God’s final judgment upon Egypt, the tenth plague, began with a significant sequence of events, starting with the house of Pharaoh.
It was a tragic day throughout Egpyt as the nation paid a high price for their idolatry, their false worship, and their rebellion against God. It started with Pharaoh’s house.
There was weeping and wailing throughout the land. It started in Pharaoh’s house.
Exodus 12:29–30 (NKJV) “And it came to pass at midnight that the Lord struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of livestock. So Pharaoh rose in the night, he, all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead.”
Leadership, as the saying goes, is the cornerstone of everything. It’s a truth that resonates in the biblical narrative, particularly in the context of the tenth plague.
God takes His spiritual leaders seriously. When giving instructions to Moses, God was very precise about the type of men He wanted to oversee and lead the nation.
Exodus 18:21–22 (NKJV) “Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. And let them judge the people at all times. Then it will be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge. So it will be easier for you, for they will bear the burden with you.”
The men were required to be trustworthy, hating covetousness, and above all, they must fear God. Why? Because their decisions would affect the nation, starting with their own homes.
Later, when Paul wrote to young Timothy about choosing elders for the New Covenant Church, he made it mandatory that men know how to rule their own houses well. Why? Leadership begins and ends at home.
1 Timothy 3:4–5 (NKJV) “one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?);”
Remember how important it is for you to have your house in order, friend. Whether you’re an elder or a stay-at-home mom, it’s important that your home is submitted to the Lordship of Christ, saturated in the Agape Love of Christ, and filled with His presence.
Why? The people looking to you and following you pay dearly for bad leadership. It starts in the home. It starts with you.
Proverbs 16:12 (NKJV) “It is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness, For a throne is established by righteousness.”
