Tues.’s Devo - The Last Plague

Read: Exodus 10:1-12:13; Matthew 20:1-28; Psalm 25:1-15; Proverbs 6:6-11 God told Moses that he was doing all of this to Egypt so that they could tell all the great things God did for them to their future generations. This would be their testimony of God’s great deliverance for them. *** He once again told Pharaoh to let them go to celebrate the Lord. If they refused they would have locusts tomorrow. Pharaoh refused and they got locusts that ate up everything that was left. Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and begged him to take the locust away before they all died. Moses prayed and God sent a wind to blow the locusts away. Still Pharaoh wouldn’t let them go. *** God sent the ninth plague which was a thick darkness. They were shut up in their homes for three days. In Goshen there was light. Pharaoh called in Moses and told them they could go but they had to leave their cattle. Moses argued that they needed their animals to sacrifice and they wouldn’t know which ones until they got there. Pharaoh sent them away angrily. *** It was now time for the death of the first born like God had said at the very beginning. It would be the last plague and then Pharaoh would drive them out. *** God told Moses for the people to ask their Egyptian neighbors for silver and gold and they freely gave it to them. By this time, they feared the Israelite’s and their God. *** Moses told Pharaoh and his people that at midnight God would go out into the midst of Egypt and kill their firstborn from the throne to the poorest family. Then they will beg them to leave Egypt. Moses then left Pharaoh in great anger. *** God told Moses that this month will be there first month of the year for them. It was the seventh on their calendar. It would be their born-again birthday. On the tenth of this month every man was to take a lamb enough to feed his whole household. This lamb shall have no blemish and be a year old. They were to keep it set aside till the fourteenth and then kill it at twilight. They were to take some of the blood and sprinkle it on the two door posts and the lintel of their house. They were to eat the flesh on that nigh, roasted with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. None of it was to remain until the morning. Whatever was left should be burned up in the fire. They are to eat it dressed to travel. On that night God would strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt. The blood they put on their doors would be a sign for the angel of death to pass over their house and not kill their firstborn. *** Jesus gave them a parable to explain the kingdom of heaven. A landowner hired workers throughout the day. He promised the first workers one denarius but the rest he told them he would pay them what was right. At the end of the day he started with the ones who had been hired the last hour and gave them a denarius and then everyone after that. When the ones got their payment who had worked 12 hours complained, he told them that he was paying them what they agreed to work for. It was his right to pay the rest what he wanted to pay them. *** We are in the eleventh hour right now and we will get done for the kingdom the equivalent of what men had done in the years before us. We are about to bring in a billion souls into the kingdom really quickly. How exciting!!! *** The mother of James and John came to Jesus to ask if her sons could sit on thrones beside him in his kingdom. Jesus knew she had no idea what she was asking because to get that honor would come through much death and suffering on earth. He told her that he was not the one who would decide that honor. God would. When the other disciples found out what she had done, they were really upset. Jesus called them all together and explained that the kingdom of God was not set up like the worldly kingdoms. To be first in his kingdom you had to be last in the worldly kingdom. Humility was the way to greatness with God. *** Lord, may we exalt your kingdom on the earth and be about your business whatever that is. May we hear your voice and quickly obey. We pray for the coming harvest that we would be ready to work in you field.