ESOCS Devotional 1 April 2024 – The Passover Service
MEMORY VERSE: “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.” Exodus 12:13
TEXT: EXODUS 12:1-14
Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2 “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. 3 Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. 4 And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man’s need you shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6 Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. 7 And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. 8 Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire—its head with its legs and its entrails. 10 You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire. 11 And thus you shall eat it: [c]with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover.
12 ‘For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike 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 Now 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 the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
14 ‘So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance.
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Israel had been in Egypt for 430 years. It was near the time for its release from Egyptian bondage. Note there was a specific time for Israel’s deliverance. After 430 years in Egypt, it was God’s time for them to leave. Things happen according to God’s time. This can be seen again in post-Babylonian Israel. After 70 pre-determined years, Israel returned to the promised land. So also, in the fulness of time, Jesus Christ came into our world. Note also that there was a specific way of deliverance. It was by the blood of animals smeared on the doors of the Israelites. Deliverance was not left to man to determine. It was determined by God. Every area of your life that you desire a touch, receive testimony now, in Jesus mighty name. Amen.
Our salvation is through something very specific: the shedding of the blood of Jesus Christ. When the Lord saw the blood on Israelite houses, He passed over them and did not judge the marked houses. Jesus is our Passover Lamb(1 Cor. 5:7). He passes over the sins of those who trust in Him. Israel was delivered; Egypt was punished.
The Israelites are required to remember this great deliverance from Egypt. People quickly forget the Lord’s goodness (Ps. 103:2). They need reminders, which is why the Lord established a day of remembrance. Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper as a memorial. Partaken of regularly, it reminds believers of Christ’s death and resurrection. We must not forget. In all this, we observe God’s commitment to His people. He will never abandon His people. No one will snatch us out of His hands. We note the vital place of the shedding of blood in salvation. We rejoice in the effectiveness of Christ’s offering. He shed His precious blood for us. What a Saviour we have! Jesus our Passover lamb has secured our eternal salvation. Praise Him.
As you sojourn this month, may all diseases and trouble of this month never know your address.
- How well have you appreciated God through your lifestyle for the blood that was shed for you?
- Father, I need the grace to remain faithful to you for the rest of my life on earth.
Further Reading: Matthew 28:1-15; Romans 1:1-8
ESOCS Devotional 1 April 2024
