Devotionals for December 6, 2022
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READ
Exodus 12:21-29
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.
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.
REFLECT
The Israelites had been living in Egypt for 430 years. Despite Joseph saving Egypt and making it the most powerful nation at the time, the descendants of Abraham were forced to be slaves. We do not know why they stayed in Egypt for so long, but possibly the Israelites felt safer being slaves than stepping out into God’s promise. However, God's Justice is righteous and His people were being crushed by cruel taskmasters. The night of the Passover was the final judgment on the Egyptians and the freedom from slavery the Israelites desired and needed in order to fulfill God's promise to Abraham and the world.
Much like the 4th of July is our tradition to celebrate freedom, the celebration of the Passover marked not only freedom from slavery for the Jews but also a recognition of God's might and mercy. They were free, but it took another 40 years for the Israelites to finally shake off the chains of slavery within their minds that were established over several generations. In a way, God redeemed His people from a thought culture that dominated their lives and separated them from Him.
Much like the 4th of July is our tradition to celebrate freedom, the celebration of the Passover marked not only freedom from slavery for the Jews but also a recognition of God's might and mercy. They were free, but it took another 40 years for the Israelites to finally shake off the chains of slavery within their minds that were established over several generations. In a way, God redeemed His people from a thought culture that dominated their lives and separated them from Him.
APPLY
Q: Who was covered by the sacrifice of the lamb at Passover? Was it just the Israelites?
Q: What shape does the blood sprinkle on the doorway take? Does it foreshadow the future of salvation?
Q: How do the thought cultures of today separate us from God?
Q: What shape does the blood sprinkle on the doorway take? Does it foreshadow the future of salvation?
Q: How do the thought cultures of today separate us from God?
SING
PRAY
"May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven."
Gracious Lord, may we learn to set aside whatever we may be holding on to that separates us from You. May we find ways to lay down the barriers we’ve put up in our minds and clear a way to bring You glory and bring Your Kingdom to others around us.
Gracious Lord, may we learn to set aside whatever we may be holding on to that separates us from You. May we find ways to lay down the barriers we’ve put up in our minds and clear a way to bring You glory and bring Your Kingdom to others around us.