in the deliverance of the children of Israel from Egypt. Because of Pharaoh's obstinacy in releasing the children of God to proceed to the Promised Land, God decided to visit that land with different plagues. Moses and Aaron performed signs and wonders, released plagues upon the land of Egypt, but still, Pharaoh refused to let them go. There were plagues of frogs, turning Nile into blood, flies, lice, cattle murrain, boils, hail, locust, and darkness. But all these could not change Pharaoh's heart. Rather he arrogantly asked Aaron, "Who is that your God that I will obey him. I will not listen to that your God and I also will not let Israel go. And mind you, I don't want to see you people (Moses and Aaron) in my palace again. The day you come here again, I will kill you. Is that understood Moses?" And Moses said, ‘Very well. I will never see you again.” And they left.
Now God told Moses that He was going to send just one more disaster on Pharaoh and the land of Egypt and after that, Pharaoh will be begging the children of Israel to leave Egypt. God told Moses that He was going to institute an ordinance called Passover for their sake. And it will be done in the night. He said that after they would have performed the ordinance, He (God) would pass through the land of Egypt killing every firstborn son of man and beast, while executing judgment against all their gods. And that is exactly what God will do for you at midnight. He will judge your enemies and their gods. He is ready to institute a new ‘ordinance’ for your sake, if the need arises. Yes, powerful and deliverance ordinances are best set at midnight altars!
Now my interest here is that God brought out his last joker for Pharaoh, to make him allow Israel out of Egypt, and that He also chose to do it in the midnight. He told them specifically to perform the sacrifice in the night and also to be ready to leave that country that same night. And truly, He came at midnight.
"And at midnight the LORD killed all the firstborn sons in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne to the firstborn son of the captive in the dungeon. Even the firstborn of their livestock were killed. Pharaoh and his officials and all the people of Egypt woke up during the night and loud wailing was heard throughout the land of Egypt. There was not a single house where someone had not died."
Yes, God struck the pride and strength of Egypt – their first sons in the midnight. You can imagine the commotion throughout the land that night. Both men and beasts wailing! Our God is indeed powerful!
Please before we continue with what happened at that night of Passover, there is something I would want us to note here. The plague of killing the firstborn of Egypt unlike others was extraordinary and strange to the Egyptians. They had somehow seen these other nine that came earlier, but the last one (death of all the firstborn) was not known to them before this time.
To the Egyptians, plagues are not unusual. They are part of their local colour. The water of the Nile turning into blood and the frogs coming to cover the land were not totally strange. Flies, lice, cattle murrain and boils, hail, locusts and darkness were not new. These things, which the bible described, are still being experienced by the Egyptians. For example, the 'Red Nile '. Deposits from the Abyssinian Lake often colour the floodwaters with dark reddish-brown, especially in the upper Nile. That might well be said to look like 'blood'.
At the time of the floods, frogs and also flies sometimes multiply so rapidly that they become regular plagues on the land. Under the heading of lice would come undoubtedly the dog fly. These often attack whole areas in swarms, affect eyes, nose and ears, and can be very painful. Then, Cattle pest is known all over the world. The boils which attack human beings as well as animals may be the so-called ‘Nile heart' or 'Nile-itch'.
This is an irritating and stinging rash, which often develops into spreading ulcers. This horrible skin disease is also used as a threat for punishment by Moses in the course of the Journey through the desert. The same could be said about hail storms and darkness. Only the death of the firstborn is a plague for which there is no parallel. It was designed to be the last straw that will break the Carmel's back. And Pharaoh, as expected, immediately caved in.
Now back to the Passover night. God told the Israelites that what they were doing that night was going to be an ordinance for the rest of their life. They should observe it every year, and also pass same to their children. That is exactly the way I see midnight prayers. Decrees made while praying at this period are always very strong and they often bring great results.
Most times, they bring about generational breakthrough and blessings; which will out-live you. And we must also ensure that we pass this same practice to our subsequent generations. Then, as we have noted earlier, it is also in the midnight that most of the satanic ordinances are set against us, against our families, towns, churches, etc. So, when we pray in the midnight, we destroy such satanic ordinances and set up fresh and favourable ones that will begin to speak for us all the rest of our life.
The Passover midnight broke the chains of bondage off the Israelites. It smote their enemies with their gods and also gave them great wealth. In fact, the bible said, "So like a victorious army, they plundered the Egyptians!" This is exactly what happens to you when you engage in midnight prayers. Start today and you will see mighty deliverance coming your way.
Jacob
“But during the night Jacob got up and sent his two wives, two concubines, and eleven sons across the Jabbok River. After they were on the other side, he sent over all his possessions. This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until dawn. When the man saw that he couldn’t win the match, he struck Jacob’s hip and knocked it out of joint at the socket. Then the man said, ‘Let me go, for it is dawn’. But Jacob panted ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me’. ‘What is your name?’ The man asked. He replied, ‘Jacob.’ ‘Your name will no longer be Jacob’, the man told him. ‘It is now Israel, because you have struggled with both God and man and have won.’
“What is your name?’ Jacob asked him. ‘Why do you ask?’ the man replied. Then he blessed Jacob there. Jacob named the place Peniel – 'face of God' – for he said, ‘I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared.' The sun rose as he left Peniel.
Genesis 32:22-31
Now, we want to see how Jacob utilized his midnight to change his unfavourable situation. You already known that very few people in the bible could be said to have the same level of divine grace as Jacob. God had blessed him to the extent that his children, wives and other possessions were now moving in groups and camps. And by this time, he had left Padan-aram (Laban’s place) to Canaan, according to God’s direction.
When they came to a place where he named Mahanaim (God’s Camp), he sent messengers to his brother Esau, to inform him of his home coming. But the response Jacob got from his brother was terrifying. The messengers came back to tell him that Esau was coming to meet him with a four hundred-member elite squad. Instantly, Jacob was thrown into confusion. In panic, he thought of what to do. Then he prayed and sent gifts to appease his enraged brother.
You remember that Jacob dubiously took Esau’s birthright and blessings. It was now Esau’s opportunity to pay him back. And also after the flight of Jacob, Esau had regarded himself as the sole heir of their father’s possessions. He could have also thought that Jacob was coming back to displace him of their father’s large estate or at least ask for his own share.
Jacob knew the above possibility that was why he impressed it on the messengers to tell Esau that he was not coming home to struggle for inheritance, because God had already blessed him with oxen, asses, flocks, men-servants and woman-servants.
Jacob and his family had now reached the River Jabbok, and as night came on, he sent his family across the ford of the river, while he alone remained behind. He had decided to spend the night in prayer, and he desired to be alone with God. It was in a lonely, solitary and unprotected place. Jacob bowed in deep distress upon the earth. It was at midnight. The reality of Esau’s threat to him, his children and wives came stirring in his face. He wept, cried and reminded God of all His promises to him.
And all of a sudden, a strong hand was laid upon him. He thought that an enemy was seeking his life, and he endeavoured to wrest himself from the