That night of the Lord. Exodus 12:31-42 All of the plagues God sent upon the Egyptians were met with opposition of various kinds from Pharaoh. The first request for freedom to worship God in His own way was met with insult and contempt. "Who is the Lord that I should obey Him?" When a nation, through its leaders, begins to treat the rights of its people with disrespect, then eventually, God will step in to handle the nation Himself.
The same is true in church life. An assembly that ignores sin and misconduct, like in Corinth, God deals with that assembly Himself. "For this cause, many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep." Offers of compromise after the request to worship God freely showed Pharaoh's hardened heart, who saw himself as a god. If God's people had worshipped the Lord in the land, it could have led to worse persecution or even war between the idolatrous Egyptians and the Hebrews. Staying a short distance away would have been no different. Leaving families behind shows Pharaoh's lack of regard for children when it came to worshiping God.
The thoughts and praises little children offer to God are highly valued by Him. "Of such is the kingdom of heaven." It is important that we include our children in gatherings of God's people so they learn who the Lord is and why He should be obeyed. The purpose of a three-day journey was to ensure that the Lord's people remained close enough to be influenced by the Egyptian world nearby.
That night, Pharaoh finally conceded to the demands of the Lord. Reconciliation between what is of God and what is of the world is impossible. These two are fundamentally opposed. There can be no surrender of what belongs to God to the "god of this world." While attempts at compromise may be made with smooth words, they do not alter the nature of worldliness.
That night, the hardness of Pharaoh's heart reached its peak. The same rain that brings forth the fruit of the ground to bless people also brings thorns and thistles to curse them. The meekness and quietness of a believing wife who submits to her unbelieving husband may irritate him because her godliness convicts him of guilt. "That same sun that melts the ice hardens the clay." God's "good and perfect gifts," when rejected by hard-hearted people, lead to much greater condemnation than if they had never been offered freely by His grace.
That night, the people of Israel left wealthy from the Egyptians, who gave them gold, silver, and clothing. This was payment for years of forced labor during their slavery. That night, good came out of evil. The Egyptians had learned through the plagues that God blessed the captive Hebrews and were happy to see them go, eager to send them away out of fear.
We may never fully understand the impact of holy and consecrated people on the world around us. God alone knows the full value of the testimony of His own people. The Holy Spirit of God may bring conviction of sin, righteousness, and judgment to come to pass through God's people. We may never get the opportunity for verbal testimony to those who avoid us because of our faith in Christ, so the Lord can use the visible testimony of holiness of life and character to leave people without excuse.
That night, the Lord led His own people out of Egypt after four hundred and thirty years. He fulfilled His promise to Abraham by bringing them out Himself, so no one could claim a human delivered them. Furthermore, they left in strength, with not one feeble person among those two million individuals [Ps.105:35]. God received all the glory for that great deliverance. "That night of the Lord to be observed" remains a powerful testimony to God's power and His promises.