GOD Institutes Passover (Exo 12) A. Passover instructions. 1. (1-6) Each household should take a lamb. a. This month shall be your beginning of months: The coming deliverance from Egypt is such a significant act that GOD tells the children of Israel to remake their calendar - the new year will now start with the month of their redemption from Egypt. b. Every man shall take for himself a lamb: On the tenth of this first month, each family - or household - is to take a lamb, and the lamb is to live with the family for the four days until Passover. i. In this way, the lamb became part of the family. By the time it was sacrificed on the fourteenth it was cherished and mourned; GOD wanted the sacrifice of something precious. ii. If the household is too small for the lamb: The rabbis later determined that there should be at least ten people for each Passover lamb, and not more than twenty. c. Your lamb shall be without blemish: The lamb was also to be without blemish; this sacrifice unto the LORD had to be as perfect as a lamb could be. d. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats: This may sound confusing, but the Hebrew word for lamb can refer to either a young sheep or a young goat. i. The Hebrew seh is quite a neutral word and should be translated head of (small) stock, applying equally to sheep and goats of any age. The Hebrews, like the Chinese, seem to have regarded any distinction between sheep and goats as a minor subdivision. Probably because of this, to separate the sheep from the goats is proverbial of GODs discernment in New Testament times (Matthew 25:32). (Cole) 2. (7-11) Instructions for eating the Passover. a. Take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses: Before the Passover lamb could be eaten, its blood had to be applied to the doorway of the home, to the top and upon each side the blood was applied. The only part of this sacrifice given to GOD was the blood; the rest was eaten by each family or discarded (what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire). i. As the blood was applied to the top and each side of the doorway, this blood dripped down, forming a figure of a cross in the doorway. b. And thus you shall eat it: Then, the lamb could be eaten - but only if it had been roasted in fire, with the lamb itself coming into contact with the fire, and with bitter herbs accompanying the meal. i. As our Passover sacrifice, Jesus had to come into direct contact with the fire of the Fathers judgment on our behalf, and the bitterness of the cross is reflected in the bitter herbs. c. Let none of it remain until morning: The Passover lamb had to be eaten completely; a family had to totally consume the sacrifice. d. With a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand: The Passover lamb had to be eaten in faith, trusting that the deliverance promised to Israel was present, and that they would walk in that deliverance immediately. i. Faith was essential to the keeping of Passover: By faith he [Moses] kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them. (Hebrews 11:28) 3. (12-13) The protection of the blood. a. When I see the blood, I will pass over you: For Israel to be spared the judgment on the firstborn, they had to apply to blood just as GOD said they should. The blood of the lamb was essential to what GOD required. i. If an Israelite home didnt believe in the power of the blood of the lamb, they could sacrifice the lamb and eat it, but they would still be visited by judgment. ii. If an Egyptian home did believe in the power of the blood of the lamb, and made a proper Passover sacrifice, they would be spared the judgment. iii. Additionally, an intellectual agreement with what GOD said about the blood was not enough; they actually had to do what GOD said must be done with the blood. b. I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt: The judgment on the firstborn was a powerful act of GOD, because the firstborn was always considered favored and privileged before GOD. If GOD judges the firstborn, then what of the rest of us? 4. (14-20) The institution of Passover and Unleavened Bread as feasts. a. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread: Passover began on the tenth; on the 14th they ate the Passover, and this was the first day of unleavened bread; then for the next seven days, they ate only unleavened bread. b. So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: For the first Passover, the unleavened bread was a practical necessity - they left Egypt in such a hurry there was no time to allow for the dough to rise. After the first Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread was a testimony throughout your generations. c. For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses: Leaven was also a picture of sin and corruption, because of the way a little leaven influences a whole lump of dough, and also because of the way leaven puffs up the lump - even as pride and sin makes us puffed up. i. Significantly, GOD called them to walk unleavened after their initial deliverance from Egypt. Symbolically, they were being called to a pure walk with the LORD. ii. Some suggest there was also a hygenic aspect in getting rid of all the leaven. Since they used a piece of dough from the previous batch to make the bread for that day, and did so repeatedly, that harmful bacteria could take hold in the dough - so it was good to remove all leaven and start all over at least once a year. B. Moses leads the people in the observance of Passover. 1. (21-23) Moses tells the elders to do as GOD said. a. Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them: The elders were expected to lead the way. Moses instructs them to observe the Passover, knowing the rest of the nation will follow. b. Take a bunch of hyssop: They used this to apply the blood to the doorposts and the lintel. Through the Scriptures, hyssop is often used to apply blood for the cleansing of sin. i. In Leviticus 14:6, the ceremony for the cleansing of a leper used hyssop to apply blood. In Numbers 19:6 hyssop was used for to make the ashes of a red heifer for the water of purification. In Numbers 19:18 hyssop was used to apply the purification water. ii. Hyssop was even connected with Jesus great sacrifice for sin. John 19:29 points out when Jesus was offered sour wine to drink on the cross, the sponge soaked with it was put on a bunch of hyssop. iii. This is why David, in his great Psalm of repentance, says purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean (Psalm 51:7). Hyssop was always connected with purification through sacrifice. c. When He sees the blood … the LORD will pass over: The LORD looked for blood. This blood sacrifice was the basis for sparing people from judgment. i. Salvation wasnt accomplished with a prayer or a fasting or a good work; it was accomplished by a life given on behalf of others. 2. (24-27a) Passover as an enduring ordinance. a. An ordinance for you and your sons forever: The deliverance of Passover was not only for them, but for their children, and all generations to follow. Passover was the greatest work of redemption performed on the Old Testament side of the cross. i. In the same way Jesus gave the new Passover, saying that His work on the cross was not only for that generation, but should be remembered and applied to all generations (Luke 22:14-20). b. When He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households: In Passover, there was a two-fold work. First, an enemy was defeated (He struck the Egyptians). Second, GODs people were set free and given a new identity, with new promises, a new walk, a new life all together (delivered our households). 3. (27b-28) The obedience of the people. So the people bowed their heads and worshiped. Then the children of Israel went away and did so; just as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did. a. Then the children of Israel went away and did so: In many ways these are the most important words of the whole account. As great as GODs deliverance was, the people would never receive it if they failed to do what GOD told them to do. How many Israelites suffered under the judgment of the firstborn because they did not believe and obey? How many Egyptians were spared judgment because they did believe and obey? b. Their obedience was connected with worship: So the people bowed their heads and worshipped. Then the children of Israel went away and did so. i. Worship can help with our obedience because it gets things in the right place between GOD and us. He is the Creator, we are creatures, and we humbly worship Him. C. The final plague: the death of Egypts firstborn. 1. (29-30) GOD slays the firstborn of Egypt. a. The LORD struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt: GOD told Moses that Pharaoh would not let them go until he was forced to by GODs mighty works (Exodus 3:19-20), and that this work would somehow touch the firstborn of Egypt (Exodus 4:21-23). Now the situation unfolds just as GOD said it would. b. All the firstborn in the land of Egypt: This plague was directed against two significant Egyptian gods. First, Osiris was the Egyptian god thought to be the giver of life. Second, against the supposed deity of Pharaoh himself, because his own household was touched (the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne). i. An inscription was found in a shrine connected with the great Sphinx that records a solemn promise from the Egyptian gods vowing that Thutmose IV would succeed his father Amenhotep II - whom many believe to be the pharaoh of the Exodus. Why did they make such a unique, emphatic promise from the gods that something so natural would happen - the eldest son take his fathers place as Pharaoh? Undoubtedly, because Thutmose IV was not his fathers firstborn son, and the firstborn was struck dead at the first Passover. Therefore, they believed that the second born son needed special protection from the gods and the inscription seeks to provide that. c. So Pharaoh rose in the night, he, all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt: In dealing with Pharaoh, GOD first had to inform his mind, and then break his will. Pharaohs problem wasnt that there was insufficient intellectual evidence; his heart had to be broken and made soft towards GOD. i. Egypt and Pharaoh would not give GOD His firstborn - Israel (Exodus 4:22-23); so GOD took the firstborn of Egypt. ii. Pharaoh once asked, Who is the LORD, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD. (Exodus 5:2) Now he knows that the LORD GOD is greater than all the Egyptian gods, and greater than Pharaoh himself - who was thought to be a god. 2. (31-36) The response of Pharaoh and the Egyptians. a. Rise, go out from among my people: Pharaoh isnt letting Israel leave; now he commands them! This is just what the LORD told Moses would happen: When he lets you go, he will surely drive you out of here altogether (Exodus 11:1). b. Bless me also: This shows that now, Pharaoh knows who the LORD is, the GOD who is greater than Pharaoh and whom Pharaoh must seek for blessing. Pharaoh only came to this knowledge through being broken. c. Egyptians urged the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste … they plundered the Egyptians: The Egyptian people also agreed that the Israelites must go, to the extent that they essentially paid the Israelites to leave. Therefore, the children of Israel left in a hurry, so quickly there was no time to let the bread rise. This is why they had to eat unleavened bread as the LORD had commanded. i. We can imagine that some of the Israelites did not follow GODs instruction to get all the leaven out (Exodus 12:15). Now because of the haste of their departure they had to do what GOD had told them because GOD arranged the circumstances so that they couldnt use leaven. ii. In the same way, sometimes GOD arranges circumstances to where obedience is simply made necessary - even if we would not normally choose it. For example, GOD may want a man to give up friends that bring a bad influence and the man finds that his friends leave him first. D. Israel leaves Egypt. 1. (37-39) The children of Israel go out of Egypt. a. The children of Israel journeyed: Assembling together at Succoth, about 600,000 men (besides children of women) left Egypt. The count of six hundred thousand men makes for a total population of perhaps two million that left Egypt for the Promised Land. b. A mixed multitude went up with them: Not all of the 600,000 were Israelites. Many Egyptians (and perhaps other foreigners) went with them, because the GOD of Israel demonstrated that He was more powerful that the gods of the Egyptians. c. It was not leavened, because they were driven out of Egypt and could not wait: Again, GOD made obedience a necessity in the case of the unleavened bread. 2. (40-42) Passover as a solemn observance. a. It is a night of solemn observance to the LORD for bringing them out of the land of Egypt: GOD intended this event to be as a memorial of His redemptive work for Israel. In this sense, the deliverance from Egypt is the Calvary of the Old Testament. b. Out from the land of Egypt: The phrase out of Egypt is repeated 56 times in the Bible after this point. GOD wants His people to remember His deliverance of Israel from Egypt. 3. (43-49) Regulations for Passover. a. No foreigner shall eat it: To share in the Passover, one had to make themselves part of the people of Israel. Receiving the covenant of circumcision and taking Passover were all part of the same package. b. In one house it shall be eaten: Passover was commemorated on a family level. It was celebrated by each household. c. Nor shall you break one of its bones: None of the bones of the Passover lamb were to be broken. This looks forward to Jesus, the ultimate Passover Lamb, who had not one bone broken even in His crucifixion (Psalm 22:17, John 19:31-36). d. All the congregation of Israel shall keep it: All who were part of Israel had to commemorate the Passover redemption. You couldnt be part of GODs people and not partake of Passover. In this sense, Passover means much to us as Christians: Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. (1 Corinthians 5:7-8). 4. (50-51) Departure from Egypt: the Exodus begins. a. The LORD brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt: When Israel left Egypt, it was a nation born in a day. It was as if the 430 years were a time in gestation when the baby grew large. The plagues were like labor pains before birth and now the nation is born.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 16:15:27 +0000
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