Pharaoh’s outburst against Moses closed the door to further negotiations. Moses agreed that it was over. On the way out the door, the LORD told him that he was going to bring one last plague upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. So Moses got the last word; actually he got three last words.
First of all, Moses made a “go-fund me” request before all the people of Egypt. The request was favorably received. Some might think of the Egyptian people’s positive response as a form of reparation. Fairness would require that the slaves be repaid for their labor. The text suggests that the Egyptians respected the Hebrews and held Moses in high esteem. (Ryken:321) Justice and mercy motivated them.
The next last word from Moses included the most frightening warning any family could imagine. “About midnight …every firstborn in Egypt shall die, from the firstborn in Pharaoh’s house to the firstborn of the lowliest slave and the firstborn of whatever cattle were left.”
Finally, Moses told Pharaoh that God would make a distinction between Egypt and Israel, and that because of it, all the servants of Pharaoh would come down to me and bow down to me, saying, ‘Get out, you, and all the people who follow you.’ And after that, I will go out.”
Pharaoh’s hardness of heart sealed his demise. Because he would not acknowledge God nor listen to his servant, Moses, Pharaoh lost everything. His nation was decimated by the plagues. His economy was ruined. His religion was exposed as worthless. Pharaoh’s identity as the son of the Sun god was fully disproved. His power was taken away. People would bend the knee to Moses rather than to him.
Reflections: What is the enduring message of the plagues? In my recent study from James, I came upon the warning to the rich which opens the fifth chapter. It sounds like a clear match to Pharaoh’s attitude.
Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. 4 Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.
How will you respond to these “last words to unjust oppressors?”