Exodus 12:29-32 Study Guide: The Judgment of God

Community Group Study Guide — The Judgment of God
Exodus 12:29-32

Study Information:
When we’ve suffered because of someone’s evil and sin against us we know the injustice of the situation and, we often cry out, “how long O Lord (Psalm 13)?” We instinctively know that there is a wrongness to evil and suffering and want God to end it. Our passage gives us a window into God’s response to evil and suffering and that response is salvation for those who believe, and judgment for those who refuse to repent of their evil and trust in God. In our last passage we learned about God’s promise to his people to save them from slavery by judging the Egyptians. They’d be saved from the angel of death if they covered their doorpost with the blood of an unblemished lamb, an event called the passover because the angel of death passed over the homes of those who trusted God’s word of salvation. Our text for this study guide shows us the outcome for those who committed evil and refused to trust in God’s path of salvation and it can leave us with at least 5 different responses. 

The Tenth Plague
Exodus 12:29-32
God did what he had warned all the Egyptians he would do. The angel of death went through the entire land of Egypt and struck down the first born son of all those who did not cover their door posts and lintel with the blood of the lamb. God had given them many warnings in the form of the first nine plagues and the verbal warning before this plague struck. This judgment was on Pharaoh’s defiant pride and hard heart, the Egyptian's slavery of the people of God and their genocide in how they killed the first born sons of Israel at the birthing stool and in the Nile river (Exodus 1:15-22). 

This plague struck every socio economic group from the first born of Pharaoh who sat on the throne to the firstborn of the captive in the dungeon to the firstborn of even all the livestock. This shows us the magnitude of Egypt’s sin against God and the people of Israel, it was a systemic and sweeping oppression and the judgment was devastating. Exodus 12:30 tells us that a great cry went up through the whole land for there was not a house in which someone was not dead. The word “great cry” appeared in Exodus 2:23 in reference to the cry from Israel which God heard and started God’s rescue plan through Moses. 

In all this God’s judgment is never cruel.  He judged the sin of Egypt in equal measure to their sin against Israel and he gave them warnings and ways to avoid this immense suffering. Likewise, God is the Lord and giver of life and he always acts consistently with his character and he is not random, or evil in his actions. 

Pharaoh finally gave in and let the people of Israel go. Moses and Aaron were given the command at night to leave, take everything they had and to bless Pharaoh on their way out. We do not know what Pharaoh was seeking specifically with this blessing, but with it he admitted that he was the inferior party and God was indeed Lord who should be obeyed and Pharaoh should have let Israel go (Exodus 5:2). 

Five Responses:
Exodus 12:30
Our responses to passages on God’s judgment can vary greatly. What is your response?

First, we can respond with moral outrage. We can take a position where we think we know right and wrong better than God. We would likely not say it that way out loud but at the heart of the matter that is the essence of our response. If that is you, imagine if God was indifferent to the evil committed against his people and just allowed evil and sin to reign unchecked. Would that view of God be worthy of our worship?

Second, we could delight in the destruction of the wicked. Passages like this could fill us with a sense of joy at another’s sorrow and separation from God. Consider Ezekiel 18:23 that tells us that God himself does not delight in the death of a sinner. We should be happy that God judges sin and evil, but not rejoice in the destruction of the wicked. 

Third, we can have a sense of fear of personal judgment. If you do not trust in the word of God and the salvation provided for by the blood of the passover lamb, then this can be a good and right starting place. We should take God’s warnings and know that God has made a way for us to receive his mercy and grace through Jesus Christ. God’s goal is for us to repent and trust in him and know his love. This starts with recognizing our own persona sin and evil. His end goal is not for us to live in a perpetual state of questioning our salvation or if he is angry with us. 

Fourth, we can respond with apathy. Either we do not care about the evil God is judging or we do not care about our own spiritual state. Maybe we just do not want to engage with things we feel like are difficult parts of the scripture. Either way, apathy is not a good option when it comes to our own personal sin and understanding God’s judgment. 

Finally, we can respond with humility and trust. Humility to know that we have our own personal sin that needed atonement and forgiveness and humility to know that we will not fully understand God and all of his ways. We can know God and still ask good questions and see out honest answers for difficult passages, but there are many occasions when we will need to trust God and take him at his word. Humility and trust look like what the Israelites did when they covered their door posts with the blood of the passover lamb. They admitted that they needed that covering to be saved and they trusted that God would show them mercy and give them justice for all their years of harsh slavery. 

At your community group:
Take 15-20 minutes to share about how God has been at work in your life, prayer concerns and pray for one another.

How did God speak to you through the scripture and the sermon this week? 

Discussion Questions:
Read Exodus 12:29-32 

Imagine an unchurched friend watched a movie about the Exodus and asked you how God could respond with a plague like this?! What are some things you’d say about God’s judgment, evil and what we’ve learned in Exodus so far?

Who was affected by the death of the firstborn? What does this teach us about the nature of the evil committed against Israel during their years of slavery?

What would it be like if God was indifferent to evil and sin in the world?

What are some reasons that it could be difficult to respond with humility and trust? Which response do you lean towards? What steps can you take if you currently lean towards one of the first four responses?