God Speaks. Exodus 12:1-20 Then God began to deal with Israel, which had been spared from the plagues and learned through observation, "If God be for us, who can be against us." It was through this message from God that, for the first time, they started to take action based on the word of the Lord. Instead of worshiping the powerless gods of the Egyptians, they experienced their first real awakening to the Sovereign God of the universe, who had made a covenant with their ancestors. They were a chosen people and, after four hundred years of darkness in Egypt, they seemed unaware of that fact. This became a defining moment in Jewish history because, at this time, they first acted as a nation of people in faith, responding to God's spoken word.
The Passover marked a new beginning for the two or three million Hebrew slaves. From that moment, they gained an identity as a nation to be recognized. They outnumbered all the tribes in the land of Canaan. Today, Jewish tradition is to celebrate the Passover feast as the start of the Jewish New Year. Families gather to eat roast lamb with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
Passover lambs were not the rejects of a flock but the finest. This served as a symbolic testament to the perfection of our Lord Jesus Christ, our “Passover” today. Through the substitution of this perfect, innocent Person whose life was given in our place, our escape from the consequences of sin and the bondage it causes has been secured. We also observe a feast, but it is not the Jewish Passover feast. Our Lord participated in the last true Passover just before He established the Lord’s Supper, which is a memorial feast of Him and a testament to the completed work of Christ, which has achieved redemption for lost souls, once and for all.
All Jewish firstborns faced death, just like the Egyptian firstborns. The difference was that the act of faith required trusting God's word. A lamb was taken from the flock on the tenth day of the month and kept until the fourteenth day. Then, it had to be slaughtered at a specific time and in a particular way, with its blood contained in a certain manner. It was then used for a specific purpose. The lamb had to be cooked in a certain way and eaten with particular condiments by people dressed in a specific manner at a designated time of night.
Every human being is destined for death because of our sins, including eternal separation from God. However, sinners can become saints through God's grace when they accept His provision and by faith make it their own. Certain events in life should never be forgotten. Things that happened to our families in past generations should be shared by elders with the younger ones so they can place their hope in God. These family histories can serve as a powerful positive influence, encouraging us to commit to morality, social responsibility, and helping others. They can also prevent us from becoming self-centered and drowning in self-pity. Most importantly, they point the hearts and minds of new generations toward the reality and person of God, emphasizing their need for a personal Savior—our Lord Jesus Christ.