Stories from the Bible - Ep 5 Saved By a Lamb's Blood (Exodus 12)

Episode Date: November 6, 2021

Last time we heard about the plague of hail that God sent on Egypt, and at the end of that story Pharaoh seemed to relent... however, he quickly changed his mind. God showed his power with two more plagues on the Egyptians, but still Pharaoh refused to let the people go. So God explained to Moses his plan for the tenth and final plague. This time there would be no distinction between Egyptians and Israelites, the only way to be safe was to listen very carefully God's instructions... The Scriptures quoted are from the NET Bible® http://netbible.com copyright ©1996, 2019 used with permission from Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved

Beauty, perfection, desire, deception, rebellion, judgment, hope. You're listening to Stories from the Bible. Bible stories told in order, using the words of the Bible, with introductions to give a recap and provide context. At the end of each story, you might want to pause and take a moment to reflect on what you noticed in the story, things you liked or didn't like, something the story showed you about God or about people. Don't worry if not everything makes sense. Keep listening to each episode and sit with the journey. I'm stoked to have you on the ride. Today is our fifth story. But before we get into that,

let's cover what happened between the last story and what we'll hear about today. So last time, we heard about the plague of hail that God sent on Egypt. And at the end of that story, if you remember, Pharaoh seemed to relent. He admitted he was wrong and he told the Israelites that they could go. However, he quickly changed his mind. Then there were two more plagues, eight and nine, and Pharaoh still refused to let the people go and he stood against God. So God said to Moses, the 10th plague, it's going to be so severe that it will force Pharaoh to let my people go. And God said to Moses, look, you said to Pharaoh before, Israel is my firstborn son. Well, now I'm going to strike Pharaoh's firstborn sons. Tonight, he will force you all to go. So tell the people of Israel, get ready to go. You'll be leaving

tonight. And when the time comes for you to go, you can ask all your neighbors and they will give you gold and precious objects. And in this way, you will plunder the Egyptians. Now he went on to explain to Moses what he was going to do, and he said, Now I'm going to strike the firstborn in every family. So that I do not strike your firstborn, every family must choose a perfect lamb. They must kill it, take the blood, and put it on the doorframe, above and on each side of the doorframes. And when I see the blood on the doorframes, I will pass over, and I will not let the destroyer in to hurt your family. And you must not go out of your door until morning. And God went further and explained to Moses. He said, also

each year, when you finally come into the land, which I am taking you to, you must observe this ceremony. This will be your holiday, your festival, the time of your new year. The old has passed and the new has come. You used to be slaves, but now you'll be free. And when your children say, Dad, what does this mean? You are to tell them the story of this time of salvation, how God rescued you from Egypt. And you are to eat the lamb and bread without yeast and bit of vegetables to remind you of all the aspects of your life in Egypt, and to remind you of God's great salvation. So that explains what happens between last time's story and today's story, which begins here.

That night, at midnight, the angel of the Lord came and struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh on his throne to the firstborn of the prisoner in the dungeon and all the firstborn of the livestock as well. When the Egyptians and Pharaoh got up, there was a loud wailing throughout the whole land because there was not one household without someone dead.

Pharaoh summoned Moses and his brother and said, Get out! You may go. Take your flocks and your herds as you've asked and get out. But first, before you go, bless me. The Egyptians said to their Israelite neighbours, leave, quickly, leave, before we're all destroyed. The story ends here. Thanks for joining us for today's story.

You might like to take a moment to pause and think about what you noticed. Things you liked. Things you didn't like. Something the story showed you about God. Perhaps you might even have thoughts about how this story fits into the bigger narrative of the Bible. If you'd like to look it up, it's from Exodus chapter 12. What will happen next? Will the Israelites be able to trust and listen to God now that he's shown his power and love to save them? Make sure you tune in for the next episode.

You've been listening to Stories from the Bible. I'm Jen, and I look forward to sharing more stories with you.