Moses’ Story: The Passover Lamb

Exodus 12:1-13:16

The Ten Signposts of the Bible
CAMDE—400—CALY
Creation. Abraham. MOSES. David. Elijah. 400. Christ. Apostles. Letters. Yet-to Come.

MOSES: Israel enslaved. Moses rescued. In Midian. Burning bush. Excuses. Plagues. 

The plagues that God inflicted on Egypt were devastating. The Nile turned to blood; frogs, gnats, flies, and locusts swarmed; livestock died; boils broke out; hail destroyed crops and vegetation; and darkness covered the land. 

The final plague was the most severe and targeted Pharaoh, who believed in his own deity.

Through Moses, God warned the ruler, “About midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt, and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the cattle” (Ex. 11:4-5). God’s word hardened Pharaoh’s heart once again. 

While the prior plagues were unleashed on the Egyptians, all the Israelites and their livestock were shielded by God and spared from any devastation. For the final plague, God made special arrangements with his people. He would protect them if they obeyed him. It was all about the blood of the lamb. 

Each head of household was to take a year-old male lamb without blemish, large enough to feed his family. On the fourteenth day of the month, the lamb was sacrificed. Then they were to “take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it” (Ex. 12:7). God said: 

Exodus 12:11-13
It is the Lord’s Passover. 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. 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.  

Israel’s deliverance depended on the lifeblood of a sacrificed lamb applied to the doorposts of each house. During the Passover, the people trusted in God’s provision of a sacrifice to deliver them from death. 

At midnight, just as God had said, every firstborn was struck down, from Pharaoh’s firstborn son in the palace to the firstborn son of the prisoner chained to the wall of a dungeon cell. Every person in the land experienced God’s judgment—except those who had the sacrificial blood applied to their doorposts. 

The Passover meal, instituted in Egypt, was celebrated throughout Israel’s history, during the Old Testament era, and during the four hundred years between the Old and New Testaments. 

Then Jesus came.

Luke 22:7-8
Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.”

When the meal was over, Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. He was arrested and ultimately put on the cross.                           

The apostle Peter said we were delivered from our sins “with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot” (1 Pet. 1:19). The apostle Paul states it clearly, “For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Cor. 5:7b). 

In Exodus, Israel was enslaved and in need of deliverance. 
We are all in slavery to sin and in need of a Savior. 

In Exodus, God warned of the coming judgment. 
God warns us all today of the judgment to come. 

In Exodus, God provided the way of salvation—the blood of a sacrificial lamb. 
Jesus is “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).

In The Revelation of Jesus Christ, “the Lamb” is one of Jesus’ favorite titles. He is the “Lamb who was slain” (Rev. 5:6; 13:8). Salvation belongs to the Lamb (Rev. 7:9-17). The Lamb is the One who conquers (Rev. 17:14). Believers will celebrate at the marriage supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:7-9). 

Today, thank Jesus for being your Passover Lamb, for shedding his blood on the cross, for saving you from eternal death, and for the victory that is yours “by the blood of the Lamb” (Rev. 12:11).  

PERSONAL TIME WITH GOD 
Read and reflect on Exodus 12:1-13:16. Have you personally trusted in the blood of Christ for your salvation?

Talking to God: Are you relying on religious activity—or on the finished work of Jesus?

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