Thus Saith The Lord

Reading:   Exodus 4

In the coming chapters, God directs Moses to predict and enact several miracles in order to persuade Pharaoh to "...let [his] people go." In each instance, Moses is told what to say and what action to perform.  He does exactly as taught and the miracles (frogs, locusts, skin boils, darkness, death of all cattle, water to blood, etc. etc.) commence, each in turn, as directed; however, there is one threat that Moses is instructed to predict that does not occur until all the others have commenced...

EXODUS 4:22-23

22 And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my firstborn: 

23 And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn. 

This works on so many levels; Israel as a singular being, Jacob, or Israel as the people descended of Jacob, both are considered, in this reference, the firstborn of God.  Obviously there can be some conjecture here as to what God means by "[His] firstborn" as all are descendant of Adam but, for me, I see at as a birthright - the Egyptians have lost their birthright as they have chosen to ignore God and worship idols, therefore the birthright rests upon those God-fearing souls, the Israelites.

Anyway, I love the not-so-subtle approach here, "You are messing with my son.  Stop your abusive meddling and let the boy go...or...I will take your son and destroy him, not enslave him as you have done with my child, but destroy him.  I will remove him from his life though he has done nothing to deserve such judgement, his existence rests in the choices of his father."

A child cannot show adequate service to his father if he is enslaved by another.  We as God's children cannot worship and serve our Lord and Savior if we serve another.  We may not be literal slaves but our choices have us enslaved - we all have a master - what or who is yours?

~Kipling

Interesting note:  Verse 22 holds a significant honor in that it contains the first use of the phrase, "Thus saith The Lord," a term used 506 times in the standard works (410 times in the Old Testament alone).  I'm guessing here, but this could be the most used phrase in all the scriptures - quite a laurel for good old Exodus 4:22.