Exodus

Exodus 12: God saves through the lamb

Begin in prayer

Before the blood marks Israel’s doors, let us ask God to teach us how sinners are sheltered from judgment. Pray that every one of us will look to Christ, the Passover sacrifice God has provided.

He saved them from the hand of him who hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.

Psalm 106:10

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Show us the need for the blood You appointed. Lead us to Jesus, whose sacrifice alone delivers His people from judgment. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

In Egypt God orders the Passover, with a lamb for each household and blood on the doorposts and lintel. He commands a ready-to-leave meal and a feast without yeast to remember the rescue in future generations. At midnight the LORD strikes Egypt’s firstborn, and a great cry rises through the land. Pharaoh calls Moses and Aaron and tells Israel to go with its flocks and herds. The people leave with Egyptian gifts, bread without yeast and a mixed multitude, after four hundred thirty years in Egypt. God sets the rules for sharing the Passover and brings Israel out that same day.

As you read Exodus 12, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

God shelters His people from judgment through the blood of the Passover lamb.

The rescue becomes the beginning of Israel’s year, shaping how the people will remember their life with God. A household must take a year-old male lamb without defect and mark its doorframe with blood. They eat roasted meat, bitter herbs and bread without yeast, dressed to leave in haste. The LORD’s promise attaches safety to the blood He sees, and the family must remain inside until morning. The lamb dies while those sheltered in the house live. Paul identifies Christ as the Passover sacrifice for His people (1 Corinthians 5 verse 7). The meal and the week without yeast will teach later generations, with exclusion for those who disregard the command. Circumcision marks who may share this meal, under one law for native and admitted foreigner. The appointed sacrifice and God’s faithful word, rather than Israel’s strength, explain why the people leave alive.

How does Exodus 12 show us that God shelters His people from judgment through the blood of the Passover lamb?

God appoints a lamb and blood for the household.

The lamb must be a year-old male without defect, from the sheep or goats. Its blood marks the doorposts and lintel. God promises to spare the house when He sees the blood. No bone of the lamb may be broken, and John says this was fulfilled when Jesus died (John 19 verse 36).

God’s judgment falls while the marked houses are spared.

The LORD strikes Egypt’s firstborn from the throne to the dungeon. Israel remains inside as commanded, under the promised protection. The death of Christ, the Passover sacrifice, shelters His people from judgment.

God commands His people to remember and explain His rescue.

The Passover and the bread without yeast preserve the memory for children who will ask. Eating yeast during the appointed week brings exclusion from Israel. The memory is to be kept with obedient care for what God has said.

God brings Israel out and governs the Passover table.

All males in an admitted foreigner’s household must be circumcised before he shares the meal. A purchased servant may eat after circumcision, while foreign visitors, hired servants and uncircumcised males may not. One law governs native and admitted foreigner. The meal stays in one house, with none of its meat taken outside. These rules belong to that covenant meal, and no outward sign saves a sinner.

Memorise

when I see the blood, I will pass over you

Exodus 12:13

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, what am I relying on besides the blood of Jesus?

God promises, “when I see the blood, I will pass over you.” A household’s safety rests on the sign He appointed. The lamb is killed, the door is marked, and those inside wait on His word.

Paul says Christ is the Passover sacrifice for His people (1 Corinthians 5 verse 7). Our sins deserve judgment, and Jesus bore their punishment as He died in His people’s place. He rose from the dead, and His finished offering needs nothing added. His blood is enough to cleanse the guilty and bring them to God.

Come under the shelter of His saving work. Turn from your sin and put your trust in Jesus. All who believe in Him receive the forgiveness His sacrifice secured. No family history, religious meal or careful behavior can replace the Lamb God has given.

Parent's note

Tell your children that the lamb’s blood marked the houses God spared, and that Christ died and rose to save His people. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God for the sacrifice He appointed and the rescue He accomplished, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

I am the living bread which came down out of heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. Yes, the bread which I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

John 6:51

Father, thank You for the Passover and for the Lord Jesus, the Lamb who saves. Please turn us from our sin and make us rest on His blood alone. Help us teach our children what You have done, and bring each one to trust Him. Amen.