I was reading the story of the Exodus a while back and was struck by the story of the 10th plague. When the firstborn of the people of Egypt are killed by God's angel of death I've always seen in the reaction of the people of Egypt grief, but this time in reading the story I saw something else. The texts reads, 12.33 The Egyptians were urgent with the people to send them out of the land in haste. For they said, "We shall all be dead." This is not the most flattering picture. The picture is not of grief but of fear for their own lives--it seems to be a very self-centered reaction. In their response I can't help but see myself in times of trouble, focusing on myself rather than others and their needs (or for that matter as long as I'm OK I don't have to worry much about those other folks).
The reactions of the Egyptians seem to put them at odds with the picture that God has of creating a covenant community where Jesus tells us that they will know we are his disciples by our love (John 13) and the early community of faith where they sold their goods and possessions and gave to each one as he had need (Acts 2). This last picture of the Egyptian people at the end of plagues that showed God as superior to the gods of Egypt leaves me wondering if God was seeking to show that not only is he superior to the gods of Egypt, but also his community is superior to the community built by these gods.
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