Parashah Bo בֹּא Come into the Darkness, Come into the Light

Parashat Bo (Exodus 10:1–13:16) tells of the final three plagues—locusts, darkness, and the death of the firstborn—and the birth of Israel as a redeemed people, marked forever by the blood of the Lamb and the feast of Passover.

Setting the Scene: “Come to Pharaoh”

Parashat Bo opens with a surprising command: “Come to Pharaoh,” not “Go.” This hints that the Holy One is already present in the place of oppression, sovereign even in the palace of the tyrant. Pharaoh’s hardness of heart becomes a stage on which G-D’s power and compassion are displayed, so that Israel and Egypt alike will know that He is Adonai.

The Last Three Plagues

This portion recounts:

• Locusts that devour what little remains after earlier plagues.

• Darkness so thick it can be felt.

• Death of the firstborn throughout Egypt.

In the darkness, Egypt is paralyzed, but “all the Israelites had light in their dwellings,” a picture of spiritual clarity in a world that cannot see. This darkness is also felt by the inhabitants of the land. Vision in the natural world is severely limited as their spiritual discernment is blind. The deity that the Egyptians trusted in is powerless. The final plague shatters Egypt’s illusion of security, reaching from Pharaoh’s palace to the lowliest prison, even to the firstborn of the animals.

The Birth of a People

In the very night of judgment, G-D gives Israel a new beginning: “This month shall be for you the beginning of months.” Time itself is redeemed, re-ordered around G-D’s act of salvation. The people are commanded to take a lamb, slaughter it as a community, mark their doorposts with its blood, and eat it in haste with matzah and bitter herbs.

Inside those blood-marked homes, Israel is sheltered while the destroyer passes over, not because of their merit but because of G-D’s covenant faithfulness. From that night forward, Israel is to remember, retell, and relive the Exodus in every generation, teaching children that “it is because of what Adonai did for me when I came out of Egypt.”

From Passover to Messiah

For the Messianic Jewish community, we see this parashah pointing toward Yeshua as the Lamb whose blood marks out a redeemed people from every tribe and tongue. Just as the lamb in Egypt had to be chosen, inspected, brought into the home for four days (10^th to the 14^th day),  slain, and applied to the doorposts, so the atonement Yeshua provides must be personally trusted and applied to our lives.

The darkness over Egypt foreshadows the darkness over the land at Yeshua’s crucifixion, when judgment and mercy meet. And just as Israel goes out of Egypt not empty-handed but with silver and gold, so those who follow Messiah leave their old bondage with the riches of a new identity and calling. As Messianic Jewish believers with a high view of G-D's Word, we are told in receiving instruction concerning the kingdom of heaven, it is like bringing out treasures 'new and old.'

Shalom Bridge: Walking Out of Egypt Today

Parashat Bo is not only ancient history; it is a mirror held up to every generation. Egypt represents any system—external or internal—that demands our allegiance and resists the rule of G-D in our lives. The call of this week is to examine where Pharaoh still speaks in our hearts, saying, “Only the men may go,” or “Leave your flocks behind,” offering compromise instead of covenant. However, Moishe appears to understand that G-D desires worship from our whole being, all that we have, all that we are, all that we will ever be.

At Shalom Bridge, the desire is to help people cross out of those places of slavery and bondage into a life shaped by redemption, memory, and hope. As we read Parashat Bo this week, may our homes become places of light in a darkened world, our tables become altars of remembrance, and our stories become bridges of shalom between Israel and the nations.