Session 3
Exodus 12:21-32
Memory Verse: Exodus 12:13
The coming of God’s kingdom will mean the overthrow of the wicked and the vindication of the righteous. The historical events described in Exodus 7-14 foreshadow the inauguration of God’s kingdom with Christ’s first coming and its consummation with His second coming.
These chapters also proclaim God’s powerful and compassionate character. Pharaoh declared that he didn’t know God (Ex. 5:2), and God noted that even the patriarchs didn’t know Him fully. Yet, Israel would come to know Him by His personal name (6:7; 10:2). The Egyptians and all the earth would know Him through His actions on behalf of His people.
As you prepare to lead this session, focus on the redemption and deliverance God provided for Israel. Spend time thanking Him for the way He has delivered you. Identify ways you can lead the adults in your Bible study to express their gratitude for His work in their lives.
Most people observe Christmas traditions. Some exchange gifts on Christmas Eve, others on Christmas morning. Some families have an artificial tree, while others prefer a real tree. Families differ. Most of us participate in the traditions because they are, well, traditions. Even if it’s always been that way and we aren’t sure why, it’s still what we do. Those traditions matter. (PSG, p. 28)
After the Lord told Moses what He was doing for Israel (Ex. 3:1-4:23), a series of contests took place between God and the Egyptians. Actually, the battle was between God, who created the universe, and the useless deities of Egypt.
The Egyptians were polytheistic. The names of about forty Egyptian gods are known, but that may have just been scratching the surface. These false deities varied in prominence through history and regions. They also operated in different-and often conflicting-spheres of influence and power. The Egyptians had gods for war (Sekhmet and Neith), craftsmanship (Ptah), love and childbirth (Bes), wind (Amun), healing (Isis), justice (Maat), the afterlife (Osiris), crops (Seth), the Nile (Sothis, Hapy, Khnum), and wisdom and the moon (Thoth, Khonsu, Min, Shu). Sun gods (such as Re/Ra, Atum, Aten) were also prominent. Several gods were considered creators, and many were pictured as common animals or part-animals, which could have made them more familiar to the ones who worshiped them.
The plagues God inflicted on the Egyptians demonstrated that their gods were impotent before Him. The plagues also executed judgment for the people’s idolatry (12:12). These judgments proved God’s superiority and that His hand controls all of life (9:14-16,29).
The bottom line is that Yahweh is the only God who can rescue us from sin, protect us from evil, and give us life. From the initial plague of blood (7:14-25) to the final plague against Egypt’s firstborn sons (12:29-42), God exerted His power and authority over false gods and human affairs.
Throughout these plagues, Pharaoh continued to harden his heart toward God. As a result, he and his people suffered. Meanwhile, in the Hebrew stronghold of Goshen, the Israelites experienced God’s grace and protection. While chaos was unleashed against the rest of Egypt, God’s people again found God to be faithful to them.
This faithfulness would be memorialized in the Passover. God commanded His people to mark their doors with blood and to observe the night with a special meal (12:1-28). The blood, symbolizing the ultimate sacrifice of the coming Messiah, demonstrated the people’s faith in God and ensured their protection. This festival became a standing ordinance for future generations.
In the wake of the tenth plague, the Egyptians demanded Israel leave the land. Their desire to be rid of the Hebrews was so strong that they even donated valuable items for the trip. In describing the event, Moses noted that Israel “plundered” the Egyptians (12:36), fulfilling God’s words to him at the burning bush (3:20-22).
As you read Exodus 12:21-32, consider what the passage reveals about God. How does it encourage you to trust Him? (PSG, p. 29)
EXPLORE THE TEXT
21 Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go, select an animal from the flock according to your families, and slaughter the Passover animal. 22 Take a cluster of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and brush the lintel and the two doorposts with some of the blood in the basin. None of you may go out the door of his house until morning. 23 When the Lord passes through to strike Egypt and sees the blood on the lintel and the two doorposts, he will pass over the door and not let the destroyer enter your houses to strike you.”
God’s power
The final, climactic battle between Yahweh and the gods of Egypt is given in two chapters, indicating its importance. It begins with God’s announcement of “one more plague” (Ex. 11:1). It would be the final demonstration of the Lord’s superiority over Egypt’s gods, as well as of His faithfulness and compassionate zeal for His people, His “firstborn son” (4:22-23).
God often works through agents. For example, seven other plagues were triggered by Moses’s actions (7:15-19; 8:5-6,16-17; 9:8-10,22-23; 10:12-13,21-22). From the beginning, though, God emphasized that true power resides in His hand alone (3:19-20; 6:1; 7:4-5; 9:3,15; 13:9). The final plague explicitly showed God at work. He personally moved across Egypt to strike every firstborn (11:4-5; 12:29), distinguishing between Egypt and His people based on the blood (11:7; 12:13,23,27).
(v. 21) Elders of Israel: God’s instructions to Moses (12:1-20) were given to “the whole community” (v. 3). Moses directed these commands to the elders, who would convey them to everyone else. God’s instructions often seem redundant because they must be heard, remembered, and shared with others (2 Tim. 2:2). We must open our hearts to listen (2 Cor. 6:13), consider what we hear (2 Tim. 2:7), and obey so that we don’t “drift away” (Heb. 2:1).
(v. 21) The Passover animal: The verb pasach (“to pass/skip over,” “spare,” or “protect”) and the related noun pesach (describing the Passover festival or the animal sacrifice) occur eight times in Exodus 12, describing the action of skipping over households (Ex. 12:13,23,27), the festival commemorating it (12:11,43,48), and the Passover sacrifice (12:21,27). Moses may have given the instructions on the tenth day of the month to allow time for choosing the animals to be sacrificed on the evening of the fourteenth. According to God’s directions, the animal could be a one-year-old sheep or a goat, but it had to be “unblemished” (v. 5). The animal was kept for slaughter and used for both a sacrifice and a meal. Ultimately, it pointed to the unblemished Lamb of God who died to take away the sins of the world (Isa. 53:6-9; John 1:29; Rev. 5:6-13).
(v. 22) Hyssop: A small plant with bush-like branches and white flowers. Hyssop was well-suited to serve as a brush to apply the animal’s blood to the Hebrews’ doorposts. Over time, it was associated with cleansing from sin (Ps. 51:7).
(v. 23) Pass over the door: Once the blood was applied to the door, those in the house could not leave. God said that He would not let the destroyer enter homes marked by the blood. This idea of “passing over” led to the name of the observance.
Also, the word for “let” is the usual word for “give,” which confirmed that it was God who provided protection. What the Lord would eventually “give” (same word) was the promised land (v. 25).
EXPLORE THE TEXT
24 “Keep this command permanently as a statute for you and your descendants. 25 When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, you are to observe this ceremony. 26 When your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ 27 you are to reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when he struck the Egyptians, and he spared our homes.’” So the people knelt low and worshiped. 28 Then the Israelites went and did this; they did just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.
(v. 24) Command permanently: The word for command here (davar) is more literally rendered “word.” That is, it reveals what God has said. The Bible is God’s Word, His Torah (instructions) that teach us how to live as His people. Permanently also could be rendered “until forever.”
(v. 25) Observe this ceremony: While the Israelites were directed to observe Passover as a standing ritual, it simply served as a shadow of things to come. Over time, the instructions were adjusted to fit the temple structure, but Passover remained a key part of Jewish life. For Christians, though, everything changed when the Lamb of God was slain (see Heb. 7:27). The Passover observance was fully realized through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and His resurrection from the grave. For God’s people today, Easter serves as the focal point of our faith.
Generational faith
The biblical expectation is that we will pass what we know of the to the next generation
(2 Tim. 2:2). The Passover observance included a family element, where children would ask questions about what God did among His people (see Ex. 13:14-16). God said that “when your children ask” those questions, parents were responsible to point them to God’s character and work.
Parents still have the primary responsibility for passing on God’s truth to their children. While church leaders and other significant adults are important, children are more likely to develop personal faith if their parents talk about and live out their faith in meaningful ways.
(v. 26) What does this ceremony mean to you?: God is not pleased by mindless repetition of words or empty rituals (see Mic. 6:6-8; Matt. 6:7). Instead, He delights in faith and obedience. In fact, the prophet Malachi stated that God would rather see the temple doors closed than be an object of meaningless worship (Mal. 1:10).
Genuine worship is an intentional and thoughtful act toward God in response to His holiness and His goodness. In addition to reinforcing God’s work on behalf of His people, the children’s Passover question challenged participants to focus on the why of worship, not just the how.
(v. 27) Knelt low and worshiped: The relationship between Moses and the Israelites had a rocky start. But as God revealed Himself through Moses’s words and the plagues, the people began to recognize his role as the Lord’s messenger. As a result, they responded with humility and worship. They accepted his words as commands from God.
(v. 28) As the Lord had commanded: Depending on one’s translation, this Hebrew wording occurs about sixty times in the Scriptures, mostly in Exodus (twenty-two times), Leviticus (eleven times), and Numbers (seventeen times). The importance of waiting on, listening to, and following the Lord’s instructions immediately and exactly is a theme that runs through Scripture. God’s instructions can be a source of great blessing to His children if they will obey (Deut. 4:1-14; 12:28; Josh. 1:7-8; 11:15). In the New Testament, Jesus and the apostles affirmed this principle by stating that obedience is proof of one’s love for God (John 14:15;
1 John 2:3-6).
EXPLORE THE TEXT
29 Now at midnight the Lord struck every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the prisoner who was in the dungeon, and every firstborn of the livestock. 30 During the night Pharaoh got up, he along with all his officials and all the Egyptians, and there was a loud wailing throughout Egypt because there wasn’t a house without someone dead. 31 He summoned Moses and Aaron during the night and said, “Get out immediately from among my people, both you and the Israelites, and go, worship the Lord as you have said. 32 Take even your flocks and your herds as you asked and leave, and also bless me.”
(v. 29) The Lord struck: The “destroyer” was the “angel of the Lord,” which implies that God Himself was the agent of judgment. The same title was used to describe God’s appearance to Moses in the burning bush (Ex. 3:2). In addition, the angel of the Lord is portrayed as One who judges in Isaiah 37:36, where He struck down (same Hebrew wording as in v. 29) 185,000 Assyrians.
(v. 29) Firstborn male: The ancients held the firstborn male in high honor. Earlier in Exodus, God had called Israel His firstborn son (4:22-23). By refusing to release God’s firstborn from captivity, Pharaoh lost his own firstborn. Pharaoh had struck the apple of God’s eye by trying to kill every Israelite male child. The consequences of that choice were severe.
(v. 29) Throne . . . dungeon: God’s judgment against the Egyptians was complete. From government officials to captives in prison, virtually every home in the nation felt the impact of this final plague (see v. 30).
This included Pharaoh’s family. The wording suggests that he lost a child during that night. If this is true, it also seems likely that this son would have been the heir to the Egyptian throne.
Loud wailing
The word expressing Egypt’s anguish is the same word used for Israel’s previous misery as they called out to the Lord against their Egyptian oppressors (3:7). This is also the word used in the Lord’s prediction that Egypt would express anguish and mourning “such as never was before or ever will be again” (11:6).
Such fear and agony in a land with no house without someone dead is impossible to imagine. No wonder the people panicked and believed everyone was going to die (see v. 33). Pharaoh cracked (at least temporarily) and commanded Israel to “get out immediately” (v. 31).
(v. 32) Bless me: Previously, Pharaoh had offered to let Israel go if plagues were removed (8:8,15,28,32; 9:27; 10:16-20). Each time, though, he reneged on his promise. This time, Pharaoh released Israel, but he also asked Moses and Aaron to bless him. This highlights his acknowledgment of Yahweh’s greatness, at least in that moment. Divine blessing involves the gifts provided from God’s abundant supply of mercy.
Review these points from Apply the Text on page 36 of the Personal Study Guide:
Encourage adults to identify which action is the easiest and which is the most intimidating-and why.
Allow volunteers to share their thoughts from the first set of questions on page 36 of the PSG. Direct attention to Pack Item 1 (Map: The Route of the Exodus). Note that leaving Egypt was just the first part of the Israelites’ adventure with God. Point out that as we trust God, He does incredible things-but those incredible things often set us up for even more blessings.
Enlist a volunteer to read the summary statement for this session: God delivers His people from their bondage. Encourage adults to consider what kind of “bondage” they are facing and to ask God to give them freedom in Him.
Close the session in prayer, thanking God for revealing His power-and for giving us freedom through His Son.
During the week, call or text individual adults in the group and ask them share any serious personal battles they are facing. Assure them that you will be praying for them this week. Also, during the week, send an email or text to the group highlighting this session’s memory verse, Exodus 12:13. Encourage them to spend time reflecting on the verse and how it applies to their lives. Remind them that the blood points us toward Jesus and share that you are willing to talk more with anyone who has questions about the salvation they can find in Him.
Salvation
Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. (See Luke 1:68-69;
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24.)
Observe when and for what purpose a New Testament passage includes an Old Testament reference.
Read Exodus 12:14-20 and 1 Corinthians 5:7-8. What connection did Paul make between the Passover event in Exodus and Jesus’s sacrifice? How did Paul relate the observance of Passover to the problem of immorality in the Corinthian church (1 Cor. 5:1-6)?