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These small group studies of Exodus 11 contain outlines, cross-references, Bible study discussion questions, and applications.  Visit our library of inductive Bible studies for more in depth inductive studies on this and other books of the Bible you can use in your small group.

Exodus 11 Bible Study – Warning of Final Plague

Outline

I. The declaration that the people will be driven out of Egypt soon (1-3)
II. Announcing the final, most disastrous plague (4-8)
III. Pharaoh would not listen (9-10)

I. The declaration that the people will be driven out of Egypt soon (1-3)

Discussion Questions

• What would be the result of the final plague for the Israelites?
• How would Pharaoh respond to the last plague?
• Why did God ask the Israelites to request gold and silver from their neighbors?
• Why would their neighbors actually give it to them?

Verse by Verse Commentary

1. God knew exactly what would happen in the future. He had His exact timetable. Plague ten wasn’t plan 10, and plague two wasn’t plan B. God knew it would take ten plagues to convince Pharaoh to let His people go. This is yet another reminder to us to persevere.

2. Pharaoh was not only going to let them go, but he was going to drive them out. This would demonstrate clearly God’s victory. Pharaoh would no longer attempt to compromise. He would no longer need any persuasion. God would completely humble him and force him to do exactly what God wanted. Instead of using his army of enforcers to keep the Israelites as slaves, he would forcibly expel them from the land.

Proverbs 21:1 – In the Lord’s hand the king’s heart is a stream of water that he channels toward all who please him.

3. Moses was to speak to the people to prepare them for the Exodus. Each one was to ask valuable articles from his neighbors. There are several reasons why God might have asked Moses to do this. Firstly, we learn in 1 Timothy 5:18 that a worker is worthy of his wages. The Israelites had worked in Egypt for hundreds of years as slaves and had been mistreated, abused, and even murdered en masse by the Egyptians. Now was finally the time to be paid for their work. Secondly, it was yet another form of punishment for the Egyptians and their cruel national policy towards the Jews.

Thirdly, it was God’s way to provide for the Israelites. As slaves, it is likely that they were very poor and didn’t have many things. God chose to use this way to provide for them. Fourthly, God had prophesied this to Moses in Exodus 3:22. This prophecy and fulfillment showed the completeness of God’s victory over the Egyptians. Fifth, much of this treasure would likely be used to build the tabernacle for the LORD in the wilderness. Ask, and you will receive.

4. Amazingly, the Egyptians did it. This is yet another miracle and shows how much the Egyptians respected/feared the Lord and Moses. I think if we take a break from the Bible study right now and knock on doors in this apartment complex, asking my neighbors to give us cash, jewelry, and HD TVs, we wouldn’t get many takers. But they did give these things to the Israelites. God worked in their hearts to bring this about.

5. We can learn a great lesson from this about God’s provision. When we read in Matthew that if we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, all these things will be added to us. We can know for sure that God will take care of us somehow, someway. It could be through friends providing for us when we are in need. Or, as in this case, it could even be enemies or strangers knowingly or unknowingly helping us. God will make a way even when there seems to be no way.

6. Moses was finally a leader whom the people respected. If we remember back in the first couple of chapters of Exodus, the Jews rejected him as their leader. They didn’t want anything to do with him. They likely were jealous of him and hated him because he grew up in the palace while they suffered. The Egyptians also turned against him because he sided with the Jews. He was a man without a home.

Yet now we see that both sides greatly respect him. They respect him because of his boldness and perseverance and because of the great miracles God has done through him. They can see that he is now a great leader. The people under him (at this point) don’t appear to be complaining much anymore. They are willing to submit to Moses’ leadership and follow him. And although the Egyptians had suffered greatly, seemingly at the hands of Moses, they still respected him. He was a man of principle and courage.

We can learn several lessons from this. Firstly, if God gives us a task to do, He will enable us to do it. God asked Moses to be a leader, and it took some time, but people finally respected and followed him. Don’t worry about getting the respect of others. If God wants them to respect you or listen to you, He will cause it to happen at the right time.

Secondly, if you do what is right and serve God, even unbelievers may end up respecting you. The first criticism of unbelievers is often that believers are hypocrites. But if you stand up for what you believe in and boldly, publicly follow Christ, it will draw many people’s admiration. Of course, this is not the goal of why we serve God, but it is a nice reminder, especially in cases where a boss or other authority figure has been against you. Hang in there, and you might just win the person’s respect.

II. Announcing the final, most disastrous plague (4-8)

Discussion Questions

• Exactly what would the last plague be? Why did God send such a serious plague on the Egyptians?
• Many people have come to me and asked if it was fair for God to do this. If you had a skeptic come to you and doubt God’s fairness in sending this plague against the Egyptians, what would you say to him?
• What can we learn from this plague about God’s character?
• Do you think the Egyptians had any chance to avoid this fate?
• Why or why not?
• What can we learn from this plague about how the sins of the parents affect their kids?
• And what application can we get from this today?
• From verse 8, what can we see about who Moses was talking to?

Verse by Verse Commentary

1. The final plague would be by far the most serious yet. Every firstborn human and animal would die. This is a great number of people. The Egyptians honored the firstborn. They held an especially important position in the family, in society, and in the monarchy. The firstborn would ascend to the throne and continue the dynasty. The firstborn would be the head of the household after growing up. All of this religious, political, and societal importance would be rendered moot by this plague. No one would be exempt, from Pharaoh’s household down to the lowest slave girl.

This plague of the death of all firstborn is one of the first things that skeptics like to point out about. They criticize God, saying, “How could He do this?” Because of this and the significance of the Passover through Scripture, we will spend a while looking first at what we can say to an unbeliever who brings this up, defending God’s honor (although He doesn’t need us to) and secondly, what lessons we can get from this.

2. Every person is a sinner. This means that everyone is guilty. Like it or not, millions of people die every day, and God was the one who decided their fate: when, where, and how they would die. As God is the Creator of the universe and the giver of life, it is God’s right to take away life when and how He sees fit. He is the giver and the taker of life.

Romans 3:23 – For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

The wages of sin are death. Death is actually an unnatural thing. All death can ultimately be traced back to the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve sinned against God.

Genesis 2:15-17 – The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

God told Adam and Eve that if they ate the fruit, they would die. They ate it. God didn’t tell them when they would die. He could have killed them immediately, but he didn’t, because of his mercy. Because of our sin, we all deserve death. This applies to every man, woman, and child in existence. God could rightfully execute anyone at any time because of our sin, but God is actually patient with us, holding off on this judgment for the sake of giving more time to people to repent. Someone might ask, what about babies? Do they deserve this? We should remember that babies die all the time; many are miscarried and many die shortly after birth. This is not a pleasant fact, but it is a fact of life.

From Psalms 51:5, we know that even babies are born with sin. This is called original sin and is why children are selfish without anyone teaching them to be selfish and is why they lie without anyone teaching them to lie. Some babies, of course, did die in this plague.

We can trust in God that He will deal with them fairly. While the Bible is not very clear on it, many believers believe that babies will go to heaven when they die. Part of this is based on David’s belief that he would see his child again, although his child died, and also some other verses that mention children’s innocence and lack of knowledge about right and wrong.

See 2 Samuel 12:22-23, Matthew 19:13, Luke 17:11, Luke 18:15.

Jeremiah 19:4-5 – Because the people have forsaken me and have profaned this place by making offerings in it to other gods whom neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah have known; and because they have filled this place with the blood of innocents, and have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, which I did not command or decree, nor did it come into my mind…

Innocence of Children

The Bible also indicates that children are regarded as being innocent because of their lack of ability to discern between good and evil:

Deuteronomy 1:39 – And as for your little ones, who you said would become a prey, and your children, who today have no knowledge of good or evil, they shall go in there. And to them I will give it, and they shall possess it.

A. The Age of Accountability

It is also based on the logic that God will not hold children (or the mentally handicapped) responsible for something they don’t understand and can’t make a choice or decision about. From this comes the theory of the age of accountability. In other words, before a child can understand, he is not accountable; and after he can understand, he is accountable.

I do believe that babies will go to heaven when they die, and therefore any babies who died as a result of this plague went to heaven. So, this plague was actually good for them. However, regardless of what you believe on this issue, know that God deals fairly and justly with them.

B. The Egyptians’ Responsibility

God, through Moses, warned the Egyptians first (see verses 4–8; Moses was talking in the presence of Pharaoh). The Egyptians knew what was coming and presumably heard—through word of mouth or directly from Moses or other Jews—how to prevent it (the Passover lamb).

This means that all the Egyptians were quadruple culpable:

• They had original sin.
• When they were old enough, they decided to sin knowingly (including worshiping false gods and not turning to God even after many signs).
• They willfully enslaved the Jews.
• They ignored Moses’ warning.

C. Possible Egyptian Repentance

If indeed some did listen to Moses’ warning, obeyed his commands, and sought the Lord with all their heart, we have every reason to believe that God would have forgiven them and saved them from this plague—just as He did in Exodus 9:20–21, when the God-fearing Egyptians brought their livestock into safety.

I am taking a slight leap from what Scripture plainly states, but based on the broader context of Scripture and Exodus 9:20–21, I believe that if an Egyptian obeyed God in this, his family would be spared.

“He who comes to Me I will in no wise cast out.” — John 6:37

D. Do Not Test God

“Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” — Deuteronomy 6:16

It is the height of arrogance to set ourselves up as judges over God and accuse His character—especially when the accusers are wretched sinners themselves. God is righteous and holy. Everything He does is right. We have no right to question Him or accuse Him. He will deal righteously and justly.

Besides, no matter what God does, people will find fault with Him. God is not worried about whether or not some atheists agree with Him.

E. Responding to Atheists and Skeptics

When atheists or skeptics bring up this issue, we should be prepared to give an answer. Understanding issues like this can strengthen our faith and help skeptics understand the Word better, removing barriers to belief.

Lessons We Can Learn

1. God Is Just

Once again, we learn from the Bible about God’s character of justice. This may not be as appealing as His love and mercy, but it is equally true. It doesn’t matter whether we like it or not—God takes sin seriously and cannot allow the sinner to go free.

2. You Reap What You Sow

This is a biblical principle. Many times, God works things out naturally so that you reap what you sow.

If you are not generous to others, they likely won’t be generous to you.

If you are kind, others will most likely respond in kindness.

Other times, God works this out supernaturally—for example, when the people who accused Daniel were eaten by the lions they had prepared for him.

In this case, how did the Egyptians reap what they sowed? Pharaoh had made a national policy to kill the firstborn of the Israelites, and the people accepted it. God judged them back in the same way. This is fairness epitomized.

We should never complain—especially if our trouble is the result of our own sin or wrongdoing.

Psalms 57:6 – They set a net for my steps; my soul was bowed down. They dug a pit in my way, but they have fallen into it themselves.

Galatians 6:7-8 – Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

The Egyptians had ten chances to repent and didn’t. They accepted Pharaoh’s policy and enslaved the Jews. Many even owned slaves themselves.

3. Take Sin Seriously

We should take sin seriously, especially the sin of willfully rejecting God. All sin is worthy of death. While God is patient and kind, He also hates sin and takes it seriously.

“You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.” — Hebrews 1:9; Psalm 45:7

Jesus also hated wickedness. Can you give examples of when He showed it? (In the temple, when He rebuked the Pharisees for their hypocrisy and hard hearts.)

4. God Protects Those Who Obey Him

Once again, God made a clear distinction between those who believed in Him and those who didn’t. For this most destructive plague, He saved His people completely—not even a dog growled at them.

At the same time, they still had personal responsibility. They had to obey God’s commands about the Passover lamb and the blood. God gave them an opportunity to be saved, but they had to take it.

People like to ask “What if?” questions—What if someone hasn’t heard the gospel?—or “Why?” questions—Why does God judge? But the better question is “How?”

How can I avoid a similar fate?

By turning to God and joining His side, you will be under His protection.

5. Parents’ Responsibility

Parents have a great responsibility for their children. Their own sins and decisions will affect their children’s lives. Parents should take this responsibility seriously and lead their families wisely.

Examples where a parent’s sin harmed their children:

• Saul and Jonathan
• Jacob showing favoritism toward Joseph
• David’s failure to discipline led to Absalom, Amnon, and Adonijah’s downfall
• Examples where a parent’s faith saved their children:
• Noah
• Rahab

Acts 16:31 – “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”

Exodus 34:7; John 9:1–3; Deuteronomy 24:16; Acts 16:31

In the final judgment, God will never punish a child for a parent’s sin or vice versa. However, many children may face judgment because their parents failed to teach them to know and follow God.

Bringing a child into the world and raising them is a great responsibility. Do not make the mistake the Egyptians did. Their outcry was the loudest in Egyptian history—and they were responsible.

You, too, will cry out if your negligence or sin leads your children astray.

6. God’s Patience

God could unleash similar plagues today for the world’s sin and rebellion, but He doesn’t. Most of the time, He gives people more opportunities to repent. Don’t waste these opportunities.

7. Do Not Fight Against God

God will always win. If you fight against Him, your life could be destroyed just like the Egyptians’.

III. Verses 9–10 — Pharaoh’s Final Rejection

Would Pharaoh listen to this last warning? Why not?

Once again, God hardened Pharaoh’s heart to increase His wonders. These wonders had many positive effects—not only for the Jews but also for the Egyptians and for people throughout the world who heard about them.

They gave clear proof that God is real and led some to repentance. Perhaps even some Egyptians who lost loved ones turned to God as a result.

Death often serves as a shock, reminding people of life’s fragility and leading them to humble themselves and turn to God.

Comment – What did you think of this Bible study on Exodus 11? We would love to hear your thoughts. Share below in the comment section.