Warnings, Regret and the Passover

It seems that warnings are a part of the fabric of our lives. Very few crises come on us without warnings. Most persons charged with DUI have driven drunk many times before it all comes to a harsh awakening with the blue lights. Most husbands or wives have 100 signs that all is not well before an adulterous affair is revealed. And, most parents have numerous warnings - obvious to an outsider - that their child is having trouble, even desperately in trouble, before a horrible situation or act of self-destruction occurs. But, we are simply blinded to the obvious, because we are so invested in needing that feeling that all is well with those persons we are bound to heart and soul. And, we are so convincing even regarding ourselves that all is well, when it is not. I was thinking about all these things when I read Exodus yesterday. All those Egyptian families who were bothered by the cruel treatment of the Hebrew slaves. All those Egyptian families that had experienced the first nine warnings (plagues). They even felt such sympathy for the Hebrews that they began giving them their jewelry to fund their escape. But, they stuck with Pharoah, for he was their ruler and protector. And, in the end, they just couldn't take the warnings to heart - until that midnight when they awakened to the death cry of their firstborn. We human beings almost always figure out what the truth is - and almost always find it out after it is too late to do anything about it.