# Exodus Chapter 12
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## Summarrium
The Lord instructs Moses to speak with the people and warn them of the pending action he will take against the Egyptians. He points out that if the people wish to be spared they must sacrifice a male lamb without blemish and consume this animal in accordance with his directions being ready to leave immediately. Moses and Aaron warn the people and they do so accordingly.

The next morning there is not a household in Egypt in which death has not visited. Pharaoh commands Moses to leave asking he bless him. So 430 years after their arrival Israel is brought out of Egypt by the Lord. The Lord then institutes the passover meal pointing out that no foreigner shall eat of it without submitting to the covenant and therefore circumcises his males.

## Meditatio
This is a hard chapter to read. The judgement of the Lord is swift and decisive; those harrowing words in verse 30 '*for there was not a house where someone was not dead*'. Just imagine that for a moment. Every neighbour ever person in your town has a family member pass away. Now multiply that by every down in your district and finally your nation. This event transcends social and class divide it is a direct attack on the future of this nation.

Whilst it would be naive to conclude that *all* first born were children, indeed many likely would be adults, but certainly *some* were children. That is a hard and unpleasant reality to face. Indeed there is almost an echo of actions taken previously by Pharaoh in which he commanded the midwives to kill male children belonging to the Israelites.

Whilst death resultant from the barbaric acts of men are to a certain point intelligible (human beings are no strangers to doing evil to each other) this is nonetheless hard to swallow. The tension between Gods justice and the suffering it involves for those perceived as innocent is perhaps one of the most challenging aspects of Christianity. The central moral challenge being why does God take Life? Perhaps our perception of death as the end, and lives as the property of their owners taken without consent as unpalatable. Rather than acknowledging God as sovereign over life and death[^1].

Other noteworthy points to raise include revisiting our view of the plagues as a direct assault on the Egyptian gods. Here the death of the first born is a direct assault on Osiris (god of life and death), Isis (protector of children) and Pharaoh himself; often seen as a god yet unable to protect his own son. The plundering of the Egyptians fulfills God’s earlier promise to Abraham (Genesis 15:14) and His declaration to Moses (Exodus 3:21–22)[^2].

Memory is another important theme within scripture. The necessity to institute memorials as a means to not loose site of the Lords actions in our own lives. This begins with the passover and is once again echoed in the Lords supper which memorialises Christ's sacrifice.

[^1]: Whilst I am referencing [Job 1:21](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=%20Job%201%3A21&version=ESV) and [Deuteronomy 32:39](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy%2032%3A39&version=ESV) I feel it important to acknowledge I do not do so callously. I personally have skin in the game here with a son that has a life threatening condition (congenital hyperinsulinism). From an emotional perspective I cannot reconcile this point and this remains a sticking point for me. Why do I persist in my belief? My 'faith' in God is not certainty; I do not have the answer to this and am content to live with the ambiguity because God has proven himself faithful elsewhere in my life
[^2]: See [Genesis 15:14](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2015%3A14&version=ESV) and [Exodus 3:21-22](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%203%3A21-22&version=ESV)