In the time before this last plague that will befall Egypt, God teaches Moses who teaches the Children of Israel what they are to do so that their firstborn children will live and not die. They are to take a year old lamb or kid without defect and slaughter them at twilight. Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. Exodus 12:7. God tells them to eat it ready to flee in haste…it is the Lord’s Passover. v. 11.

On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt, I am the Lord. The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt. v. 12-13. He went on to teach them to celebrate for the generations to come the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread to remember what the Lord did for them in bringing them safely out of slavery and bondage in Egypt.

Just as with the other 9 plagues, God struck down the firstborn in Egypt just as He had told Pharaoh He would. Pharaoh refused to listen to God and he and the Egyptians suffered greatly. Now the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt was 430 years. At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the Lord’s divisions left Egypt. Because the Lord kept vigil that night to bring them out of Egypt, on this night all the Israelites are to keep vigil to honor the Lord for the generations to come. v. 40-42.

Had any Israelite home not had the blood of the lamb on their doorposts, they too would have suffered the death of their firstborn child. Can you imagine what it must have been like to be preparing this set of instructions from God? They know at midnight what will happen. They were not to leave their homes and I can’t imagine anyone wanting to. They waited after doing all that God commanded them. 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. Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go. And also bless me.” v. 31-32. God knew they would need to flee so He had them dress ready to leave. The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and leave the country. “For otherwise,” they said, “we will all die!” v. 33.

How were the Israelite’s firstborn saved? The blood of the lamb. 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. v. 23. I can’t help but wonder what it must have been like for God to see the blood of innocent lambs on the doorframes of the Israelite homes. They were spared from death by the blood of innocent lambs that pictured the blood of the Lamb of God that would be shed for us. The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29. And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” Revelation 5:9-10. “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” Revelation 4:11.

In prayer this morning, God reminded me to be open to seeing all He has made and to see His hand there and know His love in providing all we need….and to let my heart delight in the sheer beauty of His creation. He provides for our every need and He does it so beautifully. He provided for our ancestors that night even having them dressed and ready to leave Egypt quickly. Unlike Pharaoh, they believed God and obeyed His instructions. All the Israelites did just what the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. And on that very day the Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt by their divisions. v. 50-51. Can you imagine what that must have been like? Can you imagine what the Egyptians thought watching them leave? An exodus from slavery in Egypt…and the Lord kept vigil that night. Worthy is the Lord our God. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does. Psalm 145:13.