October 12, 2020
The book of Exodus tells the story of the birth of the nation of Israel fulfilling God’s promise to Abraham. From the seventy descendants of Jacob, Israel was fruitful and multiplied greatly until they filled the whole land of Egypt. After four centuries of slavery, God answers the cries of His people for deliverance. God raises up Moses for this calling, to lead his people out of bondage to a land of promise and deliverance.
Some of the greatest stories of the Bible are featured in Exodus—from the Ten Plagues, and the Passover, to the crossing of the Red Sea, and the establishment of the covenant at Mount Sinai. The Passover lamb, the exodus from the land of Egypt, the seven feasts, the tabernacle, and even the high priest, are all foreshadows of the ministry of Christ.
Chapters 1-18 contains the events leading up to God’s delivering the Hebrews from their captivity in Egypt, and chapters 19-40 shares the events in the wilderness and the account of God’s instructions to Moses on Mount Sinai to direct the life and worship of the nation.
Exodus 12
The Passover
1 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2 “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. 3 Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household. 4 And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, 6 and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.
7 “Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. 8 They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. 10 And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. 11 In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover. 12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. 13 The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.
14 “This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast. 15 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. 16 On the first day you shall hold a holy assembly, and on the seventh day a holy assembly. No work shall be done on those days. But what everyone needs to eat, that alone may be prepared by you. 17 And you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day, throughout your generations, as a statute forever. 18 In the first month, from the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. 19 For seven days no leaven is to be found in your houses. If anyone eats what is leavened, that person will be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a sojourner or a native of the land. 20 You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwelling places you shall eat unleavened bread.”
21 Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and select lambs for yourselves according to your clans, and kill the Passover lamb. 22 Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. 23 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 will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you. 24 You shall observe this rite as a statute for you and for your sons forever. 25 And when you come to the land that the Lord will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this service. 26 And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ 27 you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’” And the people bowed their heads and worshiped.
28 Then the people of Israel went and did so; as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.
The Tenth Plague: Death of the Firstborn
29 At midnight the Lord struck down 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 the livestock. 30 And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians. And there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where someone was not dead. 31 Then he summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, “Up, go out from among my people, both you and the people of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as you have said. 32 Take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone, and bless me also!”
The Exodus
33 The Egyptians were urgent with the people to send them out of the land in haste. For they said, “We shall all be dead.” 34 So the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading bowls being bound up in their cloaks on their shoulders. 35 The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. 36 And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.
37 And the people of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. 38 A mixed multitude also went up with them, and very much livestock, both flocks and herds. 39 And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough that they had brought out of Egypt, for it was not leavened, because they were thrust out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves.
40 The time that the people of Israel lived in Egypt was 430 years. 41 At the end of 430 years, on that very day, all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. 42 It was a night of watching by the Lord, to bring them out of the land of Egypt; so this same night is a night of watching kept to the Lord by all the people of Israel throughout their generations.
Institution of the Passover
43 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the statute of the Passover: no foreigner shall eat of it, 44 but every slave that is bought for money may eat of it after you have circumcised him. 45 No foreigner or hired worker may eat of it. 46 It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the flesh outside the house, and you shall not break any of its bones. 47 All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. 48 If a stranger shall sojourn with you and would keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised. Then he may come near and keep it; he shall be as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. 49 There shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among you.”
50 All the people of Israel did just as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron. 51 And on that very day the Lord brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Reflection:
- Why do you believe God was so specific about the lamb that was to be sacrificed?
- What did God say he would do to all of the gods of Egypt in verse 12?
- Why was the lamb’s blood on the two door posts and lintel of every Israelite’s home so important according to verse 13?
- What did this event foreshadow according to 1 Corinthians 5:7?
Prayer: Thank you Jesus for your sacrifice for me on the cross. I praise you as the perfect Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). I thank you that through faith in you, your shed blood enables me to live, and death does not have the final victory. I bless your holy name Lord. The name of Jesus, amen.
God Himself went throughout Egypt and slew the firstborn. I see no reference to a death angel. What is the origin of that teaching, which I believe to be false?
I assume it comes from the last part of Exodus 12:23, which says:
“ the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you. “
The destroyer is not necessarily defined as a death angel, but is not an unreasonable assumption.
Thank You Jesus for shedding Your blood by sacrificing Your sinless body on the cross to purchase our salvation! Your death delivers us from the death our sin deserves. We love You, Lord! In Jesus’ Name, amen & amen.
Gracias padre por la sangre derramada por nosotros los pecadores tu pueblo que sacaste del cautiverio gracias por tu amor y misericordia gracias mi padre porque eres nuestro Señor grande y misericordioso Gracias padre por hoy por ayer y por todos los días venideros sabiendo que tú eres nuestra guía espiritual nuestra fortaleza y con todo tu amor sobre nosotros tus hijos te bendecimos y te alabamos toma el control de mi vida y la de mi familia que se haga tú voluntad gracias mi Dios amado quita cualquier plaga enfermedad maldición rompe echo serias cualquier cosa que no provenga de ti padre en nombre y por amor de tú hijo amado amén ?
AMEN AND HALLELUJUH!!!! LORD THANK YOU FOR YOUR FORGIVINESS OF MY SINS. YOU ARE GLORIOUS IN MY EYES. I PRAISE YOU AND TRY TO LIVE BY YOUR WORD. YOU WILL ALWAYS BE FIRST IN MY LIFE. I PRAISE YOUR HOLY NAME CHRIST JESUS AMEN.
Dear Heavenly Father,
You are a God of love and compassion but also of justice and retribution. When we sin we have to face consequences of our actions. You want us to choose Your ways but we are given free will. As our Heavenly Father, you have made a way for us to repent of our sins and live with You forever . Thank you for loving us so much that we can live with this promise. As for me, I will lean on you for understanding and direction. Lead me each day, dear Lord, I pray. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Praise you dear Lord for your provision and salvation from our humanity and sin. Praise you for the rich scripture which teaches and admonishes us to follow your commandments.
I ask mercy dear Lord on those who are fighting this virus. Strengthen them in their fight – give the doctors wisdom. I pray for my sister who just tested positive. I pray mercy and healing for her and her family. Protect our elderly mother and mother-in-law from this vicious virus. You are the Master Healer. I call upon you now for your mercy, healing, and protection!
Jesus is Lord!
Thank you Lord for protecting us and giving us your word, that teaches us how to live. Although we should plan, I trust you Lord with your plans for my life and accept them whatever they maybe, because I know you want to prosper me, not harm me, but to give me a hope and future. Help me Lord, be more watchful for you, for where you are at work, so I can follow you and lead others to accomplish your plans with joy, passion and excellence.
I love how Jesus, the lamb of God, is already seen here. He is the perfect male lamb, who’s body was sacrificed, without his bones being broken, so that death can pass over us, freeing us from our previous slavery to sin and death.