Exodus 12

As I write this post, I have just been reading 1 Corinthians 3, where Paul says that we are God's fellow-workers (v.9) - which is an amazing privilege when you think about it.

In Exodus 12 (and all of Exodus, for that matter) we find that it is God who does the real work. God speaks so that his people know what to do (vv. 1, 43); he strikes down the Egyptians (vv. 12, 29), passes over the Israelites' homes (v.13, 23), makes the Egyptians favourably disposed towards them (v.36), keeps watch over them (v.42), and leads them out of captivity (v.51).

Other than the verses referred to above, most of the rest of the chapter is taken up with what the people of Israel are asked to do. But it is easy by comparison with what God does: basically all the people have to do is listen to what God tells them through Moses. Then they have to prepare a meal in a particular way, put some blood on the door-frames of their houses, get ready to march and to celebrate, and remember to explain to their children all that God has done.

The Bible as a whole paints a similar picture:

  • God rescues his people from bondage - and all the real work is done by him: he sends his Son into the world to deliver us from the dominion of darkness, and then he sends his Spirit to live within us.
  • He asks us to walk with him in obedience, to celebrate what he has done, and to tell others the good news. It's not much to ask really - yet God graciously calls us his fellow-workers.