| Back to Home Page | Back to Book Index
|
Exodus Chapter
Eleven
Exodus 11
Chapter Contents
God's last instructions to Moses respecting Pharaoh and
the Egyptians. (1-3) The death of the first-born threatened. (4-10)
Commentary on Exodus 11:1-3
(Read Exodus 11:1-3)
A secret revelation was made to Moses while in the
presence of Pharaoh, that he might give warning of the last dreadful judgment,
before he went out. This was the last day of the servitude of Israel; they were
about to go away. Their masters, who had abused them in their work, would have
sent them away empty; but God provided that the labourers should not lose their
hire, and ordered them to demand it now, at their departure, and it was given
to them. God will right the injured, who in humble silence commit their cause
to him; and none are losers at last by patient suffering. The Lord gave them
favour in the sight of the Egyptians, by making it appear how much he favoured
them. He also changed the spirit of the Egyptians toward them, and made them to
be pitied of their oppressors. Those that honour God, he will honour.
Commentary on Exodus 11:4-10
(Read Exodus 11:4-10)
The death of all the first-born in Egypt at once: this
plague had been the first threatened, but is last executed. See how slow God is
to wrath. The plague is foretold, the time is fixed; all their first-born
should sleep the sleep of death, not silently, but so as to rouse the families
at midnight. The prince was not too high to be reached by it, nor the slaves at
the mill too low to be noticed. While angels slew the Egyptians, not so much as
a dog should bark at any of the children of Israel. It is an earnest of the
difference there shall be in the great day, between God's people and his
enemies. Did men know what a difference God puts, and will put to eternity,
between those that serve him and those that serve him not, religion would not
seem to them an indifferent thing; nor would they act in it with so much
carelessness as they do. When Moses had thus delivered his message, he went out
from Pharaoh in great anger at his obstinacy; though he was the meekest of the
men of the earth. The Scripture has foretold the unbelief of many who hear the
gospel, that it might not be a surprise or stumbling-block to us, Romans 10:16. Let us never think the worse of
the gospel of Christ for the slights men put upon it. Pharaoh was hardened, yet
he was compelled to abate his stern and haughty demands, till the Israelites
got full freedom. In like manner the people of God will find that every
struggle against their spiritual adversary, made in the might of Jesus Christ,
every attempt to overcome him by the blood of the Lamb, and every desire to
attain increasing likeness and love to that Lamb, will be rewarded by
increasing freedom from the enemy of souls.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Exodus》
Exodus 11
Verse 2
[2]
Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbour,
and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold.
Let every man ask (not borrow!) of his
neighbour jewels - This was the last day of their servitude, when they were to
go away, and their masters, who had abused them in their work, would now have
defrauded them of their wages, and have sent them away empty, and the poor
Israelites were so fond of liberty that they themselves would be satisfied with
that, without pay: but he that executeth righteousness and judgment for the
oppressed, provided that the labourers should not lose their hire. God ordered
them to demand it now at their departure, in jewels of silver, and jewels of
gold; to prepare for which, God had now made the Egyptians as willing to part
with them upon any terms, as before the Egyptians had made them willing to go
upon any terms.
Verse 5
[5] And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn
of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the
maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts.
The death of the first-born had been threatened,
Exodus 4:23, but is last executed, and less
judgments tried, which, if they had done the work, would have prevented this.
See how slow God is to wrath, and how willing to be met in the way of his
judgments, and to have his anger turned away! That sitteth upon his throne -
That is to set.
The maid-servant behind the mill — The poor captive slave, employed in the hardest labour.
Verse 8
[8] And
all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down themselves unto
me, saying, Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee: and after that I
will go out. And he went out from Pharaoh in a great anger.
All these thy servants — Thy courtiers and great officers: The people that follow thee - That are
under thy conduct: and command. When Moses had thus delivered his message, he
went out from Pharaoh in great anger, though he was the meekest of all the men
of the earth. Probably he expected that the very threatening of the death of the
first-born should have wrought upon Pharaoh to comply; especially he having
complied so far already, and having seen how exactly all Moses's predictions
were fulfilled. But it had not that effect; his proud heart would not yield, no
not to save all the first-born of his kingdom. Moses hereupon was provoked to a
holy indignation, being grieved, as our Saviour afterwards, for the hardness of
his heart, Mark 3:5.
──
John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Exodus》
11 Chapter 11
Verse 1
One plague more.
One more plague
I. Heaven will
terribly plague the sinner. And the one plague more to come upon the impenitent
sinner will be awful, it will be just; it will be the natural outcome of a
wicked life, and will be inflicted by God.
II. It shows that
heaven has a great resource of plagues with which to torment the sinner. The
material universe, in its avery realm, is the resource of heaven for the
plaguing of men. Men ask how God can punish the sinner in the world to come. He
will not be at a loss for one plague more whereby to torment the finally
impenitent. How foolish of man to provoke the anger of God!
III. It shows that
heaven gives ample warning of the plagues it will inflict upon the sinner. Men
do not walk ignorantly to hell.
IV. It shows that
heaven has a merciful intention even in the infliction of its plagues. It
designed the moral submission of Pharaoh by the threatened plague, and also the
freedom of Israel. And so God plagues men that He may save them, and those whom
they hold in the dire bondage of moral evil. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
One effort more
The old astronomer with his trusty glass is searching the heavens
for a star, “a lost star,” he says. “It ought to be there!” he murmers, looking
along the jewelled lines of some constellation. Not finding his diamond, he
shakes his head, and is about to give up the search. “Just one trial more!” he
murmers. He directs his glass towards the sky, and lo, there it is! Out of the
dark depths of space flashes the pure, bright face of the lost star. “Found!”
he cries. “It was one effort more that did it.” Yes, it is true in nature and
in the world of grace that it is the one effort more that often restores to its
orbit the lost star. It was the one more reaching out of the world of Christian
sympathy that by a friendly tap and a kindly word arrested a drunkard and gave
to temperance a star orator, Gough. A Sunday-school teacher touches on the
shoulder and kindly asks a young man about his soul, and this one effort more
of the Church of God brought Dwight L. Moody to the Saviour. God uses
varied instruments:--One day, seeing some men in a field, I made my way
to them, and found they were cutting up the trunk of an old tree. I said, “That
is slow work; why do you not split it asunder with the beetle and wedges”? “Ah,
this wood is so cross-grained and stubborn that it requires something sharper
than wedges to get it to pieces.” “Yes,” I replied; “and that is the way God is
obliged to deal with obstinate, cross-grained sinners; if they will not yield
to one of His instruments, you may depend on it He will make use of another.” (G.
Grigg.)
Verses 4-10
All the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die.
The last plague threatened
It was to be.
I. Solemn in its
advent. “About midnight.”
II. Fatal in its
issue. “All the firstborn . . . shall die.”
III. Comprehensive
in its design.
“From the firstborn of Pharaoh,” etc.
IV. Heartrending in
its cry. “None like it.”
V. Discriminating
in its infliction. “The Lord doth put a difference,” etc. Piety is the best
protection against woe. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
A contrast
1. The wicked crying--the good quiet.
2. The wicked dead--the good living.
3. The wicked frightened--the good peaceful.
4. The wicked helpless--the good protected. (J. S. Exell, M.
A.)
Separating the precious from the vile
I. The difference.
1. Eternal.
2. Most ancient. Ordained of God from before foundation of world.
3. Vital. An essential distinction of nature between righteous and
wicked.
4. This difference in nature is followed by a difference in God’s
judicial treatment of the two classes.
5. This distinction is carried out in providence. To the righteous
man every providence is a blessing. To the sinner all things work together for
evil.
6. This difference will come out more distinctly on the judgment day.
II. Where is this
difference seen?
1. In the Temple.
2. In the whole life.
3. In time of temptation.
4. In the hour of death.
III. Why should this
difference be seen? Put your finger on any prosperous page in the Church’s
history, and I will find a little marginal note reading thus: “In this age men
could readily see where the Church began and where the world ended.” Never were
there good times when the Church and the world were joined in marriage with one
another. But though this were sufficient argument for keeping the Church and
the world distinct, there are many others. The more the Church is distinct from
the world in her acts and in her maxims, the more true is her testimony for
Christ, and the more potent is her witness against sin. We are sent into this
world to testify against evils; but if we dabble in them ourselves, where is
our testimony? If we ourselves be found faulty, we are false witnesses; we are
not sent of God; our testimony is of none effect. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The Church and the world
Originally there was “no difference” between the Egyptians and
Israel; both were descended from one source, both were tainted with sin. So
too, originally, there was no difference between the Church and the world. St.
Paul enforces this
I. The nature of
the difference. There can be no doubt but there was a difference--that the Lord “put” one--between
the Egyptians and Israel, and “that the Lord doth put” one between the world
and the Church. What is this difference? God’s choice. He chose Israel, He did
not choose the Egyptians; He has chosen the Church, He has not chosen the
world. Herein lies the “difference”; and because it is not a visible or even,
in itself, a demonstrable one, the world now, as the Egyptians then, decline to
believe in it, and a sign becomes in some sense necessary.
II. The reason for
the difference. Not merit on Israel’s part, or sin on Egypt’s part; but--
1. God’s love for Israel’s fathers (Deuteronomy 4:37).
2. God’s oath (based upon God’s love) to Israel’s fathers (Deuteronomy 7:7-8). So the Church was
chosen because God loved her; though why God loved her, or how He loved her, in
a certain sense we cannot tell.
III. The sign of the
difference. As said above, Pharaoh declined to believe in the difference, or,
whilst tacitly acknowledging it, refused to act in accordance with it. A sign
was given, in order that he might “know how that the Lord doth put a difference
between the Egyptians and Israel.” That sign consisted in the triumphant exodus
of Israel without casualty of any kind, as contrasted with the family distress
and national disaster which were about to happen to the Egyptians. Observe that
the deliverance was a sign of the difference, not the difference itself. So
salvation, in the ordinary but very partial sense of deliverance from future
punishment, will be but a “sign” and a consequence of the choice which God has
already made, of the “difference” which the Lord has already “put”; a choice
and a “difference” about the existence of which the world is sceptical, but the
reality of which all will be forced to acknowledge when the sign is given. (E.
Armstrong Hall, M. A.)
The importance of the firstborn
The importance of the firstborn may be thus explained: the
firstborn naturally enjoyed both precedence and preeminence over the rest, he
was the firstling of his father’s strength (Genesis 49:3), the first-fruit of his
mother. As the firstborn, he stood at the head of the others, and was destined
to be the chief of whatever family might be formed by the succeeding births. As
he stood at the head of the whole he represented the entire nation of the
Egyptians. Hence the power which slew all the firstborn in Egypt was exhibited
as a power which could slay all that were born then, and, in the slaughter of
the whole of the firstborn, the entire body of the people were ideally slain. (J.
H. Kurtz, D. D.)
The Church and the world
I. The nature of
the difference.
1. Not a difference of understanding.
2. Not a difference of physical development.
3. Not even a difference in moral nature. The Israelites were quite
as prone to evil, lust, sin, idolatry, as the Egyptians.
4. The difference was that God chose Israel to be His people, He took
them for His own, hedged them by special regulations, laws, discipline.
So He has chosen the Church.
II. The reasons for
the difference.
1. That God might have a faithful people even in this world of sin.
2. That Christ might not die in vain.
3. That God might fulfil His promise to the patriarchs.
III. The sign of the
difference. Deliverance from the sin and bondage of the world. (Homilist.)
Get thee out, and all the
people that follow thee.
A people’s efforts for freedom successful
We learn from Professor Bischoff that the steam of a hot spring at
Aix-la-Chapelle, although its temperature is only from 133° to 167° F., has
converted the surface of some blocks of black marble into a doughy mass. He
conceives, therefore, that steam in the bowels of the earth, having a
temperature equal to or even greater than the melting point of lava, and,
having an elasticity of which even Papin’s digester can give but a faint idea,
may convert rocks into liquid matter. These wonderful facts might suggest
useful thoughts to the despots of the world. Despotism interdicts the
expression of political convictions, and seeks to bury them under the adamantean
weight of oppressive decrees and colossal cruelty. But it is an unerring moral
taw that the warm aspirations of a virtuous people shall--like the subtle
subterranean gases--arise to freedom, and, despite all impediments, dissolve in
due time even the hard and hoary foundations of injustice. (Scientific Illustrations.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》