Lesson #11

EXODUS 11
Lesson #11
THE BATTLE OF THE GODS AND THE FIRSTBORN

• Memory verse: Psalms 89:27

• We have come through the first nine plagues in our study. Only one plague remains. Under each plague I have mentioned the Egyptian gods specifically affected by that particular plague. However, because of the intricate relationship of one Egyptian god with another, these plagues were an embarrassment to all the Egyptian gods in one way or another. Therefore, I have made a list of the principal gods of Egypt, their area of influence, and their appearance.

The Egyptian god	The Area of Influence	The Appearance
Aker	Earth god and helper of the dead	Two lion heads
Amon	Wind god, the helper of the pious	Human (ram and goose were sacred to him)
Anubis	The god of mummification. The glorifier of the dead	An image with a jackal’s head and black skin
Apis	He insures fertility	A bull
Aton	Sun god and god of creation	Cobra
Atum	Primordial creature god	Human serpent
Bastet	The goddess of protection	A cat
Bes	Protection at birth; dispenser of virility	A group of demons
Edjo	Goddess of the delta in Lower Egypt	Uraeus serpent
Geb	Earth god; the consort of Nut, the father of Osiris	Human
Hapi	Fertility god and spirit of the Nile River	A fat human with large breasts
Hathor	Sky goddess; the goddess of love, dance, and alcohol	Cow
Heket	Primordial goddess. The goddess of childbirth	Frog
Horus	Sky god	Falcon
Imhotep	The god of medicine
Isis	The goddess of healing. The daughter of Geb, the sister and wife of Osiris. The mother of Horus	Human
Khepri	Primordial god. The rising sun	The scarab beetle
Khnum	The giver of the Nile River and the creator of man	Human with a ram’s head
Khons	The moon god	Human
Maat	Justice. The daughter of Ra	Human
Meskhenet	The goddess who protects newborn babies. The goddess of destiny.
Min	The God of virility and reproduction
Mut	The “eye of the sun”, the consort of Amon	Human or a vulture
Nekhbet	The goddess of upper Egypt
Nut	The sky goddess and mother of heavenly bodies. The consort of Geb. The mother of Osiris and Seth.
Osiris	The god of dead pharaoh’s. The ruler of the dead, of life and of vegetation.
Ptah	The creator god. The god of artisans.
Ra	The god of the sun, earth, and the sky. The father of Maat. A national god.	Human with a falcon’s head.
Sekhmet	The goddess of war and sickness
Selket	Guardian of life and protector of the dead.	Scorpion
Serapis	The god in charge of healing
Seshat	The goddess of writing and books
Seth	The god of chaos, the desert, storms, and crops. The brother of Osiris.
Shu	The god of the air and the bearer of heaven
Sobek	The creator god	Crocodile
Sothis	The god of the Nile flood waters
Thermuthis	The goddess of fertility and harvests and fate	Serpent
Thoth	The god of wisdom, the moon, and the accounting of time. The messenger of gods	Ibis or baboon
Thoueris or Tawaret	The goddess of fertility and women in labor	Hippopotamus

• Read Exo 11:1-3
• The prophecy:
• God gives a prophecy that Pharaoh will let the Israelites leave Egypt after one more plague.
• Pharaoh will not only permit the Israelites to leave, but he will insist that they leave.
• The Egyptians will give the Israelites a large amount of wealth to entice them to leave Egypt.
• The bounty of wealth:

• “…let every man borrow of his neighbour, and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold.”

(2)

• The word, “borrow” is the Hebrew word which means the payment of back wages. Therefore, all the wealth that the Israelites received was theirs by right. They had slaved for it for hundreds of years under the bondage of the taskmasters.
• There is a proverb in verse 7.

• “But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the LORD doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.”

(7)

• The meaning of this proverb is that no one would bring any injury to the Israelites.
• We are going to see later in our study why this wealth was so important to God.
• Read Exo 11:4-10
• To understand the last plague, we need to understand God’s perspective concerning the “firstborn”.
• Background:
• From the beginning, there was something special about the firstborn.
• The firstborn son received the spiritual blessing from his father, a double inheritance of material wealth, and authority to govern the family. This was the case with Isaac’s two sons, Esau and Jacob. Jacob stole the birthright by deception from his brother Esau, who was the firstborn. (Gen 27:19, 27-29)
• Therefore, the concept of the firstborn indicates the following:
• Chosen for a purpose in service to God.
• Given a double inheritance.
• Given spiritual blessings.
• Given authority to govern.
• “And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn.”

(Exo 4:22)

• When God says that Israel is His firstborn, He indicates that Israel was specifically and purposefully chosen from among all the nations and peoples of the world. Why Israel?
• God chose Israel because it was a small, weak nation so that God would receive the glory.
• God chose Israel specifically to bear the responsibility of service to God.
• =1= Israel was to be a light to the Gentiles. (Deu 6:4 1Sam 43:10-12)
• =2= Israel was to be the model of a nation blessed by God (Deu 33:26-29 1Chr 17:20-21 Psa 144:15)
• =3= Israel was given the responsibility to receive, preserve, and to transmit the scriptures. (Deu 4:5-8 Rom 3:1-2)
• =4= Israel was given the responsibility to be the human blood-line of the Messiah. (Gen 3:15 Gen 12:3 2Sam 7:12-16 1Sam 7:14 1Sam 9:6 Mat 1:1 Rom 1:3)
• The firstborn belonged to God:
• Read Exo 13:2
• The firstborn, whether man or animal, was specifically chosen by God and belonged to God to be used for His service. This is why the firstborn child had a double material inheritance and the spiritual blessing from his father. He had a responsibility to serve God and to use his blessings, authority, and wealth in the service of God and to others. Therefore, the firstborn belonged to God.
• What relationship does the death of the firstborn have to do with the Israelite bondage in Egypt? (Exo 4:22-23 Col 1:15, 18)
• God’s firstborn, Israel, was in bondage and serving Pharaoh (Satan) instead of serving God. Therefore, God would kill the firstborn of Egypt, including the next Pharaoh, to free His firstborn, Israel.
• Again we see the battle behind the scenes between God and Satan. The firstborn is the prize.
• Why are the animals involved in this struggle?
• The animals were chosen and used as sacrifice in service to God.
• Because of the death of the firstborn in the tenth plague, the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt was forever linked to the concept of the redemption of the firstborn.
• Read Num 3:40-41 and Num 18:16
• After the exodus, God said that the firstborn of all humans did not have to be in full time service to God. Instead, God chose the tribe of Levi and specifically the sons of Aaron to be the priests.
• However, the firstborn of every Israelite still belonged to God but parents could redeem (or buy back) those children with money. In other words, instead of service to God, the parent would pay money, that maintained the Levitical priesthood, instead of sending his child to be a priest.
• The New Testament extension of the concept of the firstborn:
• Jesus Christ is God’s firstborn Son. (Mat 1:25)
• Jesus was chosen to be the Firstborn among many Jewish brethren. (Rom 8:29-30)
• Jesus was chosen to be the Firstborn among all humanity and all angels. (Col 1:15)
• Jesus was chosen to be the Firstborn from among the dead. In other words, He was chosen to be the first to be raised from the dead and never to die again. (Col 1:18)
• Because believers in Jesus are co-inheritors with Him, believers are also called the church of the firstborn (Heb 12:23)

Israel’s Firstborn Exo 13:1-6	Jesus Christ, the Firstborn Mat 1:25	Believers as the firstborn Heb 12:23
Consecrated to God as priests until Num 3:12-13, 40-51	The Firstborn of His heavenly Father. Our High Priest	Consecrated to God as a royal priesthood in 1Pet 2:9 Rom 8:29 Heb 1:6
Silver paid for redemption to buy the child back. Unclean animals were redeemed with money or a lamb	The Firstborn from the dead who paid the redemption price for us. (Col 1:18 Rev 1:5)	Redeemed with a price because we were unclean (1Cor 6:19-20)
Firstborn inherited twice as much as other brothers and sisters	Jesus is the Firstborn of every creature which means He has authority over all creation. (Col 1:15)	Believers in Christ are privileged heirs above all men as joint heirs with Christ. (Rom 8:17)
The eating of unleavened bread at dedication	Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.” (Joh 6:35-58)	The believer is to partake of Jesus, who is without sin (leaven), to become more like Him. (2Pet 1:4)

• Plague #10 Death of the Firstborn

:

• The warning for this plague:
• Moses tells Pharaoh that his firstborn son will surely die in this plague. (5)
• This meant that the next Pharaoh would die. The son of the Pharaoh was to be the next personification of the sun god Ra.
• Moses tells Pharaoh the extent of the plague.
• It would touch all households in Egypt.
• It would touch all beasts in Egypt.
• The exception:
• The children of Israel would be protected from this plague.
• God’s judgment on the gods of Egypt through the plague of the firstborn:
• Pharaoh was a god and so was his son. In fact the death of the firstborn would break the ancestral link of deity for all of Egyptian history.
• Min

the god of reproduction.

• Heket

, the goddess of childbirth.

• Isis

, the goddess of protection for children.

• Meskhenet

, the goddess of destiny.

• Hathor,

the goddess who attended the birth of children.

• Ra,

the sun god for whom the Pharaoh was the incarnation of that god.

• Selket,

the guardian of life and the protector of the dead.

• Osiris

, the god of dead pharaoh’s. The ruler of life and death.

• Apis Bull

; the bull must be the firstborn animal.

• Summary:.
• We have spent much time talking about the gods of Egypt for two reasons:
• To understand the pagan religion with which Moses was raised in the courts of Pharaoh.
• This understanding makes the inspiration of the Word of God that much more striking when we come to the Law that God gave to Moses on Mt. Sinai.
• To understand the plagues themselves and their specific purposes in defeating the gods of Egypt.
• The concept of the firstborn is so essential to understanding God and how He worked in the Old Testament and what He expects of us today.
• Simply stated, it is this:
• God chose the firstborn of every family to serve Him.
• God chose the tribe of Levi to be the priests with the redemption of the firstborn by money.
• God chose Israel to be the firstborn of every nation of people to serve Him.
• God chose Jesus Christ to be the Firstborn who served the Father.
• Believers in Jesus Christ are the congregation of the firstborn chosen to serve God.
• Application:
• The believer is chosen to serve God.
• This does not make believers special or important. It means that believers in Jesus Christ have a responsibility before God. As a member of the church of the firstborn, the believer inherits with Jesus Christ the following:
• A double inheritance.
• That means materially the believer has double what he would have had if he had not given his life to Jesus.
• A spiritual blessing.
• All the spiritual blessings of love, joy, peace, fulfillment, eternal life, etc. etc.
• Authority.
• Through the Holy Spirit, the believer has all spiritual power and authority to serve God.
• How must the believer use this inheritance to serve God?
• The believer is to use his material wealth, his spiritual blessings, and his God-given power and authority to fulfill what God called the Jews to do:
• The believer must be a light to the unsaved. (Mat 5:14-16 Luk 11:33)
• The believer must be a model witness of a life blessed by God. (1Tim 4:12 Joh 13:15-17)
• The believer must receive, preserve, and transmit the Word of God. (2Pet 1:19 1Joh 2:5 Rev 3:8)

HOMEWORK
EXODUS 12:1-14
This is a self-study. Please do not send homework answers to the teacher forcorrection.

• Application of Exo 11
• Assuming you are a believer in Jesus Christ, which of your responsibilities do you personally need to take more seriously:
• Being a light to the unsaved?
• Maintaining a pure life blessed by God?
• Knowing, understanding, and telling others the Word of God?
• How do you plan to improve this area of your responsibility in order to serve God better?

• Preparation of Exo 12:1-14
• Read Exo 12:1-14
• Why was no blood put on the threshold of the door?
• How many years were the Jews supposed to celebrate the Passover?
• Should New Testament Christians keep the Passover celebration? Why?

• Memory Verse: 1Corinthians 5:7