“The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month is to be the beginning of months for you; it is the first month of your year. Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month they must each select an animal of the flock according to their fathers’ families, one animal per family. If the household is too small for a whole animal, that person and the neighbor nearest his house are to select one based on the combined number of people; you should apportion the animal according to what each will eat. You must have an unblemished animal, a year-old male; you may take it from either the sheep or the goats. You are to keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembly of the community of Israel will slaughter the animals at twilight. They must take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses where they eat them. They are to eat the meat that night; they should eat it, roasted over the fire along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or cooked in boiling water, but only roasted over fire—its head as well as its legs and inner organs. You must not leave any of it until morning; any part of it left until morning you must burn. Here is how you must eat it: You must be dressed for travel, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. You are to eat it in a hurry; it is the LORD’s Passover. “I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night and strike every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, both people and animals. I am the LORD; I will execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt. The blood on the houses where you are staying will be a distinguishing mark for you; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will be among you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. This day is to be a memorial for you, and you must celebrate it as a festival to the LORD. You are to celebrate it throughout your generations as a permanent statute.” —Exodus 12:1-14
Remember the saving power of God.
God
Exodus 11:4-8, 12:12-13
“After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned because of their difficult labor, they cried out, and their cry for help because of the difficult labor ascended to God. God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the Israelites, and God knew.” —Exodus 2:23-25
“The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom should I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— whom should I dread? I am certain that I will see the LORD’s goodness in the land of the living…Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart be courageous. Wait for the LORD.” —Psalm 27:1, 14
Exodus 12:2-7; 13, I John 1:1-2
“Israel was not innocent here based on their bloodline. They were found innocent because of the applied blood of the substitute. God judged Egypt, but he also judged Israel. The Passover demonstrated that apart from the blood of the lamb, Israel would forever be guilty. God is holy. All are sinners and deserve to be cut off from God.” —Tony Merida
“When the LORD passes through to strike Egypt and sees the blood on the lintel and the two doorposts, he will pass over the door and not let the destroyer enter your houses to strike you.” —Exodus 12:23
“For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was revealed in these last times for you. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.” —I Peter 1:18-21
We must
“Keep this command permanently as a statute for you and your descendants. When you enter the land that the LORD will give you as he promised, you are to observe this ceremony. When your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ you are to reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when he struck the Egyptians, and he spared our homes.’” So the people knelt low and worshiped. Then the Israelites went and did this; they did just as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron.” —Exodus 12:24-28
“As we remember what the Lord has done in the past, we come to believe what God has promised to do in the future.” —Mark Dever
For further study:
Scripture: Psalm 27, 2 Corinthians 5, Exodus 11:1-10
Resources: How Jesus Fulfills the Passover – Justin Dillehay
(https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/how-jesus-fulfills-passover/)
Discussion Guide:
What is your reaction to this part of the Exodus story?
Have you ever encountered a struggle or situation that was so overwhelming you could do nothing about it?
In what area of your life do you need to hear that God will save you today?
Are you prone to avoiding examining your heart? Why do you think that is?
Has the reality of Christ’s death become routine for you? How can you rediscover its power and significance in your own life?
How can your life be defined by what Christ has done from now on?
To prepare for next week: The Exodus; Exodus 12:33-13:22