This Week's Sunday School Lesson, "The Passover Blessing", 11/10/2013

THE PASSOVER BLESSING

Exodus 12:1-14

 

GET READY FOR A MIRACLE

V:1. " Now the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt."

 A. Moses and Aaron were brothers and they worked together for the Lord.

     1. A good servant does not hesitate to work with others to do the will of the Father.

     2. Sometimes it takes a team to accomplish the plan of the Lord.

     3. Every team member has something valuable to offer and no one should ever

         consider them selves to be important than others.

 B. When we come together as a team, we should seek the Lord's will and not our will.

    1. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ with one agenda; the Lord's.

    2. Moses met Aaron in the land of Egypt to copartner with God to bring Israel

        out of bondage.  

    3. Each believer is a copartner with God in His plan of redemption for mankind.

 

 V:2. "This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you."

 A. Every month is the beginning of something new in the Lord.

     1. The Lord was getting Israel prepared to come out of slavery and to begin a new

 

         age in freedom.

     2. When we accepted Christ as our personal Savior, it was a new beginning.       

        a. When we accepted Christ, we were released from the bondage of sin.

        b. When we accepted Christ as our personal Savior, our freedom began.

 B. Accepting Christ was the end of a life of sin and the beginning of a life of

      righteousness.

PROCLAIM THE GOOD NEWS

V: 3. "Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, "On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers' households, a lamb for each household."

 A. It takes a team working together to get the Word of the Lord to God's people.

     1. We have to proclaim what the Lord said and only what the Lord said.

     2.  We must be careful not to twist the Lord's Word to fit our agenda.

 B. God gives us specific directions on the observant of divine events.

     1. God gives us a set time for the observant of His divine events.

         a. It was the tenth day of the seventh month of Abib (March or April).

         b. Ten was the number of plagues God caused in Egypt, prior to the exodus of

 

             Israel.

         c. Ten is the number of commandments God etched on a stone tablet for Moses

 

             to give to His people.

     2. The seventh month of their civil calendar, became the first month of their

          new religious calendar.

          a. God created the heavens and the earth and He rested on the seventh day.

          b. Seven is the number of completion.

          c. God chose seven deacons for the first Church congregation.

     3. Each believer has a first month of their individual religious calendar.

        a. The day we met the Lord as our Savior was the start of our religion

            with Jesus Christ.

  C. Each house was instructed to take a lamb for the celebration.

      1. Jesus Christ is our lamb.                      

      2. Jesus Christ is the reason for our celebration.

 

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR WITH WHAT YOU HAVE

V:4. "Now if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according to the number of persons in them; according to what each man should eat, you are to divide the lamb."

 A. God considers our present situation when charging us with the stewardship of His

      plan.

    1. Some families were too small to consume a lamb in one meal.

    2. Therefore, God instructed the smaller families to join together with  another

        family to cook and eat the sacrificial lamb in one meal.

 B. We waste a lot of the food we prepare to eat.

     1. It would be good if we planned our meals to not only to feed our families but

 

        others in need.

     2. It is an easy thing for us to look around our community and select a person in

         need to provide a meal.

     3. The question is do we have the heart to help?

 

OFFER GOD YOUR BEST

 V:5.  "Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats."

 A. God requires our best.

     1. God gave Israel four requirements for their selection of the lamb.

        a. The Father of the house was instructed to take charge of the celebration.

        b. The lamb should be unblemished.

        c. The lamb should be a male.

        d. The lamb should be one year old.

     2. God is pure, so He requires the purest of what we have.

        a. God is perfect and unblemished, so He requires us to present our best to Him.

     3. God made Adam as the father of all families.

        b. God sent Jesus as our sacrificial lamb in male form.

        c. It is God's design to use men as the head of families.

     4. One is an important number in the life of a believer.

        a. God should be number "One" in our lives.

        b. God's commands are the number "One" directives in our lives.

        c. God does not want us to present to Him our old and wore out stuff.

        d. God wants us to start our day with Him when the day is young and fresh.

        e. God sent His "One" and only Son to be sacrificed for our salvation.

    5. God is not interested in being number "two" in your life.

       a. If God is not number "ONE", He is not the God of your life.

       b. When you got a problem, you don't want to be low on God's priority list.

    B. One represents the first born sons of all Egyptians that God would kill as the

        last of the ten plagues. As a results, the Pharaoh released the Israelites from

 

        slavery.

       1. At the time of Moses birth, Pharaoh killed the male babies of the Israelites.

       2. God was revisiting upon Pharaoh the same wrath that he did to Israel.

       3. Cutting off the first born sons would cause discontinuity and chaos. 

 

 V:6. "You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight."

 A. God gives us adequate time to prepare for life changing events.

     1. God gave Israel 4 days to get prepared.

     2. Maybe it was one day to select the lamb and three days to inspect it.

         a. The lamb was to be inspected to insure it was perfect and without defects.

     3. Maybe it  was one day to select the lamb and three days to prepare their hearts

         and minds for the celebration.

         a. Jesus was buried in a tomb for three days.

         b.  Three may represent the Holy Trinity.

 

PREPARE TO BE BLESSED

 B. We have to get prepared for something new so we will not reject the new when it is

      presented to us.

    1. Some people are comfortable in their present position and don't want anything

 

        new.

    2. Some people can't handle change even when it is for their best.

    3. Some people can't see the good  in anything new because their focus is always

        negative.

  C. The lambs were to be killed at night.

        a. The next day, after all the Egyptians first born sons are dead, Pharaoh would

            change his mind and release Israel from bondage.

        b. The next day Israel would be led out of Egypt.

        c. The next day Israel would start their journey to the promised land.

 

V: 7.  "Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it."

 A . Blood is the life of the flesh.

     1. The blood represented death to the Egyptians and life to the Israelites.

     2. At Jesus death on the cross, He was pierced in the side and out flowed blood

         and water.

       a. The water represents the beginning of His ministry on earth.

       b. The blood represents the end of His ministry on earth.

       c. The water represents purification.

       b. The blood represents atonement and justification. 

 B. The blood on the door post of the house of Israel was a sign for the death angel to

      pass over God's people.

      1. In the night time of the fourteenth day, the death angel killed the first born sons

 

          of  Egypt, but Israel was passed over.

      2. The Blood of Jesus is the pass over of  believers  from death into eternal life

         

          with the Father.

 

V: 8.  "They shall eat the flesh that same night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs."

 A. God set the table for the pass over meal.

     1. The lamb was roasted with fire.

     2. Cooking the lamb with fire would ensure that no blood was eaten.

      a. Life blood is sacred to God.   Gen 9:4

      b. God is the life giver, and the blood belongs to Him.

B. The bread was to be made without leaven.

    1. There would be no time for the bread to rise.

    2. Israel would leave Egypt in haste the next day.

 C. The bitter herbs were a reminder to Israel of  the bitter times that they had under

      bondage in Egypt.

    1. Lettuce and endive was the most common bitter herbs for that region (KJC).

        Numbers 9:11

 V:9.  "Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather roasted with fire, both its head and its legs along with its entrails."

 A. God instructed the Israelites to properly prepare the lamb.

      1. It must be roasted with fire so no blood remained in it.

      2. It could not be boiled in water.   Leviticus 17:10-13

          a. Cooking with water would not ensure all blood was drained.

 B. All of the lamb including it's internal organs were cooked and consumed.

     1. The people after being well fed and rested, would be prepared for the journey out

         of  Egypt.

     2. They would remember their last meal in Egypt as a memorial to God's

         saving power.

 

TRUST GOD

 V:10.  "And you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until morning, you shall burn with fire."

 A. By the completely consumed lamb, God highlights the need for us to completely

      trust Him to provide for us each day.

    1. There would be no leftovers for the next day.

    2. Anything that was not consumed was burned with fire.

 B. When we travel with God, tomorrow's provisions are assured.

    1. God rained down manna from heaven to feed Israel on their journey to the

        promise land.

    2. What ever we need, God has it in store.

    3. If you travel with the world, tomorrow is not sure.

 

PREPARE TO MOVE OUT

 V:11.  "Now you shall eat it in this manner: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste — it is the Lord's Passover."

 A. When the Lord starts moving in your life, He may move swiftly.

      1. The Israelites were instructed by God to move out in haste.

      2. They were instructed to be properly clothed and ready to move.

 B. The people were instructed in behavior and attitude to move out in faith.

     1. The attire God specified was a dress for immediate travel. 

     2. When God presents us with an opportunity, we need to be ready to take

          advantage of it.

         a. Opportunities are often lost when we procrastinate.

     3. The Israelites were instructed to get dressed, eat and be ready to move.

 C. It's God's time not our time.

     1.God knows the time of each event in our lives and the outcome.

     2. We must trust and rely on God in making decisions.

     3. God is the pass over lamb and we must be obedient to His commands.

 

LET GOD TAKE REVENGE

V:12  "For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments — I am the Lord."

 A. What goes around comes around.

     1. There is a payback time.

     2. The evil you crave will be your down fall.  Psalm 5:10

 B. The Pharaoh of Egypt had an evil heart.

     1. Forty years earlier, the Pharaoh tried to destroy the Hebrew race by killing all

         male babies.  Exodus 1:22

     2. When God got ready to deliver the Israelites, He harden Pharaoh's heart.

          Exodus 10:27 

          a. Pharaoh would not listen to Moses demand to let God's people go.

          b. God wanted  Pharaoh to see His power and His glory as He brought the

              ten plagues against Egypt.

          c. God harden Pharaoh's heart so that He could bring about the tenth plague;

              the death of all first born male Egyptians.

          d. The cry in Egypt was so loud that Pharaoh had to let the Israelites go.

 C. God is your revenge.

      1. God will fight your battles.

      2. God will let your enemies know that He is in charge.

      3. God will execute revenge in ways you can't image. 

 

VICTORY IN THE PASS OVER LAMB

 V:13.  "The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt."

 A. The death angel killed all of the first born male Egyptians.

     1. The death angel passed over the house of Israel because they were covered by the

         blood.

     2. The Blood of Jesus has power to save.

         a. The Blood of Jesus allows the Lord to overlook our sins.

         b. The Blood of Jesus give us new life.

         c. The Blood of Jesus is a gift from the Father.

         b. The Blood of Jesus opens the door to heaven for all who have been called by

             the Lord.

 CELEBRATE WITH THE LORD 

V:14. "Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance."

 A. What God executed for Israel 3500 hundred years ago was a forerunner to the

      death of Jesus on the Cross 2013 years ago.

    1. God established a permanent ordinance for us to remember His mercy and to

        celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

    2. God understands that we are only capable of destroying ourselves.

    3. God understands that without a redeemer, we are doomed to hell.

B. God sent Moses to bring Israel out of slavery.

    1. God sent Jesus to shed His blood for our sins.

    2. Thank God for the redeeming blood of Jesus.

C. This is the day that the Lord has made, let us be glad and rejoice in it.