1-3-15. Exodus 12:1-28. Commemorate The Redeeming Grace of God-my devotional

Exodus 12:1-28                                                                Kevin E. Jesmer

Key Verse: 12:13  and 17                                                  1-3-15

“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.”

“Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come.”

Part 1: The Passover Celebration Is A Reflection Of Christ (1-11)

The Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread is described in these verses. In them we can see how God cared about revealing his grace to the whole family and community. The Passover is also a reflection of Christ, the Lamb of God.

Verses 1-11 read, “ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, 2 “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. 3 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. 4 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. 5 The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. 6 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. 7 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. 8 That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. 9 Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire—with the head, legs and internal organs. 10 Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it. 11 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.” (NIV)

The story of the Exodus was a community and family affair. Look at Exodus 12: 2-6, “2 “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. 3 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. 4 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. 5 The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. 6 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.”

      In these verses the whole community was called by God to celebrate this feast. Each man was to obtain a lamb for his own family. They were also supposed to be concerned with their neighbors, and their ability to procure a lamb for the feast. The whole community was to sacrifice their lamb or goat together. This warms my heart. Not the slaughtering or animals, for Jesus is now our “once and forever” sacrifice, but the community living, born out of faith. I see community and family unity in these words.

We are losing this in our society. We do have community, but we don’t know our neighbors very well. Family life has become like sharing space and resources under one roof. To have unity together is a distant dream for so many. But here, we see such unity and commitment to one another among the ancient Israelites. This is possible when God is present and faith is the glue. This is the glue that is keeping our family together. I thank God for this. Without the Gospel how easy it is for families to grow apart because they just “don’t like each other.” I see it again and again. Faith in Jesus and the willingness to celebrate the Gospel together is a blessing.

I learn here that I need to help my family to worship Jesus (the Lamb of God) and also think about the needs of my neighbors, both physically and spiritually. My hope and prayer is that my whole family and community may be united in their worship of Jesus.

In Exodus 12:1-13, we can see how the sacrifices offered up by the Israelites, on the night of the Passover, are a direct refection of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. (John 1:29) Let’s learn something about the sacrifices the people where supposed to offer and see how Jesus is reflected in these…

In verses 5-13 are God’s requirements for the type of sacrifice. The Lord gave Moses instructions about how to prepare and eat the Passover meal: The lamb was to be without defect; its blood was to be put on the doorframes of each Israelite house. The flesh was to be roasted, and the meal was to be eaten in haste, with everyone dressed for travel. It was an act of faith and a matter of life and death to follow these instructions.

The sacrifices were male, young, pure and innocent. Look at verse 5, “The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats.”  The lambs where young, that is, very trusting and innocent. They were also to be without defect. That is, they were perfect. This is a reflection of Jesus. He was pure and innocent and trusting of his Father God, as he was led to the cross, like a young lamb. He was also sinless. In this way he was the perfect sacrifice. Jesus fit the description.

The sacrifice was personal and a family affair. Verse 6, “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.”  They were to take care of the lamb for 14 days. In that time they could form a personal bond with the lamb. They could see its purity and its beauty and innocence. Wouldn’t it be nice if all the lambs could be kept as family pets for 15 to 20 years and then die a peaceful death at the veterinarian office? But that could not be. There was a designated purpose for the lambs. It must have been tough for the young children, but there was a need to form some bond with the animal. It makes sense, because Jesus, the Lamb of God, draws us into a personal relationship with him.

The whole community was to slaughter their lambs all together. Again, worship is a community affair and not just a personal endeavor. They were to make the sacrifice at twilight, at the end of the day. God wanted this act of worship to be on their minds the entire day. As they worked they could look forward to the evening events. Jesus was also crucified at the end of the day, at 3 pm. Many members of the faith community were gathered around the cross as Jesus breathed his last.

The sacrifice was seasoned with bitter herbs, symbolic of suffering. Verse 8-10, “That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. 9 Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire—with the head, legs and internal organs. 10 Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it.”  The meat of the sacrifice were seasoned with bitter herbs. Bitter herbs were associated with suffering. The Israelites has spent 400 years suffering in slavery. Now they were about to be set free by God. But that doesn’t mean their suffering would end. Their suffering would not end until they reached the eternal kingdom of God. Jesus’ life in this world was one of bitter herbs. He suffered much during his 3 ½ years of ministry. At the end of it, he was humiliated, beaten and crucified in a cruel Roman cross.  On the cross Jesus offered wine and gall to drink, but he refused. Yet the gall, a bitter poison, was a fitting symbol of what Jesus went through to save us from our sins.  Look at what gall is from the follow excerpt of web site….

“On the cross Jesus was given wine and gall to drink. But at the end of it, Jesus was raised to glory. Jesus was offered a wine and gall mix to drink just before 9 am on Wednesday, April 5 in 30 A.D. The offering took place right after he arrived at Golgotha but before he was nailed to the cross and the Roman soldiers cast lots for his clothes.

The English word gall, in the New Testament, comes from the Greek word chole(Strong’s Concordance #G5521) which literally means poison. All the Old Testament verses that use this word (Lamentations 3:5, 3:19, Jeremiah 8:14, 9:15, 23:15 and so on) have a common definition of something that tastes bitter and is (many times) poisonous.

A mixture of wine and gall was commonly given to criminals before their execution in order to ease some of their suffering. “http://www.biblestudy.org/question/why-did-jesus-refuse-to-drink-wine-with-gall-while-on-cross.html

Our pilgrimage in this world is also one of bitter herbs for it is a fallen world where the power of sin constantly assails our hearts. But despite of the suffering, there is the hope of the resurrection. There are joys and “bitter herbs” along the way.

They were to eat all of the sacrifice. Look at verse 10a, “10 Do not leave any of it till morning…” The Israelites were to eat all of the sacrificed lamb, all of it. This is related to Jesus. When we come together to eat the Lord’s Supper, we eat the bread and drink the wine. They represent the body and the blood of Christ. We just don’t eat a portion of the wafer or the serving of wine, we drink all of what was given us. We internalize it all. The elements become a part of us. They diffuse to every part of our body, mind and soul.

Jesus is also our complete sacrifice. He was completely sacrificed, emotionally, mentally, and physically. He took all the pain and all the suffering upon himself complete. He completely offered himself as the Lamb of God so that we could be forgiven of our sins.  There was no holding back. Praise Jesus for his complete sacrifice as the Lamb of God for the sins of the world. May he completely dwell in our hearts through his forgiveness and grace.  May his light permeate every dark shadow.

The Israelites were to eat the sacrifice in haste. Look at verse 11, “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.” They were to be ready to leave, ready to go on their pilgrimage to the Promised Land. They were to leave their old lives in Egypt behind and allow   God to lead them. This is like Christians today, when they accept Jesus as their own Lamb. They receive the grace of forgiveness and then things start to move pretty fast. Their spiritual eyes are opened. They receive a new hope and new life direction. They are called to follow Jesus as their Lord and Savior and especially as their Shepherd. God does not wait. He calls them, as he called the first disciples, to leave their “boats and nets” and old lives behind and live new lives as disciples of Jesus. Christians need to be sensitive to hear the call of God and they need to respond to the call and set out to live as disciples. That is what it means to “eat it in haste.”

The blood of the sacrifices, painted in obedience on the doorposts, would save the Israelites from death and judgment. Look at verses 12-13 read, “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. 13 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.” (NIV) That night of the Passover, the God would pass through Egypt with his hand of judgment. He would judge the powerless gods of Egypt. He would judge the unrepentant Egyptians. His hand of judgment would strike all people who were not under the blood of the Passover lamb. This is a good representation of what the Jesus’ blood has accomplished for us in the cross. His shed blood was pure and innocent and holy blood. It provided the perfect sacrifice. God the holy Father could declare us, “forgiven” because of this blood. Declaring us “forgiven” means that when our bodies die, we will be resurrected to eternal life and will not be judged because of our sins. We are forgiven. We shall enter the kingdom of God as God’s children, for Jesus the Lamb has brought us into the right relationship with God.  Jesus’ blood is the sign for us that we will no be condemned, but forgiven. Praise the Lord.

Part 2: Commemorate The Redeeming Grace Of God  (14-28)

Verses 14-28, “This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance. 15 For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel. 16 On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do no work at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat; that is all you may do. 17 “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. 18 In the first month you are to eat bread made without yeast, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day. 19 For seven days no yeast is to be found in your houses. And anyone, whether foreigner or native-born, who eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off from the community of Israel. 20 Eat nothing made with yeast. Wherever you live, you must eat unleavened bread.” 21 Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. 22 Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go out of the door of your house until morning. 23 When the Lord goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down. 24 “Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants. 25 When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. 26 And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ 27 then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’” Then the people bowed down and worshiped. 28 The Israelites did just what the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron.” (NIV)

God wanted his people to commemorate the Passover, never forgetting his grace. They were to let generation after generation know of God’s great love and deliverance. Look at verse 14, ““This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance.” And verse 17, “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come.”  And verses 24-27, “Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants. 25 When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. 26 And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ 27 then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’” God was very concerned that the children of each succeeding generation knew about their miraculous deliverance from slavery in Egypt. And the people obeyed. The account of the Passover has been told since its occurrence in 1400 BC. Not only the Jewish people, but also the Christians are telling generation after generation after it.

What were they commemorating again? In 1400 BC, God’s hand of judgment would fall on Egypt. Moses told the people to go at once and slaughter the Passover lamb, and put its blood on their doorframes. The people worshiped God and obeyed. The angel of death would pass through Egypt, slaying the firstborn of the Egyptians and of the livestock. But the angel of death would pass over the houses marked with the blood of the Passover lamb. Their first born would be spared. The Egyptians would finally repent of their refusal to let the Israelites go free and allow at least 3 million of their Israelites slaves free to travel to the Promised Land, the land of Canaan. They would be set free to become a nation of God’s people. They had already suffered for 400 years, away from their land and under the heavy yoke of slavery. Their slavery could have gone on for another 1400 years if it were not for the grace of God. Now, because of God’s grace and love, were free! The Israelites were to celebrate this day down through the generations and teach their children about God’s grace and mercy, for it was the day of their deliverance from slavery in Egypt (24-27).

God wants his people to proclaim the Gospel from generation to generation. The Gospel is all about Jesus and his suffering, death and resurrection. It is through the Gospel that we have been redeemed and set free from our slavery to sin and death. Satan was our hard task master and wielding sin and death as huge, powerful weapons of war. We tried, with our own human efforts to escape our captivity, but to no avail. We just sank deeper and deeper into our pits of darkness. We were forced, like slaves, to build Satan’s kingdom. The chains of spiritual oppression were tightening like snares.

But this kind of slavery was not what we were meant for. The eternal life in the Kingdom of God is our true home. Jesus is our true king, who rules our lives with peace and love. We should be pouring out our lives to building up Christ’s kingdom. Jesus, by the Gospel has set us free. He forgave us of our sins. We were born again and made into new creations. We are able to proceed on our pilgrimage to the kingdom of God. As we travel we grow in the image of Christ. We experience God’s healing. Our knowledge of God’s grace grows. Our knowledge of Christ and of his love grows in us. Heavenly joy floods into our hearts. It is because Jesus has set us free by the power of the Gospel. We build up God’s kingdom for his glory alone. This is liberating. Praise God.

I thank God for setting me free from the power of sin and death and bringing me into the glorious freedom of the Kingdom of God. It all happened when I was 22 years old. I was a hedonistic young man, only focused on fun and feeding my own ego and my own desires to live in sin. For a while I thought I was having fun, but I was suffering under the devil’s oppression. I stammered. I felt empty and meaningless and I was being led…not led, but dragged along dark paths…straight to death and condemnation. I was under the heavy yoke of slavery. But Jesus set me free. He forgave me of my sins. He shed his light in my heart and made my path straight. He gave me a living hope in the kingdom of God. He set me free and now I can live for his glory and build up his kingdom. One day I will see my Lord Jesus face to face, in the Kingdom of Heaven. What freedom! What joy! What grace! I pray that I can share this liberating Gospel with succeeding generations.

This Gospel needs to be told over and over again. Our children need to know it. That is why we have yearly Easter celebrations. If we stick to the original meaning then it is propagated each year. Christian parents try to impart the Gospel to their kids through Bible study and church etc. But despite of our best efforts, we need to depend on the Holy Spirit to open their hearts to the Gospel and allow it to take deep in their hearts. I pray that my wife, Julie and I may be able to impart the Gospel to the next generation, starting with our kids and our future grandkids and the kids of our community.

These kids, referred to in this passage, were very spiritual. Look at verse 26, “And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’” Wow! If I met kids like this, who heard about Easter and then came to me and asked, “What does Easter mean to me?” I would be floored. Mostly kids remain silent as they struggle with the world. I am reminded about Jesus when he was 12 years old. He went up to Jerusalem with his family. His family thought he was lost. But actually he was conversing with the religious leaders in the temple, talking about spiritual things. When his parents found him, Jesus said, “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49) May a wave of strong spiritual desire to know the redeeming Gospel among our youth, wash across our land like tsunami.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the redeeming grace of Christ that set me free from the sin and death. Help me to share the Gospel to the next generation.

One Word: Saved by God…tell the whole world.