The Final Warning: Faith Growing in the Silence

And GOD said to Moses, “I will bring but one more plague upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt; after that he shall let you go from here; indeed, when he lets you go, he will drive you out of here one and all. Tell the people to borrow, each man from his neighbor and each woman from hers, objects of silver and gold.” GOD disposed the Egyptians favorably toward the people. Moreover, Moses himself was much esteemed in the land of Egypt, among Pharaoh’s courtiers and among the people. Moses said, “Thus says GOD: Toward midnight I will go forth among the Egyptians, and every [male] first-born in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first-born of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the first-born of the slave woman who is behind the millstones; and all the first-born of the cattle. And there shall be a loud cry in all the land of Egypt, such as has never been or will ever be again; but not a dog shall snarl at any of the Israelites, at human or animal—in order that you may know that GOD makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. “Then all these courtiers of yours shall come down to me and bow low to me, saying, ‘Depart, you and all the people who follow you!’ After that I will depart.” And he left Pharaoh’s presence in hot anger. Now GOD had said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not heed you, in order that My marvels may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.” Moses and Aaron had performed all these marvels before Pharaoh, but GOD had stiffened the heart of Pharaoh so that he would not let the Israelites go from his land.

Exodus 11 records God's final announcement to Pharaoh through Moses: one more plague, then release. It is a passage saturated with faith — Moses trusts God's word enough to speak it with boldness even as Pharaoh's heart remains unmoved.