Moses has continued to confront Pharaoh, yet Pharaoh has refused to let Israel go, even after nine plagues. Although Pharaoh had agreed to let the Hebrews go to worship Yahweh in the wilderness, with certain stipulations, he always recanted when the plague was no more.
The Passover
God instituted this Passover festival to carry on His work of setting apart the people of Israel as his very own people. God would later declare through his prophet Hosea, “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and from Egypt I called my son” (Hosea 11: 1). God was now about to separate his people from the land of Egypt by delivering them from slavery in that land.
Read Exodus 12:1-6
– What does God tell Moses regarding the calendar?
God begins the Church-Year Calendar: The month that God tells Moses will start the year was to start the liturgical year, which marked the beginning of Israel’s liturgical calendar of feasts (Leviticus 23:1-44). It was first called “Abib” and then later “Nisan” (Deuteronomy 16:1; Esther 3:7). Another calendar that began in autumn was also used for business affairs; it was like the fiscal-year calendar. The first month of the civil year, called Tishri, corresponded to the seventh month of the liturgical year, which is like our regular calendar year.
This idea of having a churchly, liturgical year lives on in the New Covenant as the church year we follow (as do Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and Coptic Christians).
– What are the requirements for the Passover lamb? (vs. 5)
In the Passover lamb, we see what God instituted in the Old Covenant pointing forward to Jesus’ fulfillment in the New Covenant.
Old Covenant
The Passover lamb was to be a year-old male, chosen from the sheep or the goats.
God directed that this Passover lamb was to be “without defect.”
New Covenant
John the Baptizer pointing to Jesus as the Messiah said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).
When writing to the Corinthians, Paul declared, “Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7).
Peter wrote that Christians are redeemed “with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect” (1 Peter 1: 19).
– Who within Israel is to participate in this religious eating that God institutes?
Read Exodus 12:7-13
– What were the Israelites to do with the blood?
– What will not happen to the houses of those what have blood painted on their doorposts?
– Based on where the blood was painted, what shape does it make when you connect to blood patterns?
– How does this point forward to what Jesus did to save us?
Through His saving work, Christ became our Passover (Pascha in Greek). Through Him, we experience eternal freedom from sin, death, and the devil. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Christ, our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the feast” (1 Corinthians 5:7-8). To restore us to God the Father, Jesus became the Paschal Lamb (Isaiah 53:7; John 1:29; Revelation 5:6-14) who gave Himself up in sacrifice “once for all” (Hebrews 10:10-14).
The Feast of Unleavened Bread
These verses explain how the people of Israel were to remember this Passover event in the future. For seven days before the Passover meal itself, the Israelites were not to work and were to eat bread without yeast. In this way, God joined the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Passover as one event. The Passover would become an annual memorial of the Exodus deliverance, which a meal of roasted lamb, unleavened bread, and bitter herbs would memorialize through this God-instituted ritual.
- The blood was to be a sign of life that protects against the plague of death (Exodus 12:13; see also Leviticus 17:10-12).
- The unleavened bread became a reminder of Israel’s hurried departure from bondage (Exodus 12:34).
- The bitter herbs became a reminder of the bitterness of slavery left behind (Exodus 1:14).
Read Exodus 12:14-20
– Discuss why specifically unleavened bread.
– From this event, the idea of leaven becomes a symbol for what in the New Testament? (for example: Galatians 5:9, 1 Corinthians 5:6)
The First Passover
Read Exodus 12:21-28
– For how long were the Israelites to celebrate Passover? Discuss.
– What were the Israelites to learn and keep concerning their understanding of God? (vs. 26-27)
In verse 27, to describe the worship of the Israelites, Moses used one Hebrew word: Havah. That means to bow down to the ground. It was also used for a word to describe a beggar before someone who can supply what he needs. The Greek Septuagint translated havah as proskeneuo, which means to fall down before.
– What does this tell us about the character of worship?
Death of the Firstborn
Read Exodus 12:29-32
– What does Yahweh do?
– What does Pharaoh finally do?
– Discuss: The firstborn sons of Egypt died that the Israelites could be free and live. Discuss how this also pointed forward to a messianic fulfillment.
Read Exodus 12:33-36
– How did the Egyptian people respond to the Israelites?
With this final plague, Yahweh destroys and undermines the power of Osiris. Osiris was the first child of Nut and Geb (do you 
remember them?). He was also the Ancient Egyptian god of the dead and the god of the resurrection into eternal life. This plague then showed who the true God of eternal life was–and it wasn’t Osiris!
However, through this plague, not only did Yahweh show that He had power over Osiris, but (a second time) even over their deity in human flesh, Pharaoh. For Osiris was also the patron of Pharaoh.
And as we saw earlier, Yahweh was not only showing who He was to the Egyptians, but also to the Hebrews as He continued to erode the Egypt out of the Israelites. However, as we will see, this process of de-Egyptification will take many years, even generations.
The Israelites Leave Egypt
Read Exodus 12:37-39
– How many leave Egypt?
– Who else left with the Israelites?
Read Exodus 12:40-42
– Whom does God send to watch over the Israelites?
– Moses does not say why Yahweh did this. Discuss the implication Yahweh’s actions?
Passover Restrictions and Inclusion
Read Exodus 12:43-51
– Who could not eat of the Passover? Discuss the implications of this.
– Who could? Discuss the implications of this.
A foreshadowing of Jesus: The Lord said concerning the Passover lamb, “Do not break any of the bones” (verse 46). After Jesus’ death on the cross, the soldiers did not break His bones as they did to those who were crucified with him. John wrote, “These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: ‘Not one of his bones will be broken’” (John 19:36).
Read Luke 22:14-20; Matthew 26:26-29
– When Jesus instituted the New Covenant (which is what?), in what setting did He do that?
– What then did Jesus do?
– What is the purpose of the Lord’s Supper?
– Discuss the connections between the Passover meal and the Lord’s Supper.
