Introduction
The people of God were in Egypt for 430 years (Exodus 12:40).
They went there during a worldwide famine, and God used Joseph to store grain to prevent starvation.
Joseph eventually brought his father, Jacob, brothers, and their families to settle in Goshen.
Centuries later, “there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph” (Exodus 1:8).
He oppressed Israel by forced labor.
The Israelites cried out to God for deliverance.
God raised Moses to lead his people and sent him to Pharaoh to say, “Let my people go.”
Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he refused.
God sent ten plagues to Egypt, including turning water into blood, frogs, gnats, flies, livestock death, boils, hail, locusts, and darkness.
Finally, the Lord told Moses, “Yet one plague more I will bring upon Pharaoh and Egypt…. ‘About midnight I will go out in Egypt, and every firstborn in the land shall die, from Pharaoh to the slave girl behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of cattle’ ” (Exodus 11:1, 4-5).
The tenth plague was about to be unleashed, resulting in the death of every firstborn in Egypt, including the Israelites.
Let’s read about the lamb that saves.
Scripture
Let’s read Exodus 12:1-14:
1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2 “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. 3 Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household. 4 And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, 6 and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.
7 “Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. 8 They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. 10 And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. 11 In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD’s Passover. 12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. 13 The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. 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.
14 “This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast.”
Lesson
Exodus 12:1-14 shows us how the Lord’s Passover assures us of our salvation by the blood of the lamb that saves.
Let’s use the following outline:
1. Preparation for the Lamb That Saves (12:1-6)
2. Protection by the Lamb That Saves (12:7-14)
I. Preparation for the Lamb That Saves (12:1-6)
First, notice the preparation for the lamb that saves.
The Lord told Moses that each family was to set aside a lamb on the tenth day of the first month.
If the family were small, it would join with another small family so that each member would have enough to eat, and nothing would be left over.
The Lord was very clear about what kind of lamb would be chosen.
In verses 5-6, he said, “Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.”
The essential feature of the lamb is that it was to be a lamb without blemish.
The lamb that saves had to be without blemish or spot because it pointed to Jesus, as Peter said in 1 Peter 1:18–19, “knowing that you were ransomed… not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”
So, the Lord wanted Moses to ensure the lamb was without blemish.
II. Protection by the Lamb That Saves (12:7-14)
Second, look at the protection by the lamb that saves.
The Lord told Moses, “Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it” (v. 7).
Then the people were to eat the entire lamb.
They were to eat the lamb with their travel clothes on.
Pharaoh would release the people later that night, but the people did not know that yet.
Then the Lord said in verses 12-13, “For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. 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.”
Now, I want you to imagine four boys.
They are each about eleven years old. And they are each the firstborn.
The first boy is named Rameses. He is the son of Pharaoh.
The second boy is named Levi. He is the son of Amminadab.
The third boy is named Johnny. He is the son of Saul.
The fourth boy is named David. He is the son of Jesse.
Rameses overheard Moses talking to his father, Pharaoh, about the tenth plague, the death of the firstborn in the land of Egypt.
He says to his dad, “Dad, will that happen? Will Yahweh pass over Egypt and kill all the firstborns? Should we put blood on the two doorposts and lintel of our house?”
Pharaoh says to Rameses, “No, son. We don’t believe in Yahweh. That will never happen. Sleep well, my son.”
So, Rameses goes off to sleep.
The other three boys are all Israelites.
Levi tells his father, Amminadab, “Dad, will that happen? Will Yahweh pass over Egypt and kill all the firstborns? Should we put blood on the two doorposts and lintel of our house?”
Levi says, “No, son. I can’t believe that Yahweh would do something like that. We are part of God’s covenant people. Why would he harm anyone in Israel? Go to sleep, my son.”
So, Levi goes off to sleep.
Johnny tells Saul, “Dad, I know Yahweh said that he would spare the firstborn with blood on the doorposts and the lintel. I know you have put blood on the doorposts and lintel. But I am worried and scared. How is that going to save me? What if it doesn’t work?”
Saul says, “My son, Yahweh told us to put the blood on the doorposts and lintel. I know you are worried and scared, but trust the Lord to keep his word. Now, go to sleep, my son.”
So, Johnny goes to sleep.
Finally, David says to Jesse, “Dad, I know Yahweh said that he would spare the firstborn that had the blood on the doorposts and the lintel. I know you have put blood on the doorposts and lintel. Isn’t it amazing that Yahweh will spare me by shedding the lamb’s blood? Isn’t that wonderful?”
Jesse says, “Yes, my son. We can trust Yahweh to keep his word. Now, go to sleep, my son.”
Well, what happened that night?
Rameses died because the blood did not cover him. He was an Egyptian, and so we expect that.
But what we don’t expect is that Levi also died. He died because he was also not covered by the blood of the lamb.
Levi’s father thought that being part of God's covenant people was enough.
But it was not.
He thought that his membership in the covenant community would save him.
He did not believe the word of God, and so he disobeyed God.
Johnny and David were both spared when the Lord passed over their houses.
But there was a difference between Johnny and David.
Though the blood saved both boys, only one had peace and assurance.
The other, though saved, had doubts and worries.
Johnny and David were both covered by the blood of the lamb.
The ground of their salvation was the blood of the lamb.
Do you see the lesson here?
First, you must believe the word of God.
Simply thinking you are safe because you belong to the covenant community is not enough.
And second, your assurance of salvation is found not in your faith but in the finished work of Jesus.
It is not your faith that gives peace and assurance, but the work of Jesus.
The blood of the lamb that saves points to the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
Conclusion
The Lord’s Supper replaced the Lord’s Passover when Jesus instituted it on the night he was betrayed.
Just like the people of God in the Old Testament were to keep the feast of the Lord’s Passover throughout the generations, we are to keep the feast of the Lord’s Supper until Jesus returns.
Let us come to this table in the sure and certain knowledge that the lamb that saves is the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
