Exodus 12 A Lamb is in the House!

Scripture selections are taken from the Rock Church Daily Bread Reading schedule for each month. “Lena’s Journalin’” are Lena’s comments on the specific passages from her Daily Journal.

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Exodus 12
The First Passover
1 While the Israelites were still in the land of Egypt, the Lord gave the following instructions to Moses and Aaron: 2 “From now on, this month will be the first month of the year for you. 3 Announce to the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each family must choose a lamb or a young goat for a sacrifice, one animal for each household. 4 If a family is too small to eat a whole animal, let them share with another family in the neighborhood. Divide the animal according to the size of each family and how much they can eat. 5 The animal you select must be a one-year-old male, either a sheep or a goat, with no defects.

6 “Take special care of this chosen animal until the evening of the fourteenth day of this first month. Then the whole assembly of the community of Israel must slaughter their lamb or young goat at twilight. 7 They are to take some of the blood and smear it on the sides and top of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the animal. 8 That same night they must roast the meat over a fire and eat it along with bitter salad greens and bread made without yeast. 9 Do not eat any of the meat raw or boiled in water. The whole animal—including the head, legs, and internal organs—must be roasted over a fire. 10 Do not leave any of it until the next morning. Burn whatever is not eaten before morning.
11 “These are your instructions for eating this meal: Be fully dressed,[a] wear your sandals, and carry your walking stick in your hand. Eat the meal with urgency, for this is the Lord’s Passover. 12 On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn son and firstborn male animal in the land of Egypt. I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt, for I am the Lord! 13 But the blood on your doorposts will serve as a sign, marking the houses where you are staying. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. This plague of death will not touch you when I strike the land of Egypt.
14 “This is a day to remember. Each year, from generation to generation, you must celebrate it as a special festival to the Lord. This is a law for all time. 15 For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast. On the first day of the festival, remove every trace of yeast from your homes. Anyone who eats bread made with yeast during the seven days of the festival will be cut off from the community of Israel. 16 On the first day of the festival and again on the seventh day, all the people must observe an official day for holy assembly. No work of any kind may be done on these days except in the preparation of food.
17 “Celebrate this Festival of Unleavened Bread, for it will remind you that I brought your forces out of the land of Egypt on this very day. This festival will be a permanent law for you; celebrate this day from generation to generation. 18 The bread you eat must be made without yeast from the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month until the evening of the twenty-first day of that month. 19 During those seven days, there must be no trace of yeast in your homes. Anyone who eats anything made with yeast during this week will be cut off from the community of Israel. These regulations apply both to the foreigners living among you and to the native-born Israelites. 20 During those days you must not eat anything made with yeast. Wherever you live, eat only bread made without yeast.”
21 Then Moses called all the elders of Israel together and said to them, “Go, pick out a lamb or young goat for each of your families, and slaughter the Passover animal. 22 Drain the blood into a basin. Then take a bundle of hyssop branches and dip it into the blood. Brush the hyssop across the top and sides of the doorframes of your houses. And no one may go out through the door until morning. 23 For the Lord will pass through the land to strike down the Egyptians. But when he sees the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe, the Lord will pass over your home. He will not permit his death angel to enter your house and strike you down.
24 “Remember, these instructions are a permanent law that you and your descendants must observe forever. 25 When you enter the land the Lord has promised to give you, you will continue to observe this ceremony. 26 Then your children will ask, ‘What does this ceremony mean?’ 27 And you will reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt. And though he struck the Egyptians, he spared our families.’” When Moses had finished speaking, all the people bowed down to the ground and worshiped.
28 So the people of Israel did just as the Lord had commanded through Moses and Aaron. 29 And that night at midnight, the Lord struck down all the firstborn sons in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sat on his throne, to the firstborn son of the prisoner in the dungeon. Even the firstborn of their livestock were killed. 30 Pharaoh and all his officials and all the people of Egypt woke up during the night, and loud wailing was heard throughout the land of Egypt. There was not a single house where someone had not died.
Israel’s Exodus from Egypt
31 Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron during the night. “Get out!” he ordered. “Leave my people—and take the rest of the Israelites with you! Go and worship the Lord as you have requested. 32 Take your flocks and herds, as you said, and be gone. Go, but bless me as you leave.” 33 All the Egyptians urged the people of Israel to get out of the land as quickly as possible, for they thought, “We will all die!”
34 The Israelites took their bread dough before yeast was added. They wrapped their kneading boards in their cloaks and carried them on their shoulders. 35 And the people of Israel did as Moses had instructed; they asked the Egyptians for clothing and articles of silver and gold. 36 The Lord caused the Egyptians to look favorably on the Israelites, and they gave the Israelites whatever they asked for. So they stripped the Egyptians of their wealth!
37 That night the people of Israel left Rameses and started for Succoth. There were about 600,000 men,[b] plus all the women and children. 38 A rabble of non-Israelites went with them, along with great flocks and herds of livestock. 39 For bread they baked flat cakes from the dough without yeast they had brought from Egypt. It was made without yeast because the people were driven out of Egypt in such a hurry that they had no time to prepare the bread or other food.
40 The people of Israel had lived in Egypt[c] for 430 years. 41 In fact, it was on the last day of the 430th year that all the Lord’s forces left the land. 42 On this night the Lord kept his promise to bring his people out of the land of Egypt. So this night belongs to him, and it must be commemorated every year by all the Israelites, from generation to generation.
Instructions for the Passover
43 Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “These are the instructions for the festival of Passover. No outsiders are allowed to eat the Passover meal. 44 But any slave who has been purchased may eat it if he has been circumcised. 45 Temporary residents and hired servants may not eat it. 46 Each Passover lamb must be eaten in one house. Do not carry any of its meat outside, and do not break any of its bones. 47 The whole community of Israel must celebrate this Passover festival.
48 “If there are foreigners living among you who want to celebrate the Lord’s Passover, let all their males be circumcised. Only then may they celebrate the Passover with you like any native-born Israelite. But no uncircumcised male may ever eat the Passover meal. 49 This instruction applies to everyone, whether a native-born Israelite or a foreigner living among you.”
50 So all the people of Israel followed all the Lord’s commands to Moses and Aaron. 51 On that very day the Lord brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt like an army.
Footnotes:
a. Exodus 12:11 Hebrew Bind up your loins.
b. Exodus 12:37 Or fighting men; Hebrew reads men on foot.
c. Exodus 12:40 Samaritan Pentateuch reads in Canaan and Egypt; Greek version reads in Egypt and Canaan.

~ Lena’s Journalin’~

Remember “Egypt” represents where we were before we decided to follow Jesus. When we prepare and come out of Egypt and are “in” Egypt but not “of” Egypt, we have taken our faith another step further towards growth. It is not enough to accept of receive Christ Jesus into you heart, one must grow in Him, and walk with Him in His ways for the rest of one’s days. “accepting Jesus” means we enter into a lifelong covenant with God our Father.
So many of us come to God because we need help in some way shape or form, and truly the help we need can only come from the Lord. It seems we want free help that does not cost much. That would be nice, but it never works that way. There is a reciprocation of love and appreciation and thankfulness that is expressed through obedience. That is the price we pay for eternal help. When Jesus met a rich man, the rich man went down a list of his own goodness, like he had earned God’s love and a ticket to eternity. Jesus’ reply was pretty much, “what about obeying Me? Let’s test that. If I ask you to sell all that is valuable to you (your life lived your own way), will you still be so happy about how good you are? Will you still feel the same about My giving you the help you need to obtain eternal life?”
We have been deceived to think if we are good we are over half-way there, going to heaven. The point is to live here as though it was heaven, doing God’s will and helping others to do so also. Spending our lives in that expression of love rather than on the stuff we like to get and have more of and do. There is always a price.
Jesus’ life was given in exchange for ours- period. 1 Cor 7:23 You were bought with a price [purchased with a preciousness and paid for by Christ]; then do not yield yourselves up to become [in your own estimation] slaves to men [but consider yourselves slaves to Christ]. There’s also a price in following after Him and continuing in faith in Him. It is a life for a life. My life’s goals are laid down (rendered without feeling or power=dead) for the pursuit of His goals and for His plans to be fulfilled through my life. I join His goals by participation, the giving of the rest of my days for His work. I may have a career, and even if I climb corporate ladders, my goal is influence those I’m around for the further establishment of His kingdom.
Usually we’re led to the Lordship of Christ by someone. Moses means “drawn out”, Aaron means “light bringer”. That’s what Christians are – Drawn out of “Egypt” by God’s spirit, led to Christ who made it possible for us to be made right with God, and now shine, shine, the Light of the same to anyone who is like we were before we were drawn out!
We will quickly find instructors telling us what needs to be done to head in this new direction.
Will we trust them and heed their words? It could mean life or death.
I think of children of all ages, listening to their parent’s voices. It is not very long on in life’s growth that they realize they have a choice, whether to hear and do, whether to listen at all, or whether to listen, but not obey. These choices can mean death or life for each of our natural children. Life is full of choices, choices, choices. The success or rather, better progress, made in life is when one hears and does what he’s taught to do.
In Israel God set up a serious time. The time frame was not man’s decision; it was God’s own set time. I have heard so many people say, I’ll do it when I’m good and ready, don’t pressure me, or I don’t need to talk to them about it yet, I’ll do it when I feel they are ready.
There was NO hesitation here, none. It was the time God had set, period, no negotiations. We don’t think God sets times now, do we? He does, we have just been incorrectly taught that we have liberty and freedom to choose our own way. That is a deception. We may THINK we are choosing now, but when it comes down to it, God set up His timeframes and if we don’t choose the life pathway He decided on for us we have no other choice but death. So it always boils down to death and life, life and death.
Everyone MUST choose a Lamb. If they do not choose a Lamb, because they have freedom of choice, someone valuable to them dies. It most likely will not be them that dies for the sins of the fathers and mothers (the chief choosers), but someone very dear to them will pass away. Death is not too choosey, yet is. It chooses to inflict a great deal of pain, sorrow, mourning and grief. That’s its mission. Disobedience equals death. Obedience equals life.
A Lamb for a household. Jesus IS THE Lamb, the spotless Lamb. If no Lamb, death. If a Lamb, life.
So we all think we can choose Christ or not? We must choose Christ! If we do not choose we do not know what we’re doing, subjecting our seed to death.
The angel of death was to pass over whether one believed it or not. The flood waters of Noah’s day would come, whether they believed it or not! The only security can be found in obedience and appreciative response to the blood, shed blood of a Lamb.
All of the Lamb MUST be consumed. We cannot have half of Jesus in our own style of living, we have to exchange our old life for His new life. That means major change! We cannot serve God and the god of this world too. It has to be all God. Everything else is subjected to burning anyway, why live for what does not and will not last?
As you are on earth, do the work, follow the instructions of God as a citizen of the kingdom of God yet in the world, but know you are not a citizen of this age or this world, and you do not serve it as Master. Your Master is God and you serve Him while still here. You are still here to serve Him.
Eat with urgency- Jesus said “My meat and My drink are to do the will of My Father who sent me.” Eat with urgency, means do his will quickly. Don’t give your soul the luxury of figuring out how or when or why it is to be done and after you consider your ability to do it, you begin to negotiate a contract with God. No obey quickly, BEFORE the minds sets in as your Lord! Remember, God has a set time.
If we are in Egypt, but not of it, because our obedience and allegiance show we serve another wholeheartedly and quickly, then the spirit of death will not touch our households. If we say we love God, but serve Pharaoh. If we say we are Jesus’ follower, but we disregard words given us through leaders and we do not prepare as if death is coming, then in the spirit, it appears we are not all His and the angel of death knows it, by the faith in action we display, so death comes quickly!
The way the enemy powers see the blood, is we have become one with Jesus, we are sacrificial, we are in love with Him, we are His, our words are His words, His words are our words, His words are what we live. That’s the blood being painted on us. It is very, very visible in the natural and in the spirit. We cannot hide this love relationship, it emanates. It covers us. It shows all over us. This is not a private and silent faith, we keep inside. If we do not show it outwardly the blood won’t be seen in us and when the angel passes by, death will come.
Yeast signifies, earthly passions, earthly, fleshly selfishness. It also represents bitterness of soul. For 7 days before the death angel comes at God’s set time, DO not eat THIS! 7 means complete. Completely rid your self life of these things. Bitterness, self seeking, say bye bye.
No work, no labor. No toil, just peace and rest inside of obedience to God.
Drain the blood, all out. Take all of the life, leave no trace of any life that is not of God. Don’t go out of
the house (don’t be independent, self sufficient, self reliant. Don’t be un-committed to and be an unassembled part of Christ’s Body on a regular basis) Stay in the house! Stay under the covering of love, commitment, covenant, communion and community with a great amount of accountability.
Continue this way forever. In serious remembrance, under the covering of a house, in the respect of God’s set times. Teach and train by example your children this way. If not in the house, death will come. If not under the covering, death will come. If in the house, life will be, if under the covering life will be. Sometimes it takes a death to shake and wake the world into the reality of their need for Jesus. They’ll be so desperate from seeing the results of our obedience’s to God and how He covers us, they’ll be willing to give even to us what it was they lived for so we can take it away and go on with God’s will. A rabble of non-Israelites went with them
This meal is NOT for the unbelieving. It is for those who choose to believe with a following of obedience from their faith. If the unbelieving choose to eat, choose to remember Jesus, the spotless Lamb, then they must show it by being willing to cut off their flesh. It was like that rich man Jesus spoke with. He said he’d follow Jesus, but when Jesus told him to cut off his flesh parts, he was sad and would not come and follow the Lord! Words are very cheap with God, there must be life force behind the words. We are not “saved” unless that is what happens.

Daily Thought to Ponder -
“Oh Give Thanks to the Lord for He is Good!”