Read | Exodus 12:29–42
Now at midnight the LORD struck every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the prisoner who was in the dungeon, and every firstborn of the livestock. During the night Pharaoh got up, he along with all his officials and all the Egyptians, and there was a loud wailing throughout Egypt because there wasn’t a house without someone dead. He summoned Moses and Aaron during the night and said, “Get out immediately from among my people, both you and the Israelites, and go, worship the LORD as you have said. Take even your flocks and your herds as you asked and leave, and also bless me.”
Now the Egyptians pressured the people in order to send them quickly out of the country, for they said, “We’re all going to die!” So the people took their dough before it was leavened, with their kneading bowls wrapped up in their clothes on their shoulders.
The Israelites acted on Moses’s word and asked the Egyptians for silver and gold items and for clothing. And the LORD gave the people such favor with the Egyptians that they gave them what they requested. In this way they plundered the Egyptians.
The Israelites traveled from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand able-bodied men on foot, besides their families. A mixed crowd also went up with them, along with a huge number of livestock, both flocks and herds. The people baked the dough they had brought out of Egypt into unleavened loaves, since it had no yeast; for when they were driven out of Egypt, they could not delay and had not prepared provisions for themselves.
The time that the Israelites lived in Egypt was 430 years. At the end of 430 years, on that same day, all the LORD’s military divisions went out from the land of Egypt. It was a night of vigil in honor of the LORD, because he would bring them out of the land of Egypt. This same night is in honor of the LORD, a night vigil for all the Israelites throughout their generations.
Click here to listen to the Scripture in ESV.
Each week, we’re reminded that experiencing God happens best through Scripture alongside others—join us for worship today at one of our five campuses and grow together in faith. Today’s sermon is titled "Passover and the Exodus."
Focus
Practice meditating on the word of God in the corporate gathering of his people today via the Scripture reading, allusions from Scripture in prayer and song, and the preaching of the word.
Taking notes can be one powerful way to strengthen your retention of what you learn and to help you process what you learn from the sermon. Use your journal to take sermon notes.
Pray
Write out your own short prayer based on what you learned in the sermon today. How is the Holy Spirit prompting you to obey him, meditate on him, trust him, or worship him as a response to what you heard from his word today?
Going Deeper
Throughout this year-long series in theFormed.life, the daily Scripture reading will take you through the whole story of Scripture in manageable chunks, allowing time for other study, reflection, and prayer, rather than including every verse and chapter in the Bible. If you would like to go deeper and read through the entire Bible, use this whole Bible reading plan from the BibleProject. Print it off and use it as a checklist to track your progress!
Conversation Starters
The Bible is best studied with others. Talk about today’s sermon with someone else (friends, family, neighbors, at lunch, or in your community group). Use the questions below to get you started!
The Israelites were slaves in Egypt for 400 years, waiting for rescue. Thinking about the tension, "What do I do when God seems absent?", what are the specific circumstances, fears, or struggles in your life right now that feel like an ongoing form of life in "Egypt"?
The plagues and the miraculous Red Sea crossing demonstrate that God is sovereignly in control, even when human rulers seem to be running the show. Can you think of a past situation where, in the moment, you felt completely powerless or out of control, but in hindsight, you can now trace how God was working behind the scenes for your ultimate good or rescue? What did that feeling of being out-of-control teach you about trusting God's timing and power?
