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.
5. Redemption by Blood, the Passover and the Law of the Firstborn
CHAPTER 12 The Passover Instituted and Kept, the Death of the Firstborn and the Exodus
1. The Passover instituted and the feast of unleavened bread (Exodus 12:1)
2. The command given to the people and obeyed (Exodus 12:21)
3. The death of the firstborn in Egypt (Exodus 12:29)
4. The departure of the children of Israel (Exodus 12:31)
5. From Rameses to Succoth (Exodus 12:37)
6. The fulfillment of the 430 years (Exodus 12:40)
7. The ordinance of the Passover (Exodus 12:43)
This is the birth chapter of Israel as a nation. The birth pangs are about over and the deliverance is at hand. The first thing announced is the change of the year (verses 1, 2). A new beginning is made with the deliverance out of the house of bondage; the past is left behind and blotted out. This is typical of the new birth of the individual. The month which marks this new beginning is Abib, the “green ear” month, because the corn was then in the ear. After the captivity it was called Nissan (Nehemiah 2:1; Esther 3:7). It is our April.
Verses 1-14 give the instructions concerning the Passover, and verses 15-20 those concerning the feast of unleavened bread. The Passover Lamb is a most blessed type of the Lord Jesus Christ in His work. He is the Lamb of God and our Passover (John 1:29; 1 Corinthians 5:6; 1 Peter 1:18). The chapter is extremely rich in typical foreshadowing and spiritual truth. The spotless character of our Lord is indicated in that the lamb had to be without blemish. Taken out, separated, and a male; all has a meaning. For four days the lamb had to be set aside before it was to be killed. This was done to discover if there would be a flaw, some defect in it, which would unfit the lamb for the sacrifice. Here we are reminded of the four Gospel records in which the holy, spotless life of Him is told out who gave His life for a ransom. The lamb was to be killed by the whole congregation, even as it was with Christ. It was to be killed “between the evenings.” That is between noon and the night, the afternoon; that is when Christ died. And what more could we say of the roasting with fire and other instructions, which all foreshadow the death and suffering of the Lamb of God? We call attention to the fact that Satan did not want to have the Lord Jesus put to death on the Passover feast. Satan knew He was the true Lamb, and he tried to prevent His death at the predicted time (Matthew 26:5; Mark 14:2). But the Lamb of God, the true Passover, died at the very time appointed, thus fulfilling the Scriptures. The shedding of the blood and its application is the prominent thing in the Passover. The word “pesach” means to “pass through,” and “to pass over.” God passed through Egypt in judgment; it was also liable to fall upon the people Israel. They were guilty before God and had deserved the same judgment which was about to fall upon Egypt. But Jehovah provided a sacrifice and in the shed blood a shelter and complete deliverance. The blood secured all they needed as a sinful people and as it was sprinkled in obedience to Jehovah's command perfect peace and rest was obtained. “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.” The blood was the token for Jehovah. They were not to see the blood, but He in passing through saw the blood. Faith in what Jehovah had said and what had been done gave peace to all in the dwellings. The blood of Christ is thus blessedly foreshadowed. Peace has been made in the blood of the cross. Upon the Lamb of God, the holy Substitute, the sentence of death was executed and now whenever God sees the blood there He passes by, no more condemnation, but perfect justification. Wherever there is faith in the blood, there is the enjoyment of perfect peace. The blood of the Lamb and the assuring word of Jehovah, “When I see the blood I will pass over you,” were the solid foundations of Israel ‘s shelter and peace in that awful night of death and judgment. And they are our solid foundations too. We quote helpful words from another.
“While outside the house the blood of atonement spoke to God, to whom it was addressed; inside He provided that which was to satisfy them, and enable them for that path with Him upon which they were now so shortly to go forth. The lamb is theirs to feed upon, and God is bent upon their enjoying this provision of His love. The lamb, too, must all of it be eaten. If the household were too little for the lamb (we read nothing of the lamb being too little for the house), then, says the Lord, let him and his neighbor next unto his house take it. God would have Christ apprehended by us. He would have our souls sustained, and He would have Christ honored. We are to eat--to appropriate to ourselves what Christ is; and what we appropriate becomes, in fact, part and parcel of ourselves. This laying hold of Christ by faith makes Christ to be sustenance indeed to us, and Himself to be reproduced in us.
“Death God ordains as the food of life; and it is as sheltered and saved from death that we can feed upon death. It is not merely vanquished and set aside; it is in the cross the sweet and wonderful display of divine power and love in our behalf, accomplished in the mystery of human weakness. Death is become the food of life, and the life is life eternal.” (Numerical Bible, Vol. 1, p. 172.)
The eating of the Passover lamb (Exodus 12:9) is full of meaning. It is the type of feeding upon Christ, occupation with His blessed Person. And that is what we need to keep our feet in the way of peace.
The feast of unleavened bread is mentioned next. Leaven means corruption; it is the type of sin. The lesson of holiness, which God looks for in His redeemed people, is here before us. The old leaven must be purged out. The leaven of malice and wickedness must be put away (1 Corinthians 5:6). We are delivered from the power of indwelling sin. Saved by grace our calling is to holiness. Spiritually to keep the feast of unleavened bread means to live in the energy of the new nature and that is the walk in the Spirit. The bitter herbs mentioned in Exodus 12:8 with the unleavened bread speak of self-denial and self-judgment. The terrible judgment fell that fourteenth day, or between the fourteenth and fifteenth day of Abib. All Jehovah had announced in judgment was literally carried out. There was not a house where there was not one dead. So God will yet put all His predicted judgments for this age into execution and a hardened world will find out the truth of His word.
Then the Exodus took place, and they left with the riches of the Egyptians. The whole experience of Israel in Egypt and their deliverance is typical of their coming final and glorious deliverance.
From Rameses (city of the sun) the city of earthly splendor, they went to Succoth, which means “booths.” There pilgrim character is now brought out. The wilderness begins. Redemption by blood makes us pilgrims and strangers, for we are no longer of the world, though we are in it. The mixed multitude came along. They were Egyptians stirred up by the mighty judgment events, which had taken place (Numbers 11:4; Nehemiah 13:3). They became a snare to the Israelites.
A word on Exodus 12:40 and Exodus 12:41 will terminate these brief annotations of this remarkable chapter. The 430 years' sojourning does not mean that it was 430 years since Jacob and his sons had come to Egypt. “The selfsame day” means the fifteenth day of the seventh month; it was the day on which Abraham left Ur to go forth in obedience to the divine command.