Exodus 12:1-6
Verse 6 Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight.
The Israelites had experienced some of the earlier plagues God had brought on the people of Egypt but some of the later plagues they had only witnessed because He spared the land of Goshen where His people lived. They had seen the people to whom they were slaves dealing with things they weren’t having to deal with and that must have caused them to find some awe in the God of creation. For 430 years this nation had been in a place where false gods were worshiped and before God was going to take His people out as He had promised, He needed to remind them of who He was.
Before the final plague God had some things for the people to do to get ready. He wasn’t going to have them questioning if the next plague would affect them or not. He wanted them to know He had a plan which would include some participation from them nut would ultimately lead to their safety. He also had details they needed to follow and it may require them to team up with other members of the community.
The Lord begins by telling Moses to have the men choose a lamb or goat from the flock. The word which is translated as lamb in our verse simply means a young portion of the flock, it could be a lamb or a goat. They were to choose one which was a year old and they couldn’t choose it whenever they wanted to, it had to be on the tenth day of the month. God had a timeline and the people needed to align themselves to it.
They were to choose one animal per household unless they were a small family, in that case they were to join up with another household. While we tend to view family as those under our roof, God’s people understood they were part of something bigger. The family wasn’t limited to those who were in the immediate family. After figuring out how many animals were needed they had to keep the animal for 4 days, caring for it until it was time to slaughter it.
All this was a lesson in preparation. They had no idea how this would become one of their yearly festivals as it was going to be required for the generations which followed. They weren’t looking far into the future to understand how this would all play out. They didn’t know how God was going to rescue them and call them out from all they had ever known. God was calling them to prepare for one of the most important events of Scripture and they just needed to obey.
Making It Personal
How do you respond to God’s direction in life when you don’t understand it? Who do you consider as your family? How has God used your faith family to help you?
Making It Personal Kids
What do you think it was like to see all those plagues? Do you have close friends who feel more like family than friends? How close do you feel with your Church family?
Closing Prayer
Father, thank You for wanting to set Your people apart. Give us eyes to see the benefit of being surrounded with a dedicated Church family which help us obey You in every way. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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