Exodus 12:21-28 What Does This Ceremony Mean To You?

"Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them,

'Go at once and select the animals for your families

and slaughter the Passover lamb.

Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin

and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe.

Not one of you shall go out the door of his house until morning.

When the LORD goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians,

he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe

and will pass over that doorway,

and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.

Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants.

When you enter the land that the LORD will give you as he promised,

observe this ceremony.

And when your children ask you,

"What does this ceremony mean to you?"

then tell them, "It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD,

who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes

when  he struck down the Egyptians." '

Then the people bowed down and worshiped.

The Israelites did just what the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron."

Exodus 12:21-28 (NIV)

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Moses summoned the elders and gave them the instructions for the Passover.  The individuals who obeyed these instructions and applied the blood of the lamb to their doorframes would discover that the LORD had seen the blood and passed over those homes, not permitting the destroyer to enter their homes or strike them down.

These instructions were to be a lasting ordinance for the Israelites.  Even when they arrived at the land which the LORD had promised them, they were to continue to observe this ceremony.  As they did so, their children would surely inquire about the meaning of these activities, and they would have the opportunity to explain how the LORD had passed over the houses of the Israelites and spared their firstborn sons.

The people worshiped when they heard the details of this gracious provision.  I am sure that they were also glad to hear that Moses firmly believed that the LORD would make good on His promise to bring them back to the land of their ancestors, the land which God had given to the Israelites.

The Israelites did all that the LORD had commanded them through Moses and Aaron.  For them, the Passover would become a day to remember and celebrate the deliverance which the LORD had accomplished on their behalf.  Unfortunately, Pharaoh, his officials and the majority of the Egyptians did not obey these instructions.  For them, this day would become something entirely different...