Exodus 11:1 - Meaning and Application

Here we see, first, how highly God favored Moses and Israel. Moses was one of God’s close servants, because God did not hide from him what he was about to do. God did more than send him on errands. He also shared his purpose with him, as with a trusted counselor. He told Moses that he would bring one more plague on Pharaoh, and only one, and that this would finish Israel’s rescue (Exodus 11:1).

Moses longed for the suffering to end, to see Egypt no longer struck and Israel no longer crushed. God answered in effect, “It is nearly over now. The struggle will soon be finished, the victory will be won, and Pharaoh will be forced to admit defeat and let go of his claim.” After all the earlier plagues, God says, “I will bring one more.” In the same way, after all the judgments God sends on sinners in this world, there is still one more left for the next world. That final judgment will fully humble those whom nothing else would humble.

Israel also stood in God’s favor, because God himself took up their wronged cause. He made sure they would be paid for all their labor for the Egyptians. This was the last day of their slavery. They were about to leave, and their masters, who had used them harshly, would not have gladly paid them and sent them away empty-handed. The Israelites, for their part, were so eager for freedom that they would have been glad to leave without pay.

But God, who always does what is right for the oppressed, saw to it that the workers would not lose their wages. He told them to ask for payment as they left, in articles of silver and gold (Exodus 11:2). He had prepared for this by the plagues, which made the Egyptians as willing to give them up as the Israelites had once been eager to go. The patient Israelites were willing to lose their wages, but God would not let that happen. The lesson is clear, God will make right every wrong for those who quietly leave their cause with him, and in the end no one will lose by patient suffering any more than by faithful service.

We also see how highly Moses and Israel were regarded by the Egyptians. The people who had been hated and looked down on now came to be respected. The wonders God had done for them gave them honor and made them important in Egyptian eyes. Those for whom God fights become greatly honored. The Lord gave them favor with the Egyptians by making his favor toward them plain, and he changed the Egyptians’ attitude so that they felt pity for those they had oppressed (Psalm 106:46).

Moses himself became very great. How could it be otherwise when the Egyptians saw the power he carried and the wonders done through his hand? In the same way, the apostles, though they were otherwise lowly men, were made highly respected (Acts 5:13). God honors those who honor him. Those who stay faithful to him may pass through this world with little notice, but a day is coming when they will seem great, very great, in the eyes of all people, even those who once despised them. Pharaoh hated Moses, but some of Pharaoh’s own servants respected him. So it was in Caesar’s household, even Nero’s, where some valued the blessed Paul (Philippians 1:13).