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Tuesday, August 10, 2021

The Passover Lamb, Senior - I, Lesson - 11

SENIOR

AGE GROUP: 14 - 15 YEARS

STANDARD (GRADE): IX & X

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LESSON – 11

THE PASSOVER LAMB

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Click this link to get the other Senior Lessons

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. 

Sweet Publishing / Freebibleimages.org

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. 

Hyssop plant called as "Ezov" in Hebrew

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.

Unleavened bread called as Matzo or Matzah that is eaten during the Passover

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.

Agnus Dei (The Lamb of God), Painting by Francisco de Zurbaran, c. 1635 - 1640, Displayed at the Prado Museum, This painting depicts a lamb tied up symbolizing Jesus Christ on the cross (Public Domain)

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


 
    (I Corinthians 15:47). 

    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).


3. In the same way, Christ did not take on himself the glory of becoming a high priest (Hebrews 5:4, 5).


4. Just as Moses lifted up ______________, so the Son of Man must be lifted up (John 3:14).

 

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).


6. He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as _______ was faithful in all God’s house (Hebrews 3:2).

  

7. We do have such a _______, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven (Hebrews 8:1)


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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