Exodus 12:1-51
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,
2 This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.
3 Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb,a according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:
4 And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb.
5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:
6 And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it inb the evening.
7 And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.
8 And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.
9 Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof.
10 And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire.
11 And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD'S passover.
12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the godsc of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.
13 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroyd you, when I smite the land of Egypt.
14 And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.
15 Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.
16 And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every mane must eat, that only may be done of you.
17 And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever.
18 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even.
19 Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land.
20 Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread.
21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lambf according to your families, and kill the passover.
22 And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.
23 For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.
24 And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever.
25 And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the LORD will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service.
26 And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service?
27 That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORD'S passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped.
28 And the children of Israel went away, and did as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they.
29 And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon;g and all the firstborn of cattle.
30 And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead.
31 And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as ye have said.
32 Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also.
33 And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men.
34 And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneadingtroughsh being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders.
35 And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment:
36 And the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians.
37 And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children.
38 And a mixedi multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle.
39 And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened; because they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any victual.
40 Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.
41 And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.
42 It is a nightj to be much observed unto the LORD for bringing them out from the land of Egypt: this is that night of the LORD to be observed of all the children of Israel in their generations.
43 And the LORD said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the passover: There shall no stranger eat thereof:
44 But every man's servant that is bought for money, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof.
45 A foreigner and an hired servant shall not eat thereof.
46 In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry forth ought of the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall ye break a bone thereof.
47 All the congregation of Israel shall keepk it.
48 And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof.
49 One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.
50 Thus did all the children of Israel; as the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they.
51 And it came to pass the selfsame day, that the LORD did bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies.
Exodus 12:2. The first month of the year. This is called Abib, Exodus 13:4; and Nisan, Esther 3:7. It was before the seventh month, hence the earth is supposed to have been created in September; but now in commemoration of their deliverance from Egypt, the ecclesiastical table which regulated the festivals, was ordered to begin with Abib. Many nations have reckoned their existence from some important era in their history: and in this view it was highly proper for the christian church to reckon time from the year of grace, or the birth of our blessed Lord.
Exodus 12:3. In the tenth day. Jesus Christ our passover entered Jerusalem on this very day. John 12:12. A kid was admissible when a lamb could not be procured.
Exodus 12:12. The gods of Egypt. The Jews affirm that the temples of the Egyptians were demolished on the night of their passover. But Elohim sometimes signifies princes and nobles, and the words might refer to their destruction.
Exodus 12:15. That soul shall be cut off. Aben Ezra gives three glosses of this word, so frequent in the law. The first and highest application of the sentence is against him who shall omit circumcision, and neglect the passover, that he shall be cut off from the world to come. The second is, that he shall die an untimely death. The third is, that he shall die childless, and his name be cut off from the house of Israel. Leaven is mystically understood of a depraved heart; yet fermented bread is easier of digestion than parched corn, and cakes made of flour.
Exodus 12:37. About six hundred thousand. The women also would make 600,000; and the children probably 1,300,000 or 1,400,000. The rabbins commonly agree that they were above two millions, and not exceeding two millions and a half. What a confirmation of God's faithful word to Abraham, that his seed should be as the stars for multitude.
Exodus 12:38. A mixed multitude went up also with them. Most of these are supposed to have been slaves, who embraced this opportunity of emancipation.
ECCLESIASTICAL TABLE OF HEBREW TIME.
March Abib or Nisan Nehemiah 2:1; Esther 3:7
April Abib Exodus 13:4; Deuteronomy 16:18
April Jiar or Zif 1 Kings 6:37
May Jiar or Zif
May Sivan Esther 8:9
June Sivan
June Thanus
July Thanus
July Ab
August Ab
August Elul Nehemiah 6:15
September Elul
September Ethnaim, Tisri or Thisri.
The civil year now began. Exodus 23:16; Leviticus 25.
October Ethnaim 1 Kings 8:2
October Marchevan or Bul
November Marchevan
November Chisleu Zechariah 7:1
December Chisleu
December Tebeth Esther 2:16
January Tebeth
January Sebat Zechariah 1:7
February Sebat
February Adar Esther 9:15
March Adar Ends the year, Mark 16
REFLECTIONS.
In the most solemn and holy ritual of the paschal lamb, we have a striking type and figure of Jesus Christ. He is the Lamb without spot or blemish, having sanctified his humanity in its assumption, and having been preserved in the world holy and undefiled. On the tenth day of this month he entered Jerusalem, and set himself apart as the lamb of God, to take away the sin of the world. His whole body and soul, if we may so speak, were exposed to the fire of divine justice, and to the rage of those who knew him not. Hence said the prophet, when contemplating his passion in the visions of future times, “My heart is like wax, it is melted in the midst of my bowels; my strength is dried up like a potsherd, my tongue cleaveth to my jaws.” Psalms 22:14. He was crucified in haste; for the rulers sat up the whole of the night, and allowed themselves no repose till they saw him nailed to the cross. The blood of the paschal lamb was to be sprinkled upon the sideposts, and on the upper part of the doorposts, not on the threshold, lest an unhallowed foot should trample upon it; and this solemn, this bloody sign, was to save the sinful Israelites from the destruction which awaited the firstborn and strength of Egypt. Here the glory of the atonement appears. Here the mystical significancy of the blood of the cross, the wood sprinkled with blood appears. Israel was not to be saved by a carnal Messiah reigning in Jerusalem, but by the lamb slain in figure from the foundation of the world. Tremble then, oh my sinful soul, at the decree to destroy the wicked. Haste, haste, to sprinkle thy conscience with this blood of salvation, and to place all thy household under the protection of the bloody sign; so shall the divine justice, which spared not the beloved Son, spare thee from death in the day of destruction.
The paschal lamb was also a brand national and domestic festival of the most delicious kind; and here we have shadowed forth the bread and wine, the milk and honey, the grace and glory, with which the gospel feasts the faithful soul and the church of God. Oh what bread is like that which cometh down from heaven; what food like that of the body of Christ which was broken for us; what benefits like those he has purchased by his passion and death! The love of God is better than life itself; and except we eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of man, we have no life in us. Sprinkled with this blood, and strengthened with this food, Israel rejoiced while Egypt wept: Israel lived while their enemies died. The paschal house was protected with the sign of salvation, and filled with songs of praise, while the houses of their unbelieving oppressors were full of wailings, and all the terrors of an avenging God.
Other circumstances in the paschal feast are here marked, and of great importance. It was to be eaten with the utmost personal purity, and with unleavened bread. Learn then, oh my soul, in approaching God and his ordinances, to cleanse thy hands from sin, and thy heart from the leaven of malice and hypocrisy. The sprinkling of the blood of Christ is never to be a cloak for sin, but ever accompanied with sanctifying grace. It was to be eaten with bitter herbs. In heaven the feast will be pure, unmixed with sorrow and affliction. The presence of the bridegroom will chase away all gloom and dejection from the mind; but while on earth we have to mourn for sin, and all its dreadful consequences. Here also we have to drink of the cup which our Saviour drank, for the servant is not above his Lord. In these bodies and in this abode, we shall groan beneath the calamities of life. It was to be eaten in families, and associations of families sufficient to consume the whole. Here is likewise shadowed forth the spiritual communion and intercourse, which the scattered families and congregations of the faithful have with their glorious head and chief; being partakers of the same grace, they should ever be distinguished by family affection and brotherly love. No part of the passover was to remain until the morning; no fragment of the Lord's feast was allowed to corrupt. Here the resurrection of our blessed Lord and eternal life are set before us; here we regale the soul, taste immortal pleasures, and the earnest of eternal joy. Lastly, it was to be eaten in the attitude of our pilgrimage, and in haste. Let us never forget, that the earth is not our home: we are strangers and sojourners in this vale of tears. Heaven is our promised rest. Let us haste thither, for the day is at hand, and the destroying angel is gone forth.