A Journey Through The Old Testament - Elmer Towns

were a phenomenon which challenged many of the principal gods of Egypt and proved them
unable to resist the power of the true God.
Only after the death of the firstborn of Egypt would Pharaoh consent to let the Hebrews
leave the land of Egypt. Egyptologists have discovered evidence that Amenhotep II had a son,
but for some reason not explained in the Egyptian records, that son never sat on his father’s
throne. The reason is given in the biblical account of the origin of the Passover feast of the Jews.
On the eve of their last night in Egypt, Israel was instructed to prepare a unique sacrifice.
First, they were to select a yearling male out of the flocks which was without blemish. Then they
were to kill the animal and save its blood. That blood was to be applied to the doorposts of the
home, and the family would roast and eat the sacrifice in a meal with bitter herbs and unleavened
bread. The key to the event was the applying of the blood to the doorposts of the home. God
promised, “Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see
the blood, I will pass over you, when I strike the land of Egypt” (12:13). Later that evening, the
firstborn of Egypt were slain, but in the homes of the Hebrews which were under the blood, no
one was harmed.
The death of the firstborn sons of Egypt had a significant impact on the Pharaoh and the
Egyptians. Before dawn Pharaoh had called Moses and Aaron to order the Hebrews out of the
land. The people themselves not only urged the Hebrews to leave, but gave them gold and silver
and fine clothing as they left. So began the great migration of the Jews out of Egypt known as the
Exodus. “And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had placed the children of Israel
under solemn oath, saying, ‘God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here
with you’” (13:19).
“Then it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by
way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, `Lest perhaps the people
change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.’ So God led the people around by
way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. And the Children of Israel went up ... out of the land of
Egypt. And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud to lead the way, and by night
in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night. He did not take away the pillar
of the cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people” (vv. 17-18, 21-22).
The Scriptures do not indicate how long it took Israel to get to the banks of the Red Sea,
but when Pharaoh realized where they were, he had a change of heart. He determined to capture
the slaves in the wilderness and bring them back to Egypt. It is unlikely that the Egyptian army
would begin such a conquest before the period of mourning for their sons had ended. For a
Pharaoh, the period of mourning was seventy-two days.