Prologue: The First Passover
ListenIt happened in the time of Moses.
As God prepared to send the tenth and final plague upon Egypt, He instructed Moses to tell the Israelites to choose a lamb for sacrifice, a lamb without defect, one for each household. They were to take some of the blood and smear it on the two doorposts and the lintel of their houses.
“On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn, both man and beast, 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, and the plague of death will not touch you when I strike the land of Egypt. 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.” (Exodus 12: 12-14)
God’s judgment would pass through the land indiscriminately; every family subject to God’s wrath, even the Israelites. Their only hope for salvation was to take shelter under God’s sacrificial provision.
A lamb had to be slain.
A lamb without spot or blemish — slaughtered as a substitute for a sinner.
All throughout Egypt there would be either a dead lamb or a dead son. Those who marked their doorways with the blood of a lamb as an act of faith received forgiveness, and the angel of death “passed over” them. But those who did not, saw death come to their home.
Since then, God’s people commemorate the Passover. It is a law for all generations.
