Exodus 12:33
And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men. And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men.
At midnight every firstborn in Egypt was struck from Pharaoh's heir to the captive and servant with the firstborn of cattle, so that no house was without death and a great cry filled the land. In terror the Egyptians, with Pharaoh himself humbled from his defiance, urgently pressed and begged Israel to leave the land at once in haste, fearing they would all die if Israel remained. Israel was gathered and organized in Goshen ready and waiting, and set out suddenly before morning with unleavened dough and kneading-troughs on their shoulders, with flocks and herds and with silver and gold and clothing given them in favor. The blood on their doors marked and shielded them from the destroyer, and many Egyptians convinced that Israel's God was the only true God pled for shelter under that sign and went out with Israel to worship Him. God thus freed His people by His own mighty power to separate them from bondage and idolatry, to bring them to Sinai to hear His law, and to make them a witness of His character, a deliverance to be remembered with gratitude and trust rather than forgotten in murmuring and unbelief.
Midnight Judgment and Haste
At midnight the destroyer struck every firstborn in Egypt, from the heir upon Pharaoh's throne to the captive in the dungeon and the lowliest servant, together with the firstborn of cattle, so that there was not a house without death and a great cry and wailing filled the land. The blow fell suddenly in the night and left all Egypt under the same judgment from palace to prison.
Pharaoh's proud boast that he did not know the Lord and would not let Israel go was humbled in that night. He rose from his bed and went in haste with his counselors and rulers to Goshen, bowed before Moses and Aaron, and ordered them to take Israel out with flocks and herds to serve the Lord as they had requested. He sent word that they could go free, and he entreated Moses to bless him, thinking a blessing from God's servant would protect him from further plague.
The display of God's judgments, signs, wonders, and power produced terror throughout the land. The Egyptians, including the king's officers and the people, urgently pressed, implored, and begged Israel to leave the land in haste at once, crying that if Israel remained they would all be dead men. The same Egyptians who had mocked Israel's preparations and ridiculed the blood on the doorposts now feared complete destruction if the people stayed longer.
Israel on its part had followed God's directions, had gathered in Goshen, and was organized under appointed leaders, standing fully ready and waiting for the rebellious king and his great men to give the order to go. When the command came they set out suddenly before morning and began the journey to the promised land the next morning.
They went out in haste with unleavened dough and kneading-troughs bound upon their shoulders, moving as a long procession on foot carrying staffs and bundles. They carried all their possessions with them, including flocks and herds which they had not sold to Pharaoh. They had received silver and gold and clothing with favor from the Egyptians, so that they spoiled them.
The blood upon Israelite doors marked them as God's people and protected them from the destroyer, and anyone who did not obey the instruction to remain inside under that sign would suffer with the Egyptians without sparing. The signs and wonders had convinced quite a number of Egyptians that the God of the Hebrews was the only true God and that the gods they had worshiped had no knowledge and no power to save or to destroy. Fearing death on that fearful night when the firstborn of man and beast were slain, they entreated with their families to come into Israelite houses where the token of blood was upon the doorposts, pledged henceforth to choose Israel's God and to leave Egypt to worship Him, were welcomed into those houses, and went out with Israel.
Deliverance, Memory, and Purpose
The verse belongs to God's bringing of His people out of Egypt with power and with mighty signs and wonders, after they had long inhabited the country round about Goshen. Their bondage and the idolatry surrounding them made that deliverance necessary, though many Israelites were reluctant to leave. The Lord's signs and judgments broke Egyptian resistance and made Israel willing to choose His service.
They came out in haste with few among them prepared to cooperate with God in training their children. Lifelong slavery had left the parents themselves ignorant, untrained, and degraded, with little knowledge of God and little faith in Him. They were confused by false teaching and corrupted by long contact with heathenism, so they needed instruction and discipline. God brought them out desiring to lift them to a higher moral level by giving them a knowledge of Himself.
The Lord called His people out of Egypt to bring them to Sinai to hear the proclamation of the law that had been given in Eden. By proclaiming the Ten Commandments to Israel with His own voice in awful grandeur, He demonstrated their fundamental importance. In the same act He made known His majesty and authority as Ruler of the world, to impress the sacredness of His law and the importance of rendering obedience to it.
The deliverance is remembered in the Passover service through the hurried meal and the march out of bondage after the night of sprinkled blood and the death-dealing angel. The haste is preserved in the paschal night assembly with the hasty meal of lamb with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, eaten with loins girded, shoes on feet, and staff in hand. The story of that night and that grand march out of Egypt was rehearsed in solemn silence at Jerusalem and recounted to Hebrew children as they journeyed there. It was joined with God's commandments and songs, to stir the imagination, deeply impress the heart, and fix truth forever in the memory of child and youth.
Gratitude, Witness, and Compassion
Exodus 12:33 means that God by His own power did a mighty work in freeing His people from bondage when the Egyptians urged them out in haste. That deliverance, together with opening the Red Sea before them and destroying their pursuing foes, proves His power to bring victory. It is to be remembered with gratitude and with firm trust in His leadings.
Forgetting that deliverance breeds distrust of God and self-pity, with mourning and lamenting over self. It brings desperation under the discouragement of unbelief and repeats the sin of murmuring and rebellion of Israel. So it was when they accepted the false and cruel discouragement of the unfaithful spies. God's people must not repeat that ungrateful forgetfulness but must echo faithful Caleb and inspire hearts with faith.
God brought Israel out to separate them from the customs, habits, and practices of the world and to bring them nearer to Himself to make His will known. In life and character they were to manifest the principles of His kingdom and reveal His goodness, mercy, justice, and love. The same purpose holds today, that by exemplifying God's law in life the world would have a representation of His character. Then the world would recognize the superiority of those who love and fear and serve God above every other people.
God pitied the Israelites in their slavery in Egypt and broke the yoke of their bondage. He placed Moses at their head to lead them through the wilderness to the promised land, showing He is not indifferent to the suffering of the oppressed. That same pity rests on oppressed people in America who, though freed from slavery in one sense, remain in the slavery of ignorance and degradation. Those who bear His name are therefore called to take up the neglected work of lifting them.