Exodus 12:43

THE PASSOVER

‘This is the ordinance of the passover.’

Exodus 12:43

Between the announcement of the closing plague and the night of its actual accomplishment, a considerable interval must have elapsed. Time was given, in the wise delay of God, for the widespread preparations that were necessary; a last opportunity was afforded Pharaoh to realise the awful consequences of his obstinacy; and Moses was instructed, in this lull before the storm, how to celebrate the Passover Feast, so that it should not only answer the purpose of the moment, but be a witness to succeeding generations. What, then, was to be the manner of this feast? It was to be a feast, not of leisure, but of haste. It was not to be eaten at ease and with happy lingering; men were not to be dressed as if for some quiet repast. Loins must be girded, shoes must be on the feet, the hand of every man must grasp a staff; it was a feast of expectancy and eagerness; of men on the point of starting on a journey. Everyone knows what the feast itself consisted of—it was a lamb without blemish, a male of the first year. The lamb was to be roasted with fire, and unleavened bread was to be prepared, then with the unleavened bread and bitter herbs it was to be eaten. But first, the blood of the lamb was to be gathered in a basin, and with that blood the doorposts and the lintels of every house which sheltered a family of Israelites was to be sprinkled.

I. Such, then, were the directions of Moses, and they were loyally and literally obeyed. From north to south, wherever the Hebrews dwelt, all things were ready on the fateful night. A deepening sense of doom spread over Egypt, a growing certainty of deliverance stirred in Israel; everything pointed to the striking of an hour when the arm of Almighty God would be revealed. And as before a storm there is often an ominous hush, and Nature seems conscious of impending ruin, so was it in the doomed country of the Pharaoh. At midnight on the fourteenth of Nisam the blow fell. In the palace, in the lonely cottage, in the prison-cell, wherever there was a bloodless lintel there was death. And such a cry arose of agony and heartbreak as rang in the Hebrews’ ears for many a day. To the Egyptians it was a cry of woe; but to the Israelites it was the call of freedom—what strange diversities of meaning God can bring out of the accents of a single voice! The wail that spoke of desolated homes spoke also of release from bitter hardship. For Pharaoh rose up in the night with all his servants, and he called for Moses and Aaron there and then. He said, ‘Rise up, get you forth from among my people, and go, serve the Lord as ye have said.’ So on the early dawn of the fifteenth day of Nisam the children of Israel started on the journey of which they had dreamed through many a weary day, but which was to be so different from their dream.

II. There were both safety and sustenance in the lamb.—On the night of the Passover God commanded the Israelites that none of them should stir beyond the door. Outside—in the street—there was no promise of protection; inside, they were absolutely safe. Now why was that? Was it lest in the darkness the angel of destruction might misknow them? Not so; it was that all might learn that nowhere was there safety but behind the blood. And what was that blood that was sprinkled on the doorposts? It was the blood of the lamb that had been slain. And what was the flesh that the waiting people fed on? It was the flesh of that same lamb whose blood was sprinkled. So through the one lamb they were redeemed from death, and sustained for the labours and trials of their journey. Is not that true also of the Lamb of God?—a name that immediately recalls this scene. He does not merely redeem us and then leave us. He saves us and He satisfies us too. Sprinkled with His blood we fear no destroying angel; fed with His flesh we are strong to take our journey:—

Bread of Heaven, on Thee we feed,

For Thy flesh is Meat indeed.

III. We should make a study of the Lamb as it occurs in Scripture.—In that parable and picture of the Saviour, there is a widening and expanding glory. First, we have the lamb for the individual, when Abel offered the firstlings of his flock. Then here, in the story of the Passover, we have an instance of the lamb for the family. In a later chapter (Exodus 29:38) we meet with the lamb for the people; in the words of the Baptist we have the Lamb for the world; and the glorious expansion reaches its greatest in Revelation (Revelation 7:14) where we find the Lamb for all heaven.

Illustration

(1) ‘Let me be sure that I have clear conceptions of Christ my Passover. If one should ask me what meanings I attach to Him and to His work and redemption, I would have a definite answer to return.

And let me ring out my joy in Christ my Passover. A greater deliverance than the exodus from Egypt He has wrought for me. How cowardly it is, how sinful, to be silent regarding His mighty deeds! Nay, come and hear, children, friends, neighbours, all; and I will tell what He has done, and is doing, and will continue to do for ever and ever.’

(2) ‘Is it not well for me to recall the years of the right hand of the Most High? Is it not wise to remember my Lord’s mighty doings in the past? “It is a night to be much observed.”

The God of those who went before me was a living God. People question to-day whether there is any Maker and Governor of the world. But my fathers, for whom He did great things, were sure of Him, and would have doubted their own personality sooner than doubt His. They bid me believe and be persuaded that He lives.

And the God of the ancient saints was an accessible God. In their hours of need they spoke to Him, spoke simply and fervently and every day. And they were confident that He answered them; they had innumerable convincing proofs of it.

And the God of my progenitors was a promise-keeping God. They leaned on His engagements. They pleaded them at His throne. They ensnared and enmeshed Him in His own words, as Luther says the Syrophenician mother entangled Christ. And soon He rose from His place; He girt His Church with strength and beauty. So I am rebuked for fainting on the day of adversity; I am sent on my way with a merry heart.’