SENIOR
AGE
GROUP: 14 - 15 YEARS
STANDARD
(GRADE): IX & X
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LESSON – 11
THE PASSOVER LAMB
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In the previous lesson we learnt about how God sent ten plagues upon the Egyptians to deliver the Israelites from the Egyptian slavery. The final plague, the death of the firstborn sons was the most severe of them all, which led Pharaoh to release the Israelites from slavery. The Passover lamb was the animal, God instructed the Israelites to use as a sacrifice on the night God struck down the firstborn sons of the Egyptians.
The
Passover Lamb
God gave specific instructions about the
observance of the Passover feast to Moses which he conveyed to the Israelites.
Every Israelite family had to select a one-year-old male lamb without any
blemish or defect as a Passover lamb. The lamb was selected on the tenth day of
the month of Nissan which was the first month in the Jewish calendar. It was
kept at home for four days and then sacrificed on the 14th of Nissan month. The
head of the household had to slaughter the lamb at twilight, taking care that
none of its bones were broken. Twilight is the time after the sun has set and
before it gets completely dark.
The Passover
The head of the family had to take a a bundle of hyssop branches and dip it in the blood of the Passover lamb and brush the hyssop across the top and sides of the doorframes of their house.
Hyssop is a herb of the mint family with cleansing, medicinal, and flavoring properties. It was commonly found in the Middle East and was used in a variety of ways. During the Biblical times, Hyssop was used in the ceremonial cleansing of people and houses.
None of the family members could go out of the door of their house
until morning after the blood was applied. God said that on that night, the
Lord would pass through the land of Egypt, and when He saw the lamb’s blood on
the doorframe of a house, He would “pass over” that home and not permit “the
destroyer” to enter that home. Any home without the blood of the lamb would
have their firstborn son struck down that night. God also instructed the
Israelites to observe the Passover Feast as a lasting memorial every year after
that to remember their deliverance from Egypt.
The
Passover Feast
The Passover feast observed by the Israelites on the night
they were delivered from Egypt, consisted of fire-roasted lamb, bitter herbs,
and unleavened bread. God also gave instructions as to how the Israelites were
to eat the lamb, “with their cloak tucked into their belt, sandals on their
feet and the staff in their hand. In other words, they had to be ready to
travel out of Egypt.
Passover
lamb in the Old and the New Testaments
The New Testament teaches us the relationship
between this prototypical (symbolic) Passover lamb and the real complete
Passover Lamb, Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 5:7). John the Baptist recognized Jesus as “the
Lamb of God” (John 1:29), and Apostle Peter calls Christ as the
“lamb without blemish or defect” (1 Peter 1:19).
Comparison of the Passover lamb and Jesus
Christ:
1. The Passover lamb was without any
blemish. Jesus Christ was also without blemish, because His life was
completely free from sin (Hebrews 4:15; I Peter 1:19).
2. Jesus Christ was crucified during the time
that the Passover feast was observed (John 18:28).
3. None of the bones of the Passover lamb was
broken. In a similar way, when Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross, none of
His bones were broken, even though the bones of others crucified with Him
were broken (John 19:31 - 36).
4. Just like the blood of the
Passover lamb is applied on the door’s threshold, the Holy Bible says believers
have symbolically applied the sacrificial blood of Christ to their hearts and
thus have escaped eternal death (Hebrews 9:13,14).
5. Just as the Passover lamb’s applied blood
caused the “destroyer” to pass over each household, Christ’s applied blood
causes God’s judgment to pass over sinners and gives life to believers (Romans
5:9).
6. As the first Passover marked the Israelites’
release from Egyptian slavery, so the death of Christ marks our release from
the slavery of sin (Romans 6:18; 8:3).
7. Passover feast was observed with
unleavened bread. There was a custom at Passover of going through one’s home
and getting rid of any leaven items, which was symbolic of sin from the home.
As Apostle Paul explains in I Corinthians 5:7,8 the death of Christ requires a
commitment to forsake sin, to remain unleavened — being set apart unto holiness
and the service of God.
The Old Testament Passover
lamb, although a reality at that time, was a mere foreshadowing
of the better and final Passover Lamb, Jesus Christ. Through His sinless life
and sacrificial death, Jesus became the only one capable of giving people a way
to escape death and a sure hope of eternal life (I Peter 1:20,21).
Bible Reference: Exodus 12:21-33, 42 - 49
Memory
Verse: Yet it was
the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though
the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his
offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will
prosper in his hand. After he has suffered, he will see the light of
life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous
servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Isaiah
53:10,11 (NIV)
ACTIVITY
– SEARCH & FIND
The Passover Lamb is a “Type of Christ”. Just like the Passover Lamb, there are many other “Types of Christ” mentioned in the Old Testament. Can you identify them using these clues?
1. The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven
Answer: Adam
2. You have come to God ... and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of ______ (Hebrews 12:23, 24).
5. Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever (Hebrews 7:3).
7. We do have such a _______, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven (Hebrews 8:1)
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ASSESSMENT
ACTIVITY
I.
Give one
word answers:
1. God told the Israelite people to
select a ........... year-old male lamb as a Passover lamb.
2. The
head of the household should take a bundle of ...................... branches
and dip it in the blood of the Passover lamb.
3. The
Passover meal consisted of fire-roasted lamb, ..........................., and unleavened
bread.
4. Any
home without the blood of the lamb would have their ..........................
struck down that night.
II.
Give
short answers:
1. What is a Passover
lamb?
2. What were the specific
instructions given on how to eat the Passover lamb?
3. What does Passover
mean?
4. Why did God tell the
Israelites to observe the Passover feast every year?
III.
Give
brief answers:
1. Compare the Passover lamb and Jesus
Christ.
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