
The Final Judgment and the First Passover
The Passover itself is symbolic of the lamb of God (Christ), the saving qualities of the blood of the lamb and it separated God’s people from the Egyptians as this final plague did not affect the Israelites, as they were covered by the blood of the lamb. Moses described the Passover to the people and each had to follow the instructions carefully. They were leaving the great nation of Egypt more or less against the will of Egypt. It was a dangerous undertaking. Moses said: “This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you. “Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers’ households, a lamb for each household” (Ex 12:2-3). The lamb was symbolic of the “lamb of God” the Paschal lamb the name and representation of Christ’s first advent and symbolic of His death. The lamb was foreknown to God as it had been slain before the foundations of the world. Revelation says: “All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev 13:8 NKJ). Also: “And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth” (Rev 5:6). Abel’s acceptable offering to God was a lamb. “Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats” (Ex 12:5).
“Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. ‘They shall eat the flesh that same night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs” (Ex 12:7-8). The blood over the doorposts is symbolic of the saving blood of Christ which He shed on the cross for our deliverance and salvation. The bitter herbs were to remind the Israelites of the bitterness of their slavery in Egypt and of the bitterness of the sufferings of Christ on the cross to come. It shall be roasted to represent the fact that Christ comes with fire. It is to be eaten that night, with none left over, as we are to partake of all of the provision Christ, not just a partial portion. “Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather roasted with fire, both its head and its legs along with its entrails. ‘And you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until morning, you shall burn with fire” (Ex 12:9-10). Whatever is left is worthless because as a provision it had to be entirely consumed in the night. Many miss the full provision of Christ by partaking of only a part of what He has to offer.
“Now you shall eat it in this manner: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste—it is the Lord’s Passover” (Ex 12:11). They were leaving Egypt in a hurry, in the middle of the night, so they had to be dressed in readiness (loins girded-clothes on, sandals on feet and staff in hand)—they had a long journey before them. Similarly God is a right now God. We must be prepared at all times for His moving, ready to follow him quickly. They didn’t even have time to leaven their bread so they ate it unleavened. This was also to remove the leaven of Egypt from their houses as they were starting anew. “Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses; for whoever eats anything leavened from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel” (Ex 12:15). Paul, speaking of Passover in the New testament, said: “Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7).
“For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—I am the Lord. ‘The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt” (Ex 12:12-13).