11. The Passover
What the Story Says
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Who was God going to kill in this final plague?
He would kill the firstborn males of the Egyptian people and animals (#11-01).
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God had already sent nine plagues on Egypt. Did Pharaoh now believe that God would send another plague?
No, Pharaoh did not believe God would kill the firstborn males even though God had already sent nine plagues (#11-01).
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What did people in Egypt need to do to save their firstborn sons?
To save their firstborn sons, they needed to kill a perfect lamb and put its blood around the door of their houses. Then they must roast the meat of the lamb and eat it with unleavened bread (#11-02), (#11-03).
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What happened to the Israelites with the lamb’s blood around their doors?
God passed over the houses with the blood on the doors and did not kill the firstborn sons inside (#11-05).
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What happened to the Egyptians who did not put the blood on their doors?
God killed the firstborn son of every Egyptian who did not put the blood on their doors. It is not matter if they were poor or rich. Every one of them died (#11-06. #11-07).
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What did Pharaoh do after this plague?
Pharaoh told Moses and Aaron to take the Israelites and to leave Egypt immediately. All the Egyptian people also asked them to go away (#11-08).
What the Story Means to Us
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Why did Pharaoh not believe that God would kill the firstborn males in Egypt?
Pharaoh had every reason to believe that God would do what he said. God had already sent nine plagues, just as he said he would. However, Pharaoh did not want to lose his power, so he choose not to believe God or to obey him, despite all the evidence that God has shown to him.
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Why did each family need to kill a lamb in order to be saved from the plague?
God could have simply spared all of the Israelites. Instead, he required that they kill a perfect lamb. God wanted each person to decide to obey him.
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Why did God tell the Israelites to put the blood of the lamb around the door of their houses?
When they put the blood of the lamb around their door, they showed God and other people that they believed God would save them from the plague. They trusted that the blood of the lamb would be enough to protect them from being killed.
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Why were the people to eat unleavened bread?
God wanted the people to believe that he would take them out of Egypt immediately after the plague. They were to hurry to get ready to leave Egypt quickly. They would not have time to wait for bread to rise. Instead, they would prepare it without leaven, so they could eat soon. Unleavened bread was therefore a symbol that they were eating quickly.
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Did God really kill the firstborn sons? Even the children?
God did exactly what he promised to do. He killed the firstborn son of any Egyptian family that did not kill the lamb and put its blood on the door. He did not spare the people who refused to believe and obey him.
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How did Pharaoh respond to this final plague?
Pharaoh was forced to finally obey God. God knew how to cause Pharaoh to let the people go. He also knew how to show Pharaoh that he was more powerful than Pharaoh and all the gods of Egypt. When the firstborn sons of Egypt died, Pharaoh let the people go exactly as God had told Moses he would do.
Summary
God told Moses that he would do one final plague that would force Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. He also told him to have the Israelites to kill a perfect lamb and put its blood around the door of their houses. The Israelites did exactly as God told them to do. The blood showed that they had believed and obeyed God. When God saw the blood, he spared the firstborn son that house. The Egyptians, however, did not believe or obey God. They did not have the blood of the lamb on their doors to protect them. So God killed all of their firstborn sons. When this happened, Pharaoh and all the Egyptians knew that Yahweh was more powerful than Pharaoh and all the gods of Egypt. They finally agreed to let the Israelites go. God freed the entire nation from being slaves in Egypt, just as he had told Moses that he would do.