Exodus 12:1-14
With our modern electronic devices, we can keep watch constantly all over the world. The nations of the world have their satellites in low-earth orbit by which they scan the earth’s surface constantly. Video and facial recognition technology can track us almost anywhere we go. We know more fully the meaning of the saying, “you can run, but you can’t hide.”
We sometimes wonder, with modern electronic devices and all the progress in communication of the last several decades, how can there be any place of safety? It seems as though an ever-watchful eye is over us constantly. I am glad to say that God watches over us but with a quite different intention. God watches over us in love when we turn our hearts to Him.
While there are various means of protection, this Scripture in Exodus 12:1-14, sets forth PROTECTION UNDER THE BLOOD. This protection is vital to your eternal well-being.
1. And the LORD spoke unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,
2. This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.
3. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for a house:
4. And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb.
5. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:
6. And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.
7. And they shall take of the blood and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.
8. And they shall eat the flesh that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.
9. Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof.
10. And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remains of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire.
11. And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD’S Passover.
12. For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.
13. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.
14. And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever.
From this scene in the Bible, I find several ENCOURAGEMENTS to seek protection under the blood. These encouragements, which came first to Israel speak to us today as well.
The first encouragement is:
The Careful Outline of Details.
Moses told the people of Israel that this time in their history would be the beginning of months to them. In other words, it was to be the new year, the time when everything else started, “the first month of the year to you.” He explained how they were to select a lamb from the flock on the tenth day of this first month. Every detail was carefully outlined. It was to be a lamb for a household. This was to be done by the size of the family. If the family was too small to eat all of the meat from the lamb, then two families, neighbors, should join together.
The lamb was to be without blemish, a male of the first year. It could be a sheep or a goat. Then from the tenth day of the month until the fourteenth day, the lamb was to be kept separate from the flock. All the families of the congregation were to kill them at the same time. All the details were carefully outlined for a mass observance.
The blood of the lamb was to be caught in a basin. Then they were to take the blood and strike it on the two side posts and lintel of their doors. They were to roast the flesh of the lamb–never to boil it or eat it raw–but to roast it and eat it with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs. If anything was left until the morning, it was to be burned with fire.
Even the clothing they wore for this event is specified. They were to have their clothes on, ready to move. They were to have their shoes on and a staff in their hands. They were to eat in haste because it is the LORD’S Passover. The LORD outlined the details very carefully, to come out right. The encouragement comes that in the carefully outlined details for the people of Israel, God brought them under the protection of the blood.
Another encouragement I find is:
The Complete Outcome of Deliverance.
In verse 12, the LORD executed a final judgment. He said, “I will pass through the land of Egypt this night and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment.” This was the final judgment.
In the earlier chapters of Exodus, God had spoken to Moses that He was going to exercise judgment against all the gods of Egypt. The various plagues, the water to blood, the frogs, the boils, the flies, the darkness, the sickness of cattle, and so on, were actually God’s judgments on the various gods of Egypt.
In this final judgment, the LORD said He was going to smite all Egypt. All the firstborn in the land of Egypt were to be affected, from Pharaoh the king to the slave. In this final judgment, there would be no exclusions; even the beasts, the cattle, would be affected similarly.
At the same time, there was a complete outcome of deliverance. To Israel, the LORD said, “The blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.” There was full protection, absolutely full protection when the blood was properly applied on the two side posts and the lintels of the houses according to the detailed instructions. The LORD said, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.”
And He said, “because the blood is on your doorposts the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.” There was full protection. It was complete outcome of deliverance as a final judgment on the people of Egypt and a full protection for the people of Israel. What was? The blood on the doorposts.
Yes, God does what He promises to do. When those come to Him in full trust, do what He has said there is protection. But you must understand that the protection is only possible when you follow through with the details that God has outlined. In this experience, He said it was the blood on the doorposts that made the difference.
In the third place, we find encouragement in:
The Commemorative Outset of Directives.
The last verse is a short verse but so full of meaning. “And this day shall be unto you for a memorial.” What is a memorial? A memorial is a day which is set aside to remember. It is a day to be kept in mind. It is a particular day. I suspect in every country, in your country, you have certain memorial days. We have certain days in the country where I live. We have days that we have set aside to keep alive the memories of special events. So, the LORD said to the people of Israel that this day, this Passover day, was to be kept in mind as a memorial, a day of memory.
Further, He said it was to be kept as “a feast to the LORD throughout your generations.” It was not the kind of memory day that would pass with the years and be forgotten with time. It was to be an annual feast. It was to be a feast that was to be kept throughout all their generations. That means that the parents would tell the children, and the children would tell their children, and those children would tell their children, and so on.
The final instruction from the LORD was, “you shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever.” I was especially impressed by this word ordinance. In the Hebrew Bible, it comes from the Hebrew word chaqaq, which means to inscribe or engrave. This was to be a never-to-be-forgotten experience, somehow laid down so that it would never pass from memory. It was to be a commemorative memorial, the kind of memorial that would never be forgotten. It was engraved forever. The people of Israel keep it today.
We do well to remember the goodness of God. This day was to tell the people of Israel to remember the goodness of God. For He had brought them complete deliverance from judgment and protected them under the blood.
These encouragements I bring to you from the experience of Israel in ancient days. God still acts the very same way. He has given careful details to complete your deliverance so you might remember His mercy forever. Every heart covered by the blood of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, is safe from death. Make sure the blood of Jesus is applied by faith to your heart and life today.
Thank you, J. Mark, for this teaching from Exodus, and we thank you for joining us. As Christians, it is a privilege to serve and trust our God. Our God who is above every nation. As His people, it is good for us to remember the important principle in Daniel 4:17. It says, “that the living may know That the Most High rules in the kingdoms of men, and gives it to whomever He will, and sets over it the lowest of men.” This verse teaches our sovereign God is over the kingdoms on earth. What happens here among our leaders is known and directed by Him.
Our leaders may be powerful and important or minor and less known, but it is our God who has placed them there, and our God is using them to accomplish His will. I admit we don’t always know how this can be, and when I don’t, I usually tell God I don’t know what this happening or why you are allowing this, but I trust you and pray that your people stay faithful. Be encouraged from this story from Exodus, that our God was in control, and the same God who was in control back then is still in control now.
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This brings us to the end of today’s program. Thanks again for being there. Please join us next week for another lesson from Exodus. Go with God this week and know that He is big enough for your circumstance. Trust Him because “The Most High rules in the kingdoms of men.”
*This episode is an exposition of Exodus 12:1-14 by J. Otis Yoder, re-recorded by J. Mark Horst, with an opening and closing by Arlin Horst.