Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, “This month shall be to you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year to you.
Show the surrounding paragraph
Exodus 12:1-2 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, “This month shall be to you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth day of this month, they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household; and if the household is too little for a lamb, then he and his neighbor next to his house shall take one according to the number of the souls. You shall make your count for the lamb according to what everyone can eat. Your lamb shall be without defect, a male a year old. You shall take it from the sheep, or from the goats. You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month; and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at evening. They shall take some of the blood, and put it on the two door posts and on the lintel, on the houses in which they shall eat it. They shall eat the meat in that night, roasted with fire, and unleavened bread. They shall eat it with bitter herbs. Don’t eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted with fire; with its head, its legs and its inner parts. You shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; but that which remains of it until the morning you shall burn with fire. This is how you shall eat it: with your belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste: it is Yahweh’s Passover. For I will go through the land of Egypt in that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and animal. I will execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt. I am Yahweh. The blood shall be to you for a token on the houses where you are. When I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. This day shall be a memorial for you. You shall keep it as a feast to Yahweh. You shall keep it as a feast throughout your generations by an ordinance forever.
Parallel Translations
-
Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,
“This month shall be to you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year to you.
-
And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,
This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.
Show all 3 translations
-
And the LORD spoke unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying:
'This month shall be unto you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Commandments (1)
The laws of the Torah, each cited and shown as a primary source.
Cross-references (7)
- Exodus 13:4 (v2) Today you go out in the month Abib.
- Deuteronomy 16:1 (v2) Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover to Yahweh your God; for in the month of Abib Yahweh your God brought you out of Egypt by…
- Exodus 34:18 (v2) “You shall keep the feast of unleavened bread. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the…
- Exodus 23:15 (v2) You shall observe the feast of unleavened bread. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in…
- Leviticus 23:5 (v2) In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening, is Yahweh’s Passover.
Show all 7 cross-references
- Numbers 28:16 (v2) “ ‘In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, is Yahweh’s Passover.
- Esther 3:7 (v2) In the first month, which is the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (29 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v2 Called Nisan, containing part of March, and part of…
Called Nisan, containing part of March, and part of April.
As touching the observation of feasts: as for other policies, they reckoned from September.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv1–2 Exo 12:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses and…
Exo 12:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,
Ver. 1. And the Lord spake] Befeore the slaughter of the firstborn, yea, before that plague was threatened. See Mr Torshel’s design for harmonising the Bible.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv1–2 The lord spake; had spoken, before the three days’…
The lord spake; had spoken, before the three days’ darkness, as may appear by comparing Exo 12:3,6 of this chapter with Exo 11:4. And the mention of it was put off by him till this place, as well that he might not interrupt the history of all the plagues, as that he might give the whole institution of the passover together.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v1 Moses and Aaron here receive of the Lord what…
Moses and Aaron here receive of the Lord what they were afterwards to deliver to the people concerning the ordinance of the passover, to which is prefixed an order for a new style to be observed in their months (Exo 12:1, Exo 12:2): This shall be to you the beginning of months. They had hitherto begun their year from the middle of September, but henceforward they were to begin it from the middle of March, at least in all their ecclesiastical computations. Note, It is good to begin the day, and begin the year, and especially to begin our lives, with God. This new calculation began the year with the spring, which reneweth the face of the earth, and was used as a figure of the coming of Christ, Sol 2:11, Sol 2:12. We may suppose that, while Moses was bringing the ten plagues upon the Egyptians, he was directing the Israelites to prepare for their departure at an hour's warning. Probably he had be degrees brought them near together from their dispersions, for their are here called the congregation of Israel (Exo 12:3), and to them as a congregation orders are here sent. Their amazement and hurry, it is easy to suppose, were great; yet now they must apply themselves to the observance of a sacred rite, to the honour of God. Note, When our heads are fullest of care, and our hands of business, yet we must not forget our religion, nor suffer ourselves to be indisposed for acts of devotion.
I. God appointed that on the night wherein they were to go out of Egypt they should, in each of their families, kill a lamb, or that two or three families, if they were small, should join for a lamb. The lamb was to be got ready four days before and that afternoon they were to kill it (Exo 12:6) as a sacrifice; not strictly, for it was not offered upon the altar, but as a religious ceremony, acknowledging God's goodness to them, not only in preserving them from, but in delivering them by, the plagues inflicted on the Egyptians. See the antiquity of family-religion; and see the convenience of the joining of small families together for religious worship, that it may be made the more solemn.
Read full note →
II. The lamb so slain they were to eat, roasted (we may suppose, in its several quarters), with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, because they were to eat it in haste (Exo 12:11), and to leave none of it until the morning; for God would have them to depend upon him for their daily bread, and not to take thought for the morrow. He that led them would feed them.
III. Before they ate the flesh of the lamb, they were to sprinkle the blood upon the doorposts, Exo 12:7. By this their houses were to be distinguished from the houses of the Egyptians, and so their first-born secured from the sword of the destroying angel, Exo 12:12, Exo 12:13. Dreadful work was to be made this night in Egypt; all the first-born both of man and beast were to be slain, and judgment executed upon the gods of Egypt. Moses does not mention the fulfillment, in this chapter, yet he speaks of it Num 33:4. It is very probable that the idols which the Egyptians worshipped were destroyed, those of metal melted, those of wood consumed, and those of stone broken to pieces, whence Jethro infers (Exo 18:11), The Lord is greater than all gods. The same angel that destroyed their first-born demolished their idols, which were no less dear to them. For the protection of Israel from this plague they were ordered to sprinkle the blood of the lamb upon the door-posts, their doing which would be accepted as an instance of their faith in the divine warnings and their obedience to the divine precepts. Note, 1. If in times of common calamity God will secure his own people, and set a mark upon them; they shall be hidden either in heaven or under heaven, preserved either from the stroke of judgments or at least from the sting of them. 2. The blood of sprinkling is the saint's security in times of common calamity; it is this that marks them for God, pacifies conscience, and gives them boldness of access to the throne of grace, and so becomes a wall of protection round them and a wall of partition between them and the children of this world.
IV. This was to be annually observed as a feast of the Lord in their generations, to which the feast of unleavened bread was annexed, during which, for seven days, they were to eat no bread but what was unleavened, in remembrance of their being confined to such bread, of necessity, for many days after they came out of Egypt, Exo 12:14-20. The appointment is inculcated for their better direction, and that they might not mistake concerning it, and to awaken those who perhaps in Egypt had grown generally very stupid and careless in the matters of religion to a diligent observance of the institution. Now, without doubt, there was much of the gospel in this ordinance; it is often referred to in the New Testament, and, in it, to us is the gospel preached, and not to them only, who could not stedfastly look to the end of these things, Heb 4:2; Co2 3:13.
1. The paschal lamb was typical. Christ is our Passover, Co1 5:7. (1.) It was to be a lamb; and Christ is the Lamb of God (Joh 1:29), often in the Revelation called the Lamb, meek and innocent as a lamb, dumb before the shearers, before the butchers. (2.) It was to be a male of the first year (Exo 12:5), in its prime; Christ offered up himself in the midst of his days, not in infancy with the babes of Bethlehem. It denotes the strength and sufficiency of the Lord Jesus, on whom our help was laid. (3.) It was to be without blemish (Exo 12:5), denoting the purity of the Lord Jesus, a Lamb without spot, Pe1 1:19. The judge that condemned him (as if his trial were only like the scrutiny that was made concerning the sacrifices, whether they were without blemish or no) pronounced him innocent. (4.) It was to be set apart four days before (Exo 12:3, Exo 12:6), denoting the designation of the Lord Jesus to be a Saviour, both in the purpose and in the promise. It is very observable that as Christ was crucified at the passover, so he solemnly entered into Jerusalem four days before, the very day that the paschal lamb was set apart. (5.) It was to be slain, and roasted with fire (Exo 12:6-9), denoting the exquisite sufferings of the Lord Jesus, even unto death, the death of the cross. The wrath of God is as fire, and Christ was made a curse for us. (6.) It was to be killed by the whole congregation between the two evenings, that is, between three o'clock and six. Christ suffered in the end of the world (Heb 9:26), by the hand of the Jews, the whole multitude of them (Luk 23:18), and for the good of all his spiritual Israel. (7.) Not a bone of it must be broken (Exo 12:46), which is expressly said to be fulfilled in Christ (Joh 19:33, Joh 19:36), denoting the unbroken strength of the Lord Jesus.
2. The sprinkling of the blood was typical. (1.) It was not enough that the blood of the lamb was shed, but it must be sprinkled, denoting the application of the merits of Christ's death to our souls; we must receive the atonement, Rom 5:11. (2.) It was to be sprinkled with a bunch of hyssop (Exo 12:22) dipped in the basin. The everlasting covenant, like the basin, in the conservatory of this blood, the benefits and privileges purchased by it are laid up for us there; faith is the bunch of hyssop by which we apply the promises to ourselves and the benefits of the blood of Christ laid up in them. (3.) It was to be sprinkled upon the door-posts, denoting the open profession we are to make of faith in Christ, and obedience to him, as those that are not ashamed to own our dependence upon him. The mark of the beast may be received on the forehead or in the right hand, but the seal of the Lamb is always in the forehead, Rev 7:3. There is a back-way to hell, but no back-way to heaven; no, the only way to this is a high-way, Isa 35:8. (4.) It was to be sprinkled upon the lintel and the sideposts, but not upon the threshold (Exo 12:7), which cautions us to take heed of trampling under foot the blood of the covenant, Heb 10:29. It is precious blood, and must be precious to us. (5.) The blood, thus sprinkled, was a means of the preservation of the Israelites from the destroying angel, who had nothing to do where the blood was. If the blood of Christ be sprinkled upon our consciences, it will be our protection from the wrath of God, the curse of the law, and the damnation of hell, Rom 8:1.
3. The solemnly eating of the lamb was typical of our gospel-duty to Christ. (1.) The paschal lamb was killed, not to be looked upon only, but to be fed upon; so we must by faith make Christ ours, as we do that which we eat, and we must receive spiritual strength and nourishment from him, as from our food, and have delight and satisfaction in him, as we have in eating and drinking when we are hungry or thirsty: see Joh 6:53-55. (2.) It was to be all eaten; those that by faith feed upon Christ must feed upon a whole Christ; they must take Christ and his yoke, Christ and his cross, as well as Christ and his crown. Is Christ divided? Those hat gather much of Christ will have nothing over. (3.) It was to be eaten immediately, not deferred till morning, Exo 12:10. Today Christ is offered, and is to be accepted while it is called today, before we sleep the sleep of death. (4.) It was to be eaten with bitter herbs (Exo 12:8), in remembrance of the bitterness of their bondage in Egypt. We must feed upon Christ with sorrow and brokenness of heart, in remembrance of sin; this will give an admirable relish to the paschal lamb. Christ will be sweet to us if sin be bitter. (5.) It was to be eaten in a departing posture (Exo 12:11); when we feed upon Christ by faith we must absolutely forsake the rule and dominion of sin, shake off Pharaoh's yoke; and we must sit loose to the world, and every thing in it, forsake all for Christ, and reckon it no bad bargain, Heb 13:13, Heb 13:14.
4. The feast of unleavened bread was typical of the Christian life, Co1 5:7, Co1 5:8. Having received Christ Jesus the Lord, (1.) We must keep a feast in holy joy, continually delighting ourselves in Christ Jesus; no manner of work must be done (Exo 12:16), no care admitted or indulged, inconsistent with, or prejudicial to, this holy joy: if true believers have not a continual feast, it is their own fault. (2.) It must be a feast of unleavened bread, kept in charity, without the leaven of malice, and in sincerity, without the leaven of hypocrisy. The law was very strict as to the passover, and the Jews were so in their usages, that no leaven should be found in their houses, Exo 12:19. All the old leaven of sin must be put far from us, with the utmost caution and abhorrence, if we would keep the feast of a holy life to the honour of Christ. (3.) It was by an ordinance for ever (Exo 12:17); as long as we live, we must continue feeding upon Christ and rejoicing in him, always making thankful mention of the great things he has done for us.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv1–2 And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in…
And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,.... Before they and the children of Israel came out of it, before the slaying of the firstborn, yea, before Moses came from the presence of Pharaoh, and had given him notice of it; and it is very probable even before the three days darkness, seeing it seems necessary it should be four days before the passover, since on the tenth day the lamb was to be taken, and on the fourteenth slain, Exo 12:3 and by what follows it looks as if it was at the beginning or first day of the month, and so the words may be rendered, "the Lord had spoke" (y); and the following account is deferred to this place, that there might be no interruption of the history of the plagues, and that the passover, with all its rites and ceremonies, both at the first institution and observance of it, and in later times, might be laid together.
(y) "alloquutus antem fuerat", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "dixerat autem"; so some in Drusius, and Ainsworth.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv1–2 This chapter gives an account of one of the…
This chapter gives an account of one of the most memorable ordinances, and one of the most memorable providences of all that art recorded in the old testament.
I. None of all the ordinances of the Jewish church were more eminent than that of the passover. It consisted of three parts.
Read full note →
1. The killing and eating of the paschal lamb, ver. 1-6, 8-11.
2. The sprinkling of the blood upon the doorposts, peculiar to the first passover, ver. 7. with the reason for it, ver. 11-13.
3. The feast of unleavened bread for seven days after; this points rather at what was to be done after in the observance of this ordinance, ver. 14-20. This institution is communicated to the people, and they instructed in the observance. (1.) Of this first passover, ver. 21-23. (2.) Of the after passovers, ver. 24-27. And the Israelites obedience to these orders, ver. 28.
II. None of all the providences of God concerning the Jewish church was more illustrious, than the deliverance of the children of Israel out of Egypt.
1. The first-born of the Egyptians are slain, ver. 29, 30.
2. Orders are given immediately for their discharge, ver. 31-33.
3. They begin their march,
1. Loaded with their own effects, ver. 34.
2. Enriched with the spoils of Egypt, ver. 35, 36.
3. Attended with a mixed multitude, ver. 37, 38,
4. Put to their shifts for present supply, ver. 39. This event is dated, ver. 40-42.
III. A recapitulation in the close, 1st. Of this memorable ordinance, with some additions, ver. 43-49; 2ndly. Of this memorable providence, ver. 50, 51.
The Lord spake - Had spoken, before the three days darkness. But the mention of it was put off to this place, that the history of the plagues might not be interrupted.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv1–2 The month Abib is to be considered as the…
CHAPTER XII
The month Abib is to be considered as the commencement of
Read full note →
the year, 1, 2.
The PASSOVER instituted; the lamb or kid to be used on the
occasion to be taken from the flock the tenth day of the
month, and each family to provide one, 3, 4.
The lamb or kid to be a male of the first year without
blemish, 5.
To be killed on the fourteenth day, 6,
and the blood to be sprinkled on the side posts and lintels
of the doors, 7.
The flesh to be prepared by roasting, and not to be eaten
either sodden or raw, 8, 9;
and no part of it to be left till the morning, 10.
The people to eat it with their loins girded, c., as persons
prepared for a journey, 11.
Why called the PASSOVER, 12.
The blood sprinkled on the door posts, &c., to be a token to
them of preservation from the destroying angel, 13.
The fourteenth day of the month Abib to be a feast for ever,
14.
Unleavened bread to be eaten seven days, 15.
This also to be observed in all their generations for ever, 17-20.
Moses instructs the elders of Israel how they are to offer
the lamb and sprinkle his blood, and for what purpose, 21-23.
He binds them to instruct their children in the nature of
this rite, 24-27.
The children of Israel act as commanded, 28.
All the first-born of Egypt slain, 29, 30.
Pharaoh and the Egyptians urge Moses, Aaron, and the Israelites
to depart, 31-33.
They prepare for their departure, and get gold, silver, and
raiment from the Egyptians, 34-36.
They journey from Rameses to Succoth, in number six hundred
thousand men, besides women and children, and a mixed multitude,
37, 38.
They bake unleavened cakes of the dough they brought with them
out of Egypt, 39.
The time in which they sojourned in Egypt, 40-42.
Different ordinances concerning the PASSOVER, 43-49
which are all punctually observed by the people, who are brought
out of Egypt the same day, 50, 51.
NOTES ON CHAP. XII
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v1 Exo 12:1-2. The Lord spake unto Moses — Or…
Exo 12:1-2. The Lord spake unto Moses — Or had spoken before what is related in the foregoing chapter, if not also before the three days’ darkness: but the mention of it was put off to this place, that the history of the plagues might not be interrupted. This month shall be to you the beginning of months — That is, the first and principal month of the year. It was called Abib, (Exo 13:4; Exo 23:15,) which signifies an ear of corn, because then the corn was eared. It answers nearly to our March. Before this time, the Jews, like most other nations, began their year about the autumnal equinox, in the month Tisri, answering to our September, after their harvest and vintage. But in commemoration of this, their signal deliverance out of Egypt, their computation, at least as to their feasts and sacred things, was from the month Abib. And therefore, what was before their first month, now became their seventh. The beginning of their civil year, however, appears still to have been reckoned as before. We may suppose that while Moses was bringing the ten plagues upon the Egyptians, he was directing the Israelites to prepare for their departure at an hour’s warning. Probably he had, by degrees, brought them near together from their dispersions, for they are here called the congregation of Israel; and to them, as a congregation, orders are here sent.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv1–2 This chapter was written some time after the Exodus,…
This chapter was written some time after the Exodus, probably when Moses put together the portions of the book toward the end of his life. The statements that these instructions were given in the land of Egypt, and that they were given to Moses and Aaron, are important: the one marks the special dignity of this ordinance, which was established before the Sinaitic code; the other marks the distinction between Moses and Aaron and all other prophets. They alone were prophets of the law, i. e. no law was promulgated by any other prophets.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv1–2 Said, some time before. Moses mentions all the plagues…
Said, some time before. Moses mentions all the plagues together. (Menochius)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On v1 B.—The divine ordinance of the passover
B.—The divine ordinance of the passover
Exo_12:1-20
Read full note →
1, 2And Jehovah spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. 3Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In [On] the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers [according to households], a lamb for a house: 4And if the household be too little for the [a] lamb, let him and his neighbor next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating, shall [shall ye] make your count for the lamb. 5Your lamb shall be [ye shall have a lamb] without blemish, a male of the first year [one year old]: ye shall take it out [take it] from the sheep, or from the goats. 6And ye shall keep it up [keep it] until the fourteenth day of the same [this] month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. 7And they shall take of the blood, and strike [put] it on the two side-posts and on the upper door-post 8[the lintel] of the houses wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh in that night roast [roasted] with fire, and unleavened bread; and [bread]: with 9bitter herbs they shall eat it. Eat not [nothing] of it raw, nor sodden at all [boiled] with water, but roast [roasted] with fire; his [its] head with his [its] legs, and with the purtenance [inwards] thereof. 10And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. 11And 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 haste3: it is the Lord’s 12passover [a passover unto Jehovah]. For [And] I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am Jehovah. 13And the blood shall be to you for a token [sign] 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 destroy you [there shall be no destroying plague upon you], when I smite the land of Egypt. 14And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep [celebrate] it a feast to Jehovah; throughout your generations ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever [celebrate it as a perpetual ordinance]. 15Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even [yea, on] 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. 16And in the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation to you [on the first day ye shall have a holy convocation, and on the seventh day a holy convocation]; no manner of work [no work] shall be done in them; save [only] that which every man must eat [is eaten by every man], that only may be done of you. 17And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in [on] this self-same day have I brought your armies [hosts] out of the land of Egypt; therefore shall ye [and ye shall] observe this day in [throughout] your generations by [as] an ordinance foreExo Exo_12:18 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. 19Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even [leavened], that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger [sojourner] or born in the land. 20Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread.
TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL
[Exo_12:11. בְּחִפָּזוֹן. Lange translates: in Flucht-bereitschaft, “in readiness for flight,” condemning De Wette’s rendering, Eilfertigkeit, “haste,” “precipitation.” But in the only other two passages where the word occurs, Lange’s translation is hardly admissible. Deu_16:3, “Thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste, בְּחִפָּזוֹן.” It could not be said, “Thou camest forth in readiness for flight.” So Isa_52:12, “Ye shall not go out with haste (בְּחִפָּזוֹן), nor go by flight.” Here the word also denotes anxious haste. The verb חָפַז likewise everywhere conveys the notion of hurriedness, or anxiety connected with haste.—Tr.].
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Exo_12:1 sqq. Institution of the Passover. As Christendom reckons its years according to the salvation in Christ, so the Israelites were to reckon the months of the year from the first month of their redemption. The first month, in which the redemption took place, Abib (month of green ears) or Nisan, was to become the first month of their year. Hereby likewise the feast of the Passover was to be made the foundation of all the Jewish feasts, and the Passover sacrifice the foundation of all the various kinds of offering. The feast, however, becomes a double one. The Passover, as the feast of redemption, lasts, together with the day of preparation, only one night; the least of unleavened bread (including the Passover) seven days. Since the feast of the great day of atonement also coalesces with the feast of tabernacles which follows close upon it, it would seem that the feast of Pentecost also, as the feast of ingathering, requires to be coupled with something. The institution of the feast of the Passover, connected with the announcement of the destruction of the first-born of Egypt, is narrated in Exo_12:1-14; in 15–20 the institution of the feast of unleavened bread. The two feasts, however, are so thoroughly blended into one, that the whole feast may be called either the Passover, or the feast of unleavened bread. The festival as a whole signifies separation from the corruption of Egypt, this being a symbol of the corruption of the world. The foundation of the whole consists in the divine act of redemption celebrated by the Passover. The result consists in the act of the Israelites, the removal of the leaven, which denotes community with Egyptian principles (Vid. Comm. on Matthew, pp. 245, 289). We have here, therefore, a typical purification based on a typical redemption.
Exo_12:1-2. In the land of Egypt.—It is a mark of the dominion of Jehovah in the midst of His enemies, that He established the Jewish community in the land of Egypt, as also the Christian community in the midst of Judaism, and the Evangelical community under the dominion of the Papacy. To the triumphant assurance in regard to the place corresponds the triumphant assurance in regard to the time: the Passover, as a typical festival of redemption, was celebrated before the typical redemption itself; the Lord’s Supper before the real redemption; and in the constant repetition of its celebration it points forward to the final redemption which is to take place when the Lord comes. Keil calls attention to this legislation in the land of Egypt, as the first, in distinction from the legislation on Mt. Sinai and the fields of Moab.—The beginning of months.—It does not definitely follow from this ordinance that the Jews before had a different beginning of the year; but this is probable, inasmuch as the Egyptians had a different one. Vid. Keil, Vol. 11., p. 10. Nisan nearly corresponds to our April.
Exo_12:3. Unto all the congregation of Israel.—As heretofore, through the elders.—A lamb.—A lamb or kid.—According to households.—The companies were not to be formed arbitrarily, but were to be formed according to families. Vid. Exo_12:21.—On the tenth day of this month.—Vid. Exo_12:6.
Exo_12:4. Of course more than two families might unite, if some of them were childless. Also perhaps the gaps in smaller families might be filled by members from excessively large ones. Later tradition fixed upon ten as the normal number of participants.
Exo_12:5. Quality of the lamb: without blemish, male, one year old. For divergent opinions, see Keil, Vol. II., p. 11.4 That the lamb, as free from blemish, was designed to represent the moral integrity of the offerer (Keil), is a very doubtful proposition, since moral integrity needs no expiatory blood; it might, with more propriety, be taken to represent theocratic integrity. Also the requirement that the lamb be a male can hardly [as Keil assumes] have exclusive reference to the first-born sons [for whom the lambs were substituted]. The requirement of one year as the age probably is connected with the necessity that the lamb be weaned; furthermore, it was for a meal which was to suffice for an ordinary family. The first-born of beasts which were sacrificed on other occasions than at the Passover needed only to be eight days old. As the lamb was of more value than the kid, it is natural that for this occasion it became more and more predominantly used.
Exo_12:6. Ye shall keep it.—Does this mean simply: ye shall keep it in store? Probably it is intimated that the lamb was designed either to represent the persons, or to be held in custody for them. Why did this keeping of the animal last from the 10th to the 14th of Nisan? “Which regulation, however, Jonathan and Raschi regarded as applicable only to the passover slain in Egypt” (Keil). According to Hofmann, the four days refer to the four generations spent by the Israelites in Egypt. In that case the whole analogy would lie in the number four. If the 10th day of Nisan was near the day of the command, and Moses foresaw that the last plague would not come till after four days, it was natural for him not to leave so important a preparation to the last day; the four days, moreover, were by the ordinance itself devoted entirely to wholesome suspense and preparation; in another form Fagius refers to this when he says: “ut occasionem haberent inter se colloquendi et disputandi,” etc. Vid. Keil.—The whole assembly of the congregation of Israel.—Although every head of a family killed his lamb, yet the individual acts were a common act of the people in the view of the author of the rite. Israel was the household enlarged; the separate household was the community in miniature. Hence later the lambs were slain in the court.—In the evening (literally “between the two evenings”). This regulation, which distinguishes two evenings in one day, is explained in three ways: (1) between sunset and dark (Aben-Ezra, the Karaites and Samaritans, Keil and others); (2) just before and just after sunset (Kimchi, Raschi, Hitzig); (3) between the decline of the day and sunset (Josephus, the Mishna, and the practice of the Jews). Without doubt this is the correct explanation; in favor of it may be adduced Exo_16:12; Deu_16:6; Joh_13:2. According to this passage, preparation for the Passover was begun before the sun was fully set. Considerable time was needed for the removal of the leaven and the killing of the lamb. According to the Jewish conception of the day as reckoned from 6 A. M. to 6 P. M., there was in fact a double evening: first, the decline of the day of twelve hours; secondly, the night-time, beginning at 6 P. M., which, according to Gen_1:5 and Mat_28:1, was always evening in the wider sense—the evening of the day of twenty-four hours—which preceded the morning, the day in the narrower sense.5
Exo_12:7. Take of the blood.—The two door-posts, as well as the lintel of the door, denote the whole door; the threshold is excepted because the atoning blood should not be trodden under foot. “The door,” says Keil, “through which one goes into the house, stands for the house itself; as is shown by the frequent expression: ‘in thy gates,’ for ‘in thy cities,’ Exo_20:10, etc.” It is here assumed that every house or tent had a door properly so called. “Expiation was made for the house, and it was consecrated as an altar” (Keil). This is a confused conception. It was the household that was atoned for; the building did thus indeed become a sort of sanctuary; but in what sense was it to be an altar? For here all kinds of offerings were united in one central offering: the חֶרֶם, or the slaughter of the Egyptian firstborn; the expiatory offering, or the blood sprinkled by the hyssop-branch on the door-posts (Lev_14:49; Num_19:18), which, therefore, as such represent the several parts of the altar; the thank-offering, or the Passover-meal; the burnt-offering, or the burning of the parts left over. Because the door-posts themselves stand for the altar, the smearing of them was afterwards given up, and, instead, the lamb was killed in the court; and this change must have been made as soon as there was a court.
Exo_12:8. On that night.—The one following the 14th of Nisan. Why only on the same night? Otherwise it would not have been a festive meal. Why roasted? The fire (itself symbolically significant) concentrates the strength of the meat; by boiling a part of it passes into the water. The unleavened bread has a two-fold significance. When eaten at the Passover, it denotes separation from the leaven of Egypt (Mat_16:6; Mat_16:12; 2Co_5:8); as a feast by itself, the feast of unleavened bread, called bread of affliction, denotes remembrance of the afflictions which were connected with the flight from Egypt (Deu_16:3). This is overlooked, when it is inferred from Exo_12:17 that the ordinance of the feast of unleavened bread was made at a later time (as Keil does, II., p. 20).—With bitter herbs.—מְרֹרִים, πικρίδες (LXX.), lactucæ agrestes (Vulg.), the wild lettuce, the endive, etc. Vid. Keil II., p. 15, Knobel, p. 99. “According to Russell,” says Knobel, “there are endives in Syria from the beginning of the winter months to the end of March; then comes lettuce in April and May.” According to Keil, “the bitter herbs are not called accompaniments of the meal, but are represented as the principal part of the meal, here and in Num_9:11.” For עַל, he says, does not mean along with, together with, but retains its fundamental meaning, upon, over. In this way the following strange symbolic meaning is deduced: “The bitter herbs are to call to mind the bitterness of life experienced by Israel in Egypt, and this bitterness is to be overcome by the sweet flesh of the lamb.” If only the bitter herbs did not taste pleasant! If only the lamb did not form a meal of thank-offering, and in this meal were not the chief thing! May not the lamb, according to the usual custom, have lain upon a setting of bitter herbs? In the passage before us only the unleavened bread is said to be put upon the bitter herbs. The modification of the arrangement in Num_9:11 is unimportant. It is a strange notion that the bitter herbs and the sweet bread formed “the basis of the Passover-meal” (Keil). In that case the “sweet” bread ought to have made the “sweet” flesh of the lamb superfluous. Moreover, the opposite of sweet is not bitter, but sour. According to Knobel, the bitter herbs correspond to the frankincense which used to accompany many offerings of grain, inasmuch as they had, for the most part, a pleasant odor. But frankincense has a special reference to prayer. If the bitter herbs are to be interpreted as symbolic, we may understand that they supplement the negative significance of the unleavened bread by something positive, as being health-giving, vitalizing, consecratory herbs.
Exo_12:9. Its head with its legs. [“From the head to the thighs,” is Lange’s translation.] “I.e., as Raschi correctly explains, whole, not cut in pieces, so that the head and legs are not separated from the animal, no bone of him is broken (Exo_12:46), and the inward parts together with the (nobler?) entrails, these of course first cleansed, are roasted in and with the body.”6 The unity of the lamb was to remain intact; on which point comp. Bähr, Symbolik des Mosaischen Cultus II., p. 635, Keil, and others.7 The symbolic significance of the lamb thus tended towards the notion of personality and inviolability, that on which rested also the fact and continuance of the unity of the family which partook of it.
Exo_12:10. Let nothing of it remain. “But what nevertheless does remain till morning is to be burnt with fire” (Keil). But was any of it allowed to remain till morning? Vid. my hypothesis, Life of Christ, Vol. IV., p. 262.8
Exo_12:11. And thus. The preparation for the journey is here at once real and symbolic. The readiness to start is expressed by three marks: the loins girded (tucked up); the travelling shoes on the feet; the walking-stick in the hand. That even the O. T. ritual was no rigid ordinance is proved by the remarkable fact that at the time of Christ they ate the passover lying on couches.—In haste. [“In readiness for flight,” Lange.] A meal could hardly have been taken in “anxious flight” (Keil), or in “anxious haste” (Knobel).9—It is Jehovah’s Passover. Not the Passover unto Jehovah, as Keil takes it, referring to Exo_20:10, Exo_32:5. For the Passover designates Jehovah’s own going through, going by, passing over (sparing), as symbolically represented and appropriated by the Passover festival. The feast, it is true, is celebrated to Jehovah; but it celebrates Jehovah’s act, and in the place where the rite is first instituted, it cannot appear as already instituted.10 The LXX say: πάσχα ἐστὶ κυρίῳ. The Vulg. “est enim Phase (id est transitus) domini. On the meaning of פָסַחvid. the lexicons, and Keil II., p. 17. The pesach is primarily the divine act of “passing over;” next the lamb with the killing of which this exemption is connected; finally, the whole eight days’ festival, including that of unleavened bread (Deu_16:1-6), as, on the other hand, the latter feast also included that of the Passover. That this first Passover was really a sacrificial feast, Keil proves, in opposition to Hofmann, II., p. 17. Comp. Hofmann’s Schriftbeweis II., p. 271.11
Exo_12:12-13. Explanation of the Passover. And I. The counterpart and prototype of the Passover festival are historic facts. First, Jehovah, as judge, passes through all Egypt. Secondly, He visits upon the young life in the land a plague whose miraculousness consists especially in the fact that the first-born fall, the infliction beginning with the house of Pharaoh. The result is that all the gods of Egypt are judged by Jehovah. What does that mean? Keil says: the gods of Egypt were spiritual powers, δαιμόνια. Pseudo-Jonathan: idols. Knobel compares Num_33:4, and says: “We are to think especially of the death of the first-born beasts, since the Egyptians worshipped beasts as gods,” (!) etc. The essential thing in the subjective notion of gods are the religious conceptions and traditions of the heathen, in so far as they, as real powers, inhere in national ideals and sympathies. Legends in point, vid. in Knobel, p. 100. Thirdly, Jehovah spares the first-born of the Israelites.—The blood shall be to you for a sign. The expression is of psychological importance, even for the notion of atonement. It does not read: it shall be to me for a sign. The Israelites were to have in the blood the sacramental sign that by the offering of blood the guilt of Israel in connection with Egypt was expiated, in that Jehovah had seen the same blood. This looking on the blood which warded off the pestilence reminds us of the looking up to the brazen serpent, and of the believer’s contemplation of the perfect atonement on the cross. Keil says, “In the meal the sacrificium becomes a sacramentum.”
Exo_12:14. The solemn sanction of the Passover.—As an ordinance for ever. The institution of the Passover continues still in its completed form in the new institution of the Lord’s Supper.
Exo_12:15. The solemn institution of the seven days’ feast of unleavened bread. It was contemporaneous with the Passover; not afterwards appended to it, for this is not implied by Exo_12:17. (See above on Exo_12:8). The real motive was the uniform removal of the Egyptian leaven, a symbol of entire separation from everything Egyptian. Hence the clearing away of the leaven had to be done on the first day, even before the incoming of the 15th of Nisan, on the evening of the 14th. Vid. Exo_12:18. Hence also every one who during this time ate anything leavened was to be punished with death. He showed symbolically that he wished to side with Egypt, not with Israel. The explanation, “The unleavened bread is the symbol of the new life, cleansed from the leaven of sin,” (Keil), is founded on the fundamentally false assumption, revived again especially by Hengstenberg, that the leaven is in itself a symbol of the sinful life. If this were the case, the Israelites would have had to eat unleavened bread all the time, and certainly would not have been commanded on the day of Pentecost to put leavened bread on the altar (Lev_23:17). The leaven is symbol only of transmission and fellowship, hence, in some cases, of the old or of the corrupt life. “Leaven of the Egyptian character,” says Keil himself, II., p. 21.
Exo_12:16. On the first day. This is the day following the holy night, the second half of the 15th of Nisan. Like the seventh day it is appointed a festival, but to be observed less rigidly than the Sabbath. According to Lev_23:7, the only employments forbidden are the regular labors of one’s vocation or service, and food may be prepared according to the necessities of the day; this was not allowed on the Sabbath.
Exo_12:17. For on this self-same day. Strictly speaking then, the days of unleavened bread began with the beginning of the 15th of Nisan, and in commemoration of the exodus itself, whereas the Passover was devoted to the commemoration of the preceding dreadful night of judgment and deliverance, the real adoption or birth of God’s people Israel.
Exo_12:18. On the fourteenth day of the month. This is the feast of unleavened bread in the wider sense, including the Passover. The Passover, according to the very idea of it, could not be celebrated with leavened bread, i.e., in connection with any thing Egyptian, for it represented a separation, in principle, from what was Egyptian.
Exo_12:19. Also the foreigner, who wishes to live among the Israelites, must submit to this ordinance, even though he has continued to be a foreigner, i.e., has not been circumcised. The one born in the land is the Israelite himself, so called either in anticipation of his destined place of settlement, or in the wider sense of nationality. Keil approves Leclerc’s interpretation: quia oriundi erant ex Isaaco et Jacobo, [“because they were to take their origin from Isaac and Jacob.”]
Exo_12:20. Eat nothing leavened. Again and again is this most sacred symbolic ceremony enjoined, for it symbolizes the consecration of God’s people, a consecration based on their redemption.
Footnotes:
[3][Exo_12:11. בְּחִפָּזוֹן. Lange translates: in Flucht-bereitschaft, “in readiness for flight,” condemning De Wette’s rendering, Eilfertigkeit, “haste,” “precipitation.” But in the only other two passages where the word occurs, Lange’s translation is hardly admissible. Deu_16:3, “Thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste, בְּחִפָּזוֹן.” It could not be said, “Thou camest forth in readiness for flight.” So Isa_52:12, “Ye shall not go out with haste (בְּחִפָּזוֹן), nor go by flight.” Here the word also denotes anxious haste. The verb חָפַז likewise everywhere conveys the notion of hurriedness, or anxiety connected with haste.—Tr.].
[4][The age of the lamb is expressed in Hebrew by the phrase: “son of a year.” The Rabbinical interpretation is that this means a year old or less, and in practice it has been applied to lambs from the age of eight days to that of one year. Apparently our translators had that interpretation in mind in rendering: “of the first year.” But notwithstanding the wide currency of this view (adopted even by Rosenmüller, Baumgarten, Murphy and other modern commeutators), it seems to be almost stupidly incorrect, as Knobel very clearly shows. Murphy says: “The phrase ‘son of a year’ means of any age from a month to a full year,” and refers to Gen_7:6; Gen_7:11. But why “from a month?” Why not “eight days” as well? Why not one day, or one second, from the time of birth? Isaac, we are told in Gen_21:4, was circumcised when he was the “son of eight days.” How old was he? In Lev_27:6 we read: “If it be from the son of a month unto the son of five years,” where the A. V. reads correctly “a month old,” and “five years old.” It would be a singular way of fixing two limits, if both expressions are so indeterminate as the Rabbinical interpretation would make them. If the “son of a year” may be as young as eight days, and the “son of a month” may be twenty-nine days old, what is the use of the phrase “son of a month” at all? Or what is the sense of using the latter phrase as the early limit? Why not say simply: “If it be the son of five years?” which, according to the Rabbinical interpretation, ought to cover the whole period.—Tr.]
[5][Ginsburg in Alexander’s Kitto’s Cyclopædia, Art. Passover, has shown that the second of the three views about “the two evenings” was not held by Kimchi and Raschi (otherwise called Jarchi), but that they agreed with the great mass of Jewish commentators in adopting the third view. The phrase itself is so vague that from it alone the meaning cannot with certainty be gathered. Most modern Christian commentators, it should be said, adopt the first view. Deu_16:6, where the time for sacrificing the Passover is fixed “at the going down of the sun,” is quoted as favoring that view, while Lange quotes it on the other side. Whatever may have been the exact meaning of the phrase originally, it is probable that the very early Jewish practice corresponded with the Rabbinical interpretation. The transactions recorded in 1 Kings 18 indicate this. There we read (Exo_12:26) that the prophets of Baal called on Baal from morning till noon, and afterwards (Exo_12:29) from mid-day “until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice” (more exactly, “until towards the time”). According to Exo_29:39 the evening sacrifice also was offered “between the two evenings.” If the meaning were “from mid-day till sunset,” there would seem to be no reason why it should not have been so expressed. Besides, it is intrinsically improbable that the howlings of the false prophets continued through the whole day. Especially is it difficult, if not impossible, to find time enough in the evening of that day for the events which are narrated to have followed, viz. Elijah’s prayer, the consumption of the burnt-offering, the slaying of the false prophets, the return from the Kishon, the prayer for rain, the servant’s going seven times to look, Elijah’s going to Jezreel.—Tr.]
[6][This sentence is marked as a quotation by Lange, but the source, as very often in the German original, is not indicated; and in this case I have not been able to trace it out.—Tr.].
[7][Bähr, l. c. says on this point: “This had no other object than that all who received a part of that one intact Iamb, i.e., who ate of it, should regard themselves as a unit and a whole, as a community, just like those who eat the New Testament Passover, the body of Christ (1Co_5:7), of which the Apostle, in 1Co_10:17, says, ‘For we being many are one bread and one body; for we are all partakers of that one bread.’ ”—Tr.].
[8][The hypothesis is that the remains of the paschal lamb, if there were any, were burnt up the same night, and therefore were not allowed to remain till the next day. But this seems to conflict with the plain language of the verse.—Tr.].
[9][Why not in “anxious haste?” A man can surely eat in haste as well as do anything else in haste. That there was to be a “readiness for flight” is sufficiently indicated by the precept concerning the girdles, sandals, and staves. Vid. under “Textual and Grammatical.”—Tr.].
[10][We have let the A. V. reading stand: nevertheless it is by no means so clear that Keil is not right. He certainly is supported not only by many of the best versions and commentators, but by the Hebrew, which literally rendered can read only, “It is a Passover to Jehovah,” or “It is a Passover of Jehovah.” The latter differs from Lange’s translation as making “Passover” indefinite, whereas “Jehovah’s Passover” is equivalent to “the Passover of Jehovah.” Furthermore, the subject of the sentence naturally, if not necessarily, refers to the lamb; but the lamb cannot be called Jehovah’s passing over. The last point made in opposition to Keil is not just, inasmuch as Keil does not render (as Lange makes him) “the Passover unto Jehovah,” but distinctly leaves the noun indefinite, so that there is no implication that it was an already existent institution.—Tr.].
[11][Hofmann takes זֶבַה in Exo_12:27 in the general sense of slaughter, instead of the ceremonial sense of sacrifice, and argues that, as the lamb was killed in order to be eaten, it was in no proper sense an offering to Jehovah, although the killing and eating of it was divinely commanded. He distinguishes also between the original ordinance and the later celebration of it. Keil, on the contrary, lays stress on the fact that זָבַה and זֶבַה everywhere, except Pro_17:1, and 1Sa_28:24, denote sacrifice in the narrow ceremonial sense, and that the Passover in Num_9:7 is called קָרְבָּןž, offering. Knobel likewise says, “Without doubt the Passover was a sort of offering.” But he contends that it was not (as Keil and others hold) a sin-offering, for the reasons: (1) that the O. T. gives no indication of such a character; (2) that the mode of observing the rite differed from that belonging to the sin-offering, particularly in that the lamb was eaten, whereas none of the animal constituting the sin-offering was eaten; and (3) that it was a joyous festival, whereas everything connected with the sin-offering was solemn. He classes it, therefore, rather with the burnt-offering. But the latter was not eaten, and had (though not exclusively, yet partially) an explatory character. Vid. Lev_1:4.—Tr.].
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v2 this month shall be unto you the beginning of…
this month shall be unto you the beginning of months--the first not only in order but in estimation. It had formerly been the seventh according to the reckoning of the civil year, which began in September, and continued unchanged, but it was thenceforth to stand first in the national religious year which began in March, April.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv1–2 INSTITUTION OF THE PASSOVER, AND COVENANT CONSECRATION OF ISRAEL,…
INSTITUTION OF THE PASSOVER, AND COVENANT CONSECRATION OF ISRAEL, Exo_12:1-28.
1. The Lord spake — Had spoken, just before this final announcement to Pharaoh.
Read full note →
In the land of Egypt — The passover was the only feast ordained in Egypt. All the other ordinances were given in the wilderness of Sinai or in the plains of Moab.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv1–2 1. unto Moses and Aaron] Together, as often in…
1. unto Moses and Aaron] Together, as often in P: v. 43, Exo_7:8, Exo_9:8, Num_2:1 al.
in the land of Egypt] The locality is specified, because this and the following regulations are the only ones stated to have been given in Egypt.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv1–2 (1) In the land of Egypt.—This section (Exo_12:1-28) has…
XII.
INSTITUTION OF THE PASSOVER.
Read full note →
(1) In the land of Egypt.—This section (Exo_12:1-28) has the appearance of having been written independently of the previous narrative—earlier, probably, and as a part of the Law rather than of the history. It throws together instructions on the subject of the Passover which must have been given at different times (comp. Exo_12:3; Exo_12:12; Exo_12:17), some before the tenth of Abib. some on the day preceding the departure from Egypt, some on the day following. As far as Exo_12:20 it is wholly legal, and would suit Leviticus as well as Exodus. From Exo_12:20 it has a more historical character, since it relates the action taken by Moses.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. H. Mackintosh 1880 · Public Domain On v1 Exodus 12
Exodus 12
"And the Lord said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence: when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether." (Ex. 11: 1) One more heavy blow must fall upon this hard-hearted monarch and his land, ere he will be compelled to let go the favoured objects of Jehovah’s sovereign grace.
Read full note →
How utterly vain it is for man to harden and exalt himself against God; for, truly, He can grind to powder the hardest heart, and bring down to the dust the haughtiest spirit. "Those that walk in pride he is able to abase." (Dan. 4: 37) Man may fancy himself to be something; he may lift up his head, in pomp and vain glory, as though he were his own master. Vain man how little he knows of his real condition and character He is but the tool of Satan, taken up and used by him, in his malignant efforts to counteract the purposes of God. The most splendid intellect, the most commanding genius, the most indomitable energy, if not under the direct control of the Spirit of God, are but so many instruments in Satan’s hand to carry forward his dark designs. No man is his own master; he is either governed by Christ or governed by Satan. The king of Egypt might fancy himself to be a free agent, yet was he but a tool in the hands of another. Satan was behind the throne; and, as the result of Pharaoh’s having set himself to resist the purposes of God, he was judicially handed over to the blinding and hardening influence of his self-chosen master.
This will explain to us an expression occurring very frequently throughout the earlier chapters of this book. "The Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart." There is no need, whatever, for any one to seek to avoid the full, plain sense of this most solemn statement. If man resists the light of divine testimony, he is shut up to judicial blindness and hardness of heart. God leaves him to himself, and then Satan comes in and carries him headlong to perdition. There was abundant light for Pharaoh, to show him the extravagant folly of his course in seeking to detain those whom God had commanded him to let go. But the real disposition of his heart was to act against God, and therefore God left him to himself, and made him a monument for the display of His glory "through all the earth." There is no difficulty in this to any, save those whose desire is to argue against God - "to rush upon the thick bosses of the shield of the Almighty" - to ruin their own immortal souls.
God gives people, at times, according to the real bent of their hearts’ desire. ". . . . . . because of this, God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie; that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." (2 Thess. 2: 11, 12) If men will not have the truth when it is put before them, they shall, assuredly, have a lie. If they will not have Christ, they shall have Satan; if they will not have heaven, they shall have hell.* Will the infidel mind find fault with this? Ere it does so, let it prove that all who are thus judicially dealt with have fully answered their responsibilities. Let it, for instance, prove, in Pharaoh’s case, that he acted, in any measure, up to the light he possessed. The same is to be proved in every case. Unquestionably, the task of proving rests on those who are disposed to quarrel with God’s mode of dealing with the rejecters of His truth. The simple-hearted child of God will justify Him, in view of the most inscrutable dispensations; and even if he cannot meet and satisfactorily solve the difficult questions of a sceptical mind, he can rest perfectly satisfied with this word, "shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" There is far more wisdom in this method of settling an apparent difficulty, than in the most elaborate argument; for it is perfectly certain that: the heart which is in a condition to reply against God," will not be convinced by the arguments of man.
{*There is a vast difference between the divine method of dealing with the heathen (Rom. 1) and with the rejecters of the gospel. (2 Thess. 1, 2) In reference to the former, we read, "And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind:" but with respect to the latter the word is "because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved, . . . God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie; that they all might be damned." The heathen refuse the testimony of creation, and are, therefore, left to themselves. The rejecters of the gospel refuse the full blaze of light which shines from the cross, and, therefore, "a strong delusion" will, ere long, be sent from God upon them. This is deeply solemn for an age like this, in the which there is so much light and so much profession.}
However, it is God’s prerogative to answer all the proud reasonings, and bring down the lofty imaginations of the human mind. He can write the sentence of death upon nature, in its fairest forms. "It is appointed unto men once to die." This cannot be avoided. Man may seek to hide his humiliation in various ways to cover his retreat through the valley of death, in the most heroic manner possible; to call the last humiliating stage of his career by the most honourable titles he can devise; to gild the bed of death with a false light; to adorn the funeral procession and the grave with the appearance of pomp, pageantry, and glory; to arise above the mouldering ashes a splendid monument, on which are engraven the records of human shame. all these things he may do; but death is death after all, and he cannot keep it off for a moment, or make it ought else than what it is, namely, "the ravages of sin."
The foregoing thoughts are suggested by the opening verse of Ex. 11. "One plague more!" Solemn word! It signed the death-warrant of Egypt’s firstborn - "the chief of all their strength." "And Moses said, Thus saith the Lord, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt; and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts. And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more." (Ex. 11: 4-6) This was to be the final plague - death in every house. "But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast; that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel." It is the Lord alone who can "put a difference" between those who are His and those who are not. It is not our province to-say to any one, "stand by thyself, I am holier than thou:" this is the language of a Pharisee. "But when God puts a difference!" we are bound to enquire what that difference is; and, in the case before us, we see it to be a simple question of life or death. This is God’s grand "difference." He draws a line of demarcation, and on one side of this line is "life," on the other "death." Many of Egypt’s firstborn might have been as fair and attractive as those of Israel, and much more so; but Israel had life and light, founded upon God’s counsels of redeeming love, established, as we shall see presently, by the blood of the lamb. This was Israel’s happy position; while, on the other hand, throughout the length and breadth of the land of Egypt, from the monarch on the throne to the menial behind the mill, nothing was to be seen but death; nothing to be heard but the cry of bitter anguish, elicited by the heavy stroke of Jehovah’s rod. God can bring down the haughty spirit of man. He can make the wrath of man to praise Him, and restrain the remainder. "And all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down themselves-unto me, saying, Get thee out and all the people that follow thee: and after that I will go out." God will accomplish His own ends. His schemes of mercy must be carried out at all cost, and confusion of face must be the portion of all who stand in the way. "O! give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for His mercy endureth for ever...... To him that smote Egypt in their first-born: for his mercy endureth for ever: and brought out Israel from among them; for his mercy endureth for ever: with a strong hand, and with a stretched-out arm; for his mercy endureth for ever." (Psalm 136)
"And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you." (Ex. 12: 1, 2) There is, here, a very interesting change in the order of time. The common or civil year was rolling on in its ordinary course, when Jehovah interrupted it in reference to His people, and thus, in principle, taught them that they were to begin a new era in company with Him. Their previous history was, henceforth, to be regarded as a blank. Redemption was to constitute the first step in real life.
This teaches a plain truth. A man’s life is really of no account until he begins to walk with God, in the knowledge of full salvation and settled peace, through the precious blood of the Lamb. Previous to this he is, in the judgement of God, and in the language of scripture, "dead in trespasses and sins;" "alienated from the life of God." His whole history is a complete blank, even though, in man’s account, it may have been one uninterrupted scene of bustling activity. All that which engages the attention of the man of this world, the honours, the riches, the pleasures, the attractions, of life, so called - all, when examined in the light of the judgement of God, when weighed in the balances of the sanctuary, must be accounted as a dismal blank, a worthless void, utterly unworthy of a place in the records of the Holy Ghost. "He that believeth not the Son shall not see life." (John 3: 36) Men speak of "seeing life," when they launch forth into society, travel hither and thither, and see all that is to be seen; but they forget that the only true, the only real, the only divine way to "see life," is to "believe on the Son of God."
How little do men think of this! They imagine that "real life" is at an end when a man becomes a Christian, in truth and reality, not merely in name and outward profession; whereas God’s word teaches us that it is only then we can see life and taste true happiness. "He that hath the Son hath life." (1 John 5: 12) And, again, "Happy is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered." (Ps. 32: 1) We can get life and happiness only in Christ. Apart from Him, all is death and misery, in Heaven’s judgement, whatever the outward appearance may be. It is when the thick veil of unbelief is removed from the heart, and we are enabled to behold, with the eye of faith, the bleeding Lamb, bearing our heavy burden of guilt upon the cursed tree, that we enter upon the path of life, and partake of the cup of divine happiness - a life which begins at the cross, and flows onward into an eternity of glory - a happiness which, each day, becomes deeper and purer, more connected with God and founded on Christ, until we reach its proper sphere, in the presence of God and the Lamb. To seek life and happiness in any other way, is vainer work by far than seeking to make bricks without straw.
True, the enemy of souls spreads a gilding over this passing scene, in order that men may imagine it to be all gold. He sets up many a puppet-show to elicit the hollow laugh from a thoughtless multitude, who will not remember that it is Satan who is in the box, and that his object is to keep them from Christ, and drag them down into eternal perdition. There is nothing real, nothing solid, nothing satisfying, but in Christ. Outside of Him, "all is vanity and vexation of spirit." In Him alone true and eternal joys are to be found; and we only begin to live when we begin to live in, live on, live with, and live for Him. "This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. "The time spent in the brick-kilns and by the flesh-pots must be ignored. It is, henceforth, to be of no account save that the remembrance thereof should, ever and anon, serve to quicken and deepen their sense of what divine grace had accomplished on their behalf.
"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 according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house . . . Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year; ye shall take it out from the sheep or from the goats: 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 in the evening. "Here we have the redemption of the people founded upon the blood of the lamb, in pursuance of God’s eternal purpose. This imparts to it all its divine stability. Redemption was no after-thought with God. Before the world was, or Satan, or sin - before ever the voice of God was heard breaking the silence of eternity, and calling worlds into existence, He had His deep counsels of love; and these counsels could never find a sufficiently solid basis in creation. All the blessings, the privileges, and the dignities of creation were founded upon a creature’s obedience, and the moment that failed, all was gone. But, then, Satan’s attempt to mar creation only opened the way for the manifestation of God’s deeper purposes of redemption.
This beautiful truth is typically presented to us in the circumstance of the lamb’s being "kept up" from the "tenth" to "the fourteenth day." That this lamb pointed to Christ is unquestionable. 1 Cor 5: 7, settles the application of this interesting type beyond all question; "for even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us." We have, in the first epistle of Peter, an allusion to the keeping up of the lamb: "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation, received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.(Ex. 1: 18-20)
All God’s purposes, from everlasting, had reference to Christ; and no effort of the enemy could possibly interfere with those counsels: yea, his efforts only tended to the display of the unfathomable wisdom and immovable stability thereof. If the "Lamb without blemish and without spot" was "foreordained before the foundation of the world," then, assuredly, redemption must have been in the mind of God before the foundation of the world. The Blessed One had not to pause in order to devise some plan to remedy the terrible evil which the enemy had introduced into His fair creation. No, He had only to bring forth, from the unexplored treasury of His precious counsels, the truth concerning the spotless Lamb, who was foreordained from everlasting, and to be "manifest in these last times for us."
There was no need for the blood of the Lamb in creation, as it came fresh from the hand of the Creator, exhibiting in every stage, and every department of it, the beauteous impress of His hand - "the infallible proofs" of "His eternal power and Godhead." (Rom. 1) But when, "by one man," sin was introduced into the world, then came out the higher, richer, fuller, deeper thought of redemption by the blood of the Lamb. This glorious truth first broke through the thick clouds which surrounded our first parents, as they retreated from the garden of Eden; its glimmerings appear in the types and shadows of the Mosaic economy; it burst upon the world in full brightness, when "the dayspring from on high" appeared in the Person of "God manifest in the flesh;" and its rich and rare results will be realised when the white-robed, palm-bearing multitude shall cluster round the throne of God and the Lamb, and the whole creation shall rest beneath the peaceful sceptre of the Son of David.
Now, the lamb taken on the tenth day, and kept up until the fourteenth day, shows us Christ foreordained of God, from eternity, but manifest for us, in time. God’s eternal purpose in Christ becomes the foundation of the believer’s peace. Nothing short of this would do. We are carried back far beyond creation, beyond the bounds of time, beyond the entrance in of sin, and everything that could possibly affect the ground-work of our peace. The expression, "fore-ordained before the foundation of the world," conducts us back into the unfathomed depths of eternity, and shows us God forming His own counsels of redeeming love, and basing them all upon the atoning blood of His own precious, spotless Lamb. Christ was ever the primary thought in the divine mind; and, hence, the moment He began to speak or act, He took occasion to shadow forth that One who occupied the highest place in His counsels and affections; and, as we pass along the current of inspiration, we find that every ceremony, every rite, every ordinance, and every sacrifice pointed forward to "the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world," and not one more strikingly than the Passover. The paschal lamb, with all the attendant circumstances, forms one of the most profoundly interesting and deeply instructive types of Scripture.
In the interpretation of Exodus 12 we have to do with one assembly and one sacrifice. "The whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening." (Ver. 6) It is not so much a number of families with several lambs - a thing quite true in itself - as one assembly and one lamb. Each house was but the local expression of the whole assembly gathered round the lamb. The antitype of this we have in the whole Church of God, gathered by the Holy Ghost, in the name of Jesus, of which each separate assembly, wherever convened, should be the local expression.
"And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts, and on the upper door posts of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 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." (Ver. 7-9) We have to contemplate the paschal lamb in two aspects, namely, as the ground of peace and the centre of unity. The blood on the lintel secured Israel’s peace. "When I see the blood, I will pass over you." (Ver. 13) There was nothing more required, in order to enjoy settled peace, in reference to the destroying angel, than the application of the blood of sprinkling. Death had to do its work in every house throughout the land of Egypt. "It is appointed unto men once to die. But God, in His great mercy, found an unblemished substitute for Israel on which the sentence of death was executed. Thus God’s claims and Israel’s need were met by one and the same thing, namely, the blood of the lamb. That blood outside proved that all was perfectly, because divinely, settled; and therefore perfect peace reigned within. A shade of doubt in the bosom of an Israelite, would have been a dishonour offered to the divinely-appointed ground of peace-the blood of atonement.
True it is that each one within the blood-sprinkled door would, necessarily, feel that were he to receive his due reward, the sword of the destroyer should, most assuredly, find its object in him; but then the lamb was treated in his stead. This was the solid foundation of his peace. The judgement that was due to him fell upon a divinely- appointed victim; and believing this, he could feed in peace within. A single doubt would have made Jehovah a liar; for He had said, "when I see the blood, I will pass over you." This was enough. It was no question of personal worthiness. Self had nothing whatever to do in the matter. All under the cover of the blood were safe. They were not merely in a saveable state, they were saved. They were not hoping or praying to be saved, they knew it as an assured fact, on the authority of that word which shall endure throughout all generations. Moreover, they were not partly saved and partly exposed to judgement; they were wholly saved. The blood of the lamb and the word of the Lord formed the foundation of Israel’s peace on that terrible night in which Egypt’s firstborn were laid low. If an hair of an Israelite’s head could be touched, it would have proved Jehovah’s word void, and the blood of the lamb valueless.
It is most needful to be simple and clear as to what constitutes the ground of a sinner’s peace, in the presence of God. So many things are mixed up with the finished work of Christ, that souls are plunged into darkness and uncertainty, as to their acceptance. They do not see the absolutely-settled character of redemption through the blood of Christ, in its application to themselves. They seem not to be aware that full forgiveness of sins rests upon the simple fact that a full atonement has been offered - a fact attested in the view of all created intelligence, by the resurrection of the sinner’s Surety from the dead. They know that there is no other way of being saved but by the blood of the cross - but the devils know this, yet it avails them nought. What is so much needed is to know that we are saved. The Israelite not merely knew that there was safety in the blood; he knew that he was safe. And why safe? Was it because of anything that he had done, or felt, or thought? By no means, but because God had said, "when I see the blood I will pass over you." He rested upon God’s testimony. He believed what God said, because God said it. "He set to his seal that God was true."
And, observe, my reader, it was not upon his own thoughts, feelings, or experiences, respecting the blood, that the Israelite rested. This would have been a poor sandy foundation to rest upon. His thoughts and feelings might be deep or they might be shallow; but deep or shallow, they had nothing to do with the ground of his peace. It was not said, "when you see the blood, and value it as you ought, I will pass over you." This would have been sufficient to plunge him in dark despair about himself, inasmuch as it was quite impossible that the human mind could ever sufficiently appreciate the precious blood of the Lamb. What gave peace was the fact that Jehovah’s eye rested upon the blood, and that He knew its worth. This tranquillised the heart. The blood was outside, and the Israelite inside, so that he could not possibly see it; but God saw it, and that was quite enough.
The application of this to the question of a sinner’s peace is very plain. The Lord Jesus Christ, having shed His precious blood, as a perfect atonement for sin, has taken it into the presence of God, and sprinkled it there; and God’s testimony assures the believing sinner, that everything is settled on his behalf - settled not by his estimate of the blood, but by the blood itself which God estimates so highly, that because of it, without a single jot or tittle added thereto, He can righteously forgive all sin, and accept the sinner as perfectly righteous in Christ. How can any one ever enjoy settled peace, if his peace depends upon his estimate of the blood? Impossible. The loftiest estimate which the human mind can form of the blood must fall infinitely short of its divine preciousness; and, therefore, if our peace were to depend upon our valuing it as we ought, we could no more enjoy settled peace than if we were seeking it by "works of law." There must either be a sufficient ground of peace in the blood alone, or we can never have peace. To mix up our estimate with it, is to upset the entire fabric of Christianity, just as effectually as if we were to conduct the sinner to the foot of mount Sinai, and put him under a covenant of works. Either Christ’s atoning sacrifice is sufficient or it is not. If it is sufficient, why those doubts and fears? The words of our lips profess that the work is finished; but the doubts and fears of the heart declare that it is not. Every one who doubts his full and everlasting forgiveness, denies, so far as he is concerned, the completeness of the sacrifice of Christ.
But there are very many who would shrink from the idea of deliberately and avowedly calling in question the efficacy of the blood of Christ, who, nevertheless, have not settled peace. Such persons profess to be quite assured of the sufficiency of the blood, if only they were sure of an interest therein - if only they had the right kind of faith. There are many precious souls in this unhappy condition. They are occupied with their interest and their faith, instead of with Christ’s blood, and God’s word. In other words, they are looking in at self, instead of out at Christ. This is not faith; and, as a consequence, they have not peace. An Israelite within the blood-stained lintel could teach such souls a most seasonable lesson. He was not saved by his interest in, or his thoughts about, the blood, but simply by the blood. No doubt, he had a blessed interest in it; and he would have his thoughts, likewise; but, then, God did not say, "When I see your interest in the blood, I will pass over you." Oh! no; THE BLOOD, in all its solitary dignity and divine efficacy, was set before Israel; and had they attempted to place even a morsel of unleavened bread beside the blood, as a ground of security: they would have made Jehovah a liar, and denied the sufficiency of His remedy.
We are ever prone to look at something in or connected with ourselves as necessary, in order to make up, with the blood of Christ, the groundwork of our peace. There is a sad lack of clearness and soundness on this vital point, as is evident from the doubts and fears with which so many of the people of God are afflicted. We are apt to regard the fruits of the Spirit in us, rather than the work of Christ for us, as the foundation of peace. We shall see, presently, the place which the work of the Holy Spirit occupies in Christianity; but it is never set forth in Scripture as being that on which our peace reposes. The Holy Ghost did not make peace, but Christ did. The Holy Ghost is not said to be our peace, but Christ is. God did not send preaching peace by the Holy Ghost, but by Jesus Christ. (Compare Acts 10: 36; Eph. 2: 14, 17; Col. 1: 20) My reader cannot be too simple in his apprehension of this important distinction. It is the blood of Christ which gives peace, imparts perfect justification, divine righteousness, purges the conscience, brings us into the holiest of all, justifies God in receiving the believing sinner, and constitutes our title to all the joys, the dignities, and the glories of heaven. (See Rom. 3: 24-28; Rom. 5: 9; Eph. 2: 13-18; Col. 1: 20-22; Heb. 9: 14; Heb. 10: 19; 1 Peter 1: 19; 1 Peter 2: 24; 1 John 1: 7; Rev. 7: 14-17)
It will not, I fondly hope, be supposed that, in seeking to put "the precious blood of Christ" in its divinely-appointed place, I would write a single line which might seem to detract from the value of the Spirit’s operations. God forbid. The Holy Ghost reveals Christ; makes us to know, enjoy, and feed upon Christ; He bears witness to Christ; He takes of the things of Christ and shows them unto us. He is the power of communion, the seal, the witness, the earnest, the unction. In short, His blessed operations are absolutely essential. Without Him, we can neither see, hear, know, feel, experience, enjoy, nor exhibit ought of Christ. This is plain. The doctrine of the Spirit’s operations is clearly laid down in the word, and is understood and admitted by every true and rightly instructed Christian.
Yet, notwithstanding all this, the work of the Spirit is not the ground of peace; for, if it were, we could not have settled peace until Christ’s coming, inasmuch as the work of the Spirit, in the Church, will not, properly speaking, be complete till then. He still carries on His work in the believer. "He maketh intercession with groanings which cannot be uttered." (Rom 8) He labours to bring us up to the predestinated standard, namely, perfect conformity, in all things, to the image of "the Son." He is the sole Author of every right desire, every holy aspiration, every pure affection, every divine experience, every sound conviction; but, clearly, His work in us will not be complete until we have left this present scene and taken our place with Christ in the glory. Just as, in the case of Abraham’s servant, his work was not complete, in the matter of Rebecca, until he had presented her to Isaac.
Not so the work of Christ FOR us. That is absolutely and eternally complete. He could say, "I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do." (John 17: 4) And, again, "It is finished." (John 19: 30) The Holy Ghost cannot yet say He has finished His work. As the true Vicar of Christ upon earth, He still labours amid the varied hostile influences which surround the sphere of His operations. He works in the hearts of the people of God to bring them up, practically and experimentally, to the divinely-appointed standard. But He never teaches a soul to lean on His work for peace in the presence of God. His office is to speak of Jesus. "He," says Christ, "shall receive of mine and shall show it unto you." (John 16: 13, 14) If, then, it is only by the Spirit’s teaching that any one can understand the true ground of peace, it is obvious that He can only present Christ’s work as the foundation on which the soul must rest for ever; yea, it is in virtue of that work that He takes up His abode and carries on His marvellous operations in the believer. He is not our title, though He reveals that title and enables us to understand and enjoy it.
Hence, therefore, the paschal lamb, as the ground of Israel’s peace, is a marked and beautiful type of Christ as the ground of the believer’s peace. There was nothing to be added to the blood on the lintel; neither is there anything to be added to the blood on the mercy-seat. The "unleavened bread" and "bitter herbs" were necessary, but not as forming, either in whole or in part, the ground of peace. They were for the inside of the house and formed the characteristics of the communion there; but THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB WAS THE FOUNDATION OF EVERYTHING. It saved them from death and introduced them into a scene of life, light, and peace.’ It formed the link between God and His redeemed people. As a people linked with God, on the ground of accomplished redemption, it was their high privilege to meet certain responsibilities; but these responsibilities did not form the link, but merely flowed out of it.
And I would further remind my reader that the obedient life of Christ is not set forth in Scripture as the procuring cause of our forgiveness. It was His death upon the cross that opened those everlasting floodgates of love which else should have remained pent up for ever. If he had remained to this very hour, going through the cities of Israel, "doing good," the veil of the temple would continue unrent, to bar the worshipper’s approach to God. It was His death that rent that mysterious curtain "from top to bottom." It is "by His stripes," not by His obedient life, that "we are healed;" and those "stripes" He endured on the cross, and nowhere else. His own words, during the progress of His blessed life, are quite sufficient to settle this point. "I have a, baptism to be baptised with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished." (Luke 12: 50) To what does this refer but to His death upon the cross, which was the accomplishment of His baptism and the opening up of a righteous vent through which His love might freely flow out to the guilty sons of Adam? Again, He says, "except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die it abideth alone." (John 12: 24) He was that precious "corn of wheat:" and He should have remained for ever "alone," even though incarnate, had He not, by His death upon the accursed tree, removed out of the way everything that could have hindered the union of his people with Him in resurrection. "If it die, it bringeth forth much fruit."
My reader cannot too carefully ponder this subject. It is one of immense weight and importance. He has to remember two points in reference to this entire question, namely, that there could be no union with Christ, save in resurrection; and that Christ only suffered for sins on the cross. We are not to suppose that incarnation was, by any means, Christ taking us into union with Himself. This could not be. How could sinful flesh be thus united? The body of sin had to be destroyed by death. Sin had to be put away, according to the divine requirement; all the power of the enemy had to be abolished. How was all this to be done? Only by the precious, spotless Lamb of God submitting to the death of the cross. "It became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings." (Heb. 2: 10) "Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected." (Luke 13: 32) The expressions "perfect" and "perfected" in the above passages do not refer to Christ in His own Person abstractedly, for He was perfect from all eternity, as Son of God; and as to His humanity, He was absolutely perfect likewise. But then, as "the captain of salvation" - as "bringing many sons unto glory" - as "bringing forth much fruit" - -as associating redeemed people with Himself, He had to reach "the third day" in order to be "perfected." He went down alone into the "horrible pit, and miry clay;" but, directly He plants His "foot on the rock" of resurrection, He associates with Himself the "many sons." (Ps 40: l-3) He fought the fight alone; but, as the mighty Conqueror, He scatters around Him, in rich profusion, the spoils of victory, that we might gather them up and enjoy them for ever.
Moreover, we are not to regard the cross of Christ as a mere circumstance in a life of sin-bearing. It was the grand and only scene of sin-bearing. "His own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree." (1 Peter 2: 14) He did not bear them anywhere else. He did not bear them in the manger, nor in the wilderness, nor in the garden; but ONLY "ON THE TREE." He never had ought to say to sin, save on the cross; and there He bowed His blessed head, and yielded up His precious life, under the accumulated weight of His people’s sins. Neither did He ever suffer at the hand of God save on the cross; and there Jehovah hid His face from Him because He was "made sin." (2 Cor. 5)
The above train of thought, and the various passages of scripture referred to, may, perhaps, enable my reader to enter more fully into the divine power of the words, "When I see The blood I will pass over you." The lamb needed to be without blemish, no doubt, for what else could meet the holy eye of Jehovah? But, had the blood not been shed, there could have been no passing over, for "without shedding of blood is no remission." (Heb. 9: 22) This subject will, the Lord permitting, come more fully and appropriately before us in the types of Leviticus. It demands the prayerful attention of every one who loves our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity.
We shall now consider the second aspect of the Passover, as the centre round which the assembly was gathered, in peaceful, holy, happy fellowship. Israel, saved by the blood, was one thing; and Israel, feeding on the lamb, was quite another. They were saved only by the blood; but the object round which they were gathered was, manifestly, the roasted lamb. This is not, by any means, a distinction without a difference. The blood of the Lamb forms the foundation both of our connection with God, and our connection with one another. It is as those who are washed in that blood, that we are introduced to God and to one another. Apart from the perfect atonement of Christ, there could obviously be no fellowship either with God or His assembly. Still we must remember that it is to a living Christ in heaven that believers are gathered by the Holy Ghost. It is with a living Head we are connected - to "a living stone" we have come. He is our centre. Having found peace, through His blood, we own Him as our grand gathering point and connecting link. "Where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of them." (Matt. 18: 20) The Holy Ghost is the only Gatherer; Christ Himself is the only object to which we are gathered; and our assembly, when thus convened, is to be characterised by holiness, so that the Lord our God may dwell among us. The Holy Ghost can only gather to Christ. He cannot gather to a system, a name, a doctrine, or an ordinance. He gathers to a Person, and that Person is a glorified Christ in heaven. This must stamp a peculiar character on God’s assembly. Men may associate, on any ground, round any centre, or for any object they please; but, when the Holy Ghost associates, it is on the ground of accomplished redemption, around the Person of Christ, in order to form a holy dwelling place for God. (1 Cor. 3: 16, 17; 1 Cor. 6: 19; Eph. 2: 21, 22; 1 Peter 2: 4, 5)
We shall now look in detail at the principles brought before us in the paschal feast. The assembly of Israel, as under the cover of the blood, was to be ordered by Jehovah in a manner worthy of Himself. In the matter of safety from judgement, as we have already seen, nothing was needed but the blood; but in the fellowship which flowed out of this safety, other things were needed which could not be neglected with impunity.
And first, then, we read, "They shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 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." (Ver. 8, 9) The lamb, round which the congregation was assembled, and on which it feasted, was a roasted lamb-a lamb which had undergone the action of fire. In this we see "Christ our Passover" presenting Himself to the action of the fire of divine holiness and judgement which found in Him a perfect material. He could say, "Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast visited me in the night; thou hast tried me and shalt find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress." (Ps. 17: 3) All in Him was perfect. The fire tried Him and there was no dross. "His head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof." That is to say, the seat of His understanding; His outward, walk with all that pertained thereto - all was submitted to the action of the fire, and all was entirely perfect. The process of roasting was therefore deeply significant, as is every circumstance in the ordinances of God. Nothing should be passed over, because all is pregnant with meaning.
Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water." Had it been eaten thus, there would have been no expression of the great truth which it was the divine purpose to shadow forth; namely, that our paschal Lamb was to endure, on the cross, the fire of Jehovah’s righteous wrath - a truth of infinite preciousness to the soul. We are not merely under the eternal shelter of the blood of the Lamb, but we feed, by faith, upon the Person of the Lamb. Many of us come short here. We are apt to rest satisfied with being saved by what Christ has done for us, without cultivating holy communion with Himself. His loving heart could never be satisfied with this. He has brought us nigh to Himself, that we might enjoy Him, that we might feed on Him, and delight in Him. He presents Himself to us as the One who has endured, to the uttermost, the intense fire of the wrath of God, that He may, in this wondrous character, be the food of our ransomed souls.
But how was this lamb to be eaten? "With unleavened bread and bitter herbs." Leaven is, invariably, used, throughout scripture, as emblematical of evil. Neither in the Old nor in the New Testament is it ever used to set forth anything pure, holy, or good. Thus, in this chapter, "the feast of unleavened bread" is the type of that practical separation from evil which is the proper result of being washed from our sins in the blood of the Lamb, and the proper accompaniment of communion with His sufferings. Nought but perfectly unleavened bread could at all comport with a roasted lamb. A single particle of that which was the marked type of evil, would have destroyed the moral character of the entire ordinance. How could we connect any species of evil with our fellowship with a suffering Christ? Impossible. All who enter by the power of the Holy Ghost, into the meaning of the cross will, assuredly, by the same power, put away leaven from all their borders. "For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us: therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." (1 Cor. 5: 7, 8) The feast spoken of in this passage is that which, in the life and conduct of the Church, corresponds with the feast of unleavened bread. This latter lasted "seven days;" and the Church collectively, and the believer individually, are called to walk in practical holiness, during the seven days, or entire period, of their course here below; and this, moreover, as the direct result of being washed in the blood, and having communion with the sufferings of Christ.
The Israelite did not put away leaven in order to be saved, but because he was saved; and if he failed to put away leaven, it did not raise the question of security through the blood, but simply of fellowship with the assembly. "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." (Ver. 19) The cutting off of an Israelite from the congregation answers precisely to the suspension of a Christian’s fellowship, if he be indulging in that which is contrary to the holiness of the divine presence. God cannot tolerate evil. A single unholy thought will interrupt the soul’s communion; and until the soil contracted by any such thought is got rid of by confession, founded on the advocacy of Christ, the communion cannot possibly be restored. (See 1 John 1: 9-10) The true-hearted Christian rejoices in this. He can ever "give thanks at the remembrance of God’s holiness." He would not, if he could, lower the standard a single hair’s breadth. It is his exceeding joy to walk in company with one who will not go on, for a moment, with a single jot or tittle of leaven."
Blessed be God, we know that nothing can ever snap asunder the link which binds the true believer to Him. We are "saved in the Lord," not with a temporary or conditional, but "with an everlasting salvation." But then salvation and communion are not the same thing. Many are saved, who do not know it; and many, also, who do not enjoy it. It is quite impossible that I can enjoy a blood-stained lintel if I have leavened borders. This is an axiom in the divine life. May it be written on our hearts! Practical holiness, though not the basis of our salvation, is intimately connected with our enjoyment thereof. An Israelite was not saved by unleavened bread, but by the blood; and yet leaven would have cut him off from communion. And as to the Christian, he is not saved by his practical holiness, but by the blood; but if he indulges in evil, in thought, word, or deed, he will have no true enjoyment of salvation, and no true communion with the Person of the Lamb.
This, I cannot doubt, is the secret of much of the spiritual barrenness and lack of settled peace which one finds amongst the children of God. They are not cultivating holiness; they are not keeping "the feast of unleavened bread." The blood is on the lintel, but the leaven within their borders keeps them from enjoying the security which the blood provides. The allowance of evil destroys our fellowship, though it does not break the link which binds our souls eternally to God. Those who belong to God’s assembly must be holy. They have not only been delivered from the guilt and consequences of sin, but- also from the practice of it, the power of it, and the love of it. The very fact of being delivered by the blood of the paschal lamb, rendered Israel responsible to put away leaven from all their quarters. They could not say, in the frightful language of the antinomian, "now that we are delivered, we may conduct ourselves as we please." By no means. If they were saved by grace, they were saved to holiness. The soul that can take occasion, from the freedom of divine grace, and the completeness of the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, to "continue in sin," proves very distinctly that he understands neither the one nor the other.
Grace not only saves the soul with an everlasting salvation, but also imparts a nature which delights in everything that belongs to God, because it is divine. We are made partakers of the divine nature, which cannot sin, because it is born of God. To walk in the energy of this nature is, in reality, to keep" the feast of unleavened bread. There is no "old leaven" nor "leaven of malice and wickedness" in the new nature, because it is of God, and God is holy, and "God is love." Hence it is evident that we do not put away evil from us in order to better our old nature, which is irremediable; nor yet to obtain the new nature, but because we have it. We have life, and, in the power of that life, we put away evil. It is only when we are delivered from the guilt of sin that we can understand or exhibit the true power of holiness. To attempt it in any other way is hopeless labour. The feast of unleavened bread can only be kept beneath the perfect shelter of the blood.
We may perceive equal significancy and moral propriety in that which was to accompany the unleavened bread, namely, the "bitter herbs." We cannot enjoy communion with the sufferings of Christ, without remembering what it was which rendered those sufferings needful, and this remembrance must necessarily produce a chastened and subdued tone of spirit, which is aptly expressed by the bitter herbs in the paschal feast. If the roasted lamb expressed Christ’s endurance of the wrath of God in His own Person, on the cross, the bitter herbs express the believer’s recognition of the truth that He "suffered for us." "The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed." (Is 53: 5) It is well, owing to the excessive levity of our hearts, to understand the deep meaning of the bitter herbs. Who can read such Psalms as the 6, 22, 38, 49, 88, and 109, and not enter, in some measure, into the meaning of the unleavened bread with bitter herbs? Practical holiness of life with deep subduedness of soul must flow from real communion with Christ’s suffering, for it is quite impossible that moral evil and levity of spirit can exist in view of those sufferings.
But, it may be asked, is there not a deep joy for the soul in the consciousness that Christ has borne our sins; that He has fully drained, on our behalf, the cup of God’s righteous wrath? Unquestionably. This is the solid foundation of all our joy. But can we ever forget that it was for "our sins" He suffered? Can we ever lose sight of the soul-subduing truth that the blessed Lamb of God bowed His head beneath the weight of our transgressions. Surely not. We must eat our lamb with bitter herbs, which, be it remembered, do not set forth the tears of a worthless and shallow sentimentality, but the deep and real experiences of a soul that enters, with spiritual intelligence and power, into the meaning and into the practical effect of the cross.
In contemplating the cross, we find in it that which cancels all our guilt. This imparts sweet peace and joy. But we find in it also the complete setting aside of nature, the crucifixion of "the flesh," the death of "the old man." (See Rom. 6: 6; Gal. 2: 20; Gal. 6: 14; Col 2: 11 This, in its practical results, will involve much that is "bitter" to nature. It will call for self-denial, the mortification of our members which are on the earth, (Col. 3: 5) the reckoning of self to be dead indeed unto sin. (Rom. 6) All these things may seem terrible to look at; but when one gets inside the bloodstained door-post he thinks quite differently. The very herbs which, to an Egyptian’s taste, would, no doubt, have seemed so bitter, formed an integral part of Israel’s redemption feast. Those who are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, who know the joy of fellowship with Him, esteem it a "feast" to put away evil and to keep nature in the place of death.
"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." (Ver. 10) In this command, we are taught that the communion of the congregation was, in no wise, to be separated from the sacrifice on which that communion was founded. The heart must ever cherish the vivid remembrance that all true fellowship is inseparably connected with accomplished redemption. To think of having communion with God, on any other ground is to imagine that He could have fellowship with our evil; and to think of fellowship with man, on any other ground, is but to form an unholy club, from which nothing could issue but confusion and iniquity. In a word, all must be founded upon, and inseparably linked with, the blood. This is the simple meaning of eating the paschal lamb the same night on which the blood was shed. The fellowship must not be separated from its foundation.
What a beauteous picture, then, we have in the blood-sheltered assembly of Israel, feeding peacefully on the roasted lamb, with unleavened bread and bitter herbs! No fear of judgement, no fear of the wrath of Jehovah, no fear of the terrible hurricane of righteous vengeance which was sweeping vehemently over the land of Egypt, at the midnight hour. All was profound peace within the blood-stained lintel. They had no need to fear anything from without; and nothing within could trouble them, save leaven, which would have proved a death-blow to all their peace and blessedness. What a picture for the Church! What a picture for the Christian! May we gaze upon it with an enlightened eye and a teachable spirit!
However, we are not yet done with this most instructive ordinance. We have been looking at Israel’s position, and Israel’s food, let us now look at Israel’s habit.
"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." (Ver. 11) They were to eat it as a people prepared to leave behind them the land of death and darkness, wrath and judgement, to move onward toward the land of promise - their destined inheritance. The blood which had preserved them from the fate of Egypt’s firstborn was also the foundation of their deliverance from Egypt’s bondage; and they were now to set out and walk with God toward the land that flowed with milk and honey. True, they had not yet crossed the Red Sea; they had not yet gone the "three days’ journey." Still they were, in principle, a redeemed people, a separated people, a pilgrim people, an expectant people, a dependent people; and their entire habit was to be in keeping with their present position and future destiny. The girded loins bespoke intense separation from all around them, together with a readiness to serve. The shod feet declared their preparedness to leave that scene; while the staff was the expressive emblem of a pilgrim people, in the attitude of leaning on something outside themselves. Precious characteristics! Would that they were more exhibited by every member of God’s redeemed family.
Beloved Christian reader, let us "meditate on these things." We have tasted, through grace, the cleansing efficacy of the blood of Jesus; as such it is our privilege to feed upon His adorable Person and delight ourselves in His "unsearchable riches;" to have fellowship in His sufferings and be made conformable to His death. Oh! let us, therefore, be seen with the unleavened bread and bitter herbs, the girded loins, the shoes and staff. In a word, let us be marked as a holy people, a crucified people, a watchful and diligent people - a people manifestly "on our way to God" - on our way to glory - "bound for the kingdom." May God grant us to enter into the depth and power of all these things; so that they may not be mere theories in our intellects mere principles of scriptural knowledge and interpretation; but living, divine realities, known by experience, and exhibited in the life, to the glory of God.
We shall close this section by glancing, for a moment, at verses 43-49. Here we are taught that while it was the place and privilege of every true Israelite to eat the Passover, yet no uncircumcised stranger should participate therein. "There shall no stranger eat thereof ....all the congregation of Israel shall keep it." Circumcision was necessary ere the Passover could be eaten. In other words, the sentence of death must be written upon nature ere we can intelligently feed upon Christ, either as the ground of peace or the centre of unity. Circumcision has its antitype in the cross. The male alone was circumcised. The female was represented in the male. So, in the cross, Christ represented His Church, and, hence, the Church is crucified with Christ; nevertheless, she lives by the life of Christ, known and exhibited on earth, through the power of the Holy Ghost. "And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the Passover unto 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." "They that are in the flesh cannot please God." (Rom. 8: 8)
The ordinance of circumcision formed the grand boundary line between the Israel of God and all the nations that were upon the face of the earth; and the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ forms the boundary between the church and the world. It matters not, in the smallest degree, what advantages of person or position a man possessed, he could have no part with Israel until he submitted to that flesh-cutting operation. A circumcised beggar was nearer to God than an uncircumcised king. So, also, now, there can be no participation in the joys of God’s redeemed, save by the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ; and that cross sweeps away all pretensions, levels all distinctions, and unites all in one holy congregation of blood-washed worshippers. The cross forms a boundary so lofty, and a defence so impenetrable, that not a single atom of earth or of nature can cross over or pass through to mingle itself with "the new creation." All things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself." (2 Cor 5: 18)
But, not only was Israel’s separation from all strangers strictly maintained, in the institution of the Passover; Israel’s unity was also as clearly enforced. "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." (Ver. 46) Here is as fair and beauteous a type as we could have of the "one body and one Spirit. The Church of God is one. God sees it as such, maintains it as such, and will manifest it as such, in the view of angels, men, and devils, notwithstanding all that has been done to interfere with that hallowed unity. Blessed be God, the unity of His Church is as much in His keeping as is her justification, acceptance, and eternal security. "He keepeth all his bones; not one of them is broken." (Ps. 34: 20) And, again, "a bone of him shall not be broken." (John 19: 36) Despite the rudeness and hard-heartedness of Rome’s soldiery, and despite all the hostile influences which have been set to work, from age to age, the body of Christ is one and its divine unity can never be broken. "THERE IS ONE BODY AND ONE SPIRIT;" and that, moreover, down here, on this very earth. Happy are they who have got faith to recognise this precious truth, and faithfulness to carry it out, in these last days; notwithstanding the almost insuperable difficulties which attend upon their profession and their practice! I believe God will own and honour such.
The Lord deliver us from that spirit of unbelief which would lead us to judge by the sight of our eyes, instead of by the light of His changeless Word!
C. H. Mackintosh, Notes on the Pentateuch — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv1–2 THE INSTITUTION OF THE PASSOVER AND THE REASONS FOR…
FIRST INSTITUTION OF THE PASSOVER.
THE INSTITUTION OF THE PASSOVER AND THE REASONS FOR IT. In the interval allowed by God, according to the precedent of former announced plagues, between the warning concerning the first-born and the execution, Moses received instructions for the institution of a new religious rite, founded possibly upon some previous national usage, but so re-shaped, re-cast, and remodelled as to have an entirely new and fresh character. In all Eastern nations, the coming in of spring was observed as a jocund and festive time, with offerings, processions, and songs of rejoicings. When the date of the vernal equinox was known, it was naturally made the starting-point for these festivities. Early flowers and fruits, the fresh ears of the most forward kinds of grain, or the grain itself extracted from the ears, were presented as thank-offerings in the temples; hymns were sung, and acknowledgments made of God"s goodness. Such a festival was celebrated each year in Egypt; and it is so consonant to man"s natural feelings, that, if the family of Jacob did not bring the observance with them from Palestine, they are likely to have adopted it, when they became to some extent agriculturists (Deu_11:10) under the Pharaohs. It is, however, a pure conjecture (Ewald) that the name given to this festival was Pesach, from the sun"s "passing over" at this time into the sign of Aries. The real name is unknown, and there is every, reason to believe that the term Pesach was now for the first time given a religious sense (upon the ground noticed in verses 11, 12) to what was in reality a new rite. God, being about to smite with death the first-born in each Egyptian house, required the Israelites to save themselves by means of a sacrifice. Each Israelite householder was to select a lamb (or a kid) on the tenth day of the current month (ver. 3), and to keep it separate from the flock until the fourteenth day at even, when he was to kill it, to dip some hyssop in the blood (ver. 22) and to strike with the hyssop on the two posts and lintel of his doorway (ver. 7), so leaving the mark of the blood on it. He was then the same night to roast the lamb whole, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs (vers. 8-10). He was to have his dress close girt about him, his sandals on his feet, and his staff in his hand; to be prepared, that is, for a journey. If he did all this, God, when he went through the land to smite and destroy, would "pass over" the house upon which there was the blood, and spare all that dwelt in it. Otherwise the plague would be upon them to destroy them (vers. 11, 13). Such were the directions given for immediate observance, and such was the Passover proper. The lamb itself was primarily the Pesach (ver. 11), the "pass," which secured safety. From this the name spread to the entire festival. Having, by the directions recorded in verses 3-13 instituted the festival, God proceeded, in verses 14-20, to require its continued celebration year after year, and to give additional rules as to the mode of its annual observance.
Read full note →
1. The festival was to last seven days.
2. No leavened bread was to be eaten during that space, and leaven waseven to be put away altogether out of all houses.
3. On the first day of the seven and on the last, there was to be "a holyconvocation" or gathering for worship.
4. No work not strictly necessary was to Be done on these days.
Other directions were given at a later date.
1. Besides the Paschal lamb, with which the festival commenced, and whichwas to be a domestic rite, public sacrifices were appointed for each day of the seven to consist of two young bullocks, one ram, seven lambs, and one goat, with appropriate "meat-offerings". (Num_28:19-24)
2. On the second day of the feast, "the morrow after the sabbath," the first fruits of the harvest were to be presented in the shape of a ripe sheaf (of barley) which was to be a wave-offering, and to be accompanied by the sacrifice of a lamb with meat and drink offerings. (Lev_23:10-14) By this regulation the festival was made to embody the old spring feast, and to have thus a double aspect.
The Lord spake. According to the Biblical record, neither Moses nor Aaron introduced any legislation of their own, either at this time or later. The whole system, religious, political, and ecclesiastical, was received by Divine Revelation, commanded by God, and merely established by the agency of the two brothers. In the land of Egypt. The introduction of these words seems to show that we have here a separate document on the subject of the Passover, written independently of what has preceded, some time after the exodus, and placed here without alteration, when Moses gathered together his various writings into a single work.
Vers. 1-2. The advantages of an ecclesiastical calendar.
With their new position as an independent nation, and their new privileges as God"s redeemed people, (Exo_6:6) the Israelites received the gift of a new ecclesiastical calendar. Their civil calendar remaining as before, their civil year commencing with Tisri, about the time of the autumnal equinox, and consisting of twelve months of alternately twenty-nine and thirty days, they were now commanded to adopt a new departure for their sacred year, and to reckon its commencement from Abib or Nisan, which began about the time of the vernal equinox, or March 21. This was advantageous to them in several ways.
I IT SECURED THEM A TIME OF RELIGIOUS RETROSPECT AND CONTEMPLATION, NOT ALREADY OCCUPIED BY WORLDLY CARES. The commencement of a civil year naturally brings with it various civil and worldly cares, which occupy the mind, demand the attention, and distract the thoughts. The worldly position has to be reviewed, accounts made up, stock taken, debts claimed and paid, subscriptions renewed or discontinued, agents communicated with, orders given, arrangements made in some instances for the whole of the coming twelvemonth; and the result is, that the mind of most men is then so occupied, not to say harassed, that it cannot turn itself with any vigour or freshness to the contemplation of things heavenly and spiritual. Of great value then, and importance, is it that religion should have a separate time to itself for a review of the spiritual position, for the taking of stock in a religious sense, the balancing of the account with heaven, the forming of plans for the spiritual life beforehand, since that life has as much need to be carefully provided for as the worldly life. The opening of a year being the natural time for such a review, the new arrangement made naturally suggested it, and provided a quiet time for it.
II IT GAVE THE IDEAS CONNECTED WITH THE FESTIVAL ABOUT TO BE INSTITUTED A GREATER HOLD ON MEN"S THOUGHTS THAN MIGHT OTHERWISE HAVE BEEN THE CASE. Everyone recognises the importance of a new beginning. A religion naturally strikes its key-note at the commencement of its round of services. As the coming of Christ into the world is the very essence of Christianity, the ecclesiastical year of Christendom commences with Advent. Thus Christians are taught that the foundation-stone of their religion, the root out of which it all springs, is the Incarnation. For Mosaism the key-note was deliverance from Egypt, and covenant relationship with God as His people by means of sacrifice. Deliverance from Egypt was redemption from servitude, and the commencement of a free national life. Sacrifice was the appointed means of keeping up and renewing the covenant relationship begun in circumcision. In the Passover these two thoughts were blended together, and Israel had to meditate on both. The one thought was necessary to call forth that loving trust in the favour and goodness of God, which lies at the root of all acceptable service; the other was needed to give ease to the conscience, to reassure the trembling sinner, and remove his sense of a guilt that separated him from God, and made his circumcision unavailing. The prominence given to these ideas by the position of the Paschal Festival, impressed them upon the minds of the Israelites as fundamental and vital truths.
III IT GAVE THE RELIGION GENERALLY A STATUS AND A POSITION OF INDEPENDENCE, WHICH INCREASED MAN"S RESPECT FOR IT. In all times and countries the suspicion occurs to some, that religion is but a form of statecraft, a politic invention of governors to render government more easy. Anything that marks the coordinate authority of Church and State in their separate spheres, and especially the independence of the Church, is valuable, as an obstacle to Erastianism, and an indication of the Church"s inherent right to regulate Church affairs. An ecclesiastical calendar distinct from the civil calendar is no doubt a little matter; but it implies an important principle, and is perhaps not without some influence over the general tone of thought and feeling in a country.
Vers. 1-29. The Passover.
God"s last and overwhelming blow was about to be struck at Egypt. In anticipation of that blow, and in immediate connection with the exodus, God gave directions for the observance of a Passover.
I THE PASSOVER IN ITS CONNECTION WITH THE HISTORY. For details of the ritual, see the verses of the chapter.
1. The design of the Passover was to make plain to Israel the ground on which its salvation was bestowed the ground, viz., of Atonement. "The more recent plagues had fallen on Egypt alone. The children of Israel were saved from them. But though the salvation was obvious, the way of salvation had not yet been indicated. But now that the last and heaviest plague is about to fall, not only will Israel be saved from it, but the ground on which (the whole) salvation is bestowed will be made plain.
2. The connection of the Passover with the exodus. In this relation it is to be viewed more especially as a purificatory sacrifice. Such a sacrifice was peculiarly appropriate on the night of leaving Egypt, and one would probably have been appointed, even had no such special reason existed for it as the judgment on the first-born.
3. The connection of the Passover with the judgment on the first-born. Israel was God"s Son, His firstborn, (Exo_10:22) and is in turn represented by his first-born; and so with Egypt. Because Pharaoh would not let Israel (God"s first-born) go, God had declared his purpose of smiting "all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast" (ver. 12); the punishment in this case, as frequently in God"s Providence, (cf. Isa_30:16) taking a form analogous to the sin it is designed to chastise. "The first-born represented the family, so that judgment of the first-born stood for judgment upon all, and redemption of the first-born stood for the redemption of all" (Dr. Gibson). Accordingly, not the firstborn merely, but the entire household, as represented in him, was redeemed by the blood of the Passover, and joined in the subsequent feast upon the lamb (ver. 8). Note, there was a peculiar fitness in the Passover being instituted at this particular crisis.
(1) The death of the firstborn was a judgment pure and simple; not, like the hail, locusts, etc., an admonitory plague.
(2) It gave a heightened and impressive character to the salvation that redemption by blood, redemption by power, and the emergence of the people from slavery into distinct existence as a people of God, were thus seen going hand in hand. The analogy with the Christian redemption is obvious.
4. The teaching of the Passover. It taught the people
(1) that naturally they were as justly exposed to wrath as the people of Egypt. "Whether viewed in their individual or in their collective capacity, they were themselves of Egypt collectively, a part of the nation, without any separate and independent existence of their own, vassals of the enemy, and inhabitants of the doomed territory individually, also, partakers of the guilt and corruption of Egypt" (Fairbairn). "If the test had been one of character, it is quite certain that the line would not have been run so as to range all Egypt on the one side, and all Israel on the other. No one can suppose that all the real worth and excellence were on the side of the latter, and all the meanness and wickedness on the side of the former. In fact, the children of Israel had shared only too deeply in the sins of Egypt, and, accordingly, if they are to be saved, it must be on some other ground than their own merits" (Gibson).
(2) That the medium of their salvation the ground on which it was bestowed was blood of atonement. It is vain to deny that the Passover victim was truly a propitiatory sacrifice. The use made of its blood is proof sufficient of that. The lamb died in room of the first-born. Sprinkled on the door-posts and lintels, its blood sheltered the inmates of the dwelling from the stroke of the destroyer (vers. 21-24). "A sinless victim, the household might, as it were, hide behind it, and escape the just punishment of their sins" (Kohler in Geikie). The Passover thus emphatically taught the necessity of atonement for the covering of guilt. No thoughtful Israelite but must have deeply realised the truth, "Without shedding of blood is no remission". (Heb_9:22)
(3) The solidarity of the nation. The observance of the Passover was to be an act, not of individuals, but of households and groups of households, and in a wider sense, of the nation as a whole. The Israelites were thus taught to feel their unity as before God their oneness in guilt as in redemption.
(a) In guilt. Each was involved in guilt and doom, not only through his own sins, but through the sins of the nation of which he formed a part. (cf. Isa_6:5 Mat_23:35)
(b) In redemption. This was beautifully symbolised in the eating of the lamb. The lamb was to be roasted entire, and placed on the table undivided (ver. 9). "By avoiding the breaking of the bones (ver. 46), the animal was preserved in complete integrity, undisturbed and entire. (Psa_34:20) There was no other reason for this than that all who took part in this one animal, i.e. all who ate of it, should look upon themselves as one whole, one community, like those who eat the New Testament Passover, the body of Christ, (1Co_5:7) of whom the apostle says, (1Co_10:17) "We being many are one bread, and one body; for we are all partakers of that one bread. (Bahr.)
(4) It pointed to an atonement in the future. For, manifestly, there lay in the blood of the lamb no real virtue to take away sin. It declared the necessity of atonement, but could not adequately provide it. The life of a beast was no proper substitute for the life of a first-born son. The Passover, therefore, from its very nature, is to be viewed as a type. It pointed on to Christ, in whom all the types of sacrifices find complete fulfilment.
(5) The various features of the ritual were symbolic. The unleavened bread was indicative of haste; (Deu_16:3) the bitter herbs of the affliction of Egypt, etc. These circumstances, like the blamelessness of the victim, the sprinkling of the blood, etc., had also spiritual significance. See below, Homily on vers. 21-29. It is to be remarked, in general, that "the earthly relations then existing, and the operations of God in connection with them, were framed on purpose to represent and foreshadow corresponding but immensely superior ones, connected with the work and kingdom of Christ." (Fairbairn.)
II THE PASSOVER AS AN ORDINANCE FOR LATER GENERATIONS (vers. 14, 24 28). In this respect, the Passover is to be viewed
1. As a historical witness to the reality of the events of the exodus. See below; also Homily on Deu_16:1-9. The Passover, like the Lord"s Supper, was an institution which, in the nature of things, could not have been set up later than the event professedly commemorated.
2. As a per petuation of the original sacrifice. The blood of the lambs was year by year presented to God. This marked that the true sacrifice had not yet been offered. (Heb_10:1-3) Now that Christ has died, and has "put away sin by the sacrifice of himself", (Heb_9:26 Heb_10:12) there is no room for further sacrifice, and the Lord"s Supper is to be regarded as simply a commemorative ordinance and means of grace. The doctrine of the mass has no foundation in true scriptural analogy.
3. As a means of grace. It was a feast, collecting the Israelites in great numbers at the sanctuary, and reviving in their minds the memory of the great deliverance, in which had been laid the foundation of their national existence. The lamb, slain on their behalf, roasted with fire, and set on the table before their eyes, to be handled and eaten by them, in solemn observance of a Divine command, gave them a vivid sense of the reality of the facts they were commemorating. The Lord"s Supper, in like manner, is a powerful means of impressing mind and heart, an act of communion on the part of Christian believers, and a true source of nourishment (through spiritual participation in Christ) to the soul.
4. The observance of the Passover was connected with oral instruction (vers. 26, 27). This was a further guarantee for the handing down of a faithful, ungarbled tradition of the meaning of the ceremony; added to the interest of the service; took advantage of a favourable opportunity to impress the minds of the young; and helped to keep alive in all classes of the community a vivid remembrance of God"s mighty works.
III THE FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD (vers. 14-21). The ordinance for this feast was probably given at Succoth, on the day succeeding the exodus (see ver. 17, and. (Exo_13:5-8) It is inserted here on account of its internal connection with the Passover. It is to be viewed
1. As a memorial of the haste with which the Israelites left Egypt. The Israelites had evidently intended to leaven their dough on the night of the exodus, but were prevented by the haste (ver. 34). "For thou earnest out of the land in haste". (Deu_16:3) This is the historical groundwork of the institution.
2. As a symbol of spiritual truth.
(1) The feast lasted seven days, a complete circle of time.
(2) It was rounded off at the beginning and end by a holy convocation. This marked it as a sacred period.
(3) Sacrifices were offered during its course. (Num_13:16-26; Deu_15:2)
(4) The bread eaten was to be unleavened. So strict was the injunction on this point that the Israelite found eating leaven during these seven days was to be "cut off," i.e. , excommunicated. The general idea of the feast was, therefore, to represent what redeemed life in its entirety ought to be a life purged from the leaven of "malice and wickedness," and devoted to God"s service in "sincerity and truth". (1Co_5:8) "The exodus formed the groundwork of the feast, because it was by this that Israel had been introduced into a new vital element" (Keil). The "walk in newness of life" follows on redemption. We may apply the precept about "cutting off from Israel" to the exclusion of immoral and impure members from the Church. J.O.
HOMILIES BY D. YOUNG Vers. 1-28. The institution of the Passover.
Moses has now done with requesting and threatening Pharaoh. He leaves Pharaoh to the terrible smiting hand of Jehovah, and turns, when it is quite time to turn, to his own people. He who would not listen had to be left for those who would listen. It is now manifest that Moses is to be profitably occupied with matters which cannot any longer be delayed. It was needful to give warning concerning the death of the first-born to the Israelites quite as much as to Pharaoh. For some time they had been the passive, the scarcely conscious objects of Divine mercy and power. Painfully conscious they were of the physical hardships which Pharaoh inflicted on them, but they had little or no thought of deprivations and hindrances with respect to higher things. God had been leading them forward by a way they knew not, and now the hour has come for them to know the way and walk in it with understanding, choice, circumspection, and diligence. All at once, from being passive spectators in the background, they came forward to be prime actors in the very front; and God is here telling them through Moses what to do, and how they are to do it. More is to be done than simply wait for God"s coming at midnight: that coming has to be made ready for with great solemnity and minuteness of preparation.
I NOTICE HOW JEHOVAH HERE BRINGS THE VOLUNTARY ELEMENT INTO THE DELIVERANCE OF HIS PEOPLE AND THEIR CONNECTION WITH HIM. They are to be delivered, only as they are willing to be delivered. They are to signify their willing regard to conform with the will of God. The matter is made almost a personal one; if not brought before every Israelite, it is brought before every head of a household. Hitherto the immunities of the people during the course of the plagues had been secured in a mere external way. The protection belonged to a certain territory, and the Israelites had to exert no attention, take no trouble, in order to secure the protection. God kept the flies, the hail, and the darkness out of Goshen without requiring any mark upon the habitations and property of His people. But now, as the last visitation from God draws nigh, they have to take a part, and a very decided part, in making their exemption effectual. Jehovah comes, treating all who are in Egypt as belonging fully to Egypt, and it is for the Israelites to show by some significant act the deep difference which separates between them and the Egyptians. There had been, up to this time, certain differences between the Egyptian and the Israelite which did not depend upon the Israelite"s choice. The Egyptian was master, and the Israelite slave; assuredly the Israelite had not chosen that. An Egyptian might soon lose all trace of his personal ancestry, but every Israelite could trace his ancestry back to Jacob, to Isaac, to Abraham; and this was a matter he had not chosen. The Egyptian belonged to a nation which had been smitten with nine plagues, but from the later and severer of these the Israelite dwelling in Goshen had been free; yet this freedom had been secured without making it to depend on the Israelite"s own action. But now, as the day of redemption draws near, Jehovah reminds every Israelite that underneath all the differences which, in carrying out His purposes, He may make to exist among men, there is a common humanity. Before Him who comes smiting at midnight there is neither Israelite nor Egyptian, bond nor free; everything depends on the sprinkled blood; and the sprinkled blood depends on whether the Israelite has put it on his door of his own accord. If, that night, the Israelite did not of his own accord make a difference between himself and the Egyptian, then no natural distinction or past immunity was of the slightest avail. Even already it is being shown that circumcision availeth nothing, but a new creature. Israel can only be truly Israel as he is Israel inwardly. The mark upon the door without must come from the perfect heart and willing mind within. The only great abiding differences between man and man are such as we, fully considering our position, concur in making of our own free will True it is that we cannot establish and complete these differences in our own strength; but it is very certain that God will not do this indeed, by the very limitations of the thing to be done, he cannot except as we willingly and with alacrity give him opportunity.
II In these instructions for the Passover, GOD BRINGS THE FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENT OF PURE FAITH INTO ACTIVE EXERCISE. In Heb_11:28 we are told that by faith Moses kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them. And this faith extended from Moses to every head of a household in Israel. The whole instructions imply a trustful, disciplined spirit, on the part of those receiving them. Up to this time nothing had been required of them except to stand still and wait while God dealt with Pharaoh. They are left on one side, treated as helpless captives, whom it is vain to ask for what they cannot give. But now they are asked for something, and they have not only to render it willingly, but with the obedience of faith. (Rom_16:26) They are asked to slay a number of lambs, the number being determined according to a settled proportion. When the lambs are slain, the blood is to be sprinkled on the doors of each Israelite dwelling, and the flesh, prepared in a peculiar and exact way, is to be eaten by the inhabitants. Well, what should all this have to do with the protection of Israel? How should it advance the captives towards deliverance? If God had told them to get ready swords and spears, and discipline themselves for battle there would have been something intelligible in such instructions, something according to the schemes of human wisdom. But God does not deliver as men would deliver. It pleased him, in the fulness of time and by the foolishness of a slain lamb and sprinkled blood to save Israel. And yet it was not the slain lamb and sprinkled blood that saved by themselves. Moses and Aaron might have slain so many lambs and sprinkled their blood, and yet there would have been no efficacy in them. Their efficacy as protectors was not a natural efficacy. The efficacy lay in this: that the lambs were slain and the blood sprinkled in the obedience of faith. The thing done and the spirit in which it is done truth and faith-go together in resistless power. There must be truth; faith by itself does nothing; for a man may believe a lie and then where is he? There must be faith; truth by itself does nothing; just as food does nothing unless a man takes it into his stomach. Of course it was quite possible for a sceptical Israelite to say, "What can there be in this sprinkled blood? and the very fact that such a question was possible shows how God was shutting his people up to pure faith. He asks them to act simply on the word of Moses. That word was now to be a sufficient reason for their conduct. Moses had done enough to show from whom he came. It is interesting to notice how faith stands here, asked for, the first thing, by Moses, even as it was afterwards by Jesus. As the Israelites believed because Moses spoke, so we must believe because Jesus speaks. Jesus speaks truth because it is true; but we must receive it and believe it, not because in our natural reason we can see it as true, but because of the ascertained and well-accredited character of him who speaks it. And we must show our faith by our works, as these Israelites did. It was not required of them to understand how this sprinkled blood operated. They acted as believing that it would operate, and the indisputable fact is that they were saved. It is a great deal more important to have a thing done, than to be able to understand all the ins and outs by which it is done. A man does not refuse to wind up his watch, because he cannot understand its intricate mechanism. His purposes are served, if he understands enough to turn the key. And so our purposes are served, if we have enough practical faith in Jesus to gain actual salvation through him. Exactly how Jesus saves, is a question which we may ask again and again, and vainly ask. Let us not, in asking it, waste time and risk eternity, when by the prompt and full obedience of faith, we may know in our experience, that however obscure the process may be, the result itself is a real and abiding one.
III Looking back on this passover lamb in the light of the finished work of Jesus, we see HOW AMPLE A TYPE IT IS OF HIM WHO WAS TO COME AFTER AND STAND BETWEEN THE BELIEVING SINNER AND THE AVENGING GOD.
1. The lamb was taken so as to bind families and neighbours together.
This reminds us of Him, who gathers round himself, in every place, those who form the true family, the new family; joined together not after the temporary, dissolving order of nature, but after the abiding, ever-consolidating order of grace. Wheresoever two or three are gathered together in the name of Jesus, there the true Lamb of God is present in all those relations of which the passover lamb gave but a foreshadowing. The true families are made by the coalescence of those who, living in one neighbourhood, have one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.
2. The passover lamb was without blemish. Consider what is said in this respect of Jesus. (Mat_3:17; Mar_1:11; Luk_3:22 Luk_23:4 Joh_19:4-6; 2Co_5:21; Eph_4:13; Col_1:19; Heb_9:14 1Pe_2:22)
1. It was a male of the first year. So Jesus was taken in the freshness and strength of his manhood. (Luk_3:23)
2. The flesh of the lamb was eaten in the company for which it had beenslain. It is only when we bear in mind the first passover in Egypt, that we reach the significance of all that was said and done on the night when Jesus sat down for the last passover feast with his disciples. Jesus took the bread and said: "Take, eat; this is my body." There was to be no more killing of the lamb; the bread, easily made and easily portioned out, took its place. But still the Lord had to say "this is my body." A body had to be thought of as eaten, and not mere bread. Really, when we look into the matter, we find that the sprinkling of the blood was only part of the protection; the eating was protective also. Assuredly the sprinkling by itself would have counted for nothing, if the eating had been omitted. When the blood was sprinkled, it illustrated faith in him who comes between God and the sinner. When the flesh was eaten, it illustrated faith in him whose life becomes our life. Being unblemished, he makes us unblemished, and being acceptable to God, he makes us acceptable also.
IV We observe that even before the event to be commemorated was accomplished JEHOVAH MADE CAREFUL PROVISION FOR A MEMORIAL OBSERVANCE. Thus another indication is given to us, as to the completeness and order with which his plans were laid. Directions are given for the present need, and along with them are combined directions by which the record of this great liberating event may be transmitted to the remotest generations. Henceforth, the beginning of the year is to date from the month of these dealings with the first-born. Then there was also the appointment of the feast of unleavened bread. So crushing was the blow of Jehovah, and so precipitate the consequent action of Pharaoh and the Egyptians, that the Israelites were hurried out of the land with their dough before it was leavened. Here then in this domestic operation of preparing the daily bread was an opportunity given of setting forth once a year the complete separation which God had effected between the Israelites and the Egyptians. When for seven days no leaven was put in the bread, the great fact to be called up was this: that the Egyptians had hastened the Israelites out of the land. This memorial act called up at once the great change which God had produced, and in a comparatively short time. But a little while before and the Egyptians were spoiling the Israelites, demanding from them bricks without straw; now the Israelites are spoiling the Egyptians, getting gold and silver and raiment from them in profusion, and with the utmost good-will.
V ALL THE OTHER PREPARATIONS FOR JEHOVAH"S VISIT WERE TO BE CROWNED BY MAKING PULL PREPARATIONS FOR DEPARTURE. Jehovah was coming to open the prison-doors and strike off the fetters; and he would have the captives ready to march on the instant. He is the God who makes all things to work together for good to them who are called according to his purpose. To him who is truly and devoutly obeying God, nothing comes but he is able to meet it. The obedient is never taken at a disadvantage; he is never defrauded of a great opportunity. The children of Israel were to eat the lamb in full readiness for the journey; even though it might plausibly be said that it was a making ready before the time. The lesson is, obey God in everything where as here the terms of his requirement are plain to the understanding and imperative to the conscience. Reasons are not for you, who know only in part, but for him to whom the darkness and the light are both alike. Y.
HOMILIES BY J. URQUHART
I THE DAY OF DELIVERANCE THE BEGINNING OF A NEW ERA IN THE HISTORY OF GOD"S PEOPLE (vers. 1, 2).
1. It Was then only that the history of the nation as the people of God began. Before they had been told of God"s favour towards them; they now knew it. "Now we believe, not because of thy saying, for we have heard him ourselves". (Joh_4:42)
2. God"s final deliverance begins a new era for his people. "Behold! makeall things new.
3. This has its correlative type in Christian experience now. The true life ofthe servant of God dates from the hour of his deliverance from the bondage of sin. "If any man be in Christ Jesus he is a new creature: old things are passed away: behold all things are become new." Before Israel lay the experience of God"s care and love, Sinai, the giving of the law, etc. Before us ties the deepening knowledge of his love, and of his will, the priestly service, etc.
II THE COMMAND TO MAKE IT THE BEGINNING OF MONTHS.
1. The remembrance of God"s grace makes the soul the dwelling-place ofhumbleness and trust.
2. It is joy and strength for service.
3. It is consecration; in the brightness of that unmerited grace the life isclaimed for God; the ear is opened, the heart is touched and changed; we forget things that are behind, and reach forth to things that are before. U.
HOMILIES BY H.T. ROBJOHNS Vers. 1-28; 43-51. The Passover.
is the Lord"s Passover". (Exo_12:11) After Pharaoh"s refusal to see Moses again, Jehovah comes more manifestly into the history, in the last judgment and deliverance of his people. Three great events crowd now into a single night, the Passover, the slaying of the first-born, the march out. Consider now the Passover.
I ITS NECESSITY.
1. Israel must be separated from Egypt. This idea of separation runs through all Hebrew history from the time of Abraham to this hour. But to a large extent Israel had now become merged into the Egyptian race, catching the plagues of its idolatry and sins. Great separating acts necessarye.g. , as in some of the earlier visitations, in the tenth, in the passover, in the exodus, in the Red Sea.
2. To this end Israel must be atoned afresh with God. The tenth plague was a miracle of pure judgment: for Israel to escape the penalty of its sin, an atonement necessary. That atonement was the passover.
II ITS DESIGNATIONS. They were these: "A pass-over unto Jehovah: a sacrificial-slaying of pass-over unto Jehovah:" "The sacrifice of the feast of the passover," 12:11, 27; 34:25. Here we have four distinctive ideas.
1. The Objective of the pass-over was God. "Unto Jehovah." Like prayer intended to benefit man, but its objective God. Herein lies the distinction between Scriptural and unscriptural ideas of atonement.
2. The pass-over was a Sacrifice. For the argument, see Kurtz, vol. 2:297, 298, Eng. ed.
3. The result was a Passing-over. The stained lintel a bridge over which Jehovah was to pass in dread judicial progress through the land.
4. And a more remote result, the ushering in of a Festal Life for Israel. The festival of the passover foreshadowed the coming life of liberty.
III THE LAMB. After expository development of the leading incidents, the following truths will emerge in relation to the antitype.
1. The objective of the death of Christ is God. The Socinian formula runs: "The death of Christ was not to reconcile God to man, but man to God." The scriptural doctrine is that the atonement does both: but reconciles man to God, by first atoning God with man.
2. Christ is "without blemish and without spot.
3. The atoning Christ was deliberately selected, and fore-appointed.
4. Kept in view of the world, that His worth, beauty and destiny might suitably affect men; as the lamb went in and out, for four days, the homes of Israel.
5. Slain.
6. The death was Sacrificial.
7. The result a Passing-over of judicial wrath.
8. But the sacrifice must be appropriated. The blood on the posts of the door a sign of the appropriating faith of the people. Here may be brought out the idea, that the door was the only possible altar at that moment of history. The idea of sacrifice had come down from patriarchal times; but there was no law of sacrifice, for as yet there was no nation to which to give it, and therefore there was no temple, and so no altar. Every family must be atoned for apart; every house was then a temple, and every door an altar.
9. Then, faith in Christ"s atonement begins for us high Festival.
IV THE MEAL. Show that the meal was much more than a mere supper to prepare for a journey. It had in it spiritual significance, in relation to the Christ.
1. The Atoning Christ is the Food of the Soul. (Joh_6:51) This for the very simple reason, that the truth of the atonement is central, supreme, and comprehensive.
2. An uncorrupted Christ. The lamb was roasted, i.e. , was pure flesh acted on by fire; not sodden, diluted with water, or any way corrupted.
3. A perfect Christ, no bone broken. So on the cross a Christ divided is not sufficient for the nourishment of the soul, e.g. , Christ as an "elect spirit of the race;" or as one in whom the "God-consciousness " received high development; or as example; Teacher, etc. Christ in his whole nature, character and office.
4. The enjoyment of Christ and of his salvation will depend on the memory of the slavery of sin. "Bitter herbs.
5. The christian life is to be characterised by simplicity and sincerity. Note that unleavened bread is simply pure meal, all water Parched out by the action of fire. For the significance see the Christian Rabbi, Paul, 1Co_1:6-8.
6. The end of soul nutriment is the Pilgrim-Life. Each with staff in hand that night.
7. To the banquet, to the Exodus, to the Pilgrim-Life, all are welcome, on conditions, 12:43-45. In that case, first circumcision; then coming under the sprinkled blood, were needful. The analogy is clear. Note! at the moment, when the distinction between Israel and Egypt was most marked, then did the catholicity of true Judaism most appear. In Abraham all mankind was to be blessed. R.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v1 The beginning of months.
Exo_12:1-2
The beginning of months.
Read full note →
A new start
I. The idea of a new start is naturally attractive to all of us. We are fatigued, we are dissatisfied, and justly so, with the time past of our lives. We long for a gift of amnesty and oblivion.
II. There are senses in which this is impossible. The continuity of life cannot be broken. There is a continuity, a unity, an identity, which annihilation only could destroy.
III. The beginning of months is made so by an exodus. Redemption is the groundwork of the new life. If there is in any of us a real desire for change, we must plant our feet firmly on redemption.
IV. When we get out of Egypt, we must remember that there is still Sinai in front, with its thunderings and voices. We have to be schooled by processes not joyous but grievous. These processes cannot be hurried, they must take time. Here we must expect everything that is changeful, and unresting, and unreposeful, within as without. But He who has promised will perform. He who has redeemed will save. He who took charge will also bring through. (Dean Vaughan.)
The first month of the year
I. The first month of the year is a good time for religious contemplation and devotion. Then the flight of time, the events of life, and the mortality of man, may all furnish topics for reflection. Then especially should the Passover be celebrated, the blood of Christ anew be sprinkled on the soul; and in this spirit of trust in the Saviour should the year begin.
II. The first month of the year is eventful in the history of individual and collective life. How many souls, awakened by the circumstances of life, have been led to the Cross at this solemn period? What we are then, we are likely to remain throughout the year; we then get an impulse for good or evil which will affect our moral character to the end. The first month is the keynote of the years moral life. It is the rough sketch of the souls life for the year. We should therefore seek to observe it unto the Lord.
III. The first month of the year is important in its relation to the commercial prospects of men. The new year may mark the advent of new energy, or it may witness the continuance of the old indolence. Lessons:
1. That the ordering of months and of years is of God.
2. That the first month must remind us of the advent of the Saviour.
3. That the first month must be consecrated by true devotion.
4. That the Church must pay some attention to the calendar of the Christian year.
5. That God usually by His ministers makes known His mind to His Church. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
The beginning of months
I want to bring to your mind this fact, that, just as the people of Israel when God gave them the Passover had a complete shifting and changing of all their dates, and began their year on quite a different day, so when God gives to His people to eat the spiritual passover there takes place in their chronology a very wonderful change. Saved men and women date from the dawn of their true life; not from their first birthday, but from the day whereto they were born again of the Spirit of God, and entered into the knowledge and enjoyment of spiritual things.
I. First, then, let us describe this remarkable event, which was henceforth to stand at the head of the Jewish year, and, indeed, at the commencement of all Israelitish chronology.
1. This event was an act of salvation by blood. The law demands death--The soul that sinneth it shall die. Christ, my Lord, has died in my stead: as it is written, Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree. Such a sacrifice is more than even the most rigorous law could demand. Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. Therefore do we sit securely within doors, desiring no guard without to drive away the destroyer; for, when God sees the blood of Jesus He will pass over us.
2. Secondly, that night they received refreshment from the lamb. Being saved by its blood, the believing households sat down and fed upon the lamb. It was a solemn feast, a meal of mingled hope and mystery. Do you remember when first you fed upon Christ, when your hungry spirit enjoyed the first morsel of that food of the soul? It was dainty fare, was it not?
3. The third event was the purification of their houses from leaven, for that was to go in a most important way side by side with the sprinkling of the blood and the eating of the lamb. You cannot feed on Christ and at the same time hold a lie in your right hand by vain confidence in yourself, or by love of sin. Self and sin must go. This month is the beginning of months, the first month of the year to us, when the Spirit of truth purges out the spirit of falsehood.
4. A fourth point in the Passover is not to be forgotten. On the Passover night there came, as the result of the former things, a wonderful, glorious, and mighty deliverance. This month, etc.
II. Now, secondly, I want to mention the varieties of its recurrence among us at this day.
1. The first recurrense is of course on the personal salvation of each one of us. The whole of this chapter was transacted in your heart and mine when first we knew the Lord.
2. But then it happens again in a certain sense when the mans house is saved. Remember, this was a family business. A family begins to live in the highest sense when, as a family, without exception, it has all been redeemed, all sprinkled with the blood, all made to feed on Jesus, all purged from sin, and all set at liberty to go out of the domains of sin, bound for the kingdom.
3. Extend the thought--it was not only a family ordinance, but it was for all the tribes of Israel. There were many families, but in every house the passover was sacrificed. Would it not be a grand thing if you that employ large numbers of men should ever be able to gather all together and hopefully say, I trust that all these understand the sprinkling of the blood, and all feed upon Christ.
III. And now I come to show in what light this date is to be regarded, if it has occurred to us in the senses I have mentioned. Primarily, if it has occurred in the first sense to us personally: what about it then?
1. Why the day in which we first knew the Saviour as the Paschal Lamb should always be the most honourable day that has ever dawned upon us. Prize the work of grace beyond all the treasures of Egypt.
2. This date is to be regarded as the beginning of life. Let your conversion be the burial of the old existence, and as for that which follows after, take care that you make it real life, worthy of the grace which has quickened you.
3. Our life, beginning as it does at our spiritual passover, and at our feeding upon Christ, we ought always to regard our conversion as a festival and remember it with praise. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The beginning of days
If you have no such spiritual new years day, now is a good time to secure one. Says old Thomas Fuller: Lord, I do discover a fallacy, whereby I have long deceived myself, which is this: I have desired to begin my amendment from my birthday, or from the first day of the year, or from some eminent festival, that so my repentance might bear some remarkable date. But when those days were come, I have adjourned my amendment to some other time. Thus, whilst I could not agree with myself when to start, I have almost lost the running of the race. I am resolved thus to befool myself no longer. I see no day like to-day Grant, therefore, that to-day I may hear Thy voice. And if this day be remarkable in itself for nothing else, give me to make it memorable in my soul; thereupon, by Thy assistance, beginning the reformation of my life. Let this day be the beginning of months, the first month of the year to you. (H. C. Trumbull.)
The lessons of time
1. Time gives birth to actions.
2. God ordains that certain periods of life shall determine others (Luk_19:44).
3. There is an extension of mans trial. One chance more.
4. Procrastination ends destructively, Not only thief of time, but also hardener of mens hearts.
5. Time will end.
6. The issues of time will last for ever. (British Weekly.)
Turning over a new leaf
The time has come for turning over a new leaf. As the town clock struck midnight of the last day of the old year divers and sundry resolutions which had lain dormant a long time, waiting for the New Year to ring its chimes, came forth into new life. They had long had an existence, these new resolutions had, for in reality they are not new at all, but quite venerable; for on the first of January of many a past year they have been brought to the surface. And so the new leaf has been turned over, and on its virgin pages these new resolutions have been written, and, alas! not inscribed for the first time. Were they not written on the new leaf on the first of January, just a year ago, and the New Years day before that, and can you not go back, and back, and back, till you come to your childhood and the time when you first began to turn over a new leaf? These new leaves that we are always turning over--how they accuse us! We write on the newly turned page that we will do many duties which we have left undone--many duties in the home, the church--many duties to our friends, our neighbours, duties to God and to ourselves; and how long is it before there comes a little January gust and blows the leaf back again? and then all goes on pretty much as before. The trouble with this matter of leaf-turning, of making good resolutions only to break them, is twofold.
1. The effort is not made in good faith--it is more a whim than a solemn purpose put into action, and so it is we have altogether too much regard to times and seasons, and too little to the imperative demand of to-day. Conscience is a court whose fiat is to be obeyed not on New Years day, or Christmas, or on a birthday, but now--on the instant. A man who defers to execute a right resolution till some particular day has arrived will be pretty sure not to carry it out at all.
2. Then the second difficulty is that we rely too much upon our own will and too little upon Gods help. No man can change his own nature or reform himself. He can do much, if he but will, in the direction of carrying cut a good resolution; but the real efficient reliance must be God. (Christian Age.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain On v1
CHAPTER XII.
THE PASSOVER.
Read full note →
Exo_12:1-28.
We have now reached the birthday of the great Hebrew nation, and with it the first national institution, the feast of passover, which is also the first sacrifice of directly Divine institution, the earliest precept of the Hebrew legislation, and the only one given in Egypt.
The Jews had by this time learned to feel that they were a nation, if it were only through the struggle between their champion and the head of the greatest nation in the world. And the first aspect in which the feast of passover presents itself is that of a national commemoration.
This day was to be unto them the beginning of months; and in the change of their calendar to celebrate their emancipation, the device was anticipated by which France endeavoured to glorify the Revolution. All their reckoning was to look back to this signal event. "And this day shall be unto you for a memorial, and ye shall keep it for a feast unto the Lord; throughout your generations ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever" (Exo_12:14). "It shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the law of the Lord may be in thy mouth, for with a strong hand hath the Lord brought thee out of Egypt. Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in its season from year to year" (Exo_13:9-10).
Now for the first time we read of "the congregation of Israel" (Exo_12:3, Exo_12:6), which was an assembly of the people represented by their elders (as may be seen by comparing the third verse with the twenty-first); and thus we discover that the "heads of houses" have been drawn into a larger unity. The clans are knit together into a nation.
Accordingly, the feast might not be celebrated by any solitary man. Companionship was vital to it. At every table one animal, complete and undissevered, should give to the feast a unity of sentiment; and as many should gather around as were likely to leave none of it uneaten. Neither might any of it be reserved to supply a hasty ration amid the confusion of the predicted march. The feast was to be one complete event, whole and perfect as the unity which it expressed. The very notion of a people is that of "community" in responsibilities, joys, and labours; and the solemn law by virtue of which, at this same hour, one blow will fall upon all Egypt, must now be accepted by Israel. Therefore loneliness at the feast of Passover is by the law, as well as in idea, impossible to any Jew. Every one can see the connection between this festival of unity and another, of which it is written, "We, being many, are one body, one loaf, for we are all partakers of that one loaf."
Now, the sentiment of nationality may so assert itself, like all exaggerated sentiments, as to assail others equally precious. In this century we have seen a revival of the Spartan theories which sacrificed the family to the state. Socialism and the phalanstre have proposed to do by public organisation, with the force of law, what natural instinct teaches us to leave to domestic influences. It is therefore worthy of notice that, as the chosen nation is carefully traced by revelation back to a holy family, so the national festival did not ignore the family tie, but consecrated it. The feast was to be eaten "according to their fathers' houses"; if a family were too small, it was to the "neighbour next unto his house" that each should turn for co-operation; and the patriotic celebration was to live on from age to age by the instruction which parents should carefully give their children (Exo_12:3, Exo_12:26, Exo_13:8).
The first ordinance of the Jewish religion was a domestic service. And this arrangement is divinely wise. Never was a nation truly prosperous or permanently strong which did not cherish the sanctities of home. Ancient Rome failed to resist the barbarians, not because her discipline had degenerated, but because evil habits in the home had ruined her population. The same is notoriously true of at least one great nation today. History is the sieve of God, in which He continually severs the chaff from the grain of nations, preserving what is temperate and pure and calm, and therefore valorous and wise.
In studying the institution of the Passover, with its profound typical analogies, we must not overlook the simple and obvious fact that God built His nation upon families, and bade their great national institution draw the members of each home together.
The national character of the feast is shown further because no Egyptian family escaped the blow. Opportunities had been given to them to evade some of the previous plagues. When the hail was announced, "he that feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the house"; and this renders the national solidarity, the partnership even of the innocent in the penalties of a people's guilt, the 'community' of a nation, more apparent now. There was not a house where there was not one dead. The mixed multitude which came up with Israel came not because they had shared his exemptions, but because they dared not stay. It was an object-lesson given to Israel, which might have warned all his generations.
And if there is hideous vice in our own land today, or if the contrasts of poverty and wealth are so extreme that humanity is shocked by so much luxury insulting so much squalor,--if in any respect we feel that our own land, considering its supreme advantages, merits the wrath of God for its unworthiness,--then we have to fear and strive, not through public spirit alone, but as knowing that the chastisement of nations falls upon the corporate whole, upon us and upon our children.
But if the feast of the Passover was a commemoration, it also claims to be a sacrifice, and the first sacrifice which was Divinely founded and directed.
This brings us face to face with the great question, What is the doctrine which lies at the heart of the great institution of sacrifice?
We are not free to confine its meaning altogether to that which was visible at the time. This would contradict the whole doctrine of development, the intention of God that Christianity should blossom from the bud of Judaism, and the explicit assertion that the prophets were made aware that the full meaning and the date of what they uttered was reserved for the instruction of a later period (1Pe_1:12).
But neither may we overlook the first palpable significance of any institution. Sacrifices never could have been devised to be a blind and empty pantomime to whole generations, for the benefit of their successors. Still less can one who believes in a genuine revelation to Moses suppose that their primary meaning was a false one, given in order that some truth might afterwards develop out of it.
What, then, might a pious and well-instructed Israelite discern beneath the surface of this institution?
To this question there have been many discordant answers, and the variance is by no means confined to unbelieving critics. Thus, a distinguished living expositor says in connection with the Paschal institution, "We speak not of blood as it is commonly understood, but of blood as the life, the love, the heart,--the whole quality of Deity." But it must be answered that Deity is the last suggestion which blood would convey to a Jewish mind: distinctly it is creature-life that it expresses; and the New Testament commentators make it plain that no other notion had even then evolved itself: they think of the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ, not of His Deity.[20] Neither of this feast, nor of that which the gospel of Jesus has evolved from it, can we find the solution by forgetting that the elements of the problem are, not deity, but a Body and Blood.
But when we approach the theories of rationalistic thinkers, we find a perfect chaos of rival speculations.
We are told that the Hebrew feasts were really agricultural--"Harvest festivals," and that the epithet Passover had its origin in the passage of the sun into Aries. But this great festival had a very secondary and subordinate connection with harvest (only the waving of a sheaf upon the second day) while the older calendar which was displaced to do it honour was truly agricultural, as may still be seen by the phrase, "The feast of ingathering at the end of the year, when thou gatherest in thy labours out of the field" (Exo_23:16).
In dealing with unbelief we must look at things from the unbelieving angle of vision. No sceptical theory has any right to invoke for its help a special and differentiating quality in Hebrew thought. Reject the supernatural, and the Jewish religion is only one among a number of similar creations of the mind of man "moving about in worlds unrecognised." And therefore we must ask, What notions of sacrifice were entertained, all around, when the Hebrew creed was forming itself?
Now, we read that "in the early days ... a sacrifice was a meal.... Year after year, the return of vintage, corn-harvest, and sheep-shearing brought together the members of the household to eat and drink in the presence of Jehovah.... When an honoured guest arrives there is slaughtered for him a calf, not without an offering of the blood and fat to the Deity" (Wellhausen, Israel, p. 76). Of the sense of sin and propitiation "the ancient sacrifices present few traces.... An underlying reference of sacrifice to sin, speaking generally, was entirely absent. The ancient sacrifices were wholly of a joyous nature--a merry-making before Jehovah with music" (ibid., p. 81).
We are at once confronted by the question, Where did the Jewish nation come by such a friendly conception of their deity? They had come out of Egypt, where human sacrifices were not rare. They had settled in Palestine, where such idyllic notions must have been as strange as in modern Ashantee. And we are told that human sacrifices (such as that of Isaac and of Jephthah's daughter) belong to this older period (p. 69). Are they joyous and festive? are they not an endeavour, by the offering up of something precious, to reconcile a Being Who is estranged? With our knowledge of what existed in Israel in the period confessed to be historical, and of the meaning of sacrifices all around in the period supposed to be mythical, and with the admission that human sacrifices must be taken into account, it is startling to be asked to believe that Hebrew sacrifices, with all their solemn import and all their freight of Christian symbolism, were originally no more than a gift to the Deity of a part of some happy banquet.
It is quite plain that no such theory can be reconciled with the story of the first passover. And accordingly this is declared to be non-historical, and to have originated in the time of the later kings. The offering of the firstborn is only "the expression of thankfulness to the Deity for fruitful flocks and herds. If claim is also laid to the human firstborn, this is merely a later generalisation" (Wellhausen, p. 88).[21]
But this claim is by no means the only stumbling-block in the way of the theory, serious a stumbling-block though it be. How came the bright festival to be spoiled by bitter herbs and "bread of affliction"? Is it natural that a merry feast should grow more austere as time elapses? Do we not find it hard enough to prevent the most sacred festivals from reversing the supposed process, and degenerating into revels? And is not this the universal experience, from San Francisco to Bombay? Why was the mandate given to sprinkle the door of every house with blood, if the story originated after the feast had been centralised in Jerusalem, when, in fact, this precept had to be set aside as impracticable, their homes being at a distance? Why, again, were they bidden to slaughter the lamb "between the two evenings" (Exo_12:6)--that is to say, between sunset and the fading out of the light--unless the story was written long before such numbers had to be dealt with that the priests began to slaughter early in the afternoon, and continued until night? Why did the narrative set forth that every man might slaughter for his own house (a custom which still existed in the time of Hezekiah, when the Levites only slaughtered "the passovers" for those who were not ceremonially clean, 2Ch_30:17), if there were no stout and strong historical foundation for the older method?
Stranger still, why was the original command invented, that the lamb should be chosen and separated four days before the feast? There is no trace of any intention that this precept should apply to the first passover alone. It is somewhat unexpected there, interrupting the hurry and movement of the narrative with an interval of quiet expectation, not otherwise hinted at, which we comprehend and value when discovered, rather than anticipate in advance. It is the very last circumstance which the Priestly Code would have invented, when the time which could be conveniently spent upon a pilgrimage was too brief to suffer the custom to be perpetuated. The selection of the lamb upon the tenth day, the slaying of it at home, the striking of the blood upon the door, and the use of hyssop, as in other sacrifices, with which to sprinkle it, whether upon door or altar; the eating of the feast standing, with staff in hand and girded loins; the application only to one day of the precept to eat no leavened bread, and the sharing in the feast by all, without regard to ceremonial defilement,--all these are cardinal differences between the first passover and later ones. Can we be blind to their significance? Even a drastic revision of the story, such as some have fancied, would certainly have expunged every divergence upon points so capital as these. Nor could any evidence of the antiquity of the institution be clearer than its existence in a form, the details of which have had to be so boldly modified under the pressure of the exigencies of the later time.
Taking, then, the narrative as it stands, we place ourselves by an effort of the historical imagination among those to whom Moses gave his instructions, and ask what emotions are excited as we listen.
Certainly no light and joyous feeling that we are going to celebrate a feast, and share our good things with our deity. Nay, but an alarmed surprise. Hitherto, among the admonitory and preliminary plagues of Egypt, Israel had enjoyed a painless and unbought exemption. The murrain had not slain their cattle, nor the locusts devoured their land, nor the darkness obscured their dwellings. Such admonitions they needed not. But now the judgment itself is impending, and they learn that they, like the Egyptians whom they have begun to despise, are in danger from the destroying angel. The first paschal feast was eaten by no man with a light heart. Each listened for the rustling of awful wings, and grew cold, as under the eyes of the death which was, even then, scrutinising his lintels and his doorposts.
And this would set him thinking that even a gracious God, Who had "come down" to save him from his tyrants, discerned in him grave reasons for displeasure, since his acceptance, while others died, was not of course. His own conscience would then quickly tell him what some at least of those reasons were.
But he would also learn that the exemption which he did not possess by right (although a son of Abraham) he might obtain through grace. The goodness of God did not pronounce him safe, but it pointed out to him a way of salvation. He would scarcely observe, so entirely was it a matter of course, that this way must be of God's appointment and not of his own invention--that if he devised much more costly, elaborate and imposing ceremonies to replace those which Moses taught him, he would perish like any Egyptian who devised nothing, but simply cowered under the shadow of the impending doom.
Nor was the salvation without price. It was not a prayer nor a fast which bought it, but a life. The conviction that a redemption was necessary if God should be at once just and a justifier of the ungodly sprang neither from a later hairsplitting logic, nor from a methodising theological science; it really lay upon the very surface of this and every offering for sin, as distinguished from those offerings which expressed the gratitude of the accepted.
We have not far to search for evidence that the lamb was really regarded as a substitute and ransom. The assertion is part and parcel of the narrative itself. For, in commemoration of this deliverance, every firstborn of Israel, whether of man or beast, was set apart unto the Lord. The words are, "Thou shall cause to PASS OVER unto the Lord all that openeth the womb, and every firstling which thou hast that cometh of a beast; the males shall be the Lord's" (Exo_13:12). What, then, should be done with the firstborn of a creature unfit for sacrifice? It should be replaced by a clean offering, and then it was said to be redeemed. Substitution or death was the inexorable rule. "Every firstborn of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb, and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break its neck." The meaning of this injunction is unmistakable. But it applies also to man: "All thy firstborn of man among thy sons thou shalt redeem." And when their sons should ask "What meaneth this?" they were to explain that when Pharaoh hardened himself against letting them go from Egypt, "the Lord slew all the firstborn in the land; ... therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all that openeth the womb being males; but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem" (Exo_13:12-15).
Words could not more plainly assert that the lives of the firstborn of Israel were forfeited, that they were bought back by the substitution of another creature, which died instead, and that the transaction answered to the Passover ("thou shalt cause to pass over unto the Lord"). Presently the tribe of Levi was taken "instead of all the firstborn of the children of Israel." But since there were two hundred and seventy-three of such firstborn children over and above the number of the Levites, it became necessary to "redeem" these; and this was actually done by a cash payment of five shekels apiece. Of this payment the same phrase is used: it is "redemption-money"--the money wherewith the odd number of them is redeemed (Num_3:44-51).
The question at present is not whether modern taste approves of all this, or resents it: we are simply inquiring whether an ancient Jew was taught to think of the lamb as offered in his stead.
And now let it be observed that this idea has sunk deep into all the literature of Palestine. The Jews are not so much the beloved of Jehovah as His redeemed--"Thy people whom Thou hast redeemed" (1Ch_17:21). In fresh troubles the prayer is, "Redeem Israel, O Lord" (Psa_25:22), and the same word is often used where we have ignored the allusion and rendered it "Deliver me because of mine enemies ... deliver me from the oppression of men" (Psa_69:18, Psa_119:134). And the future troubles are to end in a deliverance of the same kind: "The ransomed of the Lord shall return and come with singing unto Zion" (Isa_35:10, Isa_51:11); and at the last "I will ransom them from the power of the grave" (Hos_13:14). In all these places, the word is the same as in this narrative.
It is not too much to say that if modern theology were not affected by this ancient problem, if we regarded the creed of the Hebrews simply as we look at the mythologies of other peoples, there would be no more doubt that the early Jews believed in propitiatory sacrifice than that Phoenicians did. We should simply admire the purity, the absence of cruel and degrading accessories, with which this most perilous and yet humbling and admonitory doctrine was held in Israel.
The Christian applications of this doctrine must be considered along with the whole question of the typical character of the history. But it is not now premature to add, that even in the Old Testament there is abundant evidence that the types were semi-transparent, and behind them something greater was discerned, so that after it was written "Bring no more vain oblations," Isaiah could exclaim, "The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter. When Thou shalt make His soul a trespass-offering He shall see His seed" (Isa_1:13, Isa_53:6-7, Isa_53:10). And the full power of this last verse will only be felt when we remember the statement made elsewhere of the principle which underlay the sacrifices: "the life (or soul) of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that maketh atonement by reason of the life" (or "soul"-- Lev_17:11, R.V.) It is even startling to read the two verses together: "Thou shalt make His soul a trespass-offering;" "The blood maketh atonement by reason of the soul ... the soul of the flesh is in the blood."[22]
It is still more impressive to remember that a Servant of Jehovah has actually arisen in Whom this doctrine has assumed a form acceptable to the best and holiest intellects and consciences of ages and civilisations widely remote from that in which it was conceived.
Another doctrine preached by the passover to every Jew was that he must be a worker together with God, must himself use what the Lord pointed out, and his own lintels and doorposts must openly exhibit the fact that he laid claim to the benefit of the institution of the Lord Jehovah's passover. With what strange feelings, upon the morrow, did the orphaned people of Egypt discover the stain of blood on the forsaken houses of all their emancipated slaves!
The lamb having been offered up to God, a new stage in the symbolism is entered upon. The body of the sacrifice, as well as the blood, is His: "Ye shall eat it in haste, it is the Lord's passover" (Exo_12:11). Instead of being a feast of theirs, which they share with Him, it is an offering of which, when the blood has been sprinkled on the doors, He permits His people, now accepted and favoured, to partake. They are His guests; and therefore He prescribes all the manner of their eating, the attitude so expressive of haste, and the unleavened "bread of affliction" and bitter herbs, which told that the object of this feast was not the indulgence of the flesh but the edification of the spirit, "a feast unto the Lord."
And in the strength of this meat they are launched upon their new career, freemen, pilgrims of God, from Egyptian bondage to a Promised Land.
It is now time to examine the chapter in more detail, and gather up such points as the preceding discussion has not reached.
(Exo_12:1.) The opening words, "Jehovah spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt," have all the appearance of opening a separate document, and suggest, with certain other evidence, the notion of a fragment written very shortly after the event, and afterwards incorporated into the present narrative. And they are, in the same degree, favourable to the authenticity of the book.
(Exo_12:2.) The commandment to link their emancipation with a festival, and with the calendar, is the earliest example and the sufficient vindication of sacred festivals, which, even yet, some persons consider to be superstitious and judaical. But it is a strange doctrine that the Passover deserved honour better than Easter does, or that there is anything more servile and unchristian in celebrating the birth of all the hopes of all mankind than in commemorating one's own birth.
(Exo_12:5.) The selection of a lamb for a sacrifice so quickly became universal, that there is no trace anywhere of the use of a kid in place of it. The alternative is therefore an indication of antiquity, while the qualities required--innocent youth and the absence of blemish, were sure to suggest a typical significance. For, if they were merely to enhance its value, why not choose a costlier animal?
Various meanings have been discovered in the four days during which it was reserved; but perhaps the true object was to give time for deliberation, for the solemnity and import of the institution to fill the minds of the people; time also for preparation, since the night itself was one of extreme haste, and prompt action can only be obtained by leisurely anticipation. We have Scriptural authority for applying it to the Antitype, Who also was foredoomed, "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev_13:8).
But now it has to be observed that throughout the poetic literature the people is taught to think of itself as a flock of sheep. "Thou leddest Thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron" (Psa_77:20); "We are Thy people and the sheep of Thy pasture" (Psa_79:13); "All we like sheep have gone astray" (Isa_53:6); "Ye, O My sheep, the sheep of My pasture, are men" (Eze_34:31); "The Lord of hosts hath visited His flock" (Zec_10:3). All such language would make more easy the conception that what replaced the forfeited life was in some sense, figuratively, in the religious idea, a kindred victim. One who offered a lamb as his substitute sang "The Lord is my shepherd." "I have gone astray like a lost sheep" (Psa_23:1; Psa_119:176).
(Exo_12:3, Exo_12:6.) Very instructive it is that this first sacrifice of Judaism could be offered by all the heads of houses. We have seen that the Levites were presently put into the place of the eldest son, but also that this function was exercised down to the time of Hezekiah by all who were ceremonially clean, whereas the opposite holds good, immediately afterwards, in the great passover of Josiah (2Ch_30:17, 2Ch_35:11).
It is impossible that this incongruity could be devised, for the sake of plausibility, in a narrative which rested on no solid basis. It goes far to establish what has been so anxiously denied--the reality of the centralised worship in the time of Hezekiah. And it also establishes the great doctrine that priesthood was held not by a superior caste, but on behalf of the whole nation, in whom it was theoretically vested, and for whom the priest acted, so that they were "a nation of priests."
(Exo_12:8.) The use of unleavened bread is distinctly said to be in commemoration of their haste--"for thou camest out of Egypt in haste" (Deu_16:3)--but it does not follow that they were forced by haste to eat their bread unleavened at the first. It was quite as easy to prepare leavened bread as to provide the paschal lamb four days previously.
We may therefore seek for some further explanation, and this we find in the same verse in Deuteronomy, in the expression "bread of affliction." They were to receive the meat of passover with a reproachful sense of their unworthiness: humbly, with bread of affliction and with bitter herbs.
Moreover, we learn from St. Paul that unleavened bread represents simplicity and truth; and our Lord spoke of the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod (Mar_8:15). And this is not only because leaven was supposed to be of the same nature as corruption. We ourselves always mean something unworthy when we speak of mixed motives, possible though it be to act from two motives, both of them high-minded. Now, leaven represents mixture in its most subtle and penetrating form.
The paschal feast did not express any such luxurious and sentimental religionism as finds in the story of the cross an easy joy, or even a delicate and pleasing stimulus for the softer emotions, "a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and playeth well on an instrument." No, it has vigour and nourishment for those who truly hunger, but its bread is unfermented, and it must be eaten with bitter herbs.
(Exo_12:9.) Many Jewish sacrifices were "sodden," but this had to be roast with fire. It may have been to represent suffering that this was enjoined. But it comes to us along with a command to consume all the flesh, reserving none and rejecting none. Now, though boiling does not mutilate, it dissipates; a certain amount of tissue is lost, more is relaxed, and its cohesion rendered feeble; and so the duty of its complete reception is accentuated by the words "not sodden at all with water." Nor should it be a barbarous feast, such as many idolatries encouraged: true religion civilises; "eat not of it at all raw."
(Exo_12:10.) Nor should any of it be left until the morning. At the first celebration, with a hasty exodus impending, this would have involved exposure to profanation. In later times it might have involved superstitious abuses. And therefore the same rule is laid down which the Church of England has carried on for the same reasons into the Communion feast--that all must be consumed. Nor can we fail to see an ideal fitness in the precept. Of the gift of God we may not select what gratifies our taste or commends itself to our desires; all is good; all must be accepted; a partial reception of His grace is no valid reception at all.
(Exo_12:12.) In describing the coming wrath, we understand the inclusion equally of innocent and guilty men, because it is thus that all national vengeance operates; and we receive the benefits of corporate life at the cost, often heavy, of its penalties. The animal world also has to suffer with us; the whole creation groaneth together now, and all expects together the benefit of our adoption hereafter. But what were the judgments against the idols of Egypt, which this verse predicts, and another (Num_33:4) declares to be accomplished? They doubtless consisted chiefly in the destruction of sacred animals, from the beetle and the frog to the holy ox of Apis--from the cat, the monkey, and the dog, to the lion, the hippopotamus, and the crocodile. In their overthrow a blow was dealt which shook the whole system to its foundation; for how could the same confidence be felt in sacred images when all the sacred beasts had once been slain by a rival invisible Spiritual Being! And more is implied than that they should share the common desolation: the text says plainly, of men and beasts the firstborn must die, but all of these. The difference in the phrase is obvious and indisputable; and in its fulfilment all Egypt saw the act of a hostile and victorious deity.
(Exo_12:13.) "And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are." That it was a token to the destroying angel we see plainly; but why to them? Is it enough to explain the assertion, with some, as meaning, upon their behalf? Rather let us say that the publicity, the exhibition upon their doorposts of the sacrifice offered within, was not to inform and guide the angel, but to edify the people. They should perform an open act of faith. Their houses should be visibly set apart. "With the mouth confession" (of faith) "is made unto salvation," unto that deliverance from a hundred evasions and equivocations, and as many inward doubts and hesitations, which comes when any decisive act is done, when the die is cast and the Rubicon crossed. A similar effect upon the mind, calming and steadying it, was produced when the Israelite carried out the blood of the lamb, and by sprinkling it upon the doorpost formally claimed his exemption, and returned with the consciousness that between him and the imminent death a visible barrier interposed itself.
Will any one deny that a similar help is offered to us of the later Church in our many opportunities of avowing a fixed and personal belief? Whoever refuses to comply with an unholy custom because he belongs to Christ, whoever joins heartily in worship at the cost of making himself remarkable, whoever nerves himself to kneel at the Holy Table although he feels himself unworthy, that man has broken through many snares; he has gained assurance that his choice of God is a reality: he has shown his flag; and this public avowal is not only a sign to others, but also a token to himself.
But this is only half the doctrine of this action. What he should thus openly avow was his trust (as we have shown) in atoning blood.
And in the day of our peril what shall be our reliance? That our doors are trodden by orthodox visitants only? that the lintels are clean, and the inhabitants temperate and pure? or that the Blood of Christ has cleansed our conscience?
Therefore (Exo_12:22) the blood was sprinkled with hyssop, of which the light and elastic sprays were admirably suited for such use, but which was reserved in the Law for those sacrifices which expiated sin (Lev_14:49; Num_19:18-19). And therefore also none should go forth out of his house until the morning, for we are not to content ourselves with having once invoked the shelter of God: we are to abide under its protection while danger lasts.
And (Exo_12:23) upon the condition of this marking of their doorposts the Lord should pass over their houses. The phrase is noteworthy, because it recurs throughout the narrative, being employed nine times in this chapter; and because the same word is found in Isaiah, again in contrast with the ruin of others, and with an interesting and beautiful expansion of the hovering poised notion which belongs to the word.[23]
Repeated commandments are given to parents to teach the meaning of this institution to their children, (Exo_12:26, Exo_13:8). And there is something almost cynical in the notion of a later mythologist devising this appeal to a tradition which had no existence at all; enrolling, in support of his new institutions, the testimony (which had never been borne) of fathers who had never taught any story of the kind.
On the other hand, there is something idyllic and beautiful in the minute instruction given to the heads of families to teach their children, and in the simple words put into their mouths, "It is because of that which the Lord did for me when I came forth out of Egypt." It carries us forward to these weary days when children scarcely see the face of one who goes out to labour before they are awake, and returns exhausted when their day is over, and who himself too often needs the most elementary instruction, these heartless days when the teaching of religion devolves, in thousands of families, upon the stranger who instructs, for one hour in the week, a class in Sunday-school. The contrast is not reassuring.
When all these instructions were given to Israel, the people bowed their heads and worshipped. The bones of most of them were doomed to whiten in the wilderness. They perished by serpents and by "the destroyer"; they fell in one day three-and-twenty thousand, because they were discontented and rebellious and unholy. And yet they could adore the gracious Giver of promises and Slayer of foes. They would not obey, but they were quite ready to accept benefits, to experience deliverance, to become the favourites of heaven, to march to Palestine. So are too many fain to be made happy, to find peace, to taste the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, to go to heaven. But they will not take up a cross. They will murmur if the well is bitter, if they have no flesh but only angels' food, if the goodly land is defended by powerful enemies.
On these terms, they cannot be Christ's disciples.
It is apparently the mention of a mixed multitude, who came with Israel out of Egypt, which suggests the insertion, in a separate and dislocated paragraph, of the law of the passover concerning strangers (Exo_12:38, Exo_12:43-49).
An alien was not to eat thereof: it belonged especially to the covenant people. But who was a stranger? A slave should be circumcised and eat thereof; for it was one of the benignant provisions of the law that there should not be added, to the many severities of his condition, any religious disabilities. The time would come when all nations should be blessed in the seed of Abraham. In that day the poor would receive a special beatitude; and in the meantime, as the first indication of catholicity beneath the surface of an exclusive ritual, it was announced, foremost among those who should be welcomed within the fold, that a slave should be circumcised and eat the passover.
And if a sojourner desired to eat thereof, he should be mindful of his domestic obligations: all his males should be circumcised along with him, and then his disabilities were at an end. Surely we can see in these provisions the germ of the broader and more generous welcome which Christ offers to the world. Let it be added that this admission of strangers had been already implied at Exo_12:19; while every form of coercion was prohibited by the words "a sojourner and a hired servant shall not eat of it," in Exo_12:45.
THE TENTH PLAGUE.
Exo_12:29-36.
And now the blow fell. Infants grew cold in their mothers' arms; ripe statesmen and crafty priests lost breath as they reposed: the wisest, the strongest and the most hopeful of the nation were blotted out at once, for the firstborn of a population is its flower.
Pharaoh Menephtah had only reached the throne by the death of two elder brethren, and therefore history confirms the assertion that he "rose up," when the firstborn were dead; but it also justifies the statement that his firstborn died, for the gallant and promising youth who had reconquered for him his lost territories, and who actually shared his rule and "sat upon the throne," Menephtah Seti, is now shown to have died early, and never to have held an independent sceptre.
We can imagine the scene. Suspense and terror must have been wide spread; for the former plagues had given authority to the more dreadful threat, the fulfilment of which was now to be expected, since all negotiations between Moses and Pharaoh had been formally broken off.
Strange and confident movements and doubtless menacing expressions among the Hebrews would also make this night a fearful one, and there was little rest for "those who feared the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh." These, knowing where the danger lay, would watch their firstborn well, and when the ashy change came suddenly upon a blooming face, and they raised the wild cry of Eastern bereavement, then others awoke to the same misery. From remote villages and lonely hamlets the clamour of great populations was echoed back; and when, under midnight skies in which the strong wind of the morrow was already moaning, the awestruck people rushed into their temples, there the corpses of their animal deities glared at them with glassy eyes.
Thus the cup which they had made their slaves to drink was put in larger measure to their own lips at last, and not infants only were snatched away, but sons around whom years of tenderness had woven stronger ties; and the loss of their bondsmen, from which they feared so much national weakness, had to be endured along with a far deadlier drain of their own life-blood. The universal wail was bitter, and hopeless, and full of terror even more than woe; for they said, "We be all dead men." Without the consolation of ministering by sick beds, or the romance and gallant excitement of war, "there was not a house where there was not one dead," and this is said to give sharpness to the statement that there was a great cry in Egypt.
Then came such a moment as the Hebrew temperament keenly enjoyed, when "the sons of them that oppressed them came bending unto them, and all they that despised them bowed themselves down at the soles of their feet." Pharaoh sent at midnight to surrender everything that could possibly be demanded, and in his abject fear added, "and bless me also"; and the Egyptians were urgent on them to begone, and when they demanded the portable wealth of the land,--a poor ransom from a vanquished enemy, and a still poorer payment for generations of forced labour,--"the Lord gave them favour" (is there not a saturnine irony in the phrase?) "in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. And they spoiled the Egyptians."
By this analogy St. Augustine defended the use of heathen learning in defence of Christian truth. Clogged by superstitions, he said, it contained also liberal instruction, and truths even concerning God--"gold and silver which they did not themselves create, but dug out of the mines of God's providence, and misapplied. These we should reclaim, and apply to Christian use" (De Doct. Chr., 60, 61).
And the main lesson of the story lies so plainly upon the surface that one scarcely needs to state it. What God requires must ultimately be done; and human resistance, however stubborn and protracted, will only make the result more painful and more signal at the last.
Now, every concern of our obscure daily lives comes under this law as surely as the actions of a Pharaoh.
THE EXODUS.
Exo_12:37-42.
The children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth. Already, at the outset of their journey, controversy has had much to say about their route. Much ingenuity has been expended upon the theory which brought their early journey along the Mediterranean coast, and made the overthrow of the Egyptians take place in "that Serbonian bog where armies whole have sunk." But it may fairly be assumed that this view was refuted even before the recent identification of the sites of Rameses and Pi-hahiroth rendered it untenable.
How came these trampled slaves, who could not call their lives their own, to possess the cattle which we read of as having escaped the murrain, and the number of which is here said to have been very great?
Just before Moses returned, and when the Pharaoh of the Exodus appears upon the scene, we are told that "their cry came up unto God, ... and God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant ... and God saw the children of Israel, and God took knowledge of them" (Exo_2:23).
May not this verse point to something unrecorded, some event before their final deliverance? The conjecture is a happy one that it refers to their share in the revolt of subject races which drove Menephtah for twelve years out of his northern territories. If so, there was time for a considerable return of prosperity; and the retention or forfeiture of their chattels when they were reconquered would depend very greatly upon circumstances unknown to us. At all events, this revolt is evidence, which is amply corroborated by history and the inscriptions, of the existence of just such a discontented and servile element in the population as the "mixed multitude" which came out with them repeatedly proved itself to be.
But here we come upon a problem of another kind. How long was Israel in the house of bondage? Can we rely upon the present Hebrew text, which says that "their sojourning which they sojourned in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years. 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 came out of the land of Egypt" (Exo_12:40-41).
Certain ancient versions have departed from this text. The Septuagint reads, "The sojourning of the children of Israel which they sojourned in Egypt and in the land of Canaan, was four hundred and thirty years"; and the Samaritan agrees with this, except that it has "the sojourning of the children of Israel and of their fathers." The question is, which reading is correct? Must we date the four hundred and thirty years from Abraham's arrival in Canaan, or from Jacob's descent into Egypt?
For the shorter period there are two strong arguments. The genealogies in the Pentateuch range from four persons to six between Jacob and the Exodus, which number is quite unable to reach over four centuries. And St. Paul says of the covenant with Abraham that "the law which came four hundred and thirty years after" (i.e. after the time of Abraham) "could not disannul it" (Gal_3:17).
This reference by St. Paul is not so decisive as it may appear, because he habitually quotes the Septuagint, even where he must have known that it deviates from the Hebrew, provided that the deviation does not compromise the matter in hand. Here, he was in nowise concerned with the chronology, and had no reason to perplex a Gentile church by correcting it. But it was a different matter with St. Stephen, arguing his case before the Hebrew council. And he quotes plainly and confidently the prediction that the seed of Abraham should be four hundred years in bondage, and that one nation should entreat them evil four hundred years (Act_7:6). Again, this is the clear intention of the words in Genesis (Gen_15:13). And as to the genealogies, we know them to have been cut down, so that seven names are omitted from that of Ezra, and three at least from that of our Lord Himself. Certainly when we consider the great population implied in an army of six hundred thousand adult men, we must admit that the longer period is inherently the more probable of the two. But we can only assert with confidence that just when their deliverance was due it was accomplished, and they who had come down a handful, and whom cruel oppression had striven to decimate, came forth, no undisciplined mob, but armies moving in organised and regulated detachments: "the Lord did bring the children of Israel forth by their hosts" (Exo_12:51). "And the children of Israel went up armed out of the land of Egypt" (Exo_13:18).
FOOTNOTES:
[20] Though of course the Person Whose Body was thus offered is Divine (Act_20:28), and this gives inestimable value to the offering.
[21] Here the sceptical theorists are widely divided among themselves. Kuenen has discussed this whole theory, and rejected it as "irreconcilable with what the Old Testament itself asserts in justification of this sacrifice." And he is driven to connect it with the notion of atonement. "Jahveh appears as a severe being who must be propitiated with sacrifices." He has therefore to introduce the notion of human sacrifice, in order to get rid of the connection with the penal death of the Egyptians, and of the miraculous, which this example would establish. (Religion of Israel, Eng. Trans., i., 239, 240.)
[22] The astonishing significance of this declaration would only be deepened if we accepted the theories now so fashionable, and believed that the later passage in Isaiah was the fruit of a period when the full-blown Priestly Code was in process of development out of "the small body of legislation contained in Leviticus 17--26." What a strange time for such a spiritual application of sacrificial language!
[23] So that it is used equally of the slow action of the lame, and of the lingering movements of the false prophets when there was none to answer (2Sa_4:4; 1Ki_18:26). "The Lord of Hosts shall come down to fight upon Mount Zion.... As birds flying, so will the Lord of Hosts protect Jerusalem; He will PASS OVER and preserve it" (Isa_31:4-5).
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v1 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Exo_12:1-2
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Exo_12:1-2
THE FIRST MONTH OF THE YEAR
Read full note →
The nations of the globe have regarded various periods as the commencement of the year. The Athenians reckoned the commencement of their year from midsummer; the Romans from the middle of winter; the Arabians from the spring; and the Egyptians from the autumn, as then the Nile returned within its banks, and seed-time began. It would appear that Israel, during their bondage, had recognised the Egyptian calendar, which commenced in autumn. They are henceforth to reckon the commencement of the year from the spring; this was their ecclesiastical year. The civil year began in the seventh month (Lev_25:9).
I. The first month of the year is a good time for religious contemplation and devotion. In this beginning of months the Israelites were to celebrate the Passover. They were to undertake all the services described in this chapter. They were to celebrate their deliverance from Egyptian bondage, and from the sword of the destroying angel. This was pre-eminently the month of their religious life, when its holy memories were awakened, when its impulses were quickened, when its experiences were enriched, and when God was especially near to them as a people. And so the first month of the year is a good time for religious meditation, and for the public devotion of the people of God, the spiritual Israel. It should indeed be in this respect the beginning of months with them. The old year has gone, the new year is opening to the vision of the soul. It is, therefore, pre-eminently a time for thought and prayer. Then the flight of time, the events of life, and the mortality of man, may all furnish topics for reflection. Then especially should the Passover be celebrated, the blood of Christ anew be sprinkled on the soul; and in this spirit of trust in the Saviour should the year begin.
II. The first month of the year is eventful in the history of individual and collective life. Truly this first month of the year was eventful in the history of the Israelites. In it they were brought out of Egyptian bondage; in it they went over the river Jordan, and came into the land of Canaan (Jos_4:19). Thus it was eminently eventful in their national history. And the first month of the year is important in the history of the soul. How many souls, awakened by the circumstances of life, have been led to the Cross at this solemn period of the year! How many men have been converted in special religious services held at this appropriate time! Truly this has been a period when many immortal souls have come out from the bondage of sin into the liberty of God’s dear Son; and when many have crossed the Jordan of death into the land of rest, to pass, not time, but eternity, with the God who has redeemed them. Hence the first month of the year is important in the history of the soul. What we are then, we are likely to remain throughout the year; we then get an impulse for good or evil which will affect our moral character to the end. The first month is the keynote of the year’s moral life. It is the rough sketch of the soul’s life for the year. We should therefore seek to observe it unto the Lord.
III. The first month of the year is important in its relation to the commercial prospects of men. The first month of the year was spring-time, answering to part of our March and April. The Hebrews in their months followed the course of the moon, every new moon being to them the beginning of a month. Hence at the commencement of the year all things began to flourish and to revive in strength and put on the beauty of spring. And so with men now. The first month of the year has much to do with the vitality and energy of their commercial life. Then trade may receive an impulse or a check. The new year may mark the advent of new energy, or it may witness the continuance of the old indolence. LESSONS:—
1. That the ordering of months and of years is of God.
2. That the first month must remind us of the Advent of the Saviour.
3. That the first month must be consecrated by true devotion.
4. That the Church must pay some attention to the calendar of the Christian year.
5. That God usually by His ministers makes known His mind to His Church.
ILLUSTRATIONS
BY
REV. WM. ADAMSON
New Year! Exo_12:2. Hamilton relates how the last words of Mr Hardcastle, when dying, were: “My last act of faith I wish to be, to take the blood of Jesus, as the high priest did when he entered behind the veil; and when I have passed the veil, I would appear with it before the throne.” So in making the transit from one year to another, this is our most appropriate exercise. We see much sin in the retrospect. We see many a broken purpose, many a misspent hour, many a rash and unadvised word, when we calmly sit down to reflect. There is nothing for us but the blood of the Iamb. With that atonement, let us—like believing Israel—begin the New Year. Bearing that infinitely afficacious and precious blood, let us pass within the veil of a solemn and eventful future, which none of us can read. Then if, as Israel’s host, we have to pass the swellings of the sea within the year, that crimson tide will be with us—
“Soothing the trembling Christian’s parting breath,
And whispering life amidst the waves of death.”
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Sermon Bible 1900 · Public Domain On v1 We have here a new event, a new starting-point—a…
Exo 12:2
We have here a new event, a new starting-point—a new epoch, and therefore a new era. That event was an emancipation, a redemption, an exodus. There were centuries behind of exile and servitude; of that experience which has been so characteristic of Israel, a sojourning which was no naturalisation, a dwelling amongst, without becoming of, another nation; estrangement therefore, isolation, solitude, even in populous cities, and amidst teeming multitudes. Now, all this is behind them. They are to quit the homeless home. Egypt behind, Sinai before, Canaan beyond; this is the exact account of the position of Israel when the words of the text were spoken. Redemption was the starting-point of the new; from it all that follows shall take a new character, a new life.
Read full note →
I. The idea of a new start is naturally attractive to all of us. We are fatigued, we are wearied, we are dissatisfied, and justly so, with the time past of our lives. We long for a gift of amnesty and oblivion.
II. There are senses in which this is impossible. The continuity of life cannot be broken. There is a continuity, a unity, an identity, which annihilation only could destroy.
III. "The beginning of months" is made so by an exodus. Redemption is the groundwork of the new life. If there is in any of us a real desire for change, we must plant our feet firmly on redemption.
IV. When we get out of Egypt, we must remember that there is still Sinai in front, with its thunderings and voices. We have to be schooled and disciplined by processes not joyous but grievous. These processes cannot be hurried, they must take time. Here we must expect everything that is changeful, and unresting, and unreposeful, within as without. But He who has promised will perform. He who has redeemed will save. He who took charge will also bring through.
C. J. Vaughan, Words of Hope, p. 65.
References: Exo 12:1-20.—Parker, vol. ii., p. 66. Exo 12:2.—Parker, vol. ii., p. 313; A. Mursell, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xix., p. 88. Exo 12:3, Exo 12:4.—Spurgeon, My Sermon Notes, p. 30. Exo 12:5, Exo 12:6.—G. Calthrop, Church Sermons, vol. i., p. 347. Exo 12:7, Exo 12:8.—Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. xxii., p. 204. Exo 12:11.—M. Nicholson, Redeeming the Time, p. 305. Exo 12:11-14.—J. R. Macduff, Communion Memories, p. 125.
Exo 12:13
Our interest in the Passover, as in most of the other institutions of the Levitical economy, consists in its relationship to higher institutions, and to a more hallowed provision; it consists in the prefiguration by them of our Surety and Saviour, who is at once the Surety and Saviour of universal man. There are three points in the analogy to be considered.
I. We, like the children of Israel aforetime, are in circumstances of sorrow. (1) They were in bondage. We also have been brought under bondage to sin, and our yoke is harder than theirs, for ours is heart-slavery, the iron has entered into our soul. (2) The Israelites were in circumstances of peril.
The Lord was about to execute in their sight His strange work of judgment. The transgressions of our race, the sins which we commit, expose us to consequences far more imminent, and far more terrible.
II. For us, as for the children of Israel of old, there is a remedy provided. The great doctrine of Atonement is here brought before us. As by the blood of the victim sprinkled upon the door-posts, seen by the destroying angel, wrath was averted from them and deliverance secured, so by the blood of Jesus, seen by Divine justice sprinkled upon our hearts, wrath is warded off from us, and everlasting salvation is secured. The cross is the meeting-place of God’s mercy for the sinner.
III. As there is such a remedy there can be no other. For us as for them there is but one way of escape. "There is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved."
W. Morley Punshon, Penny Pulpit, No. 312.
References: Exo 12:13.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. v., No. 228, also vol. xxi., No. 1251; Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. xiv., p. 22.
Exo 12:22-23
The night of the Passover was "a night much to be remembered." Wherever a Jew exists it is to this night he points, as the proudest epoch in his people’s history. The feast of the Passover is full of typical meaning. Notice, first, that this was a little judgment day. The children of Israel were to be delivered by a direct visitation of God. There are three great truths brought out in this narrative.
I. The universality of condemnation. God was going to save the Israelites, but before He saved them He must condemn them. He sent Moses with a message couched in the language of symbol, which clearly showed that the Israelites were guilty no less than the Egyptians. The lamb was to be the representative of the firstborn son, who must die for the sins of his family. The Israelite and the Egyptian are brought under one common charge of guilt, and there they all stand, "condemned already."
II. The great truth of substitution. God sends Moses to His people and bids them choose "for every family a lamb." The lamb was instead of the firstborn. Christ is the "Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world."
III. The third truth taught is appropriation. The Israelite would not have been safe if he had merely killed the lamb; he had to sprinkle its blood on the lintel and on the two sideposts. When we repose our confidence in the Person of Christ, we have taken the bunch of hyssop and dipped it in the blood, and from that moment we are safe.
W. Hay Aitken, Mission Sermons, 1st series, p. 100.
References: Exo 12:23—H. Macmillan, The Olive Leaf, p. 330. Exo 12:26.—C.Wordsworth. Occasional Sermons, 7th series, p. 25; H. Alford, Quebec Chapel Sermons, vol. i., p. 17; G. Brooks, Five Hundred Outlines of Sermons, p. 281. Exo 12:26, Exo 12:27.—R.D.B. Rawnsley, Sermons in Country Churches, 3rd series, p. 250. Exo 12:29-31.—W. Landels, Christian World Pulpit, vol. iii., p. 164. Exo 12:31.—Parker, vol. ii., p. 314. Exo 12:38.—Ibid.
Exo 12:30-41
(with Mat 2:15)
I. We cannot treat the Exodus as an isolated fact in history. Egypt is the type of the cunning, careless, wanton world, out of which in all ages God is calling His sons. The Exodus remained a living fact in history. The infant Jesus went down into Egypt, as the infant Israel went down, not to repeat the Exodus, but to illume afresh its fading lines. (1) The children of Israel were an elect race, because they were of the seed of Abraham: that constituted their distinctity. You are of the race of the second Adam, of the same flesh and blood as Jesus; and all who wear a human form and understand a human voice, God calls forth from Egypt; His voice calls to His sons, "Come forth to freedom, life, and heaven." (2) You, like the Israelites, are called forth to the desert, the fiery pillar, the manna, the spiritual rock; and while you aim at Canaan, His will, His heart, are on your side.
II. Note the moral features of the Exodus. (1) There was a life in Egypt which had become insupportable to a man. That bondage is the picture of a soul round which the devil’s toils are closing. (2) The Israelites saw the stroke of heaven fall on all that adorns, enriches, and nourishes a worldly life. (3) They had a Divine leader, a man commissioned and inspired by God. We have the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus, who in the house and the work in which Moses wrought as a servant, represents God as the Son. (4) We discern a condition of utter dependence on the strength and faithfulness of God. They and we were delivered by a Divine work. (5) Notice, lastly, the freedom of the delivered Israelites; a broad, deep sea flowing between them and the land of bondage, and the tyrants dead upon the shore. Such is the glorious sense of liberty, of wealth, of life, when the deep sea of Divine forgiving love sweeps over the past and obliterates its shame.
J. Baldwin Brown, The Soul’s Exodus and Pilgrimage, p. 28.
Exo 12:42
I. Scholars have said that the old Greeks were the fathers of freedom; and there have been other people in the world’s history who have made glorious and successful struggles to throw off their tyrants and be free.
But liberty is of a far older and nobler house. Liberty was born on the first Easter night, when God Himself stooped from heaven to set the oppressed free. Then was freedom born. Not in the counsels, of men, however wise, or in the battles of men, however brave, but in the counsels of God and the battle of God. Freedom was born not of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of the will of God, from whom all good things come, and of Christ, who is the life and the light of men and of nations, and of all worlds, past, present, and to come.
II. The history of the Jews is the history of the whole Church and of every nation in Christendom. The Jews had to wander forty years in the wilderness, and Christendom has had to wander too, in strange and blood-stained paths, for eighteen hundred years and more. For as the Israelites were not worthy to enter at once into rest, no more have the nation of Christ’s Church been worthy. As the new generation sprang up in the wilderness, trained under Moses’ stern law, to the fear of God, so for eighteen hundred years have the generations of Christendom, by the training of the Church and the light of the Gospel, been growing in wisdom and knowledge, growing in morality and humanity, in that true discipline and loyalty which are the yokefellows of freedom and independence.
C. Kingsley, The Gospel of the Pentateuch, p. 149.
References: Exo 12:42.—C. Kingsley, National Sermons, p. 337. 12-14.—J. Monro Gibson, The Mosaic Era, p. 47. Exo 13:1-7.—Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. iv., p. 37. Exo 13:10.—Parker, vol. ii., p. 315; Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xix., No. 1092; H. Grey, A Parting Memorial, p. 54. Exo 13:13.—S. Cox, Expositions, 2nd series, p. 381; Parker, vol. ii., p. 74.
The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
F. W. Grant 1903 · Public Domain On v1 Subdivision 3. (Exo 12:1-51; Exo 13:1-22; Exo 14:1-31; Exo…
Subdivision 3. (Exo 12:1-51; Exo 13:1-22; Exo 14:1-31; Exo 15:1-21.)
God with them manifest in full and realized salvation.
Read full note →
The third subdivision is the history of God’s final interference in behalf of His people, in which not alone is Pharaoh’s power subdued, but much more -God is manifested, and they are brought into His presence. God with them and for them, which means also that they are to be for Him, -essence, as it is, of all sanctification -this is most evidently its central meaning.
It is a perfect blessing, as realized in its seven sections, which it is well to glance at in their connection with each other before we take them up in detail. The passover and the passage of the sea are the two stages in this deliverance, which answer, I believe, essentially, to the first two parts of the epistle to the Romans (Rom 1:1-32; Rom 2:1-29; Rom 3:1-31; Rom 4:1-25; Rom 5:1-11, and Rom 5:12-21; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 7:1-25; Rom 8:1-39); the first, justification by the blood of Christ; the second, death to sin in the death of Christ. Both parts must be known for full deliverance. The type before us will best illustrate their meaning.
In the first section (Exo 12:1-20), peace with God in righteousness through the blood of Christ is the plain significance of the passover. All begins with this (Exo 12:1-6), which is the basis both of communion (Exo 12:7-14) and holiness (Exo 12:15-20).
In the second (Exo 12:21-51), we find, therefore, deliverance from captivity: faith sets its seal to the word of God (Exo 12:21-28), sees the judgment of man in all that comes of him (in the death of the first-born, Exo 12:29-30), and is thus separated from the world and to the Lord (Exo 12:31-36), the walk with God now beginning (Exo 12:37-42); finally, the obligations of the passover are made known (Exo 12:43-51).
Thirdly (Exo 13:1-16), the sanctification of the first-born, corresponding to the judgment upon the first-born before, shows how redemption is to God, in the devotion of all the powers of the redeemed.
Next (vv. Exo 13:17-22), the features of the walk with God are made known to us in the consciousness of weakness (Exo 13:17-18), the bearing about in the body the dying of Jesus (Exo 13:19-20), and the Lord’s presence with us (Exo 13:21-22).
These four sections, it is evident, are in close connection and complete, the septenary series here being, as with most other sevens, a 4 and 3. The four are the passover series, the three following give us the second stage of deliverance -the passage through the sea.
Thus the fifth section shows us (Exo 14:1-14) once more the weak with the Strong, -the enemy showing himself once more, but Jehovah revealing Himself as the shelter and salvation of His people.
The sixth (vv.Ex. 14:15-31) brings the actual victory, decisive and final. Israel is outside of Egypt, the enemy perished.
In the seventh (Exo 15:1-21), we close with the song of the delivered people. The spiritual meaning of these latter sections we shall best understand as we enter into the details.
1. The first section, then, relates the institution of the passover; clearly a new beginning, for the year is changed to make it so. The last of the plagues of Egypt is in this way clearly separated from all that has preceded it, as, on the other hand, we have seen the former ones as constituting a complete series, the last three giving us completely the attitude of God toward the unbelieving world. The death of the first-born in its aspect toward Israel themselves differs entirely from that of the former plagues. As to these, they had been sheltered by the hand of God, not a question raised as to their own relation to Him; but now, though sheltered, their shelter must be realized as a refuge -a refuge to which they must flee as those in danger; themselves justly liable to that which falls on the Egyptians. Here, then, is a total change in God’s ways with them, and a change of the deepest significance. Till they own what they are and what they deserve, there can be, spite of all that has been done for them, no deliverance. They must meet death -that which is the wages of sin, pass through it, as it were, leave it behind them, the question settled, and (as all questions settled with God,) never again to be unsettled -never to come up again, before they can be freed from Egyptian bondage, or their feet leave Egyptian soil; -nay, before they can begin to go out, -before they can take a single step in this direction. Their true passover -all following being but the commemoration of it -they must keep in Egypt, and this is particularly noticed in the first place: "And Jehovah spake unto Moses and unto Aaron in the land of Egypt."
All this for us is deeply instructive. There is no progress with us possible until we have come to this. There may be, no doubt, plenty of exercise and experience of a certain sort before it, and plenty of effort at self-help; but that only makes more solemn the fact, as here, that withal no step is made in the path with God, nor the path reached, until the shelter of the cross is known. The peace which Christ has made for us we can realize, and we must have peace with God in order to walk with Him. Here, then, is the true beginning for our souls.
(1) First, the year is changed; the preceding months are blotted out, as it were, and God begins time afresh for them with the paschal month. Grace it is that gives this new beginning, and grace can do nothing kinder than blot out the past. And so with our history, until that is known which is the antitype of the passover here. It will have its use, no doubt, as a lesson; all is not, in that sense, lost: will any thing in the world’s history even be really so? All will have its moral in the fast-hastening day of revelation, and instead of being forgotten, will abide in profit for us forever. But when God says, "I will remember no more," it has a very different meaning. He can no more forget than He can repent; yet, relatively, both terms can be used of Him. He does not remember our sins when He treats us, and is to us, as if these had never happened -when we can find nothing whatever in His conduct toward us which indicates His remembrance of them; when they are not merely not a cloud in our heaven any longer, but not even a mote in the sunshine of His perfect love.
Yet the vail that love can draw over the past may be, as in this case, so surpassingly glorious that the glow of it may enable us as well to look back as to look forward. And if God set aside the past with a new beginning, He does, in fact, all the more direct our eyes to the vail with which He has covered the past. It is the work of Christ which has covered our past which has begun for us all things anew; and the vail of the past is here the glory of the present and the future.
But the year does not begin exactly with the passover itself: that is the fourteenth day of the year, and not the first: and not till the tenth day is the lamb taken. How full of meaning is this fourteenth day, -a number compounded of 2, the number of testimony, and that which speaks of divine and perfect workmanship -7! For is not here the perfect work which is the great subject of God’s testimony?
The ten days which pass before the lamb is taken are, as we know, significant as the measure of human responsibility: they answer to that time in our Lord’s life before He takes up openly His work among men, as to which the Gospels are as silent as the type here. Yet the type is not silent as to the character of that time, but explains it as that in which He was fulfilling, as man, His own responsibility; coming forth then, at the end of it, to receive the Father’s attestation to His perfection, and the seal of the Spirit, when He takes up His work for men. He is then shown the unblemished Lamb, and the "four days" of the type begin to be fulfilled with Him, to which the four gospels answer, the time of His testing; for us, the glorious exhibition of what He was and is, as Messiah, Minister, Son of Man, and Son of God. At the end of the four days, the lamb is slain. The different sides of the sacrificial work we shall not find here; for that, we must go on to Leviticus. Here, what is dwelt on is what we must first of all realize, -the effect for us.
(2) We go on, then, to see that effect, -perfect shelter from the judgment which is even now pronounced -not executed -upon the world. The blood before the eye of God shows that judgment anticipated, and put away as thus anticipated, by sacrificial substitution. As so often noticed, God’s eye is upon the blood, and so cannot be upon the people. Whether
they are good or bad, whether feelings or experiences are right or wrong in any of them, is not the point: God sees but the blood. Had judgment entered a house so sheltered, not only would the blood have been dishonored, but the truth and righteousness of God would have been wrecked forever. These stood on the side of the worst and guiltiest of these who had fled for refuge to the hope set before them. And so with us. The glory of the gospel it is that the righteousness of God itself is put upon the side of every one who welcomes it in faith.
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.
As to the mode of eating the lamb, notice three things which destroy the dangerous dreams that are about with regard to the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. First of all, it was not to be "raw," or "underdone." Fire must do its work, and thoroughly too, upon that which was to be the representative of Christ as in redemption we know Him. Not death alone would do: the Lord in atonement not merely laid down life, but was "made sin," -yea, "made a curse for us." The chastisement of our peace was thus upon Him in that awful place; death without this would be no food for us: not the lamb raw.
But again also, "not done at all in water, but roast with fire." The water would hinder the direct action of the fire; and this is the type of the Word, or as "living water," of the Holy Ghost, who acts by it. The Lord’s life was always in the power of the Spirit, -always pure absolutely, according to the measure of the Word itself. But would not the water, then, hinder the action of the fire? Could He be made sin who knew none? That is just what Scripture affirms to have been the truth. The holiness of His life, the perfection of His obedience, did not prevent or soften the agony of the cross. It was the just due of sin which He took, glorifying God in thus affirming His righteousness who ordained the penalty. An "equivalent penalty" would not avail, much less a commuted one: these would but set aside the sentence, to His dishonor. No: the lamb must not be done in water, but roast with fire.
Thirdly, "its head, with its legs, and with its inwards." The head, no doubt, expresses the thoughts and counsels with which His walk (the legs) keeps perfect company. The inwards are those affections of His heart which were the motive-power impelling Him upon the path He trod. In all, the fire brought forth nothing but sweet savor; for man, it prepared the food of his true life: all is absolutely perfect; and all is ours to appropriate.
Occupation with the person of Christ is thus impressed upon us: we need this. Not the knowledge of salvation alone will suffice us: it is the One who saves whom we need. Indeed, without occupation with Christ, the very knowledge of peace and salvation may only too easily be found associated with a worldliness most intense. Christ for our hearts alone keeps and sanctifies them.
The pilgrim dress is therefore to be the garb of those who partake of the passover. It is to be eaten in haste, as by men escaping from that the pressure of which they have too well known, and longing to be away. And the dress is the traveling-dress: it is not the "best robe," which gives us quite another thought; but the traveling-dress, which God grant we may ever wear. And here we begin, just as for the conflict in Eph 6:1-24, with the "loins girded."
The long robes of the east, as all are aware, required the girdle, that they might be no hindrance in the way of such a march as Israel had now before them. If loose, they would get entangled with the feet, and overthrow the wearer; and the dust of the road would get upon them and defile them. The truth it is that is to be our girdle, keeping us from loose and negligent contact with ever-ready defilement from the world, and the entanglement to our feet which lax habits prove. We must arise and depart, for this is not our rest.
Then we have, "your sandals on your feet:" and these shoes never wore out through all their journeyings in the iron desert in which for forty years they wandered. They anticipated in this, as we must, the roughness of the road, and the peace of Christ must be our defense, a faith that recognizes God in every thing, and that delights in and makes His will our will. The staff in our hand is that of His promises upon which we may lean without possibility of disappointment. Thus we are provided.
(3) We come now to the feast of unleavened bread. Here, of course, is pressed upon us the holiness which all this implies. Literally, it is "compressed bread," -bread of which the particles have not been separated by the action of ferment or leaven. For "leaven" itself there are two words, the one meaning properly "a leaving," or remainder, because it was, in fact, a lump of dough left from a former time while the other means simply "leaven," or ferment." The "old leaven" of which the apostle speaks to the Corinthians (1Co 5:1-13) is connected with the first thought. The introduction of the "old" into that which is new is what the enemy would ever use to transform and corrupt this. It may be the spirit of Judaism, the old covenant, introduced into the new; it may be, what is of the flesh into the new life which is of God. It may come in as superstition and formalism (the leaven of the Pharisees), or as more open Sadducean rationalism and unbelief, or as simple pandering to the world, -"the leaven of Herod" (see Mat 16:1-28). In any case it is corruption -leaven; in any case it implies real departure from God. If we leave Him and His thoughts, what can we do but take up with our own? And this is a thing not merely negative and passive: it is by the law of its nature what all evil is -a ferment, a revolt, an antagonism to all that is of God.
The unleavened bread the apostle interprets as "sincerity and truth" -of course, Godward. It is the spirit of integrity with Him -whole-hearted surrender to His blessed will. It is the spirit which says, "Search me, O God, and know my thoughts." The deliberate keeping back from Him of that which is His due is rebellion against Him.
The association of the unleavened bread (where first mentioned) with "bitter herbs" is easy therefore, but solemn. The discovery of self is bitter, -the ruin of the old creation, -that the Lamb should have had to die for my sins. How utterly inconsistent this with the allowance of evil! A chastened spirit becomes us in presence of the cross. Not yet -not here -can we let our hearts out, in a world where the cross has stood.
Yet it is a "feast of unleavened bread" that we are called to -truly a feast. The rest for the soul is never obtained without taking Christ’s yoke (Mat 11:29). In the perfect surrender to God which repentance implies and faith necessitates, the joy of the Lord that enters into the soul is the assurance of an infinite joy to come. And this feast is to fill the "seven days" of our life after; -six here, and then the eternal Sabbath to which no night comes. All these things, as the contents of this section show us are implied in redemption known, -the new beginning of a life eternal.
2. In the second section, we have the history of the deliverance from Egypt, not completed however at once, as we shall find, although at first it might be thought so. Yet their fetters are once for all broken, and He who has begun will complete His work. We have here —
(1) First, on the part of Israel, their obedience to the prescribed conditions. In sprinkling the blood, they own the sentence of death upon themselves, and the hyssop used in doing so, as the type of what is lowly, in contrast with the cedar (1Ki 4:33), speaks very plainly of the condition of heart which must naturally go with this. The knowledge of this grace of God toward them the people are to communicate to their children.
(2) Then the judgment falls. The death of the first-born is the judgment upon all that comes of the natural man, the first-born, like the first-fruits being a sample of all the rest, and indeed, as Jacob says, "the excellency of dignity and the excellency of power." "That which is born of the flesh is flesh" is our Lord’s account of it. Man must be born again.
The judgment of the world brings necessary separation from it. The witness of its condemnation before God, if maintained, will soon make the world itself enforce a separation. The people of God go forth, however, enriched, for "all things are yours," says the apostle, "whether the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come, all are yours" (1Co 3:21-22); and in the time of their visitation the world itself will own this.
(4) And now the journey begins. Strikingly the first stage, -all that is mentioned yet, -is from Rameses to Succoth, -from the king’s city, built for the glory of his name, to the place of the "booths," or tents, characteristic of the wilderness. But at the very start a hint of the future is already given in the "mixed multitude" which go up with them. Wherever a movement of God takes place, men are wrought upon by other motives than those by which the Spirit of God stirs the renewed heart, and a mass attach themselves to those who are led forth. The Pharisees and Sadducees come to John’s baptism; the flesh and the world will go on pilgrimage: and here is the seed of much after-trouble (see Num 11:4). Even in the individual believer also how soon may other motives mix themselves with what is of the work of God, at first all seeming to unite to carry us forward in the path of faith, and only by and by showing their true character.
Another circumstance emphasizes the warning. It may be true, as Keil suggests, that the command to eat unleavened bread for seven days had not yet been given to the people, but it is none the less typically full of solemn meaning that historically the way in which they came actually to fulfill the ordinance as to it for the first time was that "they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry." Had the Egyptians pressed less urgently upon them, they would undoubtedly have put the leaven into the bread! How easy to realize the application of this! Have not the times when the world has pressed most heavily upon the Church been commonly the times when the feast of unleavened bread has been most truly kept? When the world has forced believers out of it, then indeed brightness and devotedness have been more seen. Alas! when the storm relaxed, how soon the leaven again was introduced!
(5) Now follow the regulations as to the passover, the main point in which is manifestly this, that the circumcised alone are to partake of it. A stranger was no longer this if he were circumcised: and this is clear enough in meaning when we remember what circumcision implied (see Gen 17:1-27), as it enables also to understand the distinct specification of the "hired servant" among those rejected. The covenant of grace refuses to be mixed with the thought of wage-work. The feast of redemption is for those who, as those impotent for good, shelter beneath the shadow of the Almighty: "when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly."
3. In the third section, the sanctification of the first-born to God is insisted on, again illustrating the connection between redemption and holiness. For it was the first-born that had been redeemed from the judgment that fell upon the Egyptians, and here the Lord claims for Himself what had been redeemed. This is simply what holiness is: it is setting apart to God; practical sanctification the consecration, in the power of the Holy Ghost, of the heart and life to Him. As in the judgment of Egypt -of the world, -the first-born represent all that comes of man naturally, so here it is all that comes of man -his whole practical life -and in the cattle all that belongs to him. The institution of the feast of unleavened bread is repeated here, and brought into the midst of the ordinance of the first-born, to link the sanctification of heart with the sanctification of life. Thus the lesson is complete, and it is evident as every where that the spiritual meaning governs all.
(1) First, in this section, then, Jehovah’s claim is asserted. Certainly all that He has created must belong to Him; but it is only redemption that really gives Him what is His. Here, then, all that He has redeemed must be entirely His: disastrous it would be to keep any thing back from Him. Only what is thus rendered to Him becomes indeed our own, for "in Him we live and move and have our being." Independence of the source of life is death, and thus life cannot be enjoyed apart from this sweet and profitable devotedness.
(2) If this is to be carried out, however, the feast of unleavened bread must be our introduction to it. The heart must be taken captive if the life is to be surrendered. Service must be the fruit of love, for love is the constraining spirit of service. But our love is, again, the fruit of His love: "We love Him because He first loved us." And thus the connection with the opening sentence: "Remember this day in which ye came out of Egypt . . . by strength of hand hath Jehovah brought you out from this, -and nothing leavened shall be eaten." Let us remark here, that certainly a known salvation, not a doubtful one, was the basis of this feast for Israel. What reinforcement of the obligation when they should have reached the good land promised -type of that heavenly land which we are called upon now to enter and to make our own! The feast was, too, for them a sign upon the hand, which it consecrated to God, a memorial between the eyes -manifest to all as unblushing confession of separation, and thus the mouth too would be called upon to give its testimony of obedience.
(3) Now the sanctification of the first-born follows, who through all their generations afterward (if males) are to be redeemed. In the epistle to the Romans, in which so many types of the first part of Exodus find their fulfillment, immediately after the full liberty of the redeemed man is reached, we hear of sanctification in the sixth chapter. In the epistle to the Hebrews, we find how by the blood of atonement itself we are sanctified to God: "By the which will we are sanctified, through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once." (Heb 10:10.)
Thus we are devoted to God by the very fact of salvation, we and all that we have. And here another instructive lesson is given us. "And every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break its neck." How vain to read these typical institutions merely as ordinances in the letter and no more! Why, of all beasts, the special introduction of the ass here, and of the ass only, to be redeemed with the self-same lamb wherewith man himself must be redeemed? Does it not show clearly, when our eye is upon that to which all these ordinances point, that man is himself identified with this "ass," that must be redeemed or slain? And so God characterizes Ishmael, a first-born too, sign and fruit of nature’s strength in Abraham, not merely, as in the common version, "a wild," but "a wild-ass man." We must not think here, however, of the ungainly drudge, as we see him generally, but of the eastern animal, -fleet, beautiful, uncontrollable in spirit and energy, -of whose tame congener even it is said, in a way so opposite to all our notions, "a whip for the horse, and a bridle for the ass."
Thus nature shows itself in Ishmael, the father of the Bedouin Arab of our day, and, for our instruction, the child of Hagar also, or the law, -that law which, after so many centuries of patient training under it, developed but the race which, like the wild ass, refused the "easy yoke" of Him who came to teach man, in Himself, the lesson of obedience -"meek and lowly of heart."
As the seed of Abraham, Ishmael has further instruction for us. For the man of faith, if he take up law to produce fruit, will find assuredly that even faith can make nothing of it: the law is "the strength of sin," and not of holiness. Thus the firstling of an ass speaks to us. Blessed be God, for us the lamb has yielded up its life; and the sanctification which the law could not produce is found for us in the blood of atonement. Let us remember, as we are charged here, with mouth as well as life, -with life as well as mouth, -to give God the glory of our redemption.
4. In the next section, a brief account of the life to which this introduces us is added. We have as yet only seen it (1. 2; 2. 4.) in its pilgrim character and its connection with redemption. Now we have more distinctly, though yet in brief, its features.
(1) And first, we find, very strangely as it may seem, the Lord being with them, as we are just now so fully assured, the confession of weakness, implied in their not taking what would seem the nearest road -in one sense was -to Canaan, expressly because in it they might "see war"! By and by, in that land to which they are journeying, they are to be led in a career of conquest over nations mightier than themselves. As yet, it is weakness which God recognizes in them, not strength; and He chooses their way accordingly.
Three points are to be marked here. First, that the way is of God’s choice, not theirs. This is surely an absolutely needful lesson at the start. Do not all our breaks-down by the way result from this, that we have chosen for ourselves, not let God choose for us? To be in His way is to be where He is with us; and if He be for us, who can be against us?
Then, His way for us is always one in which we are made to realize weakness. Our prayer can never be, "Lead us into temptation," and therefore we are never to act as if this were our prayer. In all cases where escape is possible without disloyalty, we are to flee rather than face it. "Flee also youthful lusts." "Abstain (hold off) from fleshly lusts." Flee, as Joseph fled; and there was, perhaps, no bolder man.
Again, at the stage of progress we have reached as yet, the power we need is not yet realized. The Philistines may have a way into Canaan by the short natural road; Israel must reach it by a different one, as we shall presently see. The way of the sea is the only one for all God’s people: we shall have to look at this fully in a little while.
(2) They carry with them Joseph’s bones, -at the meaning of which we have glanced at the end of Genesis. "Bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus" is the practical testimony linked with and making manifest the "life of Jesus." (2Co 4:10.)
(3) Thus far, the human side of this walk; the divine side we see in the pillar of cloud and of fire which goes with them, the symbol and pledge of the divine presence. Always in contrast with mere natural surroundings, by day a cloud, by night its glory flashing into fire, it renders them independent of circumstances -able to go by day or by night. The Keeper of Israel is with them in unslumbering vigilance and unslackening care. He leads; they follow. In the wilderness, where there is no way, He marks the way. How wonderful a resource, how inexhaustible the riches, that these poor desert-wanderers possess in Him who if they be pilgrims will be a pilgrim too. Yet this too is but the type of that more wondrous glory which, though hidden, goes with us now!
5. The fifth section, true to its character, puts now the weakness of the people before us in contrast with the strength of the Almighty, tested by the presence of the enemy, who again shows himself as the prelude to his final overthrow. The spiritual meaning for us of this last attempt of the king of Egypt upon Israel we shall better consider, as we need fully to consider, in the next section. The features of the present one are clear enough.
(1) First, we are shown, beyond doubt, that all that comes comes from God’s hand, and in the design of His goodness toward them. Egypt is not yet humbled as it needs to be. God leads the people in such a way that to Pharaoh it looks, and would naturally look, like human blundering, rather than divine wisdom. He is thus hardened to his destruction.
(2) The whole force of Egypt is, in consequence, put in requisition; their whole strength is put forth for one decisive blow. Pharaoh comes upon the people in a position from which there is no escape, hedged in between the mountains and the sea. Every thing seems to combine for their destruction.
(3) Israel are as heartless as they seem defenseless: there is not even the courage of despair. The slaves would rather go back to the slavery than face the conflict that impends. In this extremity, Jehovah is seen to be the sole resource. The question becomes no longer between Israel and Pharaoh, but between Pharaoh and the Almighty, who has indeed taken upon Himself the responsibility of His people’s salvation.
But "all these things happened unto them for types," says the apostle, and the importance of what is contained in this one demands for it a fuller consideration than can generally be given.
6. At the sea, the question is no more (as in the passover), between the people and God: it is entirely between them and their enemies. The question with God, once settled, was fully and forever settled. That raised again now was the old first question, (but which they had learned could not be answered first,) of servitude to Pharaoh, or of liberty. This question God Himself now takes up on their behalf, and they find God with them in a more manifest way than ever yet. Already, from the time of the passover, God was with them; but how truly for them the Red Sea first makes known.
If we look at the doctrinal part of the epistle to the Romans, as found in the first eight chapters, we shall see that the first part of it -to the middle of the fifth -occupies us with the blood of Christ, and its effect for us. This is seen as that through which the righteousness of God itself, which that blood-shedding declares, provides a place of safe and assured shelter for us. We are "justified by His blood;" and this reaches on in its effects to the final judgment of the world, and assures us that "much more shall we be saved from wrath through Him." Judgment is rolled away forever; and with our standing in present grace, and glory as our confident expectation, we are enabled to glory even in tribulation also, conscious that it, with all else, is working, under God’s hand, in necessary blessing for us.
This is therefore essentially the passover truth: sheltered from judgment, eating the lamb, and equipped for the journey. But now, in the next part of the epistle, from Rom 5:12 onward, the question of practice at once comes in "What then? shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?" "Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace?" And then, when the discovery of the hopeless evil of the flesh is made, one question more: "Oh wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?"
All through this part, the question is as to the dominion of sin, and we are delivered by death, and by being brought into a new place beyond it: "that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin;" "but now, being made free from sin, and become servants to God," "the law of the Spirit, of life in Christ Jesus, hath made me free from the law of sin and death."
Who can but think of Israel’s bondage in Egypt here, and of the divine method of deliverance? Bondage to Pharaoh! but does not that cease on the night of the passover? In a most important sense it surely does. There is a breaking of chains, and a real start. God is now with them, and can never allow His claim to them to be canceled, and the enemy to retain possession of His people. But when we pass from God’s point of view to that of the people themselves, with whatever "high hand" they start, we soon find them dropping out of all their confidence, and trembling again before their old tyrant in fear and distress that the actual presence of God with them cannot remove. Shut up between the desert and the sea, with Pharaoh’s chariots and horsemen in full pursuit, their cry is the cry of unbelieving despair. The controversy between them and their old enemy had to be taken up afresh by God in their behalf, now to be ended indeed. God interferes -God fights for them. And they do naught but "stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord."
And so with a soul who has found the safe shelter of the blood of Christ, and seen the judgment of God roll over, smiting but the chains from off his hands, the question of deliverance from sin’s law is really settled. But it does not follow that he will at once come into the realization of this. Alas! the first teaching of holiness has to be this, that in me, (even as a believer,) -that is, in my flesh, good does not dwell; and in order to strength, we have to learn the lesson of thorough and continual weakness.
At first, indeed, when salvation is new, and one has seen the shadow of death turned into morning through faith in a risen Saviour, whose death has made atonement for his sins, it may seem as if sin could no more put shackles on the enfranchised soul. Knowledge of the flesh and self as yet there is not, and with some it is but slowly attained. But full deliverance is not known until this has been realized nevertheless, -the Red Sea is not reached, Egypt is not left behind, they have not crossed its border. For the sea is its border, and through it only is God’s way for His people, though it may seem there as if God had deserted them. For who could penetrate the wisdom that refused a path near, and not apparently difficult, to lead them by one bristling with most formidable difficulties? And how many misjudge in like manner His purpose, who, having begun to lead them in the way of holiness, in fulfillment of the desires which He has awakened in them, leads them, in fact, there where they have to cry and cry again, that they cannot do the things that they would? -progress beyond which seems quite impossible. How many, indeed, stop here, and strangely imagine they must after all serve Pharaoh with the best grace they can: to get out of Egypt, -to escape from under sin’s law, they deem impossible! At peace with God through the blood of Christ, they yet think that as to the sin within them there is, and can be, no effectual deliverance! The mind is indeed changed, -with the mind they serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. They do not see that God is leading them beyond, -that after all, this is but the border of Egypt that they have reached -and that there where all progress seems to have stopped forever, God is at hand to give them so mighty a deliverance from the hand of their enemy that their hearts shall sing aloud of it forever.
The Red Sea is the border of Egypt; and if Egypt be in type the world, and we ask men how they pass out of the world, they will answer with one voice, "By death, and by death alone." Now that is not true in the sense in which they say it. Scripture does not lead us to say, "We must all die," but rather, with the apostle, "We shall not all sleep." Those who are Christ’s, and "remain unto the coming of the Lord," will be changed without seeing death. And yet it is true that for this we must have passed out of the world before, so as not to have part in it, and that this passing out is by death also, but a death which Another has taken for us. Still we must look at the Red Sea as the type of death. Jordan, the limit of the wilderness, and which the people pass through dry-shod, as they pass through the sea, is similarly understood by all, and helps to confirm this meaning by its evident parallelism.
This "way of the sea" is God’s ordained way for His people, -a way we pass by faith, to enter upon our pilgrim-path with God. By faith they passed through the sea as by dry land," says the apostle (Heb 11:29). This dry-shod path which the rod of Moses clears for their passage, but which is no less cleared by "a strong east wind all the night" -we ought to be able without difficulty to interpret. The rod of Moses is the rod of power in the shepherd’s hand: and has not our Shepherd cleft for us a path through death? And the strong east wind of adversity, -notice in Pharaoh’s dream (Gen 41:6) how the ears of corn are blasted with the east wind, -blowing through all the awful night of his distress, was it not that which did in fact clear the way for us through those waters of death through which by faith we pass out of Egypt, -out of the whole sphere of Pharaoh’s rule, or the condition to which the "law of sin" applies?
But we must trace this experimentally, for it is with experience we have now to do. We are following the track of a people whose history is the type of an actual and real deliverance from a bondage infinitely worse than theirs; and as the bondage is a fact of experience, so the deliverance is also this. Let us get before us, then, this soul just started in the path with God, full of the precious reality of escaped judgment. His bonds are fallen off, -he is free. The joy of salvation is too much in his heart for the world and the things of the world to have power there. But how short a time may pass before all begins to change! The entrancement of His joy is less absolute than it was; the world through which he is passing begins to have more reality and power. Child of God as he is, he finds he has still a nature which is not all new nature. The flesh is there, and sin is in the flesh; its "mind" is still "enmity against God," its lusts go out after the things presented to it by the world; and here begins a struggle of which those who know it know the painfulness. The old enemy is reviving and gathering strength; the old chains are being again riveted. Israel’s despairing cry by the sea finds its answer in the groan over a body of death which lies upon the soul, a burdensome, loathsome weight, which it is past its power to deal with, whether to improve or cast aside. "Oh wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
It is "between Migdol and the sea" that Pharaoh comes upon them. Migdol should have an important place in the type, then: can we interpret it? The word signifies a "tower," such as might be a military post, the natural enough accompaniment of a border region. Jealous eyes no doubt watched the escaping hosts from thence. Egypt was not now friendly, and from a place of strength the people of the land would not fear to show hostility. Any way it was a tower in an enemy’s country, not a place of help or refuge, but the stronghold of a power now armed against them to the teeth.
Surely the New Testament gives this significance. If we turn to the seventh of Romans, which is the key to the situation here, we shall find, if I mistake not, Migdol looming large upon the scene, and threatening enough to the soul seeking escape from sin’s law. We need not, must not, hesitate to follow Scripture, however strangely it must sound to some to be told that "the strength of sin is the law" (1Co 15:56), and that we must be "delivered from the law," not merely to be justified, but to "serve in newness of spirit" (Rom 7:6).
Men will have it, because the law is spiritual, that it must be power for spirituality -power against sin. Scripture is decisive that "sin, taking occasion by the commandment," works in one under the law "all manner of concupiscence." (v. Rom 7:8.) Nay, says he who testifies of it, "without the law sin was dead; for I was alive without the law once, but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died." (v. Rom 7:9.) Surely this is just the position between Migdol and the sea, where Pharaoh overtook the camp of Israel.
That the law cannot justify is comparatively simple; that it hinders fruit-bearing is hard to realize. And yet it is as sure as that Migdol was in the enemy’s country, and that Israel must leave it in order to escape the pursuit of Pharaoh and his hosts. Under the shadow of Migdol the tyrant of Egypt overtook his former slaves; under the law, the self-occupation which it produces and necessitates ends simply with the discovery of an impracticable body of sin and death from which I, wretched man, see no deliverance. Legality is inconsistent with holiness: self-occupation is not that by which I can produce fruit for God. I cannot bring about the spiritual state I long for, which would satisfy me; and God will give me no help at achieving self-complacency! I desire the consciousness of holiness: His own law gives me the consciousness of sin. Whence, then, can deliverance come?
Now let us look at the type again. First of all, let us mark, God does not lead Israel up against Pharaoh. Their own arm is not strengthened by His to bring salvation to them, they have instead to "stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord." God does not call us to fight against the flesh and subdue it. He neither points nor leads in that direction at all. "What other way?" many a heart in Israel might ask. Ah, God’s thoughts are not as our thoughts, nor His ways as our ways. See now how the sea divides, and a channel is made through it, while its uplifted waters become a wall on the right hand and on the left! Christ’s precious death is for us -is ours, so that we are dead by it, dead with Him, and as dead men are no longer "in the flesh." Not merely our sins are gone; WE are gone; we have died: Christ’s death has ended our history before God; in Him who has passed through death we have passed through it, untouched, dry-shod; our standing is in Him beyond death.
This is of course true of every child of God: it is not a matter of attainment, and we cannot too earnestly insist upon this, and yet there is an attainment of it too. What is ours already we are called to apprehend as ours, and thus it is that we find the passage of the sea not on the passover night, but several stages beyond this. To enjoy the blessedness of the place, we must in fact reach it experimentally.
We have not to die to sin: we are dead, and to reckon ourselves dead. Dead with Christ, we are in Christ beyond death. The self I was taking up to cultivate and improve, God has set aside forever in the cross. Thus the waters are a wall to me, but the death of my enemies. "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin may be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin." Self-occupation is ended for those who have learned thus the meaning of the cross, and that in Christ is their true self: that it is as "we all with open face behold the glory of the Lord, we are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Lord the Spirit." (2Co 3:18.)
Faith is thus the principle of sanctification, as it is that of the new nature. "The law is not of faith:" it implies strength in us; faith finds it in Another. God honors it, and works by it, because it honors Christ. I am not dead to sin in experience; I do not feel myself so: I reckon it (Rom 6:11). I cannot feel the cross of Christ; by faith I know its effect for me. Faith is, turning from myself to Another: it is the giving up of self-occupation and complacency. Thus by faith
I pass the sea to take my new position outside flesh and nature; and when I look back, find that my enemies are buried in the waters. Privileged to turn away from self, the conflict and the distress are over. In Christ is my place, in Him I find a satisfying and a heavenly object, lifting me out of the whole sphere of things in which the lust of the flesh finds what it seeks. Faith, love, hope, twine around Him their tendrils, and flourish there. Here the new nature expands and develops and bears fruit -fruit which is for her Master, not for her own taste and enjoyment. The fruits of the Spirit need to be ripened in the Sun. The least degree of occupation with Christ is GLORY.
7. Now, then, we come to the "song;" and how important it is that the soul should have a song! "Abounding therein with thanksgiving," says the apostle. If our hearts are not in the enjoyment of the deliverance, the deliverance can scarcely be in realization. There is power in joy: "the joy of the Lord is your strength." Happiness in Christ is an absolute necessity for holiness. The joy is worship -heaven begun.
(1) Jehovah is really God -their God. This is the first strain of the song, and so it must be. What a joy to have known God -to have found God! What a horrible solitude is a world without God! what a glorious God does salvation discover to us! Henceforth God is to be supreme: to be God, He must be that; and joy in Him is necessarily the spirit of obedience.
(2) Then the deliverance: it was all His own! we only looked and saw. Think of the old man destroyed! Think of death’s piled-up waters! We are under the hand of Him whom all things serve.
(3) Nor is this merely power; nor is it the caprice of love, or of vengeance. Holiness is as manifest as power; nay, it is His peculiar glory, -the atmosphere of His presence, -the sanctuary in which He dwells, the satisfaction for our hearts who are called to behold Him there: for His redeemed He is guiding to His holy habitation. For us, this is heaven; but the tabernacle of God shall be with men also in the new earth.
(4) Now they look on to the prostration of all their enemies; nay, the blow already fallen has prostrated them: in the past and the present the future is involved, and God’s people cannot be too confident in their anticipations. The glorious challenge of the apostle (Rom 8:31-39) is the Christian’s counterpart to what is here.
(5) The land is seen as the end of the way. God’s hands have established the place of His sanctuary, and there the same hands will plant the people. The apostle Peter gives us the corresponding truth when he tells us that "God hath begotten us again . . . to an inheritance, incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away; reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation." (1Pe 1:3-5.) A reserved inheritance for a preserved people: God’s way leading to God’s end; the Almighty revealing Himself such to those whom He carries through to their predestined place; -thus the song closes here.
(6) Then the victory itself is again recounted, stripped of poetical embellishment, grandest in its naked simplicity, type of a greater victory in which for eternity our hearts shall rejoice: evil is under the hand of God absolutely as all else is; goodness alone has might, as in the cross. He who is supreme is worthy to be supreme. This is a grand lesson which we learn in the world, but learn for heaven and eternity.
(7) The women’s voices, with their musical accompaniment, take up the refrain. It is the seal of completeness. Sin had come in through the woman; now her heart is lifted up in praise, which testifies in itself of victory over it. The mute inanimate things also become responsive in these timbrels in her hand. The joy is full and universal in the redeemed creation.
F. W. Grant, The Numerical Bible (4th ed., 1903) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On v1 Exo 12:1 - - Exo 12:14.
Exodus
THE PASSOVER: AN EXPIATION AND A FEAST, A MEMORIAL AND A PROPHECY
Read full note →
Exo 12:1 - - Exo 12:14.
The Passover ritual, as appointed here, divides itself into two main parts-the sprinkling of the sacrificial blood on the door-posts and lintels, and the feast on the sacrifice. These can best be dealt with separately. They were separated in the later form of the ritual; for, when there was a central sanctuary, the lambs were slain there, and the blood sprinkled, as in other expiatory sacrifices, on the altar, while the domestic feast remained unaltered. The former was more especially meant to preserve the Israelites from the destruction of their first-born; the latter as a permanent memorial of their deliverance. But both have perpetual fitness as prophetic of varying aspects of the Christian redemption.
I. The ritual of the protecting blood.
In the hurry and agitation of that eventful day, it must have seemed strange to the excited people that they should be called upon to observe such a service. But its institution at that crisis is in accordance with the whole tone of the story of the Exodus, in which man is nothing and God all. Surely, never was national deliverance effected so absolutely without effort or blow struck. If we try to realise the state of mind of the Israelites on that night, we shall feel how significant of the true nature of their deliverance this summons to an act of worship, in the midst of their hurry, must have been.
The domestic character of the rite is its first marked feature. Of course, there were neither temple nor priests then; but that does not wholly account for the provision that every household, unless too few in number to consume a whole lamb, should have its own sacrifice, slain by its head. The first purpose of the rite, to provide for the safety of each house by the sprinkled blood, partly explains it; but the deepest reason is, no doubt, the witness which was thereby borne to the universal priesthood of the nation. The patriarchal order made each man the priest of his house. This rite, which lay at the foundation of Israel’s nationality, proclaimed that a restricted priestly class was a later expedient. The primitive formation crops out here, as witness that, even where hid beneath later deposits, it underlies them all.
We have called the Passover a sacrifice. That has been disputed, but unreasonably. No doubt, it was a peculiar kind of sacrifice, unlike those of the later ritual in many respects, and scarcely capable of being classified among them. But it is important to keep its strictly sacrificial character in view; for it is essential to its meaning and to its typical aspect. The proofs of its sacrificial nature are abundant. The instructions as to the selection of the lamb; the method of disposing of the blood, which was sprinkled with hyssop-a peculiarly sacrificial usage; the treatment of the remainder after the feast; the very feast itself,-all testify that it was a sacrifice in the most accurate use of the word. The designation of it as ‘a passover to the Lord,’ and in set terms as a ‘sacrifice,’ in Exo 12:27 and elsewhere, to say nothing of its later form when it became a regular Temple sacrifice, or of Paul’s distinct language in 1Co 5:7, or of Peter’s quotation of the very words of Exo 12:5, applied to Christ, ‘ a lamb without blemish,’ all point in the same direction.
But if a sacrifice, what kind of sacrifice was it? Clearly, the first purpose was that the blood might be sprinkled on the door-posts and lintels, and so the house be safe when the destroying angel passed through the land. Such is the explanation given in Exo 12:13, which is the divine declaration of its meaning. This is the centre of the rite; from it the name was derived. Whether readers accept the doctrines of substitution and expiation or not, it ought to be impossible for an honest reader of these verses to deny that these doctrines or thoughts are there. They may be only the barbarous notions of a half-savage age and people. But, whatever they are, there they are. The lamb without blemish carefully chosen and kept for four days, till it had become as it were part of the household, and then solemnly slain by the head of the family, was their representative. When they sprinkled its blood on the posts, they confessed that they stood in peril of the destroying angel by reason of their impurity, and they presented the blood as their expiation. In so far, their act was an act of confession, deprecation, and faith. It accepted the divinely appointed means of safety. The consequence was exemption from the fatal stroke, which fell on all homes from the palace to the slaves’ hovel, where that red streak was not found. If any son of Abraham had despised the provision for safety, he would have been partaker of the plague.
All this refers only to exemption from outward punishment, and we are not obliged to attribute to these terrified bondmen any higher thoughts. But clearly their obedience to the command implied a measure of belief in the divine voice; and the command embodied, though in application to a transient judgment, the broad principles of sacrificial substitution, of expiation by blood, and of safety by the individual application of that shed blood.
In other words, the Passover is a Gospel before the Gospel. We are sometimes told that in its sacrificial ideas Christianity is still dressing itself in ‘Hebrew old clothes.’ We believe, on the contrary, that the whole sacrificial system of Judaism had for its highest purpose to shadow forth the coming redemption. Christ is not spoken of as ‘our Passover,’ because the Mosaic ritual had happened to have that ceremonial; but the Mosaic ritual had that ceremonial mainly because Christ is our Passover, and, by His blood shed on the Cross and sprinkled on our consciences, does in spiritual reality that which the Jewish Passover only did in outward form. All other questions about the Old Testament, however interesting and hotly contested, are of secondary importance compared with this. Is its chief purpose to prophesy of Christ, His atoning death, His kingdom and church, or is it not? The New Testament has no doubt of the answer. The Evangelist John finds in the singular swiftness of our Lord’s death, which secured the exemption of His sacred body from the violence inflicted on His fellow-sufferers, a fulfilment of the paschal injunction that not a bone should be broken; and so, by one passing allusion, shows that he recognised Christ as the true Passover. John the Baptist’s rapturous exclamation, ‘Behold the Lamb of God!’ blends allusions to the Passover, the daily sacrifice, and Isaiah’s great prophecy. The day of the Crucifixion, regarded as fixed by divine Providence, may be taken as God’s own finger pointing to the Lamb whom He has provided. Paul’s language already referred to attests the same truth. And even the last lofty visions of the Apocalypse, where the old man in Patmos so touchingly recurs to the earliest words which brought him to Jesus, echo the same conviction, and disclose, amidst the glories of the throne, ‘a Lamb as it had been slain.’
II. The festal meal on the sacrifice.
After the sprinkling of the blood came the feast. Only when the house was secure from the destruction which walked in the darkness of that fateful night, could a delivered household gather round the board. That which had become their safety now became their food. Other sacrifices were, at a later period, modelled on the same type; and in all cases the symbolism is the same, namely, joyful participation in the sacrifice, and communion with God based upon expiation. In the Passover, this second stage received for future ages the further meaning of a memorial. But on that first night it was only such by anticipation, seeing that it preceded the deliverance which it was afterwards to commemorate.
The manner of preparing the feast and the manner of partaking of it are both significant. The former provided that the lamb should be roasted, not boiled, apparently in order to secure its being kept whole; and the same purpose suggested the other prescriptions that it was to be served up entire, and with bones unbroken. The reason for this seems to be that thus the unity of the partakers was more plainly shown. All ate of one undivided whole, and were thus, in a real sense, one. So the Apostle deduces the unity of the Church from the oneness of the bread of which they in the Christian Passover partake.
It was to be eaten with the accompaniments of bitter herbs, usually explained as memorials of the bondage, which had made the lives bitter, and the remembrance of which would sweeten their deliverance, even as the pungent condiments brought out the savour of the food. The further accompaniment of unleavened bread seems to have the same signification as the appointment that they were to eat with their garments gathered round their loins, their feet shod, and staves in hand. All these were partly necessities in their urgent hurry, and partly a dramatic representation for later days of the very scene of the first Passover. A strange feast indeed, held while the beat of the pinions of the destroying angel could almost be heard, devoured in hot haste by anxious men standing ready for a perilous journey, the end whereof none knew! The gladness would be strangely dashed with terror and foreboding. Truly, though they feasted on a sacrifice, they had bitter herbs with it, and, standing, swallowed their portions, expecting every moment to be summoned to the march.
The Passover as a feast is a prophecy of the great Sacrifice, by virtue of whose sprinkled blood we all may be sheltered from the sweep of the divine judgment, and on which we all have to feed if there is to be any life in us. Our propitiation is our food. ‘Christ for us’ must become ‘Christ in us,’ received and appropriated by our faith as the strength of our lives. The Christian life is meant to be a joyful feast on the Sacrifice, and communion with God based upon it. We feast on Christ when the mind feeds on Him as truth, when the heart is filled and satisfied with His love, when the conscience clings to Him as its peace, when the will esteems the ‘words of His mouth more than’ its ‘necessary food,’ when all desires, hopes, and inward powers draw their supplies from Him, and find their object in His sweet sufficiency.
Nor will the accompaniments of the first Passover be wanting. Here we feast in the night; the dawn will bring freedom and escape. Here we eat the glad Bread of God, not unseasoned with bitter herbs of sorrow and memories of the bondage, whose chains are dropping from our uplifted hands. Here we should partake of that hidden nourishment, in such manner that it hinders not our readiness for outward service. It is not yet time to sit at His table, but to stand with loins girt, and feet shod, and hands grasping the pilgrim staff. Here we are to eat for strength, and to blend with our secret hours of meditation the holy activities of the pilgrim life.
That feast was, further, appointed with a view to its future use as a memorial. It was held before the deliverance which it commemorated had been accomplished. A new era was to be reckoned from it. The month of the Exodus was thenceforward to be the first of the year. The memorial purpose of the rite has been accomplished. All over the world it is still observed, so many hundred years after its institution, being thus, probably, the oldest religious ceremonial in existence. Once more aliens in many lands, the Jewish race still, year by year, celebrate that deliverance, so tragically unlike their homeless present, and with indomitable hope, at each successive celebration, repeat the expectation, so long cherished in vain, ‘This year, here; next year, in the land of Israel. This year, slaves; next year, freemen.’ There can be few stronger attestations of historical events than the keeping of days commemorating them, if traced back to the event they commemorate. So this Passover, like Guy Fawkes’ Day in England, or Thanksgiving Day in America, remains for a witness even now.
What an incomprehensible stretch of authority Christ put forth, if He were no more than a teacher, when He brushed aside the Passover, and put in its place the Lord’s Supper, as commemorating His own death! Thereby He said, ‘Forget that past deliverance; instead, remember Me.’ Surely this was either audacity approaching insanity, or divine consciousness that He Himself was the true Paschal Lamb, whose blood shields the world from judgment, and on whom the world may feast and be satisfied. Christ’s deliberate intention to represent His death as expiation, and to fix the reverential, grateful gaze of all future ages on His Cross, cannot be eliminated from His founding of that memorial rite in substitution for the God-appointed ceremonial, so hoary with age and sacred in its significance. Like the Passover, the Lord’s Supper was established before the deliverance was accomplished. It remains a witness at once of the historical fact of the death of Jesus, and of the meaning and power which Jesus Himself bade us to see in that death. For us, redeemed by His blood, the past should be filled with His sacrifice. For us, fed on Himself, all the present should be communion with Him, based upon His death for us. For us, freed bondmen, the memorial of deliverance begun by His Cross should be the prophecy of deliverance to be completed at the side of His throne, and the hasty meal, eaten with bitter herbs, the adumbration of the feast when all the pilgrims shall sit with Him at His table in His kingdom. Past, present, and future should all be to us saturated with Jesus Christ. Memory should furnish hope with colours, canvas, and subjects for her fair pictures, and both be fixed on ‘Christ our Passover, sacrificed for us.’
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain On v1 The Institution of the Passover. The Tenth Plague, and…
The Institution of the Passover. The Tenth Plague, and the Departure of Israel
1. In the land of Egypt] These words suggest that what follows was written independently of the foregoing narrative, and an examination of this chapter shows that it contains two separate accounts of the institution of the Passover, one extending from Exo_12:1-20, the other from Exo_12:21-28. The latter is the proper continuation of Exodus 11.
Read full note →
2. The beginning of months] The exodus is regarded as an 'epoch-making' event (cp. Jdg_19:30; 1Ki_6:1), and to mark its importance the month in which it occurs is to be reckoned the first month of the ecclesiastical year. This is the month Abib (see Exo_13:4; Exo_23:15; Exo_34:18; Deu_16:1), i.e. the month of ripening ears, and corresponds to the end of March and the beginning of April. After the exile it was called by the Babylonian name of Nisan: see e.g. Neh_2:1
Est_3:7. The sacred feasts were computed from this date: see Lev_23:4-5, Lev_23:15, Lev_23:24; The civil year began in autumn with the first day of the seventh month after Abib, called by the Babylonians Tishri and in OT. Ethanim: see 1Ki_8:2. With this change of reckoning may be compared the reckoning of the Christian Year, which begins with Advent, and of the Christian Week, which begins with the Lord's Day.
3. Unto all the congregation] by means of their representatives: see on Exo_3:16. A lamb] The word may also mean a kid, but practically a lamb was always chosen: cp. Exo_3:5.
4. Too little] According to Josephus the lower limit was fixed at ten persons. He also says that in his time (between the death of Christ and the destruction of Jerusalem) 250,000 lambs were sacrificed at the Passover and partaken of by 2,700,000 people.
5· In accordance with the principle that whatever is offered to God must be the best of its kind, the law of sacrifice required that the sacrificial animal should be a male (the superior sex) and without blemish: see intro. to Leviticus 21 and on Lev_22:17-25. So Christ 'offered Himself without spot to God' (Heb_9:14) as a 'lamb without blemish and without spot' (1Pe_1:19).
6. Keep it up until the fourteenth day] This is to ensure that no blemish shall pass undetected. In the evening] lit. 'between the evenings,' i.e. probably between sunset and darkness. Darkness was supposed to begin when three stars became visible. Josephus says that the time of sacrifice was from three to five in the afternoon. Observe that the Passover lamb was sacrificed and the blood sprinkled on the doorposts by each head of a household, there being at this time no tabernacle nor order of sacrificing priests. In later times the lamb was killed in the temple court by the head of the household and the blood poured out at the altar, after which the lamb was carried home to be eaten: cp. Lev_17:3-6; Deu_16:5-7.
7. Upper door post] RV 'lintel.' The shedding of the blood signified the offering of the life to God. The sprinkling of the lintel was not only a sign to the destroying angel, but an indication that atonement had been made on behalf of the inmates of the house.
8. Roast with fire] The flesh of sacrificial animals which were eaten by the offerers was usually boiled: cp. 1Sa_2:13, 1Sa_2:14. In the present case the roasting was probably to ensure haste (Exo_12:39) and to prevent the dismemberment of the animal: see Exo_12:9, Exo_12:46.
And unleavened bread and with bitter herbs] Leaven, as causing fermentation and corruption, is regarded as unclean, and its use in sacrificial meals is accordingly forbidden. In NT. it is used as a symbol of sin and moral uncleanness: see 1Co_5:8 and on Exo_12:14. The bitter herbs, probably some kind of wild lettuce or endive, were meant to symbolise the bitter bondage which the Israelites had endured in Egypt: see Exo_1:14.
9. His head with his legs, and with the purtenance (RV 'inwards') thereof] The entrails were taken out, cleansed, and replaced, and the lamb was then roasted whole: cp. Exo_12:46, 'neither shall ye break a bone thereof.' The unmutilated lamb symbolises the unity of Israel. St. John sees in it also an emblem of the unbroken bones of Christ: see Joh_19:36.
10. This prohibition is meant to prevent what remains of the sacrifice from being profaned. Burning was the regular mode of disposing of the remains of every sacrificial animal: see Exo_29:34; Lev_4:12; Lev_7:17.
11. The passover is to be eaten with every indication of haste. With your loins girded] To gird up the loins is to gather up the long flowing skirt of the outer robe under the girdle, so as to leave the limbs free in working or running: see 1Ki_18:46; Luk_12:37; Luk_17:8. At the present day (as in the time of Christ) the Jews eat the Passover in a recumbent posture to signify that there is no longer need of trepidation, God having given His people rest and security. It is the lord's passover] Heb. pesach, Gk. form pascha. The English rendering 'passover' represents not amiss both the sound and the sense of the Hebrew name. The rite commemorated the 'passing over' of Jehovah, i.e. His sparing of His faithful people. The word is used in this sense in Isa_31:5.
12. Against all the gods of Egypt] The gods of Egypt would be powerless to avert the judgment of Jehovah. As in Egypt many deities were worshipped in the form of animals, the destruction of the firstborn of beasts would be felt as the execution of a judgment upon these gods.
14. For ever] The Jews still keep the feasts of the Passover and Unleavened Bread. They now offer no sacrifice, seeing that Jerusalem has passed from their possession, but they look forward to the time when they will return to Jerusalem and the sacrifice be resumed. Each celebration is closed with the pathetic words, expressive of undying faith and hope, 'Next year in Jerusalem!' To Christians the death of Christ gathers up and fulfils all that was signified by the Jewish Passover, and therefore supersedes it. 'Christ our passover hath been (RV) sacrificed for us; therefore let us keep the feast' (RM 'keep festival,' i.e. the festival of unleavened bread which followed the passover) '.. with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth': 1Co_5:7, 1Co_5:8. Here Christ is regarded as typified in the paschal lamb, as He is also in the Fourth Gospel (Joh_19:36), which places the Crucifixion at the time of the Passover, and regards the fact as significant; His death redeems His people from their spiritual bondage; His blood, sprinkled on their hearts, delivers them from the guilt and consequences of sin. The old Passover sacrifice is fulfilled, once for all, in His sacrifice of Himself, which is commemorated, not repeated, in the sacrament of Holy Communion. That sacrament, accordingly, takes the place of the Passover. It differs from it in so far that it is not a recurring sacrifice, but the continual remembrance of the one great sacrifice offered by Christ, the true Passover lamb. The sacrifice is past, and Christians now live in the time of unleavened bread, and must therefore put away from them the 'leaven of malice and wickedness.'
15. The seven days beginning with the Passover are to be kept as a feast of unleavened bread. The Passover (pesach) and feast of Unleavened Bread (mazzoth) are really distinct, but as they were always celebrated in succession the name Passover is sometimes used to cover both: cp. Luk_22:1. Shall be cut off] This does not necessarily mean put to death, but excommunicated and cast out of the congregation of Israel. A person so cut off becomes like one of a heathen nation. He is reduced to the level of an uncircumcised person, being outside the covenant and having no more part in the privileges of the chosen people: see on Gen_17:14,; and cp. Mat_18:17; Eph_2:12.
16. An holy convocation] The word denotes a gathering of the people for a religious purpose: see Num_10:2-10. The abstention from work enjoined here is not so strict as on the sabbath and the Day of Atonement: cp. Lev_23:8 with Lev_23:3, Lev_23:28, and with Exo_35:8.
19. A stranger] a foreigner who had entered the congregation by circumcision, a proselyte, in contradistinction to 'one born in the land,' i.e. the land of Canaan (another indication of later date), a native Israelite.
22. Hyssop] supposed to be wild marjoram, which grows in Egypt and Sinai and Palestine. Its powder, which has a pungent aromatic flavour like that of mint, is used as a condiment. It was supposed to have cleansing properties, and a bunch of hyssop was frequently used in ceremonial sprinkling, for which it was naturally suitable, several stalks growing from one root: cp. Lev_14:4; Psa_51:7; Num_19:6.
26. What mean ye by this service?] To this day, at the Jewish celebration of the Passover, the youngest child present who is able to do so is made to ask this question, which is answered by a recitation of the circumstances attending the original institution of the feast. An interesting description of a modern Passover will be found in Zangwill's 'Children of the Ghetto,' c, 25.
The Tenth Plague:—Death of the First-born.
29. At midnight] the Passover night, following the 14th day of Abib. The Jewish day is reckoned from sunset to sunset: see on Exo_11:4.
31-42. The Departure from Egypt.
32. Bless me also] intercede for me, that no further plague come upon me for your sakes.
34. Before it was leavened] This shows the haste with which they departed: see Exo_12:39. On the kneading-troughs see on Exo_8:3.
35. Borrowed] RV 'asked,' as in Exo_3:22; Exo_11:2.
36. Lent unto them.. required] RV 'let them have what they asked.'
37. Rameses] see on Exo_1:11. Succoth has been identified with the Egyptian Thuku, the region whose capital was Pithom: see on Exo_1:11. Six hundred thousand on foot that were men] i.e. of twenty years old and upwards, fit for war. This implies a total of perhaps three millions. On the number see intro. to Numbers 1, and on Num_14:21.
38. A mixed multitude] of foreigners and Egyptians who were associated with the Israelites through marriage and as slaves. We read of these again in Lev_24:10; Num_11:4. Very much cattle] On the resources of the wilderness and its ability to support a multitude of people with flocks and herds, see intro. to Numbers 1.
40. Four hundred and thirty years] This agrees with the prophetical statement in Gen_15:13. But the Samaritan text of the OT. and LXX after the words 'in Egypt' here add 'and in Canaan,' thus making the 430 years run from the immigration of Abraham into Canaan, and reducing the stay in Egypt after the immigration of Jacob to 215 years. St. Paul accepts the LXX chronology (see Gal_3:17), and it is supported by the genealogy in Exo_6:14-20, which allows only four generations between Jacob and the father of Moses. But it is difficult to believe that the descendants of Jacob could have increased so much in 215 years, and there is reason to think that the genealogical table in Exodus 6 has been abridged: see on Exo_6:20. On the whole, it seems more reasonable to accept the reading of the Heb. text represented by the English version, and understand the 430 years as running from the descent of Jacob into Egypt.
41. The self-same day] on the 15th day of Abib: see Exo_12:29.
42. A night to be much observed] This rendering rests on the injunction in Exo_12:14. The Heb. is literally 'a night of watching unto the Lord,' i.e. a night of vigil or watch-festival.
43-49· These directions regarding the lawful participants in the Passover seem to be introduced here in consequence of what is said about the 'mixed multitude' in Exo_12:38. The Passover is only for those who through circumcision have entered into the covenant with Jehovah. Similarly, in the Christian church baptism, which corresponds to circumcision as an initiatory rite, is necessary to partaking of the Lord's Supper.
46. See on Exo_12:9, Exo_12:10.
49. One law] i.e. of the necessity of circumcision to participation in the Passover.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v2 first month
first month
i.e. April.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain On v1 5. Redemption by Blood, the Passover and the Law…
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
Read full note →
1. The Passover instituted and the feast of unleavened bread (Exo 12:1-20)
2. The command given to the people and obeyed (Exo 12:21-28)
3. The death of the firstborn in Egypt (Exo 12:29-30)
4. The departure of the children of Israel (Exo 12:31-36)
5. From Rameses to Succoth (Exo 12:37-39)
6. The fulfillment of the 430 years (Exo 12:40-42)
7. The ordinance of the Passover (Exo 12:43-51)
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 (Exo 12:1-2). 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 (Neh 2:1; Est 3:7). It is our April.
Exo 12:1-14 give the instructions concerning the Passover, and Exo 12:15-20 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 (Joh 1:29; 1Co 5:6-7; 1Pe 1:18-19). 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 (Mat 26:5; Mar 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 (Exo 12:9-11) 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 (1Co 5:6-8). 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 Exo 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 (Num 11:4; Neh 13:3). They became a snare to the Israelites.
A word on Exo 12:40 and Exo 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.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v1 The Ordinances Concerning the Passover
The Ordinances Concerning the Passover
v. 1. And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,
Read full note →
v. 2. This month shall be unto you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. This was the first and fundamental law for the congregation of Jehovah. Up to that time the children of Israel had reckoned their year in a different manner, even as they begin their civil year in the fall to this day. By God’s order their church-year was to begin with the month of which He was then speaking, and all their church festivals were reckoned according to this new division of time.
v. 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 (or kid), according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house. From this time the children of Israel were considered the congregation of Jehovah. Every housefather was to take, to separate from the flock, a lamb or a kid. The practise was afterward narrowed to include lambs only.
v. 4. And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor 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. If the number of members in anyone household, including the children and the servants, was so small as to make their disposing of an entire lamb improbable, then two small families having about the same number of souls might unite. Custom afterwards fixed the number of participants at the meal at about ten to twelve, but the fundamental unit was the family.
v. 5. Your lamb shall be without blemish, sound in body and limb, a male of the first year, literally, a son of a year, one born the previous year; ye shall take it from the sheep or from the goats; the choice at that time was immaterial.
v. 6. And ye shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, separated from the rest of the flock, in order to keep it from contamination and infection; and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel, all the housefathers as household priests and representatives of the children of Israel, shall kill it in the evening, literally, "between the two evenings," at twilight. Custom later fixed the time at between three in the afternoon and sundown.
v. 7. And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side-posts and on the upper doorpost of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. The blood of the animal was drawn, kept from coagulating by constant stirring, and then applied to the door-posts by sprinkling or painting.
v. 8. And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Those were the three dishes expressly commanded by God, the bitter herbs being a salad of wild lettuce, endive, and other vegetables with which the roast meat apparently was garnished.
v. 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, whole, not cut in pieces, no bone broken, and the entrails in place, although, of course, cleaned. The animal, as a whole, represented the unity of Israel.
v. 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. Down to the very last morsel the meat should, if possible, be eaten, that which remained in spite of all the efforts of the assembled household being consigned to the fire. The instructions were purposely exact and detailed, in order that there might be no misunderstanding.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v1 For you, this month will be the start of…
For you, this month will be the start of months, the first month of the year to you
These two phrases mean basically the same thing and emphasize that the month in which the events of this chapter take place will be the beginning of their calendar year. (See: Parallelism)
Read full note →
the first month of the year
The first month of the Hebrew calendar includes the last part of March and the first part of April on Western calendars. It marks when Yahweh rescued the Israelites from the Egyptians. (See: Hebrew Months and Ordinal Numbers)
translationWords
Yahweh
Moses
Aaron
Egypt
year
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1–2 12:1-30 The Lord gave Moses instructions for the Passover…
12:1-30 The Lord gave Moses instructions for the Passover meal and the Festival of Unleavened Bread (12:14-20), and Moses and the people observed the first Passover (12:21-30).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.