Day 19: Journey to Freedom: The Final Steps of Deliverance

Welcome to Day 19 of The Glory Team Bible Reading plan and the book of Exodus. In Chapters 11-13, detail the story of the Passover, where God announces a final plague to Egypt, instructing the Israelites to sacrifice a perfect lamb and mark their doorframes with its blood as a sign for God to "pass over" their houses while striking down the firstborn of Egypt; this event marks the Israelites' liberation from slavery, establishing the Passover feast as a lasting remembrance of God's deliverance and the beginning of their journey towards the Promised Land.

Exodus 11: God informs Moses that He will bring one final plague upon Egypt, killing every firstborn male, both human and animal, throughout the land, including Pharaoh's firstborn, as a means to finally force Pharaoh to release the Israelites; this act will clearly demonstrate God's distinction between the Egyptians and the Israelites, allowing the Israelites to leave with valuable possessions from their Egyptian neighbors, effectively "plundering" them as they depart.

Exodus 12: Details the instructions for the Passover celebration, which marks the Israelites' liberation from Egypt, including the selection of a perfect lamb on the tenth day of the month, its slaughter on the fourteenth day at twilight, and the application of its blood on the doorposts of their homes as a sign for God to "pass over" their houses during the final plague that will strike down the firstborn of Egypt; the Israelites are then commanded to eat the lamb roasted with unleavened bread and bitter herbs in haste, signifying their readiness to leave Egypt immediately; this chapter also establishes the Passover as a perpetual remembrance for the Israelites, emphasizing the importance of eating unleavened bread for seven days following the Passover meal, representing their hurried departure from slavery.

Exodus 13: Focuses on God's instruction to the Israelites to set apart all their firstborn males, both human and animal, as belonging to Him, a reminder of the sparing of Israelite firstborn during the plagues in Egypt when the Egyptian firstborn were struck down; it further emphasizes the importance of celebrating the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which commemorates the hasty departure from Egypt, requiring the Israelites to eat unleavened bread for seven days to remember the urgency of their escape from slavery. 

Journey to Freedom: The Final Steps of Deliverance

Reference Guides:

Life Application Study Guide

A Popular Survey of the Old Testament by Norman L. Geisler

The Power of God's Names by Tony Evans