Daily Devotions
Exodus
"Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; Let Your glory be above all the earth." Psalm 57:11
Text: Exodus 12 : 21-23, 27-28
SPECIAL MEETING WITH THE ELDERS OF ISRAEL
When Moses returned to Egypt, he gathered the elders of the children of Israel together and spoke to them about the Lord’s intention to deliver them from bondage (Cf. Exodus 4:29). These leaders gave in to frustration and despair when Pharaoh imposed unreasonable demands on the children of Israel (Cf. Exodus 5:20-21)! Despite the souring of relationships (temporarily) Moses gathered the elders of the children of Israel and told them about what the Lord was going to do next!
“Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said…
‘Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to
your families, and kill the Passover lamb. And you shall take
a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin,
and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood…
And none of you shall go out of the door of his house
until morning. For the LORD will pass through to strike
the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel
and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door
and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses
to strike you.'”
EXODUS 12:21-23
Moses communicated all that God had given to him as instructions! Two are to be especially appreciated.
1. “You shall not go out of the door of (your) house”
The children of Israel must stand in awe of the work that God was going to perform that night in Egypt! One must never act with a sense of triviality when it comes to the subject of death!
2. “The LORD will pass over the door, and not allow the destroyer to come into your house to strike you”
The destroyer would take many lives in Egypt that night. Only the Lord could forbid and prevent him from entering a home. That house would be protected if the blood of the sacrificial lamb had been splattered on the doorposts and lintel!
OBEDIENCE OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL
The news that Moses brought to the children of Israel brought much needed hope and encouragement.
“So the people bowed their heads and worshipped.
Then the children of Israel went away and did so;
just as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron,
so they did.”
EXODUS 12:27-28
Once again their hope for deliverance soared. They had seen the power of their God displayed mightily in recent months! Worship was the only appropriate response!