Exodus 9 - 12

Death of the Firstborns
Pharaoh's pride and stubbornness ultimately cost Egypt everything.  Pharaoh was the type of person who could not grasp the idea that there was anything greater than he.  Powerful, dictatorial, full of hubris and obdurate to the point of personal pain, he could not and would not accept that God was in total control.

The next six plagues are covered in today's portion.  The plagues affected every aspect of the natural world: Water and water borne life, amphibians, insects, livestock, plants, light, and life itself.  Yet Pharaoh remained undeterred in his will. Even when he ordered Moses and the Israelites to leave after the death of the firstborns, he makes a curious request in 12:32 stating, "Go, but bless me as you leave."  After all he had put the Israelites through in slavery, and after all he had subjected his people and land to during the plagues, Pharaoh still thought only of himself.

His example is not one to follow.  There is no joy in defying God.  The wages of his sin were death, destruction, chaos, poverty, and misery.  May God protect us from such a spirit.

God bless you and bless the reading of His Word.