Moses & The Passover
Exodus 12:1-13
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire—with the head, legs and internal organs. Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it. This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover.
“On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.”
Jacob’s family came to Egypt in order to get food during the famine, and they stayed and stayed. In fact, they stayed for 400 years! During that time, many new babies were born and grew up and had families of their own, and Israel grew to be a great nation. When the time came for the Israelites to return to the land that God has promised to Abraham Pharaoh wouldn’t let them go. God sends a series of devastating plagues and yet Pharaoh would not relent. The verses above describe the final plague and the observance of what would become known as the festival of Passover.
Passover serves as a reminder that God is the giver of life and that it was only through God’s actions that the Israelites were able to escape slavery and begin a new life. Jesus used the Passover meal to tell his disciples about the significance of his death - his body broken and his blood poured out for them. While a Passover lamb had to be sacrificed each year, Jesus came as “the lamb of God who comes to take away the sins of the world” (John 1:29) once and for all. This early reminder of God’s provision and protection over the Israelites, bringing them into freedom, serves as a signpost pointing to Jesus. Through this story we are reminded that God also desires our freedom from darkness and oppression and has in fact given freedom as a free gift to anyone who believes.
Prayer:
Thank God for His care and protection of us as His children. Thank him for providing Jesus as a lamb who was slain for us and the pathway to freedom from darkness, oppression and sin. Ask God to help you see how to share that good news with others today through your words and actions.

