“Into the Wilderness”
A Sermon Series in the Book of Exodus
“The Passover and the Sacrificial Lamb”
Exodus 12
Introduction
In the plagues of Egypt the Hebrew God showed Himself more powerful than the gods of the Nile (water to blood), more powerful than the gods of the land and harvest (locusts) and the air (darkness, gnats, flies) all the false gods were defeated. During this time God’s people were untouched by the plagues (watching from the land of Goshen). But with the final plague (the death of the first born), God’s people were given specific instructions for what to do so that they would be safe from the last plague – and they had to follow God’s instructions very carefully or they too would experience the same plague as the Egyptians.
Wrath was coming and He would come to the door of every household, Egyptian or Hebrew. It would look upon the door and would at that point choose to enter or move on to the next house. God would provide them a way of salvation. The truth is that the Hebrews deserved God’s wrath just as the Egyptians their oppressor. Just because they were slaves and their lives were incredibly difficult did not mean they were not sinners and deserving of God’s wrath.
Two examples: They didn’t believe God’s prophet and when things became harder with straw and bricks they said, “The LORD look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.” Later we see Joshua 24:14 “Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.” Even though God would show himself more powerful than all the Egyptian gods, they would still hold on to them. They, like all people were descendants of Adam, and the consequences of the fall of mankind (Romans 3:23).
Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—” “The tenth plague was a sign of God’s judgement against all humanity.”[1] Like the Egyptians, the Israelites deserved divine judgement; but unlike the Egyptians, they would be saved by grace through faith.
Prayer
God’s People Needed A Way to Cover Their Sin – Atonement
The Qualifications for the Substitute (vv. 1-6)
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.
God provided a way for a way for their son to be covered (atoned for) in the form of a lamb. The lamb had to be “without blemish, a male a year old,” This lamb would be a substitute for them to cover their sin, and it had to be perfect. It had to be their best (not blind, or diseased, or injured.)
1 Peter 1:18-19 “knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.” The perfect lamb given in sacrifice was to point them to a Savior who would never sin.
Instructions About The Substitute (vv. 7-11)
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.
The blood from the lamb and its’ slaughter was to be brushed on the doorposts of the home. They were to go into the home and not come out again. The lamb was to slaughtered, butchered, and prepared to eat. It was to be roasted, not boiled, or eaten raw. The entire animal was to be consumed (if it was too much for your family, then get some people to join you).
The meal would be a reminder of the people’s slavery (bitter herbs to remind them of their bitter lives). The unleavened bread was to remind them of the haste they had to leave (there was no time to wait for the yeast to rise). The ate standing up, with their staffs in their hand, and outer garments tucked into their belts so that they could move quickly at a moment’s notice. “This night was the night of their deliverance, their liberation, their redemption, their salvation!”[2]
And when God saw the blood on the doorpost, death would pass over, and the firstborn in the family would be saved. God provides a lamb as the means of forgiveness of sin. A blood substitute was always required, and God always provided the lamb. God provides what is required.
Genesis 4:3-5 “In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.” Abel brought the lamb and his offering was accepted; God required a lamb.
In Genesis 22:7 God tests Abraham by telling him to take his son Isaac to the mountain and sacrifice him there. Isaac knows what is required for a proper sacrifice to God “And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.” Isaac knew a lamb was required. God went on to provide a lamb as a substitute for Isaac. Later in Leviticus 16 a lamb was required for the Day of Atonement.
On this day, one lamb atoned for the entire nation of Israel. So the consistent message of the Bible is that anyone who wants to meet God must come on the basis of the lamb that he has provided. Later John the Baptist would say of Jesus, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” His blood and sacrifice would cover our sin, and by faith in Him would save us from the wrath of God. 1 Corinthians 5:7b “For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.”
“It is theologically significant that Jesus was crucified right at the time of the Passover feast (see John 13:1; 18:28). It helps us see the connection between the first Passover and the final Passover – the Passion of Christ. The day Jesus made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem was the very day the Passover lambs were driven into the city, and when Jesus celebrated the Last Supper with his disciples, he was celebrating the Passover (Matthew 26:17).
He said, “This is my body . . . this is my blood” (Matthew 26:26-28). His disciples didn’t understand it at the time, but Jesus was really saying, “The Passover is all about me. I am the sacrificial lamb.”[3] While Jesus hung on the cross, at 3pm is the very time when all the lambs in the city were to be slaughtered.[4]
(v. 13) “The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood,” The blood was shed when they slaughtered the animal, they wiped in on the doorposts, and it meant something had died – a lamb died in their place.[5] By placing it on the door was an act of faith – this blood will save me.
So imagine you are the firstborn, and the lamb is selected four days before the Passover meal. It is brought inside the home and cared for. They would have fed it, watered it, cared for it, played with it. All the time thinking, “this is our Passover lamb.” The lamb they would grow to care for would be slaughtered, gutted, butchered and then eaten (completely) all in a matter of a few hours. Why would God give instructions for the lamb to be brought into the home? Why did Jesus not just die for the sins of mankind? Why did He live amongst us first? Children would ask “Why do we have to do this daddy?” Why do we have to kill the lamb we love?” Dad would then have to explain – so that our sin can be passed over.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Npv2Mpbd3w :55 to 1:24
The Details Are Important to Remember (vv. 14-20, 28)
14 “This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast. 15 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. 16 On the first day you shall hold a holy assembly, and on the seventh day a holy assembly. No work shall be done on those days. But what everyone needs to eat, that alone may be prepared by you. 17 And you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day, throughout your generations, as a statute forever. 18 In the first month, from the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. 19 For seven days no leaven is to be found in your houses. If anyone eats what is leavened, that person will be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a sojourner or a native of the land. 20 You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwelling places you shall eat unleavened bread.”
The Passover meal was to serve as a memorial of the shed blood of a sacrificial lamb. They were to remember how God led them to freedom. God gives very specific instructions about how the memorial day was to be carried out – and to ignore these instructions would lead to a person being “cut off from the congregation of Israel.” To fail to observe the day, change the details of the day, or to be casual about how you celebrate the day – would lead to the next generation failing to understand the significance of the Exodus.
We who have the blessing of the New Testament are also given a memorial meal. With the Last Supper we are told to remember that Jesus’ sacrifice was made during the Passover festival in Jerusalem – and it happened this way for a reason. Just like the Passover was to remind God’s people of the Exodus, The Last Supper is to remind Christians what God has done for us, “do this in remembrance of me.”
To change to details, to fail to do the festival the way it is described is very serious – the consequences are severe. All of these details are there for a reason and point to a Savior who sacrificed himself for the salvation of the world. Each detail of the Exodus is pointing to an eventual Savior who not only gives freedom but eternal life – the way of having a relationship with God.
28 Then the people of Israel went and did so; as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.
(v. 21) Moses calls the elders together and walks them through what God has said about the Passover, how this was a meal that would be repeated in the years to come, and how to instruct the future generations. And look how the people responded in v. 28 “Then the people of Israel went and did so; as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.”
They showed their faith in God by putting the blood in the door, going inside and not coming out, and celebrating the meal as described. They believed and followed God’s Word and they were saved. V. 50 says, “50 All the people of Israel did just as the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron. 51 And on that very day the LORD brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts.”
The Consequences of Belief and Disbelief (vv. 29-32)
29 At midnight the LORD struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock. 30 And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians. And there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where someone was not dead. 31 Then he summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, “Up, go out from among my people, both you and the people of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as you have said. 32 Take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone, and bless me also!”
The Exodus of the Israelites and the death and destruction of Egypt is a picture of salvation. “If you are not a Christian, God is calling you to trust him, to believe that One has been sacrificed to pay your penalty, to bear your burden, to save you from God’s judgement for your sins. That’s the message that his Passover account has for us.
We all deserve God’s judgement even as God judged the Egyptians – we have all rebelled against God. But God in his great love caused this punishment to fall on Christ. The Son of God voluntarily laid down His life for us if we would trust him and repent (or turn from) our sins. Jesus Christ is the Passover lamb sacrificed for all who will be his people.
The Lamb without defect became our substutionary sacrifice, if we will repent and believe. There are many images in the Bible about God and how He relates to humanity – but the Lamb of God, and His substitution for us is the foundation of them all. “Jesus paid it, all to Him I owe, Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.”
The Israelites took a lamb slaughtered it, and wiped its’ blood in their homes – what do we do today to be saved? Years later Jesus would go to the cross, voluntarily lay down his life and would rise again three days later – what must we do to be saved? Believe on the blood of Jesus – rest in His promise that you will be saved by believing in Him.
If you wish to be saved, you say a prayer something like this, “Dear Jesus, please forgive me for my sin, I turn from my sin. I believe that you died as my substitute, and I place my faith in You alone. I want to follow you, the rest of my life. Amen.”
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[1] Philip Graham Ryken, Preaching the Word, Exodus (Wheaton, Illinois; Crossway Publishing, 2015) 297.
[2] Mark Dever and Michael Lawrence, It Is Well, Expositions on Substitutionary Atonement (Wheaton, Illinois; Crossway Publishing, 2010) 20.
[3] Ryken, 300.
[4] See Luke 43:44-46.
[5] The theological term for a substitute for one’s sin is or penal substitution and it is the means to be made right with God, or expiation.
