Exodus 11:5 and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the cattle.
Read Exodus 11:1-10
How many of us have ever travelled to Hawaii? My guess is not many. How many of us know or have known a loved one who has suffered from cancer? My guess is nearly all of us. There is nothing the grants us more solidarity with our fellow humans than our mortality.
Benjamin Franklin once commented, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” (Benjamin Franklin, in a letter to Jean-Baptiste Leroy, 1789)
We are now 9 plagues into the story of the exodus. Still Pharaoh will not relent. Somehow privilege, difference, and circumstances prevents the Pharaoh from identifying with the Hebrew slaves and his suffering Egyptians.
Since the beginning of Hebrew scripture we have seen the natural consequence of breaking God’s heart: the breaking of ourselves and our world.
God promises that this processes of mortality can be reversed. He is the Lord of Life. All life belongs to him. He will protect those who acknowledge his Lordship and turn to him. Let’s give up trying to be “lords of life.” It lead to the death of Jesus. “[We] put to death the Lord of life; whom God gave back from the dead; of which fact we are witnesses.”(Acts 3:15)
It is this humble repentance that undoes the bonds of death and creates an new solidarity and a new humanity. There is nothing more liberating than acknowleding that Life belongs to God. As such, he will care for His creation. Whatever pressures or cares face your life today: Remember your life is His. He will protect you.
Let this truth and humility lead to a new solidarity and peace in your life today.
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