It’s a story about courage, about challenging the status quo, and about showing the world that what they worship is nothing more than an illusion.
The verse in question is, "draw, and take for yourselves lambs” (Exodus 12:21), which Shemot Rabbah connects to the verse, “All who serve graven images shall be shamed” (Psalms 97:7). But how do we get there? Well, it all starts with Moses.
Imagine this: God commands Moses to slaughter the Paschal offering – a lamb – right before the Exodus. Seems simple enough, right? Wrong. Moses, ever the people's advocate, immediately raises a concern. "Master of the universe," he asks, essentially, "how can I possibly do that? Don't you know that lambs are basically gods to the Egyptians?" He even quotes, “Behold, were we to sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, would they not stone us?” (Exodus 8:22). It's a valid point! It's like walking into a temple and smashing their idols. Not exactly a recipe for peaceful relations.
But God, in His infinite wisdom, has a plan. He responds to Moses, "By your life, Israel will not depart from here until they slaughter the god of Egypt before their eyes, as I will thereby inform them that their gods are nothing.” God isn't just aiming for freedom from slavery; He's aiming for freedom from false beliefs.
And that's exactly what happens. On that very night, the night of the Exodus, God strikes down the firstborn of Egypt. But simultaneously, the Israelites, following God's command, slaughter the Paschal lambs. The Egyptians are powerless, witnessing both the death of their sons and the destruction of their deities. It's a double whammy!
As Numbers 33:4 tells us, “The Egyptians were burying they whom the Lord had smitten among them, all their firstborn, and upon their gods the Lord administered punishments.” The verse spells it out: even their gods were punished! This is what it means when Psalms 97:7 declares, “All who serve graven images shall be shamed.”
So, what's the takeaway? It's not just a story about ancient history. It's a reminder that true freedom comes from recognizing the truth, even when it challenges everything we think we know. It's about having the courage to confront what's false, even when it's deeply ingrained in the culture around us. And it's about the power of faith to overcome even the most daunting obstacles. What "gods" are we afraid to challenge in our own lives?