Commentary - Exodus 11:1-3

Bird's-eye view

This brief passage serves as the solemn overture to the final and most terrible of the ten plagues. The conflict between Yahweh and Pharaoh has reached its climax. Nine times God has struck the gods of Egypt, demonstrating their impotence, and nine times Pharaoh has hardened his heart, refusing to bow the knee. Now, the Lord announces to Moses that the end has come. One final blow will be struck, and it will be so decisive that Pharaoh will not simply permit Israel to leave; he will violently expel them. This is the turning point where the oppressor becomes the expeller. Intertwined with this promise of decisive judgment is a peculiar instruction for the Israelites to request articles of silver and gold from their Egyptian neighbors. This is not a polite suggestion for a travel fund. This is the righteous plundering of a defeated enemy, a payment of back wages for centuries of slave labor, orchestrated entirely by the sovereign favor of God. The parenthetical note in verse three underscores the mechanism: Yahweh is the one turning the hearts of the Egyptians, and He has also elevated His servant Moses to a position of immense stature. The stage is now set for the Passover, the great act of judgment and redemption that will define Israel as a people and foreshadow the ultimate work of Christ.

In essence, these three verses encapsulate the entire dynamic of the Exodus. We see God's sovereign control over history, His commitment to both justice and salvation, His method of using His chosen instruments, and the way He orchestrates events down to the smallest detail for His own glory. The final plague is not just an event; it is a verdict. And the plundering of the Egyptians is not just a happy circumstance; it is a righteous transfer of wealth, a sign that the kingdom of Egypt has fallen and its treasures are being given to the people of God.

Outline

Context In Exodus

Exodus 11 follows the plague of darkness, a terrifying judgment that brought the land of Egypt to a complete standstill and further distinguished between the light in Goshen and the palpable darkness covering the Egyptians. Pharaoh, in a fit of rage, has just threatened Moses with death, declaring that Moses will never see his face again (Exod 10:28). Moses agrees, stating, "You are right; I will never see your face again" (Exod 10:29). Chapter 11, therefore, contains the word of the Lord to Moses that explains what this final confrontation will look like. It is the divine commentary on the end of the negotiations. The time for warnings is over; the time for the final sentence has arrived. This passage is the immediate prelude to the institution of the Passover in chapter 12, which is the liturgical centerpiece of the entire Exodus event. The instructions here in chapter 11 set the stage for the Israelites' departure, ensuring they will not leave as impoverished refugees but as a victorious army carrying the spoils of war. The judgment on the firstborn and the plundering of Egypt are two sides of the same coin: the total defeat of Pharaoh and the gods he represents.

Key Issues

The Final Verdict

We have arrived at the end of a long and drawn-out legal proceeding. The ten plagues are not simply a series of unfortunate events for Egypt; they are a covenant lawsuit. Yahweh, the great King, has brought charges against Pharaoh, who has set himself up as a rival deity and has grievously oppressed God's covenant people, His firstborn son (Exod 4:22). Each plague has been a demonstration of Yahweh's authority over a particular domain of the Egyptian pantheon, and each has been an opportunity for Pharaoh to repent. But God has been doing two things simultaneously: He has been revealing His power to Egypt and Israel, and He has been hardening Pharaoh's heart to display that power to its fullest extent.

Now, the final verdict is to be read. This is not just another plague in a sequence; it is the plague that executes the sentence. The language is one of finality. "One more plague." After this, the case is closed. The result will be not just release, but expulsion. This is the pattern of God's judgments throughout Scripture. He is longsuffering, but His patience has a limit. When the measure of guilt is full, the sentence falls, and it is always decisive, conclusive, and utterly effective.

Verse by Verse Commentary

1 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “One more plague I will bring on Pharaoh and on Egypt; after that he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will surely drive you out from here completely.

Yahweh speaks to Moses, His covenant mediator, to announce the final move in this divine chess match. The phrase one more plague signals the end. The previous nine were the preliminary arguments; this is the summation and sentencing. The effect of this plague will be qualitatively different from the others. After the previous plagues, Pharaoh relented temporarily, negotiated, and then hardened his heart again. But after this one, there will be no more negotiation. He will let you go. But it is even stronger than that. He will not just open the door; he will surely drive you out from here completely. The Hebrew word here for "drive out" is forceful. It pictures an expulsion, a casting out. The very man who refused to let Israel go will be the one who cannot get them out of his land fast enough. This is the great reversal, the divine irony that so often accompanies God's judgments. The one who sought to enslave God's people will be desperate to be rid of them. It is a complete and total victory for Yahweh.

2 Speak now in the hearing of the people so that each man may ask from his neighbor and each woman from her neighbor for articles of silver and articles of gold.”

This instruction seems, at first glance, to be a strange interruption between the announcement of the final plague and its execution. But it is central to the meaning of the event. The Israelites are not to slink away in the night like escaped convicts. They are to walk out in broad daylight as a triumphant people, laden with the wealth of their defeated foe. The word translated ask here does not imply a timid request that might be refused. In the context of God's overwhelming victory, it carries the force of a demand. This is the collection of war reparations. More than that, it is the payment of centuries of stolen wages. God is a God of justice, and the Egyptians had built their empire on the free labor of Hebrew slaves. Now, on the eve of their departure, the bill comes due. God is ensuring that His people are compensated for their suffering. This is not looting; it is a divinely ordained transfer of assets from a wicked kingdom to the people of God. This principle, of plundering the Egyptians, has long been a metaphor for how the church is to take the best of pagan culture, its logic, its art, its wealth, and consecrate it to the service of Christ after the pagan world has been defeated by the gospel.

3 (And Yahweh gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses himself was very great in the land of Egypt, both in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people.)

This verse is a parenthetical explanation of how the previous command could possibly be fulfilled. How could a nation of despised slaves simply ask their masters for their wealth and receive it? The text gives a two-part answer, and both parts are credited to God's sovereign working. First, Yahweh gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. The natural human reaction would be hatred and bitterness, especially as the plagues intensified. But God supernaturally intervened in the hearts of the Egyptian people, causing them to look upon the Israelites with favor, perhaps a mixture of awe, fear, and a desire to appease the God of the Hebrews. This is a clear demonstration that the hearts of all men are in the hand of the Lord. Second, God had been at work exalting His servant Moses. After nine displays of catastrophic power, even Pharaoh's own officials recognized that Moses was not some desert shepherd with a few tricks. He was very great in the land of Egypt. His word carried the weight of impending reality. When Moses spoke, things happened. This reputation, cultivated by God through the plagues, meant that when the command came through Moses for the people to ask for silver and gold, it was backed by an undeniable spiritual authority that the Egyptians themselves had come to respect and fear. God honors those whom He sends, and He orchestrates circumstances to ensure His will is done through them.

Application

There are several points of direct application for us here. First, we must see the absolute sovereignty of God over all human affairs. He is not a frustrated deity, wringing His hands over the stubbornness of tyrants. He raises up Pharaohs and He brings them down, all for the purpose of making His name known. This should give us profound confidence and peace, even when the world appears to be in the hands of wicked and powerful men. God is working His plan, and He will be victorious.

Second, we see the principle of divine justice. Sin has consequences, and God is a righteous judge. The oppression of the poor and the enslavement of others is a great evil in His sight, and He will not let it go unpunished. The plundering of the Egyptians reminds us that there will be a day of reckoning when accounts are settled. For the Christian, that reckoning was settled at the cross. Christ, our Passover Lamb, endured the final plague of God's wrath against sin. He was "driven out" and cast into the outer darkness for us. Because of His exodus, we are not only set free from our slavery to sin, but we are made heirs of a kingdom, given riches beyond our deserving.

Finally, we learn about our own exodus. We too have been called out of a kingdom of darkness and death. And we are not to leave it empty-handed. We are to "plunder" the world for the glory of Christ. We are to take every thought captive to Him (2 Cor 10:5). We are to use the skills, the resources, the knowledge we have, and consecrate them all to the building of His kingdom. God gives His people favor, and He exalts the name of His Son, Jesus. And because Jesus is now "very great" in heaven and on earth, we can go forth with confidence, knowing that the victory has already been won, and the treasures of the nations will one day be brought into His city.