If you think about it long enough, you can understand the Pharaoh of Egypt’s reaction to the ten plagues. First, you have to put yourself in the sandals of someone who grew up in a dynasty, born to run a whole country. His people thought him a god. He had ultimate power. Secondly, consider that he thought nothing about using that power to kill people. It was expected. It’s how he kept order and ensured obedience.
Third, he considered some people as less than human. There were serious class distinctions to be made. And then there were the aliens, the people from another race and geographical location. Finally, there were a people to protect—HIS people. There was an economy built up that was running smoothly. The Israelite slaves were an important part of it. If he let them go free, who would do the work? The economy would collapse. He would be considered ‘soft.’
And so he put up with these plagues. He probably had his magicians act as PR people to blame the extreme conditions on the Israelites. He must have had a version of attack ads even then, spread by heralds and word of mouth. He could NOT relinquish power nor allow himself to be bested by this one-time shepherd who wasn’t even very articulate.
According to the story in Exodus 11, any campaign leveled against the Israelites didn’t work, because “The Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, Moses himself was a man of great importance in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s officials and in the sight of the people.” In fact, the Egyptians GAVE the Israelite women their silver and gold! Maybe this was because the enslaved Israelites had to put up with the plagues just as the Egyptians did. Maybe misery formed bonds?
But these bonds all came to naught, and this is the most difficult passage to understand because the first born of the Egyptians were all killed—not just the Pharaoh’s, but his servants’ first born and the first born of their animals! Surely the animals were innocent? And who caused all this to be done? Is it the same one who in a few short weeks of desert walking, from a mountain called Sinai, will issue commandments forbidding murder and stealing?
It is right here that we come to a crossroads in our biblical spirituality. What we decide right here at this point in the Bible will determine where we go from here. Our idea of God is formed here. How we pray and get God to be on our side with this tremendous power over life and death is decided here. What we judge about the end justifying the means and about the complicity of innocent people in an unjust society and the rightness or wrongness of punishing descendants for what their fathers have done—it all comes to a head right here. A Passover indeed. Just wars and executions and vengeance seem to go down one path here and peace above all and compassionate forgiveness and political compromise go down another.
Is this just a story, or does this story lay out for us some tragic truths about being human that we cannot escape? Is this where we begin to talk about moral development? About what the real meaning of slavery is and what true freedom from it entails and means? Is this where we come to give UP what we understand about God and about whose side He is on, including any lessons that this passage implies? Is this where we ask: Is this who God is, or is this only who the early scripture writers THOUGHT God is?
Is this the place? What do you think?
Next: Beal, pages 56-66.
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