Remember Your Rescue

GETTING STARTED

All of us commemorate the things, people, and events that are important to us. We joyously celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, births, weddings, and graduations. On special occasions we recognize those dear to us, and on sad ones we mourn those we’ve lost. In the last month alone, I marked the day I was born, the day I married, and the birthdays of both relatives and good friends. Next month, I will celebrate the anniversary of the day I submitted my life to Jesus. My life’s journey hinges on that event, and I would be remiss not to remember it.

  • What are some important dates or events you pause to remember? How do you mark these times?

READ THE WORD: EXODUS 12:1-13 (ESV)

12:1 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.

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.

English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

DIGGING DEEPER

  1. In verses 1-2, God instituted a new beginning to Israel’s religious calendar with a celebration unique to his people. Make as many observations as you can about the sacrificial lambs used for this feast (vss. 3-7). Why do you think it was important for the Israelites to follow these God-given guidelines?
  2. What were God’s instructions to the Israelites for this communal meal and what was his definition of this event (vss. 8-11)? Why was it important that they eat in haste?
  3. In verses 12-14, God made four “I will” statements. Based on these statements, what did God say he would do on the night of his Passover? Additionally, what did he state about himself (vs. 12)?
  4. What was the purpose of the blood covering the doorframe (vss. 7, 13)? For whom was the blood a sign and why? What would God do when he saw it?
  5. By instituting Passover, God was offering an opportunity to exercise faithful obedience. Where is God calling you to exercise faithful obedience? How do you commemorate what God has done for you?

RESPOND TO GOD

With the tenth plague looming, God told the nation of Israel that there were steps to be followed and details that could not be overlooked. This new celebration would be no ordinary meal; it would be significant, quick-paced, and purposeful. Afterward, the blood of lambs would cling to doorframes, and just like God had said (“a sign for you”), there would be protection in it. As promised, God would rescue; but first there would need to be sacrifice.

Many generations later, Jesus, the unblemished son of God, would partake of the commemorative Passover meal just before sacrificing himself on the cross (Matthew 26). His blood was spilled for all, and for all time—the ultimate rescue.

  • Take some time to remember how God has protected, rescued, and redeemed you. What did it look like? How did it feel? What changed because of it? How do you celebrate it?
  • Praise God the Father for giving his son Jesus as a sacrifice for your very life, and thank Jesus for giving himself over to death for you.