What does it mean that the Lord would pass over the door?

When God said He would pass over the door, He was talking about the houses marked with the blood of the lamb. The destroyer was sent to strike the firstborn in Egypt, but God Himself promised not to let the destroyer enter any house where He saw the blood on the lintel and side posts. Passing over does not mean God ignored those homes, but that He recognized them as under His protection. It shows that safety came from trusting His word and staying under the sign of the blood.

Who is the destroyer that God would not allow into their houses?

The passage speaks of “the destroyer” as the one who would come into the houses to strike the firstborn. This destroyer is an angel sent by God to carry out judgment on Egypt. He is distinct from the Lord, who is said to pass through to strike and also to pass over the protected homes. God is the one in charge, and the destroyer is His servant. The key point is that God controlled this judgment and set a clear boundary: the destroyer could not harm anyone inside a house marked with blood.

Why was the Passover to be kept as an ordinance for ever?

God told Israel to keep the Passover as an ordinance for them and their children forever because this night was a turning point in their history. It marked how God judged Egypt, passed over Israel’s houses, and delivered their families from slavery. By repeating the Passover each year, Israel would remember that they were saved by God’s grace, not by their own strength. It was also meant to lead to teaching, so that each new generation would hear the story, understand God’s mercy and justice, and continue to trust Him.

What should parents say when children ask, “What mean ye by this service?”

God told parents exactly what to say. When children asked about the Passover ceremony, the parents were to answer, “It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s passover.” They were to explain that God passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians but delivered their homes. The killing and eating of the lamb, and the way the meal was kept, were to be tied directly to that story. This shows that the feast was not just a habit, but a lesson about God’s saving work shared within the family.

What does this passage teach about faith and obedience?

This passage shows that faith and obedience go together. God promised to spare every house that had lamb’s blood on the doorposts, but the people still had to do what He said: choose the lamb, kill it, put the blood on the door, and stay inside until morning. Their safety did not rest in their own strength, but in trusting God’s promise and acting on it. When they heard the command, they bowed their heads, worshiped, and then did as the Lord commanded through Moses and Aaron. Their obedience showed that they believed God’s word.

Why did God strike all the firstborn in Egypt, from Pharaoh to the captive?

God’s act of striking the firstborn in Egypt was a severe judgment on a nation that had long opposed Him and oppressed His people. From the firstborn of Pharaoh on the throne to the firstborn of the captive in the dungeon, and even the firstborn of the cattle, no rank or class was spared. This showed that God’s justice is not partial. Egypt had been warned through earlier plagues, but Pharaoh kept hardening his heart. The great cry in Egypt, with a death in every house, revealed the weight of resisting God and the seriousness of His judgments.

How did the Israelites respond to God’s instructions about the Passover?

After hearing the explanation that the Passover was the Lord’s sacrifice, the people bowed their heads and worshiped. Then they went away and did exactly what God had commanded through Moses and Aaron. They took the lamb, prepared it, marked their doors with blood, and stayed inside as instructed. Their response was not just outward actions; it showed reverence, trust, and a willingness to submit to God’s way of rescue. Their obedience, even before they saw the judgment fall on Egypt, was an expression of faith in what God had said.

What happened in Egypt at midnight on the Passover night?

At midnight, God struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt. This included the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on the throne, the firstborn of the captive in the dungeon, and the firstborn of the cattle. The suddenness and reach of this plague meant that there was a great cry throughout Egypt, because there was not a house where there was not one dead. The timing in the middle of the night added to the shock and terror of the event, and it finally broke Pharaoh’s resistance so that he sent Israel out.

Why did Pharaoh ask Moses and Aaron to bless him also?

After the death of the firstborn, Pharaoh urgently called for Moses and Aaron in the night and told them to take the people, their flocks, and their herds, and to go serve the Lord as they had asked. At the end he added, “and bless me also.” This shows that, for a moment at least, he recognized the power of Israel’s God and felt the weight of judgment. Having lost his own firstborn and fearing what might come next, he wanted them to pray for him. His request shows desperation and a desire for relief from God’s anger.

How does this passage show both God’s judgment and His mercy?

In this passage, judgment and mercy appear side by side. On one hand, God sends the destroyer to strike every firstborn in Egypt, showing that He takes rebellion and oppression very seriously. The great cry in Egypt reveals how real and painful that judgment was. On the other hand, God provides a clear way of escape for Israel through the blood of the lamb. He promises to pass over any house marked by blood and not let the destroyer enter. His people are protected, not because they are better, but because they are under the sign He appointed.

Exod.12.23

Exodus 12:23

KJV

For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread

And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.

Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.

And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you.

And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever.

¶ In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even.

Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land.

Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread.

¶ Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover.

And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.

For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.

And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever.

And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the Lord will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service.

And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service?

That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the Lord’S passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped.

And the children of Israel went away, and did as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they.

¶ And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.

And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead.

¶ And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as ye have said.

Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also.

And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men.

And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneadingtroughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders.

And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment:

And the Lord gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians.

¶ And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children.

And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle.

And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened; because they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any victual.

¶ Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.

And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.

It is a night to be much observed unto the Lord for bringing them out from the land of Egypt: this is that night of the Lord to be observed of all the children of Israel in their generations.

Cross References

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