The sequence of the ten plagues now culminates in a plague on the firstborn. Why is this the culmination? The answer was given at the start of this story in 4:22-23: “This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son, and I told you, ‘Let my son go, so he may worship me.’ But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.” God was going to take from Egypt what Egypt took from him. The firstborn son in the ancient world had special significance. He was the one who inherited the family property and carried on the family ‘name’. For God to take every firstborn of Egypt was therefore the ultimate display of judgement upon Egypt. Like the builders of the infamous tower of Babel in Genesis 11:4, the Egyptians had sought to ‘make a name for themselves’ by building a great kingdom ruled by a dynasty of great Pharaohs. In fact, they were using the Israelites as slaves to do this. But now God was pulling down their ‘tower’. The Apostle Paul refers to Jesus Christ as “the firstborn over all creation” (Colossian 1:15). Through Christ we stand in the status of firstborn sons. God is zealous for his firstborn because we bear his name. He wants to bless us and see us flourish so that the name of Christ would be exalted. Your mission is to carry the name of Jesus and bring glory to God. You can contend for your own recognition and glory and live in frustration. Or you can live for the glory of Christ and nothing will thwart you.
Ask God to use you to draw recognition to himself.
Read Exodus 11
