The First Passover

So the people of Israel did just as the Lord had commanded through Moses and Aaron.  And that night at midnight, the Lord struck down all the firstborn sons in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sat on his throne, to the firstborn son of the prisoner in the dungeon.  Even the firstborn of their livestock were killed.  Pharaoh and all his officials and all the people of Egypt woke up during the night, and loud wailing was heard throughout the land of Egypt.  There was not a single house where someone had not died. [Exodus 12.28-30]

Every time I read the account of the first Passover, I get a tremendous sense of awe and gravity.  A lot of people died that night.  The face of a lot of families changed forever that night.  Entire genealogies were permanently altered that night.

What is the significance of the firstborn son?  Why were the firstborn sons killed that night?

I believe the firstborn projected hope in the era of the Exodus for Israelite and non-Israelite alike.  Until a son was born to any man, his legacy was only an illusion.  A firstborn son represented the virility and timelessness of the father's name - his ability and strength to endure time.  While subsequent sons born to any man represented further family strength, it was the firstborn son that broke through the default genealogical dead-end.  The advent of the firstborn son meant the family name would advance to yet another generation.

In killing the firstborn sons of the Egyptians, God dealt not only a death-blow to the individual sons, but also to the pride and hope of the fathers in passing on their own legacies.  Sure there were likely second and other subsequent sons to carry on family names and legacies, but God's strike against Egypt was not limited to just their population, but to their pride.  The significance of mass death of firstborn sons across Egypt carried a greater emotional impact (if it can even be imagined that way) than if it had been a random family member!

If losing their firstborn sons was not enough to deflate Egypt's ego, the material loss of the firstborn of their livestock surely further affected their state of mind and well-being in very similar ways.

The Passover was an event of unimaginable proportions.  Aside from the obvious implications I have pointed out here, there was also, and most importantly, the prophetic picture of Messiah - the only-begotten Son of God Who's blood would redeem those whose lives were covered by it...

Father, I am grateful for Jesus.  I am grateful for the picture of Jesus seen in the first Passover and Israel's deliverance from the bondage and oppression of Egypt.  Help me to further grasp the significance of all the events of the Bible as they point to Jesus!