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And He Let Them Go

     After the first three days it took on an even greater darkness. No one could even move in this darkness it was so heavy. The Rabbis tell us it was somewhat like a dense fog of darkness. The candles would not even stay lit, but would extinguish as soon as they were lit. Also notice that we mentioned the plagues were all seven days long, unless Moshe intervened on Pharaoh’s behalf to stop before the seven days were completed. But here you have two sets of three days mentioned, which only make six days. So where’s the seventh day? The Rabbis say it was held back and that seventh day was the day they faced the darkness at the crossing of the Red Sea. Ex:11:4-6 Moshe said”, Here is what Adonai says: About midnight I will go out into Egypt and all the first born in the land of Egypt will die, FROM the firstborn of Pharaoh sitting on his throne to the firstborn of the slave-girl at the hand mill, and all the firstborn of the livestock. Here are some interesting points to be made. Notice Moshe never said at exactly midnight, but “around midnight.” This was so that if Pharaoh’s astrologers miscalculated and thought the plague started at the least bit before or after midnight, then they could use that to discredit Moshe to the Pharaoh and all the people as being a false prophet had he said at exactly midnight, bringing doubt into their minds. So, he said somewhere about midnight as opposed to exactly at midnight. Also I capitalized the word from above to bring your attention to that word. The plague of the firstborn was to start “from” Pharaoh, not “with” Pharaoh. Pharaoh was the firstborn himself, surprise!

    Here’s another surprise, Moshe was Pharaoh’s adopted brother. Most likely this happened as the daughter of Pharaoh got married and had a son of her own, who upon his father’s death became the Pharaoh Moshe dealt with. You’ll notice in chapter 12 verse 32, that Pharaoh asked Moshe to bless him before he let him go. Why, because he was afraid for his own life as being a firstborn. You’ll also see that in chapter 12:30, it says there wasn’t a single house without someone dead in it. The Egyptians were afraid they were all going to die one by one. Now think about this, we always think of the firstborn here as only being the young children. But in all the homes in Egypt you mean to tell me there wasn’t one who was a middle-aged couple whose children were grown up and moved out? So think again about the verse saying there was not one house without someone being dead in it. What if the middle aged couple had a father there who was the first born but no children? Then he would die as the first born in that house hold. It never says all the firstborn “children”, just all the firstborn. No wonder they were afraid all of them were going to die! The firstborn of the servants because they got pleasure from seeing what was being done to the Hebrews, and the foreigner so they wouldn’t think their own personal gods had saved them from YHVH’S judgments.

     Ex:12:1 Adonai spoke to Moshe And Aharon in the land of Egypt; he said, “You are to begin your calendar with this month; it will be the first month of the year for you. Now there’s been some rearranging done to make Rosh HaShanah the beginning of the new year, but this plainly tells us that the new year begins with the Passover season. The Hebrew calendar is based on the moon. The time span from one new moon and the next is twenty-nine days, twelve hours, forty-five minutes, and three and a half seconds. Since the months must be composed of complete days, the Hebrew calendar months alternate between twenty nine and thirty days, so that a twelve month year has 354 days. Since this is eleven days less than a solar year, the solar date of Rosh Chodesh Nissan would be eleven days earlier each year, so for example, if it were on March 25th one year, it would be on March 14th the next. If this calendar pattern were to continue for many years, Nissan would fall in the winter. But the Torah says it is to be in the springtime. To resolve this problem the Hebrew calendar includes a Hebrew leap year. It includes adding a thirteenth month to the year seven times every nineteen years. This way Nissan always keeps it place. As a matter of fact, the name of the months the Hebrews use is not correct. They use the terms, Aviv, Nissan, etc., but these were names with Babylonian origins. YHVH only “numbered” the months. Just as today we use pagan names for the months AND the days. We should be referring to the days of the week as; the first day of Sabbath, the second day of Sabbath, the third day of Sabbath, etc.

      YHVH knew counting the days this way would always keep Sabbath in our minds. So when we celebrate New Years Eve on Januruary 1st, or on Rosh HaShanah, they are both wrong for the new year. Whether we say Aviv one or Jan. one, they both are wrong using names for the months. Exodus 12:12 For that night, I will pass through the land of Egypt and kill all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both men and animals; and I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt; I am Adonai. Not only did the first born of men die but something else happened that was a miracle we don’t hear about. All the wooden idols rotted and all the metal idols melted on that night. YHVH did indeed execute judgment on their idols! In chapter 13 we see YHVH giving directions on keeping Passover. We know that we are not to eat any product with leaven (yeast) in it, but did you also notice it also says not to eat anything with “leavening agents” in it either, so no baking powder ladies. Actually, you are to have the leaven taken out of your house the day “before” Passover begins. In verse 10 we see that YHVH has said this is to take place “year after year.”

     So why aren’t people observing Passover, no where will you find it was to stop being observed. In verse 9 of chapter 13, you see the tefillin instituted, however it really is emphasized later in verse 16. In closing, it is said that the exile was for 430 years. However, this is not to say the Hebrews were actually in Egypt that long. The covenant took place between the parts (Gen 15: 7-21) 430 years before the exodus. At that time YHVH foretold to Abraham that his offspring would endure 400 years of persecution, servitude, and exile, but not necessarily all of them at the same time. Those 400 years began with the birth of Isaac, since the prophecy referred to Abraham’s offspring. Isaac was born on Nissan 15 and exactly 400 years later to the day, on Nissan 15, the Hebrew people were liberated. It was 30 years from the time of the prophecy to Isaac’s birth. So you have the four hundred years from Isaac, then the thirty years from the time the prophecy was given until Isaac was born, making 430 years total. The actual sojourn in Egypt lasted 210 years. We can see from the exodus that YHVH is indeed in charge of EVERYTHING that goes on in life, from the earthly elements, to the human element. Let us never forget the time when YHVH made Pharaoh let the people go! Shalom