Thursday, July 21, 2022

Exodus 11-12 Devotional Bible Study by Steve Wilson

Exodus 11

Now the Lord had said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go from here, and when he does, he will drive you out completely. Tell the people that men and women alike are to ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold.” (The Lord made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and Moses himself was highly regarded in Egypt by Pharaoh’s officials and by the people.)

So Moses said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘About midnight I will go throughout Egypt. Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the female slave, who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well. There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt—worse than there has ever been or ever will be again. But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any person or animal.’ Then you will know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. All these officials of yours will come to me, bowing down before me and saying, ‘Go, you and all the people who follow you!’ After that I will leave.” Then Moses, hot with anger, left Pharaoh.

The Lord had said to Moses, “Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you—so that my wonders may be multiplied in Egypt.” 10 Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go out of his country.

Exodus 12

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb[a] for his family, one for each household. If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire—with the head, legs and internal organs. 10 Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it. 11 This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover.

12 “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. 13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.

14 “This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance. 15 For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel. 16 On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do no work at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat; that is all you may do.

17 “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. 18 In the first month you are to eat bread made without yeast, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day. 19 For seven days no yeast is to be found in your houses. And anyone, whether foreigner or native-born, who eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off from the community of Israel. 20 Eat nothing made with yeast. Wherever you live, you must eat unleavened bread.”

21 Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. 22 Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go out of the door of your house until morning. 23 When the Lord goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.

24 “Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants. 25 When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. 26 And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ 27 then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’” Then the people bowed down and worshiped. 28 The Israelites did just what the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron.

29 At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well. 30 Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead.

The Exodus

31 During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the Lord as you have requested. 32 Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go. And also bless me.”

33 The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and leave the country. “For otherwise,” they said, “we will all die!” 34 So the people took their dough before the yeast was added, and carried it on their shoulders in kneading troughs wrapped in clothing. 35 The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing. 36 The Lord had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians.

37 The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Sukkoth. There were about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. 38 Many other people went up with them, and also large droves of livestock, both flocks and herds. 39 With the dough the Israelites had brought from Egypt, they baked loaves of unleavened bread. The dough was without yeast because they had been driven out of Egypt and did not have time to prepare food for themselves.

40 Now the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt[b] was 430 years. 41 At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the Lord’s divisions left Egypt. 42 Because the Lord kept vigil that night to bring them out of Egypt, on this night all the Israelites are to keep vigil to honor the Lord for the generations to come.

Passover Restrictions

43 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “These are the regulations for the Passover meal:

“No foreigner may eat it. 44 Any slave you have bought may eat it after you have circumcised him, 45 but a temporary resident or a hired worker may not eat it.

46 “It must be eaten inside the house; take none of the meat outside the house. Do not break any of the bones. 47 The whole community of Israel must celebrate it.

48 “A foreigner residing among you who wants to celebrate the Lord’s Passover must have all the males in his household circumcised; then he may take part like one born in the land. No uncircumcised male may eat it. 49 The same law applies both to the native-born and to the foreigner residing among you.”

50 All the Israelites did just what the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. 51 And on that very day the Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt by their divisions.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 12:3 The Hebrew word can mean lamb or kid; also in verse 4.
  2. Exodus 12:40 Masoretic Text; Samaritan Pentateuch and Septuagint Egypt and Canaan

 

Always Be Ready

Exodus 12:11

“This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover.”

The Israelites had to eat this first Passover dinner quickly because at any moment, it would be time to leave Egypt.

This teaches us two things: Be ready, because at any moment, it could be our time to leave this world. Jesus said His coming would be unexpected, and whereas there will be signs leading up to it, just like the plagues on Egypt led up to the Exodus, it all could happen very quickly for us. We need to be ready.

We also need to be ready to take action in this life when our Heavenly Father tells us to. At any moment, He may call on you to do something. He wants you to be ready, prepared to act, not fumbling around looking for your “sandals” like the Israelites would have been if they hadn’t been ready to go.

Be ready to move when the Lord says to move.

 

Recognize What Has No Value

Exodus 12:15-20

“For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel.

“For seven days no yeast is to be found in your houses. And anyone, whether foreigner or native-born, who eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off from the community of Israel. Eat nothing made with yeast. Wherever you live, you must eat unleavened bread.”

It’s interesting that baker’s yeast – like this passage is talking about, versus modern nutritional yeast – has practically no nutritional value. Yeast is for texture and shape only. It adds nothing to the bread. It’s extra.

What in your life has no practical value? What adds nothing to your life? Cut it out! Make time for those things that do benefit you.

In the best-case scenario, those things are neutral. They neither benefit nor harm you, like yeast. Yeast isn’t bad for you; it just doesn’t do anything for you. In the worst-case scenario, those “extra” things you add to your life actually harm you. Jesus compared yeast to sin and false teaching, which we need to cut out of our lives so that we can take in only what is pure and beneficial.

In this life, we need to travel light – not adding anything extra – so that we’ll always be available and ready to do the work the Lord has called us to.

 

Passover is Coming

Exodus 12:21-23

Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go out of the door of your house until morning. When the Lord goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.”

Passover is coming. A time is coming when our Heavenly Father will pass through the earth and cut off those who continue to rebel against Him, but He will spare those who have accepted His offer of peace through His Son Jesus. To be spared in this Passover, we need to surround our lives with the blood of Christ, just as the Israelites surrounded their doorways with the sacrificial blood of the lamb.

Join me in this prayer:

Jesus, surround and permeate every part of my life. By myself, I cannot stand under God’s judgment. I need You to cover and protect me. Thank You for willingly dying for me to take my punishment.

Father God, thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus the Christ, to be my righteousness.

Thank You, Holy Spirit, for softening my rebellious heart and drawing me to belief.

 

Many Others

Exodus 12:37-38

The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Sukkoth. There were about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. Many other people went up with them, and also large droves of livestock, both flocks and herds.

I don’t know that the Israelites did much evangelizing. Can you imagine them going up to their Egyptian slavemasters and saying, “Have you heard of the God of the Hebrews?” Yet, when they left Egypt, many other people went up with them. Why?

I think it’s because Moses and the Israelites were very open about the fact that it was the LORD who was acting on their behalf. Can we do this? Can we let people know it’s our Heavenly Father who is acting for us in our lives, blessing us, delivering us, empowering us, encouraging us? If so, we may find many other people coming with us.

 

The Lord Keeps Vigil

Exodus 12:40-42

Now the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt was 430 years. At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the Lord’s divisions left Egypt. Because the Lord kept vigil that night to bring them out of Egypt, on this night all the Israelites are to keep vigil to honor the Lord for the generations to come.

The Lord kept vigil. We know that our God doesn’t sleep. He’s always aware, always knows everything – even before it happens. But I love the poetry of the sentiment of the Lord keeping vigil, the Lord staying up all night to see the Israelites safely out of Egypt.

What are you going through right now? Do you believe that the Lord is staying awake, watching over you through this time? He will never slack off, never fall asleep on you. The Lord will keep vigil for you, just like He did the Israelites. You are part of His people now.

 

Salvation = Commitment

Exodus 12:43-45

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “These are the regulations for the Passover meal: “No foreigner may eat it. Any slave you have bought may eat it after you have circumcised him, but a temporary resident or a hired worker may not eat it.”

What were the requirements for eating the Passover meal? You had to convert to Judaism! You couldn’t be a foreigner or a temporary worker. You couldn’t stay uncircumcised if you were a man. You had to commit to God’s covenant with Israel. You had to become a citizen of the People.

It’s the same thing today. People cannot be saved under the New Covenant in Jesus unless they commit to following Him. Part-time, temporary, minimal Christians will not be saved. You have to be all in. You have to renounce your citizenship in the World and become a citizen of the Kingdom.

Are you ready to do that today? I’ll do it with you.

 

 

 

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