April 22, 2013
WAIT, YOU WANT ME TO DO WHAT?
Exodus 12:1-13
Katie McElrath
Central Truth
A lamb had to be killed in order to provide the blood that would protect the Israelites. Christ, the Lamb of God, gave His blood to atone for the sins of all people.
Key Verse | Exodus 12:13
"'The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; 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.'" (Exodus 12:13)
Exodus 12:1-13
The Passover
1 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. 1 12:6 Hebrew between the two evenings
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.
Dive Deeper | Exodus 12:1-13
At YoungLife, we do crazy stuff to "earn the right to be heard" with teenagers. My favorite memory from camp was an obstacle course. Each cabin had to protect their leader, follow crazy instructions, and sacrifice themselves with messiness. They didn't understand why, but they obeyed.
In this chapter, God gave the Israelites specific instructions in preparation for the Passover. Here's how I would've reacted: "Aww! Poor little lamb!"
For the Israelites to be spared from the plague of death, a lamb without defects had to shed its innocent blood. Just as each household needed a lamb to protect it, all people need The Lamb to save them for eternity. John 5:24 (ESV) says, "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life." Some take communion to look back and reflect on Christ's sacrifice on the cross; the Israelites celebrated Passover to remember their escape from death and Egypt and also as a picture of the coming sacrifice of the Lamb of God.
"But, I gotta have my carbs."
The Israelites were to make bread without yeast. Leaven in the Bible often represented sin. God wants to remind us to remove sin as we follow Him.
"Eww, a belt? Tucked in? Can't I just wear sweats to this feast?"
God wanted the Israelites to be ready to leave at a moment's notice. Eating dressed for travel was a sign of their faith that God would fulfill His promise to deliver them out of Egypt. We need to be ready to go be and make disciples (Matthew 28:19). This may not be comfortable.
I'm thankful my YoungLife girls didn't question the staff's instructions and protected me from a disgusting mess. More so, I'm thankful Christ took the mess of my life, advocated for me, and paid for my sins by shedding His innocent blood on the cross (1 John 2:1-2). Thank you, Lord, for sacrificing Your Son for me. Thank you that there's nothing I must do to earn salvation except believe in you. Thanks for giving me life and life to the full (John 10:10).
Discussion Questions
1. John 5:24 tells us if we hear and believe, we have eternal life. Living in the Bible belt, I'm sure you've heard the name Jesus, but do you believe He died for you? Have you ever fully trusted your life to Him? (Romans 10:9-10)
2. What sin in your life needs to be "cut out of your diet"?
3. What steps are you taking to equip yourself for being a disciple for Christ? (Check out the Equipped Disciple classes at Watermark Community Church!)
4. Who are you discipling?