Ex. 12: Enter the Destroyer: Passover

The beginning of chapter 12 is an instruction manual to Israel for how God has designed for them to celebrate the LORD's Passover. Basically, God started them off in their first month, Nisan. Apparently around March-April.

God gave very explicit instructions...you wouldn't want to screw this up, believe you me.

• On the 10th day of this month, each man will take a defectless, one-year old lamb (from sheep or goats) for their household, sharing with their neighbor if they have too much.
  

• This lamb will be slaughtered on the 14th day of the month, when all of Israel slaughters them.

• Some of the blood from this slaughtered lamb must be painted on the sides and tops of the doorframes of each house.

• That same night, they must eat every part of the lamb (head, legs, organs, etc.), and it must be roasted over a fire, not boiled in water. Probably it just tasted better. Anything left over until morning must be burned.
  

There were even instructions as to how to eat it: Ready to run: Cloak tucked into belt, sandals on feet, and staff in hand. And eat it quickly. Probably because what God is getting ready to do tonight will force a fast escape. God said He would strike down the firstborn of every household...Pharaoh on down to the prisoner in the dungeon and the livestock as well. The blood on the door will be the sign that God will pass over them. They will go untouched if they follow these instructions.

Other instructions include that any hired help or slaves could partake of the passover feast, provided they had been circumcised first. Worth it? Probably. GO under the knife to save my firstborn? Where do I sign up?

It also had to be eaten inside the house only. Don't go waving it around outside.

Don't break any bones. That was another instruction. Why would broken bones be a no-no? Is it just sloppy? Is it a sort of "disrespect" to the sacrifice? A sort of needless additional destruction when only the blood was necessary?

And this day, the LORD brought Israel out of Egypt. 430 years to the first day of official enslavement.


Interesting here, is that God tells Israel to "celebrate," not just observe or commemorate. This is a time to draw glory to God, and worship Him for His deliverance. It was meant as a festival that will continue with each generation to come.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread

For seven days in this festival, the Israelites were commanded to eat bread made without yeast. They even had to remove the yeast from their houses, so no yeast accidentally even made it into the bread. In fact, anyone eating anything with yeast in it during this week was to be cut off from Israel. Period. Scary. The first and last days of this week, the Israelites were commanded to join together in a sacred assembly. Outside of preparing food for everyone to eat, there was to be no work done on these days.

The point of this feast was to celebrate God's bringing them out of Egypt.

So, first month, day 10 - 14: Passover. First month, days 14 - 21: Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Moses gathers the elders, and passes along what God told him, the Passover lamb, the blood on the doors, the protection from the destroyer. This is an angel or something, some kind of being, but I get the idea its not God Himself. Moses goes on to tell them what to tell their children if they ask why there is this feast. And the Israelites, apparently over the whole enslavement and no straw in the bricks punishment, do what he said.

As the clock strikes midnight, the LORD took out the firstborns, and Egypt resonated with the wailing of grieving familes. The Word says there was not one house without someone dead. Can you imagine?

By this time, Pharaoh had enough, and he summoned Moses and Aaron that very night, telling them to get out of there. Oh, and also to bless him.

The Egyptians also hurried the Israelites out. In the hurry, Israelites took their dough before the yeast was added, as well as the gold and silver from the Egyptians who gave it to them, essentially.

The exodus was 600,000 men, besides women and children...so I'd estimate it was at the very least 2,000,000 people? I dunno. That's probably low. Most families I've read about this far had anywhere from 2 to 5 children. What a mass of people, caterpillarring across the wilderness out of Egypt. Livestock and herds...I wish I could have seen that sight. They all had their unleavened bread, baked without yeast, because they didn't have time to snatch it up when they were being booted out of Egypt.

They lived in Egypt exactly 430 years. That's a long time to be enslaved by a country. That would be like America being enslaved since 1577. I wonder how many people lived and died only knowing enslavement to the Egyptians.