DIGGING DEEP NO. 978 – April 11th, 2023 Why Observe the Feast of Passover Lamb (Ministry of Substitution) Exodus 12:1-13; 21-27

The Passover

12 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2 “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. 3 Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household. 4 And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, 6 and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.[a]
7 “Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. 8 They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. 10 And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. 11 In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover. 12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. 13 The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.
21 Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and select lambs for yourselves according to your clans, and kill the Passover lamb. 22 Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. 23 For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you. 24 You shall observe this rite as a statute for you and for your sons forever. 25 And when you come to the land that the Lord will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this service. 26 And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ 27 you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’” And the people bowed their heads and worshiped.
John 2:13-22 ESV

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

13 The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. 15 And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. 16 And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
18 So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple,[c] and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body. 22 When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

Desired Learning Objective:

We will reflect on… what is the Passover? Why did Pharoah kill only the MALE Israelite BABIES? Why did GOD kill only the FIRSTBORN MALE Egyptians? Why did GOD choose Moses? What is the enemies’ key limiting factor? Why Observe the Feast of Passover Lamb?

What is the Passover?
Answer #1: What is the Passover
Passover (Pesach in Hebrew) is a Jewish festival celebrating the exodus from Egypt and the Israelites’ freedom from slavery to the Egyptians. The Feast of Passover, along with the Feast of Unleavened Bread, was the first of the festivals to be commanded by God for Israel to observe (see Exodus 12). Commemorations today involve a special meal called the Seder, featuring unleavened bread and other food items symbolic of various aspects of the exodus.
Why did Pharoah kill only the MALE Israelite BABIES?
The book of Exodus tells of the origin of Passover. God promised to redeem His people from the bondage of Pharaoh (Exodus 6:6). Pharoah in fear that the children of Israel would multiply and overthrow Egypt (see Genesis 3:15) an edict was proclaimed for the lives of the male Israelite children (see Exodus 1:15).

Answer #2: Why did Pharoah kill only MALE Israelite BABIES
Genesis 3:15 ESV
15 “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”
Exodus 1:15 ESV
15 Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, 16 “When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.”
Naturally; seed = fruit/offspring Spiritually; seed* = the word/doctrine
Since the days of the first man, the systems of this “world” and the gospel of GOD are at WAR with one another. And only the violent shall take it by force (Matthew 11:12).
God sent Moses (the Law) to the Egyptian king with the command that Pharaoh (god of Egypt) “let my people go” (see Exodus 7:1). When Pharaoh refused, God brought ten plagues on the land of Egypt. The tenth and worst of the plagues was the death of all the firstborns in Egypt.

Exodus 7:1-5 NKJV
7 So the Lord said to Moses: “See, I have made you as God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet. 2 You shall speak all that I command you. And Aaron your brother shall tell Pharaoh to send the children of Israel out of his land. 3 And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt. 4 But Pharaoh will not heed you, so that I may lay My hand on Egypt and bring My [a]armies and My people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. 5 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out My hand on Egypt and bring out the children of Israel from among them.”

Why did GOD kill only the FIRSTBORN MALE Egyptians?
Answer #3: Why did GOD kill only the FIRSTBORN MALE Egyptians?
Exodus 12:21–28
21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. 22 And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning. 23 For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the [g]lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you. 24 And you shall observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever. 25 It will come to pass when you come to the land which the Lord will give you, just as He promised, that you shall keep this service. 26 And it shall be, when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ 27 that you shall say, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice of the Lord, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households.’ ” So the people bowed their heads and worshiped. 28 Then the children of Israel went away and did so; just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.
The night of the first Passover was the night of the tenth plague. On that fateful night, God told the Israelites to sacrifice a spotless lamb and mark their doorposts and lintels* with its blood (Exodus 12:21–22).
A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces.
What is Lintel? | Definition, Types & Purpose!
Then, when the Lord passed through the nation, He would “Passover” the households that showed the blood (verse 23). In a very real way, the blood of the lamb saved the Israelites from death, as it kept the destroyer from entering their homes. The Israelites were saved from the plague, and their firstborn children stayed alive. From then on, every firstborn son of the Israelites belonged to the Lord and had to be redeemed with a sacrifice (Exodus 13:1–2, 12; cf. Luke 2:22–24).

Why did GOD choose Moses?

Answer #4: Why did GOD choose Moses?
Hebrews 11:23-29
The Faith of Moses
23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s command.
24 By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the [g]passing pleasures of sin, 26 esteeming the [h]reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures [i]in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.
27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them.
29 By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned.
This is a blueprint of what is required to be called and used by GOD; and again, Moses was a foreshadowing of the CHRIST to come even starting from his birth; but CHRIST is better!
Moses killed to save a life; CHRIST died to save all
Moses parted the Red Sea; CHRIST walked on the Sea of Galilee
Moses brought & broke the laws; CHRIST fulfilled the law
Moses spoke & struck the rock; CHRIST is the cornerstone
Moses saw but wasn’t permitted into the promised land; CHRIST is situated at the right-hand of GOD
BONUS: What is the “right-hand” of GOD?
What is a key limiting factor in the kingdom of darkness?
When I was at the USAF Academy, the first year cadets are referred to as “doolies” which is from the latin word doulos meaning slave. As a “doolie” I was only allowed to speak using seven basic responses, and that was strictly enforced, for the entire year because they believed, more important than what you have to say, is knowing HOW TO SPEAK, the way officers speak.
Even after 14 years since I had to use it, I can still recite the seven basic responses…
Fast forward; as a former Special Forces Intelligence Officer, there are many skills, training, resources, access, and information that I was made privy to; however, more important that the information is the ACCESS & SECURITY of the information. When information is deemed high-value to possible adversaries, we called it “sensitive”. And when the information is deemed worthy of being hidden or protected, we call it “classified”.
There have been MANY times I had to leave for training or combat and I could not tell my own wife, exactly where I was going, what I did and why I was there. Some military members having “going away” & “welcome home” troops parties; I never had one for all my combat deployments. There are a few people, a select few, who deal with such sensitive and classified information that it’s best we disappear, and reappear than mention what we’re doing.

The same is in the Kingdom of GOD; the Bible says:
Proverbs 25:2 NKJV
2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.
Hosea 4:6 NKJV
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.

Answer #5: What is ONE KEY limiting factor of the enemies’?
Satan will ALWAYS attack the seed/word you’ve received from GOD (see Genesis 3). Satan doesn’t care about your level of intellect; as a matter of fact, the smarter you are, the better because your strength lies rhetoric NOT divine doctrine (see Proverbs 3:5-6).
Because since the fall, with Adam and Eve, GOD declared the war that will wage against HIS seed and Satan’s seed (natural & spiritual seed*). But Satan IS NOT omniscient; he is very intelligent, but he is NOT omniscient. Hence why, Satan asked Eve if she wasn’t allowed to eat of every tree in the garden (see Genesis 3). Since the Garden of Eden, Satan has been on a vendetta to INTERCEPT divine knowledge while OFFERING demonic/corrupt knowledge as something that’s better than what GOD has to offer. Remember, GOD did not pass-over the Israelites because HE loved them; HE offered them the “ministry of substitution” because HE loved them! HE gave them divine knowledge, through the spirit of prophesy, the foreshadowing of CHRIST, because HE loved them
Which means if one Israelite disobeyed GOD’s specific commands, or an Egyptian intercepted GOD’s commands to Moses and had all of Egypt obey GOD’s instructions, the results would have been different.
GOD is not a respecter of persons, nor does HE have favorites; GOD ONLY has intimates.
REFELCTIVE QUESTION: What do you know from GOD that has been revealed by HIM in secret?
But we must always remember:
Deuteronomy 8:3 NKJV
3 So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.
Matthew 4:4 NKJV
4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”

Why Observe the Feast of Passover Lamb?
Answer #6: Why Observe the Feast of Passover Lamb

Exodus 12:21-27 ESV 21 Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and select lambs for yourselves according to your clans, and kill the Passover lamb. 22 Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. 23 For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you. 24 You shall observe this rite as a statute for you and for your sons forever. 25 And when you come to the land that the Lord will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this service. 26 And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ 27 you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’” And the people bowed their heads and worshiped.

REVIEW: Desired Learning Objective; in your own words: We will reflect on… what is the Passover? Why did Pharoah kill only the MALE Israelite BABIES? Why did GOD kill only the FIRSTBORN MALE Egyptians? Why did GOD choose Moses? What is ONE KEY limiting factor of the enemies’? Why Observe the Feast of Passover Lamb?