In our study of the book of Exodus, we will encounter a vision of an ideal society, a society that is free from tyranny with its members free to develop their fullest potential according to the will of the God who called them. Such a vision of society is best understood by digging first into the significance of the Passover from the view of Moses' generation.
Revolutionaries, liberation theologians and those who advocate the inevitability of class warfare between the rich and the poor misunderstood this vision. They used the book of Exodus to provide them with a model of social change apart from the moral standard of God. They ignore the significance of biblical ethics.
Any society will experience positive change or progress depending on the ethical condition of the people and their leaders, particularly the politicians and ministers of religious organizations. The Passover has something to teach us about this ethical condition that provides the basic foundation for social change or progress.
In what way does the Passover teach us about ethics that provide the basic foundation for social change? This is the question I would like to answer in this article.
The Passover shows the necessity to have a radical break from a life of sin and death to a life of victory.
The Passover points to a radical break with evil represented by Egyptian civilization. To accomplish such a break, God destroyed Egypt including its economy, military, its firstborn, and gods. On the night of the Passover, God:
passed through Egypt and struck every firstborn man and animal.
And by passing through, God said:
I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt.
Faith in these gods made Egypt kill the Jewish boys born 80 years earlier. Faith in these gods made the Egyptians enslave the Jews. Faith in these gods made Pharaoh and his officials defy the word of the Lord.
God wanted His people to have a radical break from such an evil kingdom. After performing all the previous acts of judgment and failing to convince Pharaoh, the last plague, the death of the firstborn would finally break Pharaoh's hold over the Israelites. God made Egypt repay for the crime it did 80 years ago.
Let us observe that the plagues inflicted upon Egypt were not merely meant to force Pharaoh to allow the Israelites to leave. God judged Egypt to make it impossible for the Israelites to remain slaves, in case they would prefer the comfort of maintaining the status quo to the discomfort of marching into the Promised Land. The plagues forced the Israelites out of Egypt and into the wilderness.
And so God was calling the Israelites to stop living as slaves, but as free men and women instead. Free from tyranny, oppression, and forced labor. Free from the evil influence of Egypt with its many gods and corruptions. Free to develop their full potential under the rule of God. In this way, we could say that the Passover necessarily gave the Jews the mandate to march into the Promised Land. And that would mean military conquest to fulfill the promise of God given to Abraham.
In our time, though we are described in the New Testament as soldiers, our fight is not military in the sense that we will use physical arms. Our fight remains a fight against sin in all its various forms: personal sins and structural evil in its political, legal, and economic forms. Society will progress if the spread of evil influence is stopped and the spread of God's grace, law and order, liberty, peace, and prosperity advances. Such is the vision of social change that we can derive from the Passover.
The Passover shows how God judged a powerful nation and its people regardless of its political and economic standing.
This is the second lesson we can learn from the Passover. If evil influence is so widespread that hampers the spread of the gospel, obstructs human freedom, and promotes social disorder, economic chaos would ensue. The only way to stop the prevalence of such evil is for God to intervene in human history. And God does this by judging nations and their citizens regardless of their standing in society. We see this in the experience of Egypt.
The Passover taught the Israelites that social change happened due to God's judgment. It further taught the Israelites that God judges people who defy His word regardless of their political and economic status in society.
We observe that no single Egyptian family was spared from God's judgment. The entire nation suffered from the highest to the lowest strata of society. The Bible says:
There was not a house where there was not one dead (Ex. 12:30b)
This tells us that all the citizens of Egypt suffered the judgment of God.
The gods of Egypt failed the Egyptians. God had executed judgment upon all the gods of Egypt, including Pharaoh himself. The Egyptians had seen Pharaoh's failure to protect the nation. In fact, under his leadership, he caused the nation to suffer the worst kind of disaster, the mighty acts of judgment from the hand of God.
The Passover shows how the grace of God came upon an undeserving people.
The Passover taught the Israelites the severity of God's judgment and the graciousness of his redemption. God promised to pass over those households that had blood sprinkled on the doorposts (Ex. 12:13). All other homes He would allow the destroyer (Ex. 12:23) to enter, bringing death to the firstborn male of both man and beast.
The Jews at that time were slow to understand God's plan for them. I suspect that most Israelites at that time had already forgotten the promise of God given to Abraham. We can see this through their constant complaints against Moses while still in Egypt and even after leaving Egypt. It is as if these Jews though suffering under tyranny in Egypt would prefer such life to the kind of life God wanted for them in Canaan.
However, regardless of their attitude and their response, God passed over them and spared them from the plague that struck all the firstborns of Egypt. That was grace.
I believe that any vision of social change apart from the grace of God is impossible and unrealistic. Sin does nothing but destroy human lives and society. It takes the grace of God to transform individuals. The problem is not "ignorance" per se, which can be solved by education. The problem is sin in the human heart, which only God can provide an answer. And that answer is the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
On my Facebook account, I posted my personal view of change:
I see change passing through 3 stages:
A personal encounter with redemptive grace to holistic wisdom and obedience to the two Great Commandments is the individual's primary responsibility.
Sharing such knowledge and experience with your immediate family, and
Educating your fellowmen about law, grace, liberty, peace, and prosperity.
This is how I define glorifying and enjoying God forever.
The chief end of man according to an old reformed catechism is:
to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.
My view of change, both personal and social is my way to achieve such an end.
Conclusion
The Passover gave us a vision of social change that requires a radical break from a sinful life into a life of victory, a demonstration of God's judgment upon a mighty nation and its people regardless of their social status, and a display of His wonderful grace upon undeserving people.
In the New Testament, Jesus is described as the Passover lamb (1 Cor. 5:7). In Him, a break away from a life under the power of sin and into a life of victory is given to those who believe in His name. Moreover, Jesus said that He has already overcome the world. And he has given us the mandate to declare His victory that He won on Calvary. Jesus has already defeated the kingdoms of Satan. The whole world is our Canaan now, and Christ announced His victory over it. As citizens of His kingdom, we have the responsibility to proclaim the victory of our King.