Our reading begins with a storm, “such as had never been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.” Put yourself in the position of the Egyptian people, trying to recount if there was ever a time like this, and wondering why this is all happening now. Crops ruined, livestock killed, lives lost.

Yet “…the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people of Israel go, just as the LORD had spoken through Moses.” You’re allowed to wonder at this recurring tension: the LORD causes Pharaoh’s heart to harden; yet Pharaoh shows his own ability to harden his heart.

As the LORD tightens the screws down on Pharaoh, Pharaoh’s word becomes untrustworthy, and his refusal to relent looks more unhinged from the reality facing his nation. The LORD has proven what he promised: He is God, even of the heart of the most powerful monarch of his day.

An inversion occurs near the bottom of this spiral: Moses and the Israelites gain favor with the Egyptians, while Pharaoh’s anger only grows. Pharaoh’s world is unraveling, yet he refuses to completely yield. The final confrontation – where Pharaoh is promised that his own son will die if he doesn’t relent – even leaves Moses enraged. Yet “he did not let the people of Israel go out of his land.”

Chapter 12 contains an interlude of instructions regarding the celebration of the Passover. “This month,” the LORD tells Moses, “shall be for you the beginning of months.” In the ancient world the calendar was not abstract, but was reset at the beginning of a nation, or counted from the beginning of a king’s reign. The LORD is setting Israel’s calendar to zero: your story begins now.

Our verse for this week is Hebrews 11:22: “By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.”

Exodus chapters 10 through 12. Now let’s read it!

Day 20 Guided Podcast