Exodus 12:1-13

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, ² “This month will be the first month; it will be the first month of the year for you. ³ Tell the whole Israelite community: On the tenth day of this month they must take a lamb for each household, a lamb per house. ⁴ If a household is too small for a lamb, it should share one with a neighbor nearby. You should divide the lamb in proportion to the number of people who will be eating it. ⁵ Your lamb should be a flawless year-old male. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. ⁶ You should keep close watch over it until the fourteenth day of this month. At twilight on that day, the whole assembled Israelite community should slaughter their lambs. ⁷ They should take some of the blood and smear it on the two doorposts and on the beam over the door of the houses in which they are eating. ⁸ That same night they should eat the meat roasted over the fire. They should eat it along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. ⁹ Don’t eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over fire with its head, legs, and internal organs. ¹⁰ Don’t let any of it remain until morning, and burn any of it left over in the morning. ¹¹ This is how you should eat it. You should be dressed, with your sandals on your feet and your walking stick in your hand. You should eat the meal in a hurry. It is the Passover of the Lord. ¹² I’ll pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I’ll strike down every oldest child in the land of Egypt, both humans and animals. I’ll impose judgments on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. ¹³ The blood will be your sign on the houses where you live. Whenever I see the blood, I’ll pass over you. No plague will destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

Key Verse:

I’ll pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I’ll strike down every oldest child in the land of Egypt, both humans and animals. I’ll impose judgments on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD. —Exodus 12:12

Commentary:

The Israelites had been living in Egypt for four centuries, since their ancestor, Joseph, had saved the country from a devastating famine by interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams (see Genesis 41–46). After all that time the Egyptians had forgotten about Joseph, but they were keenly aware that hundreds of thousands of Hebrew-speaking foreigners were living in their land. They questioned the Israelites’ loyalty to Egypt, fearing they could join forces with an attacking enemy. So the Egyptians dealt with this imaginary Hebrew threat by enslaving all the Israelites. But the Hebrew population kept growing. Finally the Pharaoh (king) ordered that all newborn Israelite boys were to be drowned in the Nile River.

God summoned Moses to go before the Pharaoh and demand the Israelites’ freedom. God would back up this demand with nine plagues. Nine times Moses appeared before Pharaoh; nine times calamity befell Egypt; nine times Pharaoh refused God’s offer of mercy. But Pharaoh’s arrogance would not withstand a tenth plague. Those who were faithful to God, though, would make it through unscathed, thanks to the Passover.

Questions to Discuss:

Why, do you think, did Pharaoh not release the Israelites after any of the first nine plagues?

What does it say about God that Pharaoh was given so many opportunities to comply?

Written by Neal Bowes