I welcome everyone to the reading and study of Exodus 12. We move from the shortest chapter in Exodus to its longest chapter. As believers under grace, we might be quick to dismiss the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread that we read in this chapter as Jewish festivals. However, both festivals point to Jesus. They are “shadows” of Christ (Col. 2:17).
Let us review…
PASSOVER PROCEDURE
Exo. 12:1-2 Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you.
Passover was the first of three festivals. The coming deliverance of the Jews from Egypt was so significant that God told the children of Israel to remake their own calendar. Their New Year would now start with the month of their redemption from Egypt. The first month is called Abib (Exo. 13:4), although it was later renamed to Nisan during their future captivity in Babylon (Esther 3:7, Neh. 2:1). When Israel entered Egypt, it was just a family. But now, they would be exiting Egypt as a nation. Everything was about to change dramatically.
This is a wonderful picture of every believer’s new life in Christ. We all have a physical date of birth and we also have the real beginning of our eternal life in Christ. There was a day we began to truly live, being transferred from our Egypt (the domain of darkness) to the kingdom of light, the kingdom of God’s dearly beloved Son… in Whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Col 1:12-14). Hallelujah!
Notice the:
- Precise Provision:
On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household
On the tenth of this first month, each family was to take a lamb, and the lamb was to live with the family for the four days until Passover. In this way, the lamb became part of the family. By the time it was sacrificed on the fourteenth, it was both cherished and mourned. God wanted the sacrifice of something “precious”.
- Proper Participation:
And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next to his house take it according to the number of the persons
Please note that the lamb cannot be too small for a family. Rather, a family can be too small for a lamb. For example, in the case of a couple who had no children, or probably their children were married and lived separately. In this case, in order to protect the poor who could not afford a lamb, two families could pool their resources to buy a Passover lamb. Each individual in each family is to receive a part of the lamb. This is a personal, private matter. While it is redemption for the nation, it actually centres on each person in each family. It must be received and accepted by each individual member in each family. The rabbis later recommended that there should be between 10-20 people for each Passover lamb.
- Perfect Provision:
Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year.
Being without blemish means the animal must be whole and sound, without any physical defects. It could be a young sheep or a young goat, but it had to be one-year-old. This instruction of a “perfect lamb” clearly points to Christ, our Lamb (Isa. 53:7) Who was without blemish (1 Pet. 1:18-19). Pastor Dammy wrote an article on this titled: Christ Our Passover Lamb
- Personal Possession:
Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month.
As I mentioned earlier, each family was to “guard” the lamb/goat from anything that might blemish it, for 4 days (10th-14th). They are to watch over it, care for it, and keep it in its proper condition. A Bible commentator mentioned that it was during this time (10th-14th) that Jesus was tried by the High Priest and the Sanhedrin. And for the records, Pontius Pilate could find no fault in Him (Luke 23:4; John 19:6). Truly unblemished!
- Public Participation:
Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight.
Note that each family had a lamb, and thousands of lambs must have been slain. But verse 6 says “Israel shall kill IT at twilight.” Not “them”. What this means is that all of these lambs were pointing to another Lamb. God looked at all of these lambs as that one Lamb (Jesus Christ) offered for us. We are not redeemed by the life that our Lamb lived. Rather, it is by the death that He died that we are redeemed. The entire assembly participated in the killing of the lamb. Jesus was also put to death by the people of the community of Israel (Matt. 27:22).
- Precise Performance:
between the evenings
The Young’s Literal Translation renders “twilight” as “between the evenings”. This detail is important, as God later said that not bringing the Passover in its appointed “legal” time would cause the person to be cut off from Israel (Num. 9:13). Christ our Passover — the true Passover (1 Cor. 5:7) — fulfilled the sacrifice at God’s appointed time of “between the evenings” (Matt. 27:45, Mark 15:34). The lamb of God had paid the penalty for our sins, the sacrifice was complete, and the price for our atonement was paid. Hallelujah!
- Painted Protection:
And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses
Before they eat the Passover lamb, they must apply its blood as a paint on the doorposts and lintel of their houses. This was the only “part” of the sacrifice that was given to God. The rest was eaten by the people and the leftovers were to be burnt with fire. It is the Blood that saves, and one has to believe that. Even if an Egyptian applied the blood and believed in it, he would be saved. The blood of the Lamb is available to all. Jesus is the Door upon which the person must place the blood in faith to be saved (John 10:7, 9). It is only through your faith in Him that we are saved.
- Prescribed Partaking:
Then they shall eat the flesh on that night
Like I mentioned earlier, the lamb was killed in order to be eaten. In the same vein, our Lamb (Jesus Christ) has been slain so that we can feed upon Him. Note that they were to eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Unleavened bread is “the bread of affliction” (Deut. 16:3) which is a picture of purity (freedom from corruption/defilement). Jesus is the Bread of Life (John 6:35). The bitter herbs served as a reminder of how their lives had been bitter with hard labour in Egypt. Jesus drank the sour hyssop on our behalf (John 19:29). And they were to eat everything. There should be no leftovers! We are to take all of Jesus, with no leftovers.
- Proper Posture:
with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand.
The belt on the waist points to our waist girded with truth (Eph. 6:14). The sandals point to the gospel of peace (Eph. 6:15). The passover is to be eaten in haste, in a state of watchfulness and readiness. It is to be eaten with the full consciousness of the good news and full hope of the certainty of their deliverance.
- Powerful Protection:
And when I see the blood, I will pass over you
The blood of the lamb would serve as a sign of God’s grace for the Israelites. The blood does not deny the wrath and judgement of God; rather it satisfies it on behalf of the Israelites. It meant that a substitute had taken the judgement. The ground of their security was propitiation. The blood satisfied God. Therefore, the Israelites could rest. The reason we have peace with God is that Jesus’ blood satisfied God’s wrath. So, we can rest!
- Purifying Process:
you shall remove leaven from your houses
The Old Testament uses leaven as a picture of sin and corruption. A little leaven “puffs up” a whole lump of dough, just as pride and sin makes us “puffed up.” This symbolises the call to a life in moral purity before God. Paul gave us the same call! (1Cor. 5:7-8) Any Israelite that violates this principle will be banished from their community (which might mean death).
- Perpetual Practice:
It will come to pass when you come to the land which the Lord will give you, just as He promised, that you shall keep this service.
The Passover was the greatest work of redemption performed in the Old Testament, and God commanded them to always observe it. The Passoverwas a two-fold work. First, their enemies (the Egyptians) were defeated. Secondly, they were set free and given a new identity, with new promises, a new walk, a new life altogether.
- Peculiar Prohibition:
No foreigner shall eat it… For no uncircumcised person shall eat it
Non-Israelites were not permitted to partake of the Passover feast. In fact, their slaves would have to be circumcised before they could partake. Circumcision and Passover came together as one package.
- Promised Preservation:
nor shall you break one of its bones.
While we may not understand why the bones of the lamb must not be broken, we are sure that it speaks of Christ! He died on the cross without any of His bones being broken (Psa. 22:17, Psa. 34:20, John 19:31-36).
THE FINAL PLAGUE
At midnight, God’s judgement was passed on the whole of Egypt. While they slept, God struck. No house was excluded (except the Israelites with blood on their doorposts). It affected the highest, the palace, to the lowest, the prison, and every family. The entire nation woke up in terror because of the deaths. Pharaoh had oppressed God’s “firstborn”, and he suffered the death of his own firstborn. Not only him. All of Egypt. Israel had cried to God for deliverance (Exo. 2:23) and He answered. They had cried to Pharaoh for relief (Exo. 5:15) but he didn’t listen. Now the Egyptians would cry with no hope.
“We shall all be dead.” (v. 33) What a terrifying exclamation from the Egyptians! They sent the Israelites out in a haste… But God ensured that the Israelites stripped them of their wealth! The children of Israel went from being poor slaves of Pharaoh to becoming prosperous “sons” of God.
Dear Gogolights, Apostle Paul made it perfectly clear that Jesus Christ is our Passover (1Cor. 5:7). John the Baptist didn’t mince words either (John 1:29). Jesus was actually crucified on Passover (John 19:14). These are not mere coincidences. As our Passover Lamb…
- Jesus lived with and became bonded to the human family before He was sacrificed for them.
- Jesus was enough for the entire home of Adam.
- Jesus was spotless — not stained by any sin, or any moral/spiritual imperfection.
- Jesus’ blood was poured out to atone for our sin.
- Jesus was burnt with the fire of God’s judgement and wrath.
- Jesus received the bitter cup of God’s judgement.
- Jesus’ bones were not broken.
- The work of Jesus was fully accepted, with none left in reserve.
- The work of Jesus is the beginning of our freedom.
God does not desire anyone to perish (2 Pet. 3:9). Yet, because He is just, He must eventually judge sin (Rev. 20:11-15). Duty is laid upon us to continue sharing the good news of salvation with people (Matt. 28:16-20).
Thank you for reading. Till next time when we resume our journey in Exodus, I say…
Grace to you, Church!
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