Opening Questions and Prayer
When you think about your life story, what are some key moments that stand out?
Why do those moments stand out?
How was God working in those moments?
Ask the Lord to guide your time studying His Word.
Read Exodus 12:1-4
Exodus 12:1-4 (All verses are in the NLT unless otherwise noted)
1 While the Israelites were still in the land of Egypt, the Lord gave the following instructions to Moses and Aaron: 2 “From now on, this month will be the first month of the year for you. 3 Announce to the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each family must choose a lamb or a young goat for a sacrifice, one animal for each household. 4 If a family is too small to eat a whole animal, let them share with another family in the neighborhood. Divide the animal according to the size of each family and how much they can eat.
What is the Lord establishing for the Israelites and why is it important?
Why would the Lord want the Israelites to have a celebration feast before He has rescued them from slavery?
How was God showing the Israelites that He was writing Himself into their story?
What are some circumstances in your life that the Lord is calling you to trust Him in because you can’t see any positive outcome happening?
Read Exodus 12:5-6
Exodus 12:5-6
5 The animal you select must be a one-year-old male, either a sheep or a goat, with no defects.
6 “Take special care of this chosen animal until the evening of the fourteenth day of this first month. Then the whole assembly of the community of Israel must slaughter their lamb or young goat at twilight.
Why did the Lord want the families to care for the little lamb or goat for four days before sacrificing it?
When we focus on the Lamb of God, Jesus, how does that change our lives?
What are some things that keep you from focusing on Jesus?
What do you need to do this week to put Him back in the center of your life?
Read Exodus 12:7-13
Exodus 12:7-13
7 They are to take some of the blood and smear it on the sides and top of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the animal. 8 That same night they must roast the meat over a fire and eat it along with bitter salad greens and bread made without yeast. 9 Do not eat any of the meat raw or boiled in water. The whole animal—including the head, legs, and internal organs—must be roasted over a fire. 10 Do not leave any of it until the next morning. Burn whatever is not eaten before morning.
11 “These are your instructions for eating this meal: Be fully dressed, wear your sandals, and carry your walking stick in your hand. Eat the meal with urgency, for this is the Lord’s Passover. 12 On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn son and firstborn male animal in the land of Egypt. I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt, for I am the Lord! 13 But the blood on your doorposts will serve as a sign, marking the houses where you are staying. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. This plague of death will not touch you when I strike the land of Egypt.
How would eating this meal every year remind them of how God was a part of their story even in the midst of their slavery?
How was this meal hopeful and pointing to the coming Messiah?
Even in the midst of your hardship, how is God writing Himself into your story?
Who can you talk to this week that is going through a tough time and needs to be reminded of God’s love in the midst of hardship?
Romans 8:28
Romans 8:28
28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
What is this verse saying about hardship in our life?
How do we sometimes miss God in our stories when hardship comes?
What are some ways you can start looking for how God is working in your life in all circumstances?
Memorize it!
Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
Closing thoughts and Prayer
Often in the midst of hardship we think that God has abandoned us or we somehow messed up and deserve the bad things in our lives. The Passover meal shows that God had already taken care of the hardship. He was having the Israelites celebrate before they were freed from slavery! The Lord wants us to trust Him in the midst of every circumstance in our life. We need to look for how God is writing Himself into our stories in all things.
Spend some time praying and thanking the Lord for how He uses even the bad things in life to show His glory through our stories. Pray that the Lord would show you who you need to talk to about Him this week. Finally, end your time praying for our country, the leaders, and the church leaders.
Further Study
Exodus 12:1-4
In the midst of your slavery to sin, how was it easy to miss what God was doing in your life?
After you started following Jesus, what were some ways you saw how the Lord had worked in your life even while you were still a slave to sin?
Exodus 12:5-6
Why does the Lord want a sacrifice without defect?
What are some ways people don’t give God their best?
What is keeping you from giving your best to God?
How will you give Him your best this week instead of the leftovers?
Exodus 12:7-13
When Jesus ate this meal with His disciples, how did He reframe it to show that the meal pointed to Him?
How do we often miss Jesus in our daily lives?
What can you do this week to practice the presence of God in your life?
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