August 29 – Exodus 12:1-13

August 29 – Exodus 12:1-13

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Exodus 12:1-13

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.^[a]

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.

The picture that is drawn here in these verses is one that is symbolic, but extremely significant to those of us who trust in Jesus. 

The 10^th day as described here lines up later when the children of Israel celebrate Passover in Jerusalem with the Sunday prior to Passover.  This was Palm Sunday the year that Jesus was crucified.  This was the day the Passover Lamb was selected by the family for that year’s sacrificial lamb.  They kept the lamb separate from the other livestock to be sure once it was selected as being the best and without blemish, that it remained unharmed and without any change.  Their way of keeping it safe was to keep it in the house with them.  You know the children bonded with this lamb in the four days they kept it.  It only takes about four seconds for a child to bond with an animal, so having one for four days in their home, caring for it and loving it, would have made the sacrifice of the lamb on the fourteenth day even more personal and difficult. 

This fourteenth day lines up with the day before the beginning Passover, or Thursday, which was the day Jesus was arrested and put on trial. 

I believe God wanted us to see and feel in a very personal way the sacrifice that was made in the giving of Jesus’ life.  He is that sacrificial lamb that was perfect, without a single blemish.  He was sacrificed for our sins, just like the lamb was sacrificed each year at Passover following their flee from Egypt. 

The blood above and on the sides of the doorway also symbolize the coming cross where the blood of our Savior was shed.

All those many years they were celebrating the coming Messiah and His sacrifice and had no idea that it was foreshadowing Jesus’ death. 

Isn’t God amazing?

Would you shed more tears at the thought of the sacrifice of a young lamb, or a cute puppy, than you do at the torture and sacrifice of Jesus? 

Have we become numb to what Jesus did for us?

Thank God today for this revelation and for what Jesus did for you and for me.

Thank You Father, for always showing us that this was Your plan all along.  Many years before Jesus walked the earth, You told His story.  Nothing is a surprise to You.  Nothing had to change because we did something unexpected.  You know us because You created us.  Your plan is perfect.  Your plan is eternal.  Your plan never changes.  You knew from the foundation of the world what would have to happen, yet You loved us so much You were willing to do what it takes to make a way for us to have a relationship with You.  How disappointed You must be when we continually turn away and find things we think are more important.  How hurtful we are when we forget the sacrifice that was made for us.  How I must hurt You, God.  Forgive me when I forget what You did.  Forgive me when anything takes my attention away from You.  Forgive me.

In Jesus’ mighty name.

Amen!