{Exodus Chapter’s 11:12:13}
Moses became angry and told Pharaoh that God was going to send one last terrible punishment. The Lord Himself was coming to Egypt and in the middle of some night soon, He would cause the oldest son in every Egyptian home to die. Even Pharaoh’s oldest son would die. Even Pharaoh’s oldest son would die. There would be a great cry of grief all through the land, such crying as there had never been before and would never be again. But not one of the Israeli children would be hurt in any way; then Pharaoh would know that he and his people were the ones the Lord was punishing, and not the Israelis. Moses told Pharaoh that after this punishment the Egyptians would come and beg Moses to take his people and leave the country.
Moses stalked out in great anger, leaving Pharaoh sitting there.
Then the Lord instructed the Israelis to be ready to leave Egypt in four days. He said to ask the Egyptians for Jewels and silver earrings and gold necklaces to take with them. And the Lord caused the Egyptians to want to give their jewels to the people of Israel.
The Lord said for each family in Israel to get a lamb and to kill it on the fourth evening. Then they must take the blood of the lamb outside and sprinkle it on each side of the door and up above the door, making three marks of blood on the outside of every Israeli home. They must stay in their houses and not come out again until morning, for that night the angel of the Lord would come and kill the oldest child in every home where the blood was not on the door.
On that fourth evening they must roast the lamb, God said, and everyone in the house must eat some of it. They must be dressed to travel as they ate it, all ready to go, with their shoes on and their walking sticks in their hands. And they were to hurry as they ate, for when the Lord went through the land on that night and caused the oldest sons to die, at last Pharaoh would really let them go.
God promised that He would pass over the houses where the blood was on the door and not harm any one inside. The supper of lamb they ate that night was called the Lord’s “Passover,” because the Lord passed over the houses where He saw the blood on the door.
At last the terrible night came. In the middle of the night the Lord passed through the land. Wherever He saw the marks of blood, He passed over that house and no one there was harmed. But there were no marks of blood on the houses of the Egyptians, and the Lord sent his destroying angel into every one of those homes and caused the oldest son to die. Even Pharaohs oldest son died that night.
The king got up in the night with all his people, and there was a great cry of sorrow and despair through all the land, for in every home the oldest son was dead.
Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and told them to leave Egypt at once and to take all the people of Israel with them. “Take all your flocks and herds, he begged, “and leave tonight.” All the Egyptians begged them to go quickly, for they were afraid the Lord would kill them all, not just their oldest sons.
So the people of Israel left Egypt that night, carrying their clothes on their shoulders. And the Egyptians gave them jewels of silver and gold, and clothes too: so they went away with great riches. And many of the Egyptians went with them.
The lamb that was killed in every Israeli home that night in some ways like our Savior. The lamb died foir the people, and its blood saved them. That is what happened again many years later, when Christ the Savior came as the lamb of God to die for each of us.
And just as God passed over those who had the marks of the lamb’s blood on their houses, and did not punish them, so it will be when Christ comes back again. He will not punish those who have the marks of the Savior’s blood in their hearts, those whose hearts have been cleansed from sin by His blood.
That night as they left Egypt, the Israelis took the body of Joseph with them, for Joseph had made his brothers promise four hundred years before that they would take his body home again to Canaan! At last his dying wish was being fulfilled.
Questions:
What did God command the Israelis to do so that the Lord would pass over their houses?
Why was their supper that night called the Lords “Passover”?
In what ways were the lambs that were killed that night like Jesus?
What did the Israelis take with them as they left Egypt?
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