God Comes at Midnight

Exodus 12:21–30 NKJV

Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning. For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you. And you shall observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever. It will come to pass when you come to the land which the Lord will give you, just as He promised, that you shall keep this service. And it shall be, when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ that you shall say, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice of the Lord, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households.’ ” So the people bowed their heads and worshiped. Then the children of Israel went away and did so; just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did. 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.

God hears the cries of His oppressed people

Israel experienced great bondage under Pharaoh

Israel groaned in their suffering

Their cries came up to God

Exodus 2:23 NKJV

Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage.

God will deliver His oppressed people

God raised up a deliverer in Moses

God sent ten plagues against Pharaoh

Everything seemed to get worse rather than better

God comes at Midnight

At creation, God ordered the day to begin at dusk rather than at dawn.

Genesis 1:5 NKJV

God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.

Night began at 6:00 pm and the day began at 6:00 am.

Midnight was regarded as the middle of the night, thus “midnight”.

The LORD works and warns in the Day, but He judges and delivers at midnight.

Midnight represents destruction for the wicked and deliverance for the righteous.

God struck the firstborn of Egypt and spared the firstborn of Israel at midnight.

God delivered Paul and Silas at midnight

Acts 16:25–26 NKJV

But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed.

Jesus Christ our Bridegroom will come at the midnight hour in history

Matthew 25:6 NKJV

“And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’

We must keep watching, waiting, and working until midnight comes

Israel obeyed God’s command to prepare themselves

Israel waited with expectation that God would judge Egypt and deliver them

God came at midnight just as He promised.

Like the five wise virgins, we must be ready, watching, and have our lamps trimmed and filled with oil.

RESPONSE TO THE WORD

Don’t lose hope!

Believe that God will keep His promise!

Hold on to hope!

God often comes at the midnight hour to deliver

Give thanks to the LORD at the midnight hour.

Psalm 119:62 NKJV

At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You, Because of Your righteous judgments.