This is the first in our series this week of 8 lessons explaining Jewish History as Christian Prophecy. Each day is a story connecting the Jewish Passover with the work of Jesus. You can follow along by making your own ornaments or drawing pictures or you can purchase our set of wooden ornaments based upon my hand-stitched set here. The introduction can be read here.
*This first lesson is not specifically about Jesus, but overviews the Exodus story that would be told at the Passover dinner, in order to give the framework for the stories for the rest of the week.
The Exodus Story
Story Significance:
The Exodus is when God brought Israel out of slavery, took them across the Red Sea and Proved that He was God above all other Gods.
Activity for Today:
- Hang the Exodus Ornament (Map with Pyramid): This represents the Exodus with the crossing of the Red Sea, the giving of the Law, Wandering in the Wilderness, the crossing of the Jordan and entering the Promised Land.
Bible Overview:
Long ago, there lived a group of people who were slaves in Egypt. God had predicted that they would be enslaved in a land not their own before they would enter into the land that God had promised them, but their situation kept getting worse. The Pharaoh that they were serving had forgotten all the good that their forefather Joseph had done when he saved Egypt from a famine and now Pharaoh was killing all of the boy babies as soon as they were born.
They cried out to their God to deliver them and He sent them a man named Moses. God appeared to Moses by consuming a bush with an unusual fire that seemed to burn, but not harm the bush. When Moses approached the bush, God told him that he was standing on holy ground and that Moses was going to deliver Israel from the hands of the Egyptians. Moses did not feel adequate for the task – he was poor in speech! Surely, someone else would be better to send!? God heard Moses’ request and sent his brother Aaron to go along with him. “Who should I say sent me?” Moses asked. Tell them, “I Am” (Yahweh) sent you.
When Moses returned to Egypt, God demonstrated his power over the Egyptian’s gods by performing 10 plagues. God explained to Moses, “I want Israel to know that I am God.[i] I want Pharaoh to know that I am God.[ii] I want the World to know that I am God![iii] I want you to be able to tell your children and grandchildren the great and mighty way that I lead you out of Egypt!”[iv] It wasn’t until the final plague that Pharaoh let Israel go. The final plague brought death to all firstborn children if they did not act in faith and follow God’s instructions. For all who sacrificed a Passover Lamb and spread its blood on the doorpost would be saved, but all who did not would die that very evening.
This final plague caused Pharaoh to let God’s people go and Egypt was so fearful that they even gave Israel their gold and possessions! But soon after the Israelites left Egypt Pharaoh gathered his army to come against Israel. When the Egyptian army caught up to Israel, they were trapped against the sea and could go no further. But God parted the sea and the Israelites walked across the sea floor on dry ground. When Pharaoh’s army attempted to cross after them, the walls of water collapsed in upon them and drowned Pharaoh’s army.
After this, God took them to Mt. Sinai where the received His law. God offered to make every person a priest, making them “a kingdom of priests.” However, the people cried out to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”[v] It took Moses 40 days to receive this law on the mountain! During that time, Israel made a cow out of the gold they received from the Egyptians and worshiped it – just as they had seen the Egyptians do! Moses destroyed the Golden calf and directed them back to God. Moses continued to meet with God in the tent of meeting and his face glowed with the Glory of God, so much so that it frightened the people. Moses would cover his face until the glory would fade. Once Moses asked God to show him His Glory to the fullest degree, but God told Him – no one can see my full glory and live.[vi]
While they waited the Israelites grumbled against God and complained that it would be better for them to be slaves in Egypt than to die in the wilderness! And once they came to the edge of the Promised Land, despite all that they had seen God do, they refused to enter into the Promised Land because they feared the giants living there. Therefore, God told them that because they refused to enter the land, that generation would not enter it. Instead, they would wander in the wilderness for 40 years (one year for each day that they spied out the land) and their children would enter. Despite Israel’s unfaithfulness, God still miraculously cared for Israel by feeding them with bread from heaven (Manna) and by making sure that their shoes never wore out.[vii] The Lord led them by a pillar of smoke by day and a pillar of fire by night. As the pillar moved, they would move with it. By the end of the 40 years, Moses came to the edge of the Promised Land, but because of his own sin, he too, was not allowed to enter. Joshua would lead the people into the land. As Moses gave his final speech to Israel, the Lord promised that there would be another prophet like Moses who would speak words of God and prophecy of things to come.
[i] Exodus 10:1-2, [ii] Exodus 7:3-5, [iii] Exodus 9:16-17, [iv] Exodus 10:1-2, [v] Exodus 20:19, [vi] Exodus 33:18-20, [vii] Deuteronomy 8:4, 29:5
To get more ideas or see a demonstration you watch our video:
Customer Review:
“We have only done one of the eight days so far. And the kids really enjoyed it. The ornaments are beautiful. And we bought like a white Easter tree from a craft shop. I really love to the introduction so far. It explains about God being the greatest storyteller. And how he predicts the future. And links Moses and Jesus it’s Jesus doing the new Exodus. The kids listened and enjoyed having interaction with the tree and the ornaments.” – CRM
To purchase your own set of Passover Easter Jesse Tree ornaments, curriculum and other Easter resources, check out our Etsy shop!