The Passover Lamb
1Now the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2“This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you. 3Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers’ households, a lamb for each household. 4Now if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according to the number of persons in them; according to what each man should eat, you are to divide the lamb. 5Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight. 7Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. 8They shall eat the flesh that same night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 9Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather roasted with fire, both its head and its legs along with its entrails. 10And you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until morning, you shall burn with fire. 11Now you shall eat it in this manner: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste—it is the Lord’s Passover. 12For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—I am the Lord. 13The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
Feast of Unleavened Bread
14‘Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance. 15Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses; for whoever eats anything leavened from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. 16On the first day you shall have a holy assembly, and another holy assembly on the seventh day; no work at all shall be done on them, except what must be eaten by every person, that alone may be prepared by you. 17You shall also observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt; therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as a permanent ordinance. 18In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. 19Seven days there shall be no leaven found in your houses; for whoever eats what is leavened, that person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is an alien or a native of the land. 20You shall not eat anything leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.’ ”
21Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and take for yourselves lambs according to your families, and slay the Passover lamb. 22You shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts; and none of you shall go outside the door of his house until morning.
A Memorial of Redemption
23For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come in to your houses to smite you. 24And you shall observe this event as an ordinance for you and your children forever. 25When you enter the land which the Lord will give you, as He has promised, you shall observe this rite. 26And when your children say to you, ‘What does this rite mean to you?’ 27you shall say, ‘It is a Passover sacrifice to the Lord who passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt when He smote the Egyptians, but spared our homes.’ ” And the people bowed low and worshiped.
28Then the sons of Israel went and did so; just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.
The Suffering Servant
1Who has believed our message?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,
And like a root out of parched ground;
He has no stately form or majesty
That we should look upon Him,
Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.
3He was despised and forsaken of men,
A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
And like one from whom men hide their face
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
4Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
5But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
6All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.
7He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He did not open His mouth;
Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
So He did not open His mouth.
29The next day he *saw Jesus coming to him and *said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30This is He on behalf of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’ 31I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.” 32John testified saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. 33I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ 34I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”
1) How does Isaiah describe the servant as a lamb of sacrifice?
2) How does John the Baptist identify Yeshua with the lamb?
3) What does the blood on the door mean for you today?
Job Says His Friends’ Proverbs Are Ashes
1“Behold, my eye has seen all this,
My ear has heard and understood it.
2What you know I also know;
I am not inferior to you.
3“But I would speak to the Almighty,
And I desire to argue with God.
4But you smear with lies;
You are all worthless physicians.
5O that you would be completely silent,
And that it would become your wisdom!
6Please hear my argument
And listen to the contentions of my lips.
7Will you speak what is unjust for God,
And speak what is deceitful for Him?
8Will you show partiality for Him?
Will you contend for God?
9Will it be well when He examines you?
Or will you deceive Him as one deceives a man?
10He will surely reprove you
If you secretly show partiality.
11Will not His majesty terrify you,
And the dread of Him fall on you?
12Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes,
Your defenses are defenses of clay.
Job Is Sure He Will Be Vindicated
13“Be silent before me so that I may speak;
Then let come on me what may.
14Why should I take my flesh in my teeth
And put my life in my hands?
15Though He slay me,
I will hope in Him.
Nevertheless I will argue my ways before Him.
16This also will be my salvation,
For a godless man may not come before His presence.
17Listen carefully to my speech,
And let my declaration fill your ears.
18Behold now, I have prepared my case;
I know that I will be vindicated.
19Who will contend with me?
For then I would be silent and die.
20“Only two things do not do to me,
Then I will not hide from Your face:
21Remove Your hand from me,
And let not the dread of You terrify me.
22Then call, and I will answer;
Or let me speak, then reply to me.
23How many are my iniquities and sins?
Make known to me my rebellion and my sin.
24Why do You hide Your face
And consider me Your enemy?
25Will You cause a driven leaf to tremble?
Or will You pursue the dry chaff?
26For You write bitter things against me
And make me to inherit the iniquities of my youth.
27You put my feet in the stocks
And watch all my paths;
You set a limit for the soles of my feet,
28While I am decaying like a rotten thing,
Like a garment that is moth-eaten.
Contrast the Upright and the Wicked
1Better is a dry morsel and quietness with it
Than a house full of feasting with strife.
2A servant who acts wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully,
And will share in the inheritance among brothers.
3The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold,
But the Lord tests hearts.
4An evildoer listens to wicked lips;
A liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.
5He who mocks the poor taunts his Maker;
He who rejoices at calamity will not go unpunished.
6Grandchildren are the crown of old men,
And the glory of sons is their fathers.
7Excellent speech is not fitting for a fool,
Much less are lying lips to a prince.
8A bribe is a charm in the sight of its owner;
Wherever he turns, he prospers.
9He who conceals a transgression seeks love,
But he who repeats a matter separates intimate friends.
10A rebuke goes deeper into one who has understanding
Than a hundred blows into a fool.
11A rebellious man seeks only evil,
So a cruel messenger will be sent against him.
12Let a man meet a bear robbed of her cubs,
Rather than a fool in his folly.
13He who returns evil for good,
Evil will not depart from his house.
14The beginning of strife is like letting out water,
So abandon the quarrel before it breaks out.
15He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous,
Both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord.
16Why is there a price in the hand of a fool to buy wisdom,
When he has no sense?
17A friend loves at all times,
And a brother is born for adversity.
18A man lacking in sense pledges
And becomes guarantor in the presence of his neighbor.
19He who loves transgression loves strife;
He who raises his door seeks destruction.
20He who has a crooked mind finds no good,
And he who is perverted in his language falls into evil.
21He who sires a fool does so to his sorrow,
And the father of a fool has no joy.
22A joyful heart is good medicine,
But a broken spirit dries up the bones.
23A wicked man receives a bribe from the bosom
To pervert the ways of justice.
24Wisdom is in the presence of the one who has understanding,
But the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.
25A foolish son is a grief to his father
And bitterness to her who bore him.
26It is also not good to fine the righteous,
Nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.
27He who restrains his words has knowledge,
And he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.
28Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise;
When he closes his lips, he is considered prudent.
Zion’s Happy Future
1The wilderness and the desert will be glad,
And the Arabah will rejoice and blossom;
Like the crocus
2It will blossom profusely
And rejoice with rejoicing and shout of joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
The majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They will see the glory of the Lord,
The majesty of our God.
3Encourage the exhausted, and strengthen the feeble.
4Say to those with anxious heart,
“Take courage, fear not.
Behold, your God will come with vengeance;
The recompense of God will come,
But He will save you.”
5Then the eyes of the blind will be opened
And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped.
6Then the lame will leap like a deer,
And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy.
For waters will break forth in the wilderness
And streams in the Arabah.
7The scorched land will become a pool
And the thirsty ground springs of water;
In the haunt of jackals, its resting place,
Grass becomes reeds and rushes.
8A highway will be there, a roadway,
And it will be called the Highway of Holiness.
The unclean will not travel on it,
But it will be for him who walks that way,
And fools will not wander on it.
9No lion will be there,
Nor will any vicious beast go up on it;
These will not be found there.
But the redeemed will walk there,
10And the ransomed of the Lord will return
And come with joyful shouting to Zion,
With everlasting joy upon their heads.
They will find gladness and joy,
And sorrow and sighing will flee away.