Exodus 11: Judgement and Salvation

Key Verse
9 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen to you, that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.”
 
Meditation
God is sovereign over judgment and salvation. Grace invites us to trust Jesus alone for salvation from judgment. In today’s reading, the Lord governs every detail of the final plague with unmistakable clarity.
 
First, God calls His shot. He declares in advance what will happen (v. 1), fulfilling what He had already spoken in chapters 3 and 4. Pharaoh’s refusal to release Israel, God’s “firstborn son,” would result in the death of Egypt’s firstborn (4:23). The precision of God’s word reminds us: His judgment is never reactive or uncertain. It is deliberate, righteous, and certain.
 
Second, God acts personally. Unlike previous plagues mediated through Moses, this time the Lord Himself will pass through Egypt (v. 4). Our holy God moves into the midst of rebellion Himself. 
 
Third, God makes a distinction. While Egypt will experience devastating loss, Israel will be spared (v. 7). The difference is not moral superiority, but divine mercy received through trusting His provision. Those who reject God’s word will cry out in anguish (vv. 5-6), while those who trust Him will be delivered. God is sovereign in salvation as surely as He is in judgment.

God advances His purposes in judgment, granting Israel favor and displaying His power through “multiplied wonders” (vv. 3, 9). Ultimately, this passage points to Jesus Christ, the true Firstborn (see Hebrews 1:1-12). At the cross, judgment fell fully and finally on Him. Now, salvation is freely offered to all who trust in God’s provision.

God's just judgment is coming. Will you have trusted the One who has already borne it?

Today’s Reading
The Lord said to Moses, “Yet one plague more I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. Afterward, he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will drive you away completely. 2 Speak now in the hearing of the people, that they ask, every man of his neighbor and every woman of her neighbor, for silver and gold jewelry.” 3 And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants and in the sight of the people.

4 So Moses said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘About midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt, 5 and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the cattle. 6 There shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there has never been, nor ever will be again.7 But not a dog shall growl against any of the people of Israel, either man or beast, that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.’ 8 And all these your servants shall 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.” And he went out from Pharaoh in hot anger. 9 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen to you, that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.”

10 Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, and the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go out of his land.
 
Richly Dwelling
-What stands out to you from today’s reading, especially God’s sovereignty over salvation and judgment?
 
-The judgment of this chapter foreshadows the judgment that will come on those who do not trust Jesus and His work for salvation, believing Jesus took the judgment our sins deserve (see specifically Revelation 6). How does this fuel the urgency to share God’s word for salvation to family, friends, and coworkers who do not trust Jesus for salvation from God’s just judgment?
 
-Take a moment to pray and praise. Pray for those who do not know Jesus as their savior. Praise Jesus for the salvation He has given you, taking the just judgment your sin deserves by His death on the cross, so you can take God’s forgiveness through His work.
 
Key Verse
9 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen to you, that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.”