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Podcast Episode

The Plague of the Firstborn

How does the plague of the firstborn from Exodus fit into the biblical theme of the firstborn? And what does it mean when Yahweh calls Israel his firstborn son? In this episode, Tim and Jon explore the theme of the firstborn in the Exodus scroll.

Episode 5
1hr 12m
Jan 30, 2023
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Show Notes
Episodes

QUOTE

To call someone the firstborn is not necessarily a statement of their actual origin. This family was never the firstborn in any of the generations. But what’s being referred to by calling them a firstborn is a status, a role. God is so closely identified with Israel that Yahweh’s own power, name, and authority are invested in these people. Firstborn becomes essentially a way of saying, “This is my image. This is my representative.”

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • God’s “choosing” is always for a twofold purpose: to rule and represent Yahweh as an image of God and to receive the Eden blessing of abundance. (Those purposes are, at times, separated and split between more than one person.)
  • Often, God’s chosen one is marked by the very fact that they are oppressed in some way. Frequently, God chooses immigrants in foreign lands to receive his blessings, which is the role Israel plays in the Exodus narrative.
  • At Passover, Yahweh reverses what Pharaoh brought on Israel when he decreed that all firstborn sons be killed (Exod. 1:15-16), but Yahweh provides something Pharaoh never did—a choice and a chance to be saved.

Reviewing the Theme of the Firstborn

In part one (00:00-19:23), Tim and Jon recap the theme of the firstborn, which is about God’s desire to share power, rule, and authority with humanity. God’s choice to share power with creatures who, at face value, seem unworthy results in an attempt to seize power from humans (the serpent in Genesis 3). This foundational story sets in motion a pattern of humans trying to seize control in a way that brings harm to themselves and others.

God consistently chooses unlikely leaders—at least according to human standards. To be chosen by God is an honor, but it inadvertently puts the chosen one in harm’s way because of the jealousy or rivalry of others.

God’s “choosing” is always for a twofold purpose: to rule and represent Yahweh as an image of God and to receive the Eden blessing of abundance. Sometimes, those purposes are separated and split between more than one person. For example, Yahweh gives Abraham’s firstborn son, Ishmael, an Eden blessing of abundance. But Yahweh gives his second-born son, Isaac, both abundance and the responsibility of carrying on the chosen lineage.

Ultimately, God wants to bless all humanity, but he chooses one person/family to be a vehicle for that blessing. And God is continually subverting human expectations and understandings of power to bless humanity.

Suffering Chosen Ones

In part two (19:23-37:19), Tim and Jon turn their attention to the firstborn theme in Exodus.

At the opening of the Exodus scroll, we’re told that the family of Israel has been fruitful, multiplying in Egypt since the death of Joseph (Exod. 1:7). This detail is a key indicator that God has chosen Israel for the Eden blessing, even though strong and powerful Egypt would be the more obvious choice. The author then depicts the pharaoh of Egypt as a crafty serpent. Egypt is also descended from Ham, so we’re encountering another rivalry between Shem and Ham (see Episode 3, “Rivalry Among Brothers,” for more on the sons of Noah).

Often, God’s chosen one is marked by the fact that they are oppressed in some way. Frequently, God chooses immigrants in foreign lands to receive his blessings, which is the role Israel plays in this narrative. In the New Testament, it’s precisely these people—the poor, the oppressed, the sick, the excluded—that Jesus chooses to include in his Kingdom.

The Plague of the Firstborn

In part three (37:19-52:07), the guys zero in on Exodus 4, where the firstborn theme comes into even clearer focus.

After God selects Moses (also a later-born son) to represent him before both Israel and Egypt, he announces to Moses that the nation of Israel is his firstborn son.

Exodus 4:21-23

The Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in your power; but I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says, “Israel is my son, my firstborn. So I said to you, ‘Let my son go so that he may serve me;’ but you have refused to let him go. Behold, I am going to kill your son, your firstborn.”’”

Yahweh is so closely identifying himself with Israel that he is designating them as his image on earth. This family has always been God’s chosen people, but he’s re-designating them as his firstborn inheritors so that there will be no doubt of their status—either to the current generation of Israel or to Pharaoh.

In Exodus 4:23, Yahweh explains the final plague against Egypt, the plague of the firstborn. All people of all statuses belong to Yahweh, so he can give or take away their lives. Yahweh reverses what Pharaoh brought on Israel when he decreed that all firstborn sons be killed (Exod. 1:15-16), but Yahweh provides something Pharaoh never did: a choice and a chance to be saved. Just as when he asks Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, Yahweh is the one who both demands the life of the firstborn and provides a substitutionary sacrifice. In this way, God’s justice and his mercy are not at odds with each other, a reality that will be most fully displayed later in the biblical story through the life and death of Jesus.

A Dangerous Partnership

In part four (52:07-01:11:44), Tim and Jon continue exploring the plague of the firstborn and the spiritual realities at play in the midst of this famous event.

In the plague of the firstborn, Yahweh challenges Egypt’s sense of security and power—the continuation of its lineages through firstborn sons. However, this is not the only power structure Yahweh is challenging here. In Egyptian spiritual beliefs of the time, the pharaoh was considered to be an incarnation of their greatest god.

Exodus 12:12

For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and fatally strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the human firstborn to animals; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—I am Yahweh.

The Passover event is a strike not only against humans and animals but also against the elohim (gods) of Egypt. This sounds odd unless we consider this against the backdrop of the rest of the Hebrew Bible. Again and again, we read that human choices to do evil are always intertwined with the influence and animating power of spiritual forces—spiritual beings set against Yahweh and his purposes. (For example, the partnership of human and spiritual evil is especially apparent in the flood narrative in Genesis 6. In fact, the author of Exodus uses language to describe the plagues that is an exact match to language used in the flood narrative.) When God deals with evil human power structures, he is also dealing with evil spiritual power structures.

Referenced Resources

  • Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
  • You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music

  • “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
  • "Mitigating the Distance" by Xihcsr
  • "Enclosed by You" by Liz Vice
  • "Fallen Angel" by Tyler Bailey

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder. Lead Editor Dan Gummel. Edited by Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

Scripture References
Genesis 3
Genesis 1:28
Genesis 11
Exodus 1:7
Exodus 12:12
Exodus 19:6
Genesis 1:21
Genesis 49
Ezekiel 18
Exodus 28
Romans 1:1-4
Exodus 12
Colossians 1:15
Leviticus 10
Genesis 19
Genesis 4
Genesis 17
Exodus 1
Exodus 1:11-14
Exodus 7
Exodus 4:21-23
Genesis 6:1-4
Genesis 9:18-28
Exodus 1:1-7
Exodus 1:8-9
Exodus 1:10
Psalms 105:23
Genesis 49:3-4
Psalms 78:51

11 Episodes

Episode 11
Firstborn Question and Response
Do the biblical authors consider women the second-born siblings of men? Were Joshua and Caleb rivals? Why is Korah, the disgraced rebel, honored in the Psalms? In this episode, Tim and Jon dive into your questions from the firstborn series. Thank you to our audience for your insightful questions!
57m • Apr 12, 2023
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Episode 10
The Firstborn of Creation
In our final episode of the Firstborn series, we look at the New Testament’s description of Jesus as the firstborn of creation. Join Tim and Jon as they explore some of Paul’s letters, the book of Hebrews, and the Revelation, and discover how Jesus reveals who God is––and what it means to be truly human, too.
1hr 9m • Mar 6, 2023
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Episode 9
How Will Jesus Use His Power?
Under levitical law, touching anyone unclean would make you unclean too. But when Jesus touches people who are unclean, they get healed and become clean instead––it’s like his holiness is contagious. In this episode, Tim and Jon talk about the way Jesus uses his power and authority as the cosmic firstborn.
1hr 14m • Feb 27, 2023
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Episode 8
God's Firstborn Son
The authors of the gospel accounts in the Bible—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—regularly refer to Jesus as the Son of God, a title that’s connected to the theme of the firstborn. In this episode, Tim and Jon explore what it means that Jesus is God’s Son through the stories of his baptism and testing in the wilderness. Listen in to find out how Jesus uses his power in a way we’ve never seen another human do before.
55m • Feb 20, 2023
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Episode 7
David, the Latecomer King
In the scroll of Samuel, Israel demands a king in place of the judges that have been ruling over them. It sounds like a simple enough request, but Yahweh calls it idolatrous. Why? In this episode, Tim and Jon discuss the motives behind Israel’s request and the role of Israel’s first kings, Saul and David, in the unfolding theme of the firstborn.
1hr 3m • Feb 13, 2023
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Episode 6
Hannah’s Poem and Power Reversals
Hannah was an oppressed woman, scorned by her husband’s rival wife because of her barrenness. But the way she prayed and trusted Yahweh through this hardship became a remarkable example of how God works through the lowly to subvert human notions of power and status. In this episode, join Tim and Jon as they trace the theme of the firstborn in the scroll of Samuel.
1hr 4m • Feb 6, 2023
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Episode 5
The Plague of the Firstborn
How does the plague of the firstborn from Exodus fit into the biblical theme of the firstborn? And what does it mean when Yahweh calls Israel his firstborn son? In this episode, Tim and Jon explore the theme of the firstborn in the Exodus scroll.
1hr 12m • Jan 30, 2023
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Episode 4
Power Grabs and Patriarchs
Early in the story of the Bible, God chooses the family of Abraham, his son Isaac, and Isaac’s son Jacob as his chosen representatives to bless other peoples. But these families are full of the same rivalry, envy, and division present in any other family. What is God doing with these less-than-ideal candidates? Join Tim and Jon as they trace the theme of the firstborn in the narratives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
1hr 10m • Jan 23, 2023
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Episode 3
Rivalry Among Brothers
Only a few pages into the story of the Bible, the story starts to get really bleak. Cain kills his brother Abel, Cain’s descendants become famous murderers, and Noah’s youngest son violates his father and mother. And all of it happens because humans decide that power is worth the cost of harming others. In this episode, Tim and Jon discuss the dark side of human nature and the God who favors the powerless—the people who choose to trust him for blessing and exaltation.
1hr 9m • Jan 16, 2023
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Episode 2
Seizing vs. Receiving Power
It’s not explicitly stated, but the theme of the firstborn first appears in the opening narratives of the Hebrew Bible. In Genesis 1 and 2, Yahweh elevates humans, the latecomers of creation, to rule the land. In Genesis 3, a snake, who is some kind of spiritual being, tricks the humans despite their authority as God’s image bearers. This story is echoed in other accounts of sibling rivalry that continue throughout the Hebrew Bible. Join Tim and Jon as they discuss the land rulers and sky rulers and the theme of the firstborn in Genesis 1-3.
1hr 8m • Jan 9, 2023
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Episode 1
God's Response to Human Power Structures
In ancient Near Eastern societies, firstborn sons were prized above all other children and inherited special privileges and authority simply because of their birth order. In this episode, Tim and Jon start a new theme study covering the theme of the firstborn. Spoiler alert: The God of the Bible opposes lots of human ideas about power, and the privilege of the firstborn is no exception. Again and again, we’ll see Yahweh picking younger siblings and people we wouldn’t expect to be his chosen representatives.
1hr 10m • Jan 2, 2023
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