Exodus 11-13

What I Noticed Today (Exodus 11-13)

Exodus 11

The Tenth Plague: Death of the Firstborn

In verses 1-10, the tenth plague is sent to Egypt:

• The Lord said to Moses He would bring one more plague on Egypt, and then Pharaoh will let you go. In fact, he will drive you out.
• Announce to the people that both men and women should ask their neighbors (Egyptians) for gold and silver jewelry.
• The Lord gave the people favor among the people of Egypt, and Moses was highly regarded among Pharaoh’s officials.

• The Lord told Moses about midnight I will pass throughout Egypt, and every firstborn male, from Pharaoh to a servant, will die. Every firstborn of livestock will also die. A great cry of anguish will come over all Egypt.
• The Lord told Moses Pharaoh will not listen to you so that My wonders will be multiplied in Egypt. Moses and Aaron did all these wonders, but Pharaoh’s heart was hard, and he would not let the people go.

Exodus 12

Chapter 12 details God’s instructions for the preparation for the first Passover and its celebration. It moves back and forth between instructions for the Passover, the exodus, and back to Passover instructions.

In verses 1-20, the Lord provides instructions to Moses regarding the Passover feast:

• God established a new calendar for the nations of Israel. This month (Nisan, which means “start”) was to be the first month in their year (March-April on the Gregorian calendar).
• On the tenth day, the people were to select an unblemished sheep or goat from the flock. There should be one animal per household, or if a household were too small, they would gather with a neighbor. The animal selected was to be kept until the fourteenth day.
• Then at twilight, the entire nation will slaughter their animals. They are to put some of the blood of the animal on the doorposts and lintels of the houses in which they eat the animal.
• The entire animal is to be roasted, not boiled or eaten raw. Eat it with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs.

• The entire animal must be eaten that night; any remaining portion must be burned in the fire.
• You must eat it dressed for travel, with your sandals on and your staff in your hand. You must eat it in a hurry; it is the Lord’s Passover.
• God will then pass through the land of Egypt and strike every firstborn male, man, and beast.
• The blood on the houses will be a distinguishing mark for the Israelites. God will pass over any house marked with blood.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread

• This is to be a memorial celebration to the Lord passed on as a permanent statute for future generations.
• You must eat unleavened bread for seven days.
• On the first day, you must remove the yeast from your house. Anyone who eats what is leavened during these seven days must be cut-off from Israel.

• You must hold a sacred assembly on the first day and the seventh day. No work is allowed except preparing what you eat.
• The Festival of Unleavened Bread is to be celebrated because of the day God brought the Israelites out of Egypt. It is to be celebrated as a permanent statute for future generations.
• It is to be celebrated from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day of the month.
• There must be no yeast in your houses during that time.

Passover Instructions

In verses 21-28, Moses instructs the Israelites on the proper observation of the Passover feast:

• Moses instructed the elders of Israel and told them to select an animal from their flocks and slaughter the Passover animal.
• Using a cluster of hyssop, dip it in the blood and brush it on the lintel and doorposts of the house.
• You may not go out of the house until morning.
• When the Lord passes through Egypt, He will pass over houses where He sees the blood.
• The people are to pass this command down to future generations and teach their children the meaning of the celebration. They are to observe this ritual when they enter the Promised Land.

The Tenth Plague & the Exodus

In verses 29-41, the 10^th plague comes, and the Israelites leave Egypt:

• At midnight the Lord struck every firstborn male in Egypt from Pharaoh to the prisoner, and every firstborn of the livestock.
• During the night, Pharaoh got up, and there was loud wailing in every house in Egypt because there wasn’t a house without someone dead.
• Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and told them to get the Israelites and go with all the people and the flocks and worship Yahweh.
• Pharaoh also asked for Moses and Aaron to bless him!
• The Egyptians urged the people to leave quickly because they feared they would all die.
• The Israelites did as Moses said by asking their neighbors for gold and silver jewelry and clothing. In this way, they plundered the Egyptians.
• The Israelites traveled from Ramses in Goshen to Succoth. About 600,000 men with their families.

• An ethnically diverse crowd (a rabble) left with them, along with their flocks and herds of animals.

• The Israelites had been in Egypt for 430 years (from 1876 B.C. to 1446 B.C.).
• God kept vigil over them throughout the night as they left.

Passover Instructions

In verses 43-51, the Lord gives Passover instructions to Moses and Aaron:

• No foreigner may eat it, but any circumcised slave may eat it.
• A temporary resident or hired hand may not eat it.
• It is to be eaten in one house.
• The meat may not be taken outside the house, and you must not break any of the animal’s bones.
• The whole community of Israel must celebrate the Passover.
• A foreigner who resides with you may eat it if all the males are circumcised; he will become a native to the land.
• All the Israelites did this just as the Lord commanded.

Exodus 13

Chapter 13 continues with instructions for the celebration of the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the route of the exodus out of Egypt.

In verses 1-16, God continues His instructions regarding the firstborn and the Passover celebration:

• The Lord told Moses to consecrate every firstborn male; both man and domestic animals belong to the Lord.
• Then Moses told the people to remember this day leaving Egypt by God’s strong hand.
• Nothing with leaven may be eaten.
• When the Lord brings you into the Promised Land, a land flowing with milk and honey, you must continue this ritual in the month of Abib (also called Nisan).
• For seven days you are to eat unleavened bread and on the seventh day celebrate the festival (Passover) to the Lord.
• During the festival, there may be no leaven found among you.
• Let it be a sign for you that you remember the Lord’s instruction and how He brought you out of Egypt.
• When the Lord brings you into the Promised Land, you are to present every firstborn male; they belong to the Lord.
• You must redeem every firstborn donkey with an animal from the flock, or break its neck if you do not redeem it.
• You must redeem every firstborn of your sons.
• In the future, teach your children about how the Lord brought you out of slavery in Egypt by His strong hand, when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let you go.

In verses 17-22, the route out of Egypt:

• God did not lead the people the shortest route out of Egypt because that passed through the land of the Philistines, and He was concerned that if they faced a war, they would retreat back to Egypt.
• So He led the people toward the Red Sea along the Road of the Wilderness.

• Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, fulfilling the promise of the Israelites not to leave him in Egypt, but to bury him in the family grave in Canaan.
• They left Succoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness.
• The Lord went ahead of them as a pillar of clouds in the daytime and as a pillar of fire at night.

Some thoughts for additional consideration:

• Four times in chapter 13, the people are told to celebrate the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread as a reminder of what the Lord did to save them, and how he redeemed them from Egypt. They are told several times to teach their children about the celebration and its purpose.
• We would do well to remember that God has saved us through the death of his one and only son upon the cross! And that in saving us, God will protect us from our enemies and lead us where He would have us to go, but we have to believe and trust Him!
• If we do not teach our children, we are only one generation away from complete apostasy!

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Tomorrow: Exodus 14-16