Remembering God’s Deliverance

God through Moses:  “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! 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.” Exodus 12:12-13 (NLT)

Passover marked a new beginning for God’s people, the Israelites (also called “Jews” or “Hebrews”). This day was the Jews’ Independence Day and celebrates God’s miraculous deliverance of the Israelite people from Egyptian slavery. We usually call this event “the Jewish Passover,” but the Holy Bible calls this day “the Lord's Passover” (Exodus 12:11, 27; Leviticus 23:5; Number 28:16). The Passover was instituted by God Himself (Exodus 12:41-42). At the Passover, God revealed His greatness and supremacy to Pharaoh, the Egyptians, and to the world that He was truly the all-powerful and Almighty God – El Shaddai (Exodus 6:3; Exodus 12:12-13). Also, God brought “judgment on all the gods of Egypt” so that world would know He is the one true and living God (Exodus 12:12).

God’s tenth and final plague was the grand finale in the contest between God verses man. To the Egyptians, Pharaoh was a god. So when Moses and Aaron came, claiming to speak for a new god whom they called “Yahweh and El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty’, Pharaoh wanted to know, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice?” (Exodus 5:1-2; Exodus 6:3). In effect, Pharaoh was challenging the true and living God, El Shaddai — ‘God Almighty’.  God accepted the challenge. He brought nine catastrophic plagues on Egypt to demonstrate His great power. Nevertheless, Pharaoh resisted all nine plagues. But in the tenth and final plague, God struck down Pharaoh’s supposedly god child and revealed Himself as El Shaddai — ‘God Almighty’. “During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the Lord as you have requested. . . . And also bless me” (Exodus 12:31-32, NIV). Pharaoh was now defeated and humbled by God. The true and living God of Israel had won and defeated Pharaoh!

The theme of the book of Exodus is redemption, deliverance or salvation, in fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham at Genesis 15:13-14. Promises were fulfilled that Passover night that were made to Abraham four centuries before (Genesis 15:13-14). The Israelites had lived in Egypt for 430 years just as God promised Abraham (Exodus 12:40-42). God led the Hebrews out of Egypt, just as He had promised. This showed His great power and His great love for His people. The heart of redemption theology is best seen in the great Passover (Exodus 12; see also Exodus 6:6). On Passover night, this event marked God’s redemption of His people from slavery and bondage by God’s mighty hand. The Israelites would be making a new beginning as a nation and new life. “From now on, this month will be the first and most important of the entire year” (Exodus 12:2 - TLB). The Lord’s Passover is the beginning of the religious calendar in Israel (Exodus 12:2, 11).

For the children of Israel, independence from Egypt meant wholehearted dependence and trust in God. In fact, God came back to the Passover event throughout the Holy Bible as a way of describing Himself: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt.” Israel's miraculous exodus from Egypt was the greatest demonstration of God’s mighty and miraculous power. The prophets and the psalmists repeatedly pointed to the Exodus as proof of God's supremacy, greatest, and control. The pattern of dependence and trust in God was to continue all through the Israelites lives. When the Israelites ran out of water, God provided. When food supplies failed, God provided. When enemies attacked, God provided.

Moses:  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. . . . Then your children will ask, ‘What does this ceremony mean?’ 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. Exodus 12:23, 26-27 (NLT)

The Passover is part of an annual one-week celebration. This seven-day feast period is called the Feast of Unleavened Bread and included the Feast of the Passover and the Feast of First Fruits (Leviticus 23:4–11; see also Joshua 5:10, 2 Kings 23:22, 2 Chronicles 35:18, Ezra 6:19; Luke 22:1). These feasts celebrated God! Passover became an annual remembrance of how God delivered His people from Egypt. Unleavened bread was used in the celebration as a reminder that the Israelites had no time to leaven their bread before they ate their final meal as slaves in Egypt. Passover is still kept today by many practicing Jews.

On the first Passover night, God struck all the firstborn males, humans and animals, from the lowest Egyptian prisoner to Pharaoh’s oldest son and all the firstborn animals (Exodus 12:6-11, 29). There was a great cry in Egypt; however, God mercifully passed over all the Israelites who applied the blood of the lamb on their lintel and side posts of the doors (Exodus 11:6; Exodus 12:30). Blood on the doorpost was a signal to God that His death angel should “pass over” the Israelites during the judgment. God often used angels to bring destructive plagues (see 2 Samuel 24:15-16; 2 Kings 19:35; 1 Corinthians 10:10). For the Israelites to be saved from the death, a perfect lamb with no defects had to be killed. Passover meant the Lord God would “pass over” and not destroy the occupants of houses that were under the sign of the blood (Exodus 12:11; see also Exodus 13:23, 27). It was not the life of the lamb that saved the Israelite people from judgment but the death and sacrificial blood of the lamb (Exodus 12:3). So begins the story of redemption, the central theme of the Holy Bible. “Without shedding of blood there is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22; see also Leviticus 17:11).

During the New Testament times, Passover became a pilgrim festival. Large numbers of Jews gathered in Jerusalem to observe the annual celebration. During one particular Passover feast as thousands of Jews brought their choice lambs, one Man was selected as the Passover Lamb for all of humanity (1 Corinthians 5:7). Jesus Christ died during the Passover celebration in Jerusalem. Thus, there was a large crowd in Jerusalem at Jesus Christ’s entry into Jerusalem at the beginning of Passover celebration (Luke 19:37–39) and His arrest, trial, and crucifixion (Luke 23:18, 27, 35, 48). Apparently, many Jews stayed on until the Feast of Pentecost, when these same Jews heard Peter’s persuasive sermon (Acts 2:1–41). In celebrating His final Passover meal, Jesus Christ ate food that was highly symbolic (Matthew 26:17-30; Mark 14:12-25; Luke 22:7-23). On the evening Jesus Christ celebrated His last Passover meal with His disciples, He also established His own memorial supper, the Lord’s Supper or the Last Supper. The unleavened Passover bread symbolized the exodus from Egypt, and the cup with Jesus Christ’s blood echoed the Old Testament promise, “I will redeem you” and bestowal of salvation with the new covenant (Exodus 6:6; see also Jeremiah 31:31-34; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20).    

The lesson here is obvious: Unless we are protected by the sacrificial perfect blood of Jesus Christ by faith, we will be eternally killed (see Matthew 20:28; Matthew 26:28; John 3:14-17; John 10:11; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; Hebrews 9:28; Revelations 5:9). The first exodus Passover foreshadowed the blood of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who unselfishly and willingly gave His blood to redeem and save us from spiritual death and slavery to sin. In His death on the Cross, Jesus Christ fulfilled the true meaning of the Jewish sacrifice of the Passover lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7). Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, was crucified on Passover day, a celebration that began the evening before the Passover meal was eaten (cee Exodus 12:8). Jesus Christ is “our Passover Lamb” (1 Corinthians) sacrificed “once for all” (Hebrews 9:12). Jesus Christ was our substitute and He died our death for us and suffered the judgment of our sin (Isaiah 53:4-6; 1 Peter 2:24). Thus, Jesus Christ redeemed us from the power of sin and reconciled us to God (2 Corinthians 5:11-21). Also, Jesus Christ’s final and perfect sacrifice made animal sacrifice no longer necessary. As believers, our part is to wholeheartedly trust in Jesus Christ and accept His gracious gift of eternal life (Ephesians 2:8-9). Our sins have been paid for, and the way has been cleared for us to begin a relationship with God (Titus 2:14; Hebrews 9:13-15, 23-26). 

The Apostle Paul viewed the death of the Passover lamb as fulfilled in Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death on the Cross (1 Corinthians 5:7). The Passover lamb typified Jesus Christ. Indeed, John the Baptist called Jesus Christ the “Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29, 36). Similar, Jesus Christ is like “a lamb without blemish or defect” (Exodus 12:5; see also Hebrews 9:14; 1 Peter 1:19). He is the Perfect Passover Lamb (1 Peter 1:18–19) who had to die to save us and redeem us from the slavery to sin (see also Acts 8:32-35; 1 Peter 1:18-20; Revelation 5:5-6; Revelation 13:8). We are saved by applying Jesus Christ’s sacrificial blood to our own hearts by faith. The Passover lamb saved the Jewish people and Jesus Christ as God’s Passover Lamb saves and redeems us too.

Today, many Jewish people celebrate Passover. However, most Christians do not. Rather, the Passover celebration has been incorporated into a new one called the Eucharist, or the Lord’s Supper or the Last Supper, with Jesus Christ representing the Passover Lamb (Exodus 12:14; see also Matthew 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:17-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-25). The Lord’s Supper memorializes and celebrates our freedom through the redemption Jesus Christ accomplished at Calvary (see John 1:29; 1 Corinthians 5:7). The Lord’s Supper must never be celebrated apart from acceptance and trust in Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death (1 Corinthians 11:26).  Each time we celebrate the Lord's Supper, we look back and remember Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death as our unblemished Passover Lamb (Exodus 12:5-6; Hebrews 9:22; 1 Peter 1:19), but we also look ahead and anticipate His coming again. When Jesus Christ returns again, another wonderful exodus will take place! The dead in Christ will rise and the living believers will be caught up with them and taken to heaven to be with the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). Hallelujah!

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Dedicate to Me every firstborn among the Israelites. The first offspring to be born, of both humans and animals, belongs to Me.” So Moses said to the people, “This is a day to remember forever — the day you left Egypt, the place of your slavery. Today the Lord has brought you out by the power of His mighty hand. Exodus 13:1-3 (NLT)

At the time of the Passover and the exodus from Egypt, God introduced an important principle:  every firstborn male, including animals, was to be dedicated and consecrated to Him. God had adopted Israel as His firstborn (Exodus 4:22) and He had graciously delivered every firstborn among the Israelites, whether human or animal, from the tenth and final plague (see Exodus 12:12-13). All the firstborn of Israel were God’s firstborn (Exodus 13:2-13). The firstborn animals were sacrificed but the humans were to serve God throughout their lives. Later, the Levites were established as a symbolic firstborn for all the people (see Numbers 3:11-13, 40-51; Numbers 8:17-18).

         

Exodus 13 explains the significance of the firstborn in the nation of Israel. Not only once a year at Passover were the Jews reminded of God's grace and power, but each time a firstborn male, human or animal, came into the world, that firstborn male had to be redeemed. This dedication practice described in Exodus 13:11-16 was to remind the people of God’s redemption and salvation. During the night the Israelites escaped from Egypt, God saved the firstborn of every Israelite house marked with blood on the doorframes (Exodus 13:12-14).  In exchange for God’s mighty deliverance in protecting and redeeming His people and saving the firstborn of humans and animals from death (Exodus 12:12-13), God asked for sanctification or consecration unto Him every firstborn among the Israelites. This means that the every firstborn male and animal among the Israelites belonged to God and were to be “set apart” for His service (Exodus 13:1-2). Firstborn males were sanctified, that is, set apart for God's exclusive possession and purpose. Parents would bring their firstborn males to God and offer the appropriate sacrifice (see Leviticus 12:6-8). Mary’s firstborn Son, Jesus Christ, was presented to God in accordance with this Law. Amazingly, when Mary and Joseph came to the Temple to redeem the Redeemer (Jesus the Messiah also called Christ), they brought the humble sacrifice of the poor (Luke 2:21-24).

“And in the future, when your children ask you, ‘What is this all about?’ you shall tell them, ‘With mighty miracles Jehovah brought us out of Egypt from our slavery. Pharaoh would not let us go, so Jehovah killed all the firstborn males throughout the land of Egypt, both of men and animals; that is why we now give all the firstborn males to the Lord—except that all the eldest sons are always bought back.’ Again I say, this celebration shall identify you as God’s people, just as much as if His brand of ownership were placed upon your foreheads. It is a reminder that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with great power.” Exodus 13:14-16 (The Living Bible)

When a firstborn male was redeemed, or a firstborn animal, it gave adults an opportunity to explain how God had miraculous rescued the firstborn of the Israelites on Passover night, and how God had slain all the Egyptian firstborn, both humans and animal. This release of the child to the Lord was symbolized by a ritual of redemption, in which the newborn was “exchanged” for an offering brought by the parents. Scripture highlights a few cases in which firstborn children were dedicated to the Lord. A few of the more significant redemptions include Samson (Judges 13:5, 24–25), Samuel (1 Samuel 1:11, 24–28), John the Baptist (Luke 1:15, 66, 80), and Jesus Christ (Luke 2:7, 22–24).

“On the seventh day you must explain to your children, ‘I am celebrating what the Lord did for me when I left Egypt.’ This annual festival will be a visible sign to you, like a mark branded on your hand or your forehead. Let it remind you always to recite this teaching of the Lord: ‘With a strong hand, the Lord rescued you from Egypt.’ So observe the decree of this festival at the appointed time each year. . . . “And in the future, your children will ask you, ‘What does all this mean?’ Then you will tell them, ‘With the power of His mighty hand, the Lord brought us out of Egypt, the place of our slavery. Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, so the Lord killed all the firstborn males throughout the land of Egypt, both people and animals. That is why I now sacrifice all the firstborn males to the Lord — except that the firstborn sons are always bought back.’ This ceremony will be like a mark branded on your hand or your forehead. It is a reminder that the power of the Lord’s mighty hand brought us out of Egypt.” Exodus 13:8-10, 14-16 (NLT)

God wanted Israel to remember what His mighty hand had done to deliver and redeem them (Exodus 13:3, 9, 14, 16), lest in the future they forget to wholeheartedly trust, depend upon, and serve Him. The setting a part of the firstborn would remind them that the firstborn males of Israel had been redeemed by God.

It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger. He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible. It was by faith that Moses commanded the people of Israel to keep the Passover and to sprinkle blood on the doorposts so that the angel of death would not kill their firstborn sons. It was by faith that the people of Israel went right through the Red Sea as though they were on dry ground. But when the Egyptians tried to follow, they were all drowned. Hebrews 11:27-29 (NLT)

By faith, Moses and the Israelites relied upon, trusted and obeyed God and God’s Word, regardless of Pharaoh and the Egyptians’ anger. The Israelites obeyed the Passover, even though slaying the lambs and putting the blood on the doors looked ridiculous and foolish to Pharaoh and the Egyptians. It was faith in God that had brought Israel out of Egypt and through the Red Sea. No matter what our circumstances may be, we can trust God to bring us out and take us through. We must never forget that the enslaved Israelites defeated the powerful Egyptians through faith in Almighty God – El Shaddai. Hebrews 11 reminds us that Moses and the Israelites accomplished all of this by faith in the true and living God.

References:

King James Version Study Bible. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1988.

KJV Bible Commentary. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1994.

Life Application Study Bible. Carol Streams, IL: Tyndale House Pub., 2005.

New Student Bible. New York: Zondervan, 1992.

Ryrie Study Bible. Chicago, IL: Moody, 1995.

Word in Life Study Bible. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1996.

Zondervan NIV Study Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008.

Wiersbe, Warren W. Bible Exposition Commentary. Victor Books, 1989.

Wiersbe, Warren. With the Word Bible Commentary. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1991.