Mo'ses was given full directions by The LORD concerning the things to be done by the people in this crisis. Careful instructions were given for the preparations to be made for their departure, and the plan and conditions necessary for their deliverance from the death plague soon to sweep over the land were fully outlined.
During the course of the nine plagues sent upon E'gypt, and during the increased hardships which Pha'raoh forced upon the Is'ra-el-ites, a great many of the E'gyp-tians had lost sympathy with the king to a large extent, and some of them had begun to look with favor upon the Is'ra-el-ites. The special care which God had shown for Is'ra-el convinced many of the people that the He'brews were a chosen race, and Mo'ses had become a great religious hero in the eyes of many. The E'gyp-tians had also grown weary of their own sufferings brought on by the stubborn conduct of the king, and there was great indignation over his continued persecution of the people whom he hated to his own ruin.
Partly from sympathy for the oppressed He'brews, and partly in the hope of winning their favor and that of their God, the E'gyp-tians brought them many valuable presents. They brought them gold and silver and jewels, and all manner of other precious things. God's favor was now upon Is'ra-el in a most remarkable manner, while a stream of grace from Heaven flowed through the land:
"It did through wild and
rock-bound valleys run,
like glittering dew drops
in the morning sun."
Mo'ses and Aa'ron then went among the children of Is'ra-el in the land of Go'shen and told them what to do to escape the plague of death. Every household was to take a lamb, less than one year old and without blemish; after keeping it in the house for four days they were to kill it, and then to sprinkle the blood upon the upper door posts. This was to be a sacrificial offering to God, and for this reason the lamb to be offered must not be lame or blind or sick, or imperfect in any way.
Just as the Angel of death would strike every home in E'gypt at the same hour, so every family of Is'ra-el was to offer the sacrificial lamb at the same hour. The blood was to be sprinkled upon the door pasts with a spray of hyssop (a lovely herb which grew in rocky places) as a sign of faith and humility. When the Angel of death saw the blood upon the door posts of a home, he would pass over that house, thus sparing a family the life of its firstborn.
The Pass'o-ver lamb was to be eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, tokens of the bitterness from which Is'ra-el was to be redeemed, and of the sincerity of their faith and obedience. In preparing for their departure from E'gypt their hearts must be pure and upright, in perfect harmony with the law of God.
In eating the flesh of the Pass'o-ver lamb the Is'ra-el-ites were to be fully dressed and ready for a hasty flight. They were required to wear clothing strong enough for hard work and travel in the wilderness, to wear stout shoes or sandals, and to hold in their hands the staff which they used for guiding their flocks and herds. All their belongings were to be packed and ready for quick removal, and the sheep and cattle were to be gathered so that they could be driven away at once on the journey out of E'gypt.
