Scroll to the bottom for thoughts/discussion questions!
One-sentence summary: The Lord sends more plagues in Egypt, culminating with the deaths of all the firstborn, and establishes a feast in Israel called the "Passover," to be observed in remembrance for all generations, and leads the people out of Egypt.
The Lord tells Moses to go to Pharaoh again, and also that He has hardened his heart in order to show His signs and wonders, so that the Israelites will tell their children for generations the mighty things that the Lord has done in Egypt, that all generations will know that He is the Lord.
So Moses and Aaron go to Pharaoh and say, "Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews: How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go that they may serve Me, or if you refuse, tomorrow I will bring locusts into Egypt that will cover the face of the earth so that no one will see the earth, and they will eat what remains of what was destroyed by the hail." Moses leaves Pharaoh, and Pharaoh's servants say to him, "How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go that they may serve the Lord God. Do you not know that the land of Egypt is destroyed?" So Pharaoh calls Moses back and tells him to take the people, but he asks who will be going. When Moses says that they all will go. Pharaoh says that, God help them, only the men can go.
So the Lord tells Moses to stretch out his hand for the locusts. And God brings an east wind all through that day and the night, and in the morning, locusts cover the land of Egypt so that the land is dark and all the crops are destroyed.
So Pharaoh quickly calls for Moses and Aaron, confesses and "repents," and asks them to entreat the Lord on his behalf. So Moses does, and the Lord sends a west wind which blows all the locusts into the Red Sea. But "the Lord [hardens] Pharaoh's heart, and he [does] not let the children of Israel go." Then the Lord tells Moses to stretch out his hand toward heaven so that there will be darkness over the land of Egypt, "darkness which may even be felt" (spiritual darkness too? Also, God does not even acknowledge Pharaoh's supposed "repentance" this time, since he had been previously warned not to be tricky again.) So there is thick darkness over all the land of Egypt for three days. They cannot see one another, and business as usual stops for three whole days. But in Goshen, there is light. So Pharaoh calls again to Moses and tells him to go with the people, but to leave their flocks behind. Moses says they must take sacrifices and burnt offerings, and that all the livestock must go. But Pharaoh's heart is hardened, and he will not let them go, and he banishes Moses from his sight forever, and warns him that if he sees him again, he will die. Moses basically says, "So be it." (Apparently, this may have just been a figure of speech or an empty threat, as Moses does seem to appear before Pharaoh again after this. Moses's reply may be more accurately translated as, "As you have said it" (or "If you will.")
The Lord tells Moses that He will bring a final plague on Pharaoh and Egypt, and that after, Pharaoh will finally let them go. He tells him to speak to the Israelites that they should ask all of their Egyptian neighbors for gold and jewelry. And God gives them favor with the people. Also, all the servants and Egyptians have deep respect for Moses and hold him in high esteem. Then Moses says that the Lord will strike dead all the firstborn of Egypt at midnight that night, from Pharaoh down to the lowest servant and all the animals, and that there will be a deep cry that comes up from Egypt such as never has been before or ever will be again. But the Israelites will be safe, along with their animals, so that all will know that the Lord makes a distinction between the Israelites and the Egyptians. He says that after, all Pharaoh's servants will bow down to him and beg him to leave. So He goes out from Pharaoh in great anger. (Was this the same meeting as the one after the darkness, or another?)
The Lord tells Moses and Aaron that the present month will be the first of the year for Israel, and that on the tenth of the month, every man should take a lamb for his household, a lamb without blemish, whether a sheep or goat, a male of the first year, and to keep it until the 14th day. Then, they should slaughter it at twilight and apply it to the lintel (the beam placed across the door) and doorposts, and roast the lamb with fire and eat the entire lamb that night with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, burning all of the leftovers if there is any left the next morning. They should eat it in haste, fully clothed, with their belt and shoes on and their staffs in their hands. He says this tradition will be called "Passover," because this night, He will pass over all the Israelites in Egypt when he executes judgment against Egypt and its gods. The blood will be a sign for Israel so that God will see it and pass over their house. The day will be a memorial and a feast to be kept to the Lord for all generations. Also, for seven days, starting on the 14th of the month, they will eat only unleavened bread. The first and seventh day will be a "holy convocation" in which no work will be done, except for preparing food, because this will be the day that God brings their armies out of Egypt. This tradition is so sacred to God that anyone who eats leaven during that time will be cut off from the people of Israel.
So Moses tells Israel God's instructions. He tells them to kill the Passover lamb and take a bunch of hyssop dipped in blood in a basin and strike the lintel and door posts with the blood, and that none of them should leave their houses until the morning so that the Destroyer will pass over them. He tells them to observe the tradition for all generations, and that when they come to the Promised Land, they should remember this tradition and explain it to their children and tell them how God delivered them out of Egypt. So the Israelites obey.
At midnight, the Lord strikes all the firstborn of Egypt, but He passes over the houses of the Israelites.
Pharaoh and all the Egyptians rise in the night, and there is a great cry in Egypt, because in every house, there is one who is dead. So Pharaoh calls for Moses and begs him to leave with all the people, along with the flocks and the herds. He asks Moses to bless him also, and the Egyptians, too, urge all the Israelites to leave, because they say they will surely die if they stay.
The people take their dough before it was leavened with their kneading bowls on their shoulders. About 600,000 men besides women and children travel out of Egypt, and they bake unleavened cakes, along with all the gold and jewelry they were given, so plundering the Egyptians. Altogether, they sojourned in Egypt 430 years to the exact day.
The Lord commands that the Passover is to be a solemn observance to the Lord for all generations, and that no foreigner should eat it, but that servants who are circumcised will be allowed. He also commands that none of the bones of the lamb should be broken. If a stranger wishes to observe the feast, he should be circumcised. Then, he can keep it.
So all of Israel obeys Moses's and Aaron's instructions.
In this way, God brings the Israelites and all their armies out of the land of Egypt.
Thoughts/Discussion Questions:
Remembrance is huge with God. So is consecration. So important, in fact, that if anyone of Israel broke the commands by eating leavened bread, they would be cut off. Why do you think this is?
Did the Israelites not tell their children and their children's children about the Lord's deliverance and the Passover? Why does Israel then so quickly forget the Lord, if they did? Did it simply become an empty tradition that they never bothered explaining to their children? How many times do we do things that we have long since forgotten the meaning of, or do the right thing with the wrong spirit, missing God's heart?