It is vital that we spend time in God’s Word.

But it’s not always easy.

We read a chapter and we don’t know what to get out of it or even how to start to understand it.

I thought I could try to help you get a little something out of what you are reading by providing you with some questions to ask as you look at the text.  Good questions are a good start to understanding. Sometimes there will be more questions, sometimes less.

You can do this!

So, get a notebook, a pen, your Bible, and if you would like some help, take some time to answer the questions, and you may be surprised by all God teaches you.

Exodus 12

1. We have been watching God go about ‘battling’ against Pharaoh. Chapter 11 ends with Pharaoh’s heart hardened after the first 9 plagues. But is God worried?
2. As you glance at this chapter, what are the first 28 verses about?
3. God slows down and gives all these instructions about a future festival Israel will hold. What does that tell you about God’s attitude towards Pharaoh’s stubborn refusal to let the Israelites go?
4. The first thing God tells them they need to do is take a lamb. What kind of lamb were they supposed to take? When were they supposed to kill it? What do you think that would have been like to have the whole of Israel kill a lamb at the same time? What were they to do with the blood of the lamb? And in what manner were they to eat the lamb? What is the name of this festival?
5. Why were they to eat it this way?
6. What was God going to do in verse 12? Who was he executing judgment on?
7. What was the blood a sign for?
8. In a sense, the lamb was dying in the place of the Israelite family. What is a word to describe what the lamb is acting as?
9. This is important to understand because it is a preview of how God is going to save His people in the future through Jesus. What does John the Baptist call Jesus and what might that have to do with this festival?
10. God then creates a week long festival to celebrate this event. What do you think the fact that God did this tell you about what God wants from us as people? And what does it tell us perhaps about the danger we face if we don’t have rhythms in place that help us remember God’s salvation?
11. What do verses 25 through 27 tell us about why God set up the Passover?
12. What did God do in verse 29?
13. Now remember chapter 11 verse 4. What could Pharaoh and the Egyptians have done after Moses announced what was going to happen? But they didn’t!
14. Finally, Pharaoh does what in verse 31 and 32?
15. It’s sad that it sometimes takes these kinds of consequences to get people to obey God, isn’t it? Is there any area in your life where you aren’t listening to God? How can you learn from Pharaoh’s stubbornness and the results here?
16. In verses 33-36, what was the Egyptians attitude toward the Israelites leaving? What surprising thing do they do?
17. What phrase does he use at the end of verse 36 to describe what the Israelites did to the Egyptians?
18. How did they accomplish this? What can we learn from that about how God accomplishes salvation?
19. Who does he say left with the Israelites in verse 38? Who are these people?
20. How long did Israel live in Egypt? Why does he mention that do you think? (Think back to something God said to Abraham in Genesis...)
21. What has to happen for a foreigner to take part of the Passover according to verse 48? What do you think is the purpose of this?
22. How has God saved you in a way that is foreshadowed by the Passover? What meal has he given us to help us remember? What else can do you today to remember and enjoy that salvation?