It will happen, when your children ask you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ that you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of Yahweh’s Passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians, and spared our houses.’ ” The people bowed their heads and worshiped.
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Exodus 12:26-27 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said to them, “Draw out, and take lambs according to your families, and kill the Passover. You shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two door posts with the blood that is in the basin. None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. For Yahweh will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when he sees the blood on the lintel, and on the two door posts, Yahweh will pass over the door, and will not allow the destroyer to come in to your houses to strike you. You shall observe this thing for an ordinance to you and to your sons forever. It shall happen when you have come to the land which Yahweh will give you, as he has promised, that you shall keep this service. It will happen, when your children ask you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ that you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of Yahweh’s Passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians, and spared our houses.’ ” The people bowed their heads and worshiped.
Parallel Translations
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It will happen, when your children ask you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’
that you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of Yahweh’s Passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians, and spared our houses.’ ” The people bowed their heads and worshiped.
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And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service?
That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORD’s passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped.
Show all 3 translations
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And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you: What mean ye by this service?
that ye shall say: It is the sacrifice of the LORD'S passover, for that He passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when He smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses.' And the people bowed the head and worshipped.
Cross-references (25)
- Exodus 4:31 (v27) The people believed, and when they heard that Yahweh had visited the children of Israel, and that he had seen their affliction, then they…
- Exodus 12:11 (v27) 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…
- Exodus 13:14-15 (v26) It shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ that you shall tell him, ‘By strength of hand Yahweh brought…
- Deuteronomy 32:7 (v26) Remember the days of old. Consider the years of many generations. Ask your father, and he will show you; your elders, and they will tell…
- Exodus 12:23 (v27) For Yahweh will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when he sees the blood on the lintel, and on the two door posts, Yahweh will pass…
Show all 25 cross-references
- Psalms 145:4 (v26) One generation will commend your works to another, and will declare your mighty acts.
- 1 Corinthians 5:7 (v27) Purge out the old yeast, that you may be a new lump, even as you are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed in…
- Exodus 34:8 (v27) Moses hurried and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped.
- Exodus 34:25 (v27) “You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread. The sacrifice of the feast of the Passover shall not be left to the…
- Deuteronomy 16:2 (v27) You shall sacrifice the Passover to Yahweh your God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which Yahweh shall choose to cause his name to…
- Deuteronomy 16:5 (v27) You may not sacrifice the Passover within any of your gates which Yahweh your God gives you;
- Joshua 4:6-7 (v26) that this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask in the future, saying, ‘What do you mean by these stones?’ then you shall…
- Joshua 4:21-24 (v26) He spoke to the children of Israel, saying, “When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean?’…
- 1 Chronicles 29:20 (v27) Then David said to all the assembly, “Now bless Yahweh your God!” All the assembly blessed Yahweh, the God of their fathers, and bowed down…
- 2 Chronicles 20:18 (v27) Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before Yahweh, worshiping…
- 2 Chronicles 29:30 (v27) Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praises to Yahweh with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer.…
- Nehemiah 8:6 (v27) Then Ezra blessed Yahweh, the great God. All the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” with the lifting up of their hands. They bowed their heads,…
- Psalms 78:3-6 (v26) Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come…
- Isaiah 38:19 (v26) The living, the living, he shall praise you, as I do today. The father shall make known your truth to the children.
- Ephesians 6:4 (v26) You fathers, don’t provoke your children to wrath, but nurture them in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
- Exodus 10:2 (v26) and that you may tell in the hearing of your son, and of your son’s son, what things I have done to Egypt, and my signs which I have done…
- Exodus 13:8-9 (v26) You shall tell your son in that day, saying, ‘It is because of that which Yahweh did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ It shall be for a…
- Exodus 13:22 (v26) the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night, didn’t depart from before the people.
- Deuteronomy 6:7 (v26) and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and…
- Deuteronomy 11:19 (v26) You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (15 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v27 They gave God thanks for so great a benefit.
They gave God thanks for so great a benefit.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv26–27 Exo 12:26 And it shall come to pass, when…
Exo 12:26 And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service?
Ver. 26. When your children.] Children are to be carefully catechised and informed. {Eph 6:4} {See Trapp on "Eph 6:4"} Luther scorned not to profess himself discipulura catechism, a catechism scholar.
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 vv26–27 Or, part of Divine worship. God expects this even…
Or, part of Divine worship. God expects this even from the Jewish children, and much more from Christian men, that they should inquire and understand what is said or done in the public worship or service of God, and therefore not to rest in dumb signs, whereof they neither inquire nor know the meaning, or in the service of God in a language which they understand not.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv26–27 And the children of Israel went away,.... The elders…
And the children of Israel went away,.... The elders of the people, Exo 12:21 they departed to their several tribes and families at Goshen and elsewhere:
and did as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they; they took a lamb on the tenth day, and kept it till the fourteenth, on which day they slew it, and roasted it with fire, and ate it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
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 v27 The people bowed the head and worshipped - They…
The people bowed the head and worshipped - They hereby signified their submission to this institution as a law, and their thankfulness for it as a favour and privilege.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv26–27 Verse 26. What mean ye by this service?] The…
Verse 26. What mean ye by this service?] The establishment of this service annually was a very wise provision to keep up in remembrance this wonderful deliverance. From the remotest antiquity the institution of feasts, games, c., has been used to keep up the memory of past grand events. Hence God instituted the Sabbath, to keep up the remembrance of the creation and the passover to keep up the remembrance of the deliverance from Egypt. All the other feasts were instituted on similar reasons. The Jews never took their sons to the tabernacle or temple till they were twelve years of age, nor suffered them to eat of the flesh of any victim till they had themselves offered a sacrifice at the temple, which they were not permitted to do before the twelfth year of their age. It was at this age that Joseph and Mary took our blessed Lord to the temple, probably for the first time, to offer his sacrifice. See Calmet.
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 v27 Exo 12:27. The people bowed the head and worshipped…
Exo 12:27. The people bowed the head and worshipped — They hereby signified their submission to this institution as a law, and their thankfulness for it as a privilege.
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 v27 It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s passover -…
It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s passover - or This is the sacrifice of the Passover to Yahweh. The most formal and exact designation of the festival is thus given: but “the Passover” may mean either the act of God’s mercy in sparing the Israelites, or the lamb which is offered in sacrifice: more probably the latter, as in Exo 12:21. This gives a clear sense to the expression “to Yahweh;” the Passover lamb was a sacrifice offered to Yahweh by His ordinance.
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 v27 Victim, sacrificed upon the altar, in honour of the…
Victim, sacrificed upon the altar, in honour of the passage, &c. It was a true "sacrifice of propitiation," as the Arabic translates, and of thanksgiving. (Calmet)
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).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv26–27 when your children shall say, . . . What…
when your children shall say, . . . What mean ye by this service--Independently of some observances which were not afterwards repeated, the usages practised at this yearly commemorative feast were so peculiar that the curiosity of the young would be stimulated, and thus parents had an excellent opportunity, which they were enjoined to embrace, for instructing each rising generation in the origin and leading facts of the national faith.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On v27 (27) It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s passover.—Heb.,…
(27) It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s passover.—Heb., This is a passover-sacrifice to Jehovah. The emphatic word is “Passover;” and it was the meaning of this term which was especially to be explained. The explanation would involve an historical account of the circumstances of the institution, such as would be apt to call forth feelings of gratitude and devotion.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv26–27 When your children shall say unto you, what mean…
When your children shall say unto you, what mean ye by this service. Apparently, Moses adds these injunctions by his own sole authority. He assumes that curiosity will be aroused by the strange and peculiar features of the Paschal ceremony, and that each generation in succession will wish to know its meaning and origin.
Vers. 26, 27. The obligation of men to teach the true meaning of rites and ceremonies to their children.
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The rites and ceremonies of a religion are liable to be misunderstood in two ways.
1. They may be regarded as unimportant, trifling, nay, even as superstitious a weight and an encumbrance on true vital religion. Or,
2. They may be assigned more importance than is their due; considered tobe that in which religion mainly consists, believed to have an inherent power and efficacy which is far from belonging to them. Men are prone to extremes; and most persons are naturally inclined either unduly to exalt, or unduly to depreciate religious ceremonies. Of the two evils, undue depreciation would seem to be the worse, for the following reason:
I UNDUE DEPRECIATION OF CEREMONIES
(a) tends to make them of little service to men when they actually take part in them, since they neither prepare themselves properly beforehand, so as to derive from them the benefit they might, nor enter into them with much heart at the time of their occurrence, nor help their effect by devout meditation upon them afterwards.
(b) It causes an infrequent participation in the ceremonies by the depreciators, who, expecting but little benefit in the future, and being conscious of but little benefit in the past, allow small obstacles to prevent their attendance at services which they do not value.
(c) In extreme cases, it produces either complete abstention from, or sometimes actual abrogation of the rite, whereby advantages are forfeited on the part of whole sections of believers which would otherwise have been enjoyed by them. Thus the Society of Friends loses the benefit of both sacraments, with sad results to the spiritual life of numbers.
II UNDUE EXALTATION OF CEREMONIES has the advantage of at any rate retaining them in use, so that their benefit is not wholly lost. It often, however, greatly lessens the benefit
(a) by exaggerated and superstitious views of its nature, and
(b) by the attribution of the benefit to the mere formal participation in the rite irrespective of the participator"s preparation, attention, and devoutness at the time. Further, it is apt to produce such a reliance on the ceremonies as is unfavourable to practical efforts at improving the moral character and making advances towards Christian perfection. Careful instruction in the true nature and value of ceremonial observances is thus of the highest importance; and parents should perhaps scarcely wait till their children "ask the meaning" of public worship, baptism, confirmation, the Lord"s supper, etc., before enlightening them on the true nature and value of each. In so doing, it will always be of use to set forth the historical origin of each usage, to show when and how it arose, and to draw attention to what Scripture says on the subject. Men"s private views are various, and may be mistaken, but the Scriptures cannot but be true; and a knowledge of what is contained in the Bible with respect to each Christian rite or ceremony will be an excellent basis for the formation of a sound and healthy opinion on the subject when, in the course of time, the different views of different sections of believers come to be known.
Ver. 26, 27. What mean ye by this service?
Apply to the Lord"s Supper.
I A QUESTION TO BE PUT BY THE COMMUNICANT TO HIMSELF. Qualification for the Lord"s table includes "knowledge to discern the Lord"s body," as well as "faith to feed upon him.
II A QUESTION LIKELY TO BE PUT TO THE COMMUNICANT By HIS CHILDREN.
1. The children are presumed to be spectators of the ordinance. It is well that children should be present during the administration of the sacraments. It awakens their interest. It leads them to inquire.
2. The ordinance is fitted to attract attention. An external interest attachesto it. It appeals to the senses. The symbolic acts and movements prompt to inquiry.
3. It furnishes an excellent opportunity for imparting instruction. Children will attend to an explanation of the sacraments, who will pay little attention to a book or a sermon. The symbolism of the ordinance aids instruction; makes it vivid and impressive.
III A QUESTION WHICH THE CHRISTIAN PARENT SHOULD BE ABLE TO ANSWER TO HIS CHILDREN. It is a sad matter when a parent is incapable of sitting down, and instructing his children in the meaning of the sacramental symbol. It betrays something worse than ignorance; not improbably, a total want of spiritual religion.
IV THE ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION INVOLVES A STATEMENT OF THE GREATEST VERITIES OF OUR FAITH. The Jew had to answer to his child is the sacrifice, of the Lord"s passover," etc. (ver. 27). The Christian has to answer, "It is the memorial of our Lord"s death, in atonement for our sins." He has to tell
1. How we were in guilt and danger.
2. How, for the love wherewith he loved us, Christ gave himself up to thedeath for our redemption.
3. How, for his sake, we are forgiven and accepted.
4. How the ungodly world has still God"s wrath resting upon it. It iswonderful to reflect how simply, yet how perfectly, God has provided for the handing down of a testimony to these great truths in the ordinance of the Lord"s Supper. The pulpit may fail to preach the doctrine of atonement; Rationalistic and Unitarian teachers may deny it; but as often as the Lord"s Supper is observed, on the model of the New Testament, the truth is anew proclaimed in unmistakable symbols. To give a child a satisfactory explanation of the Lord"s Supper, embodying the words of institution, would be almost of necessity, to preach a sermon on the atonement. J.O.
HOMILIES BY D. YOUNG Vers. 26-27. The children"s question in Canaan.
I IT WAS A QUESTION TO BE EXPECTED. The service was one to provoke curiosity. It was not some daily action of the household, of which the children learned the meaning and purpose almost unconsciously. The grinding of the corn, the kneading of the dough, in a very short time explained themselves. But when as the beginning of the year drew round, it brought with it these special observances, the slaying and eating of the lamb and the seven days of unleavened bread, there was everything to make a child ask, "What is this being done for?" God makes one thing to fit into another. He institutes services of such a kind, with such elements of novelty and impressiveness in them, that the children make it easier for them to be instructed in the things that belong to his will. And what was true concerning this passover service, is also true, more or less, concerning all that is revealed in the Scriptures. The great facts of Divine revelation are such as to provoke curiosity, even in a child"s mind. If it be true that the Scriptures are given to guide us all the way through life, then what is more reasonable to expect than that God will have placed much in them to stir up attention and inquiry from those who are just at the beginning of life?
II HENCE THIS WAS A QUESTION TO BE ENCOURAGED. Every advantage was to be taken of childish curiosity. Inquisitive children are often reckoned a nuisance, and told to be quiet; yet such a policy as this, though it may save trouble in the present, may lead to a great deal more trouble in the future. A stupid child who never asks questions, is to be reckoned an object of pity and a source of peril. God has always in mind how to make each generation better instructed than the one going before; more obedient to him, and more serviceable for his purposes. The temptation of the grown people in Israel was to undervalue what was going on in the minds of their children. Remember how Mary and Joseph suffered through their want of forethought on this point. The God who watches human beings all the way from the cradle to the grave knows well how children, even very little children, have their own thoughts about things; and he wanted the people to give them every encouragement and information. One question wisely answered leads to the asking of other questions. Thus, by the continuance of an inquiring mood in the mind, and thus only, is profitable information to be given. Information is not to be poured into the mind as into a bucket; it must be taken as food, with appetite, and digestive and assimilating power. Thus if the question were not asked, if, while the passover preparations were being made, a child stood by in stolid unconcern, or ran away heedlessly to play, such conduct would fill a wise parent with solicitude. He would look upon it as being even more serious than a failure of physical health. He would do all he could by timely suggestions to bring the question forth. Ingenuity and patience may do much to bring curiosity into action, and if the question were not asked it would have to be assumed. The narrative of the passover was a most important one for every Israelite child to hear and remember; and if only the narrative was begun, it might soon excite the requisite and much desired interest.
III IT WAS A QUESTION WHICH GAVE GREAT SCOPE FOR USEFULNESS TO THE CHILDREN IN THE ANSWERING OF IT. God, indeed, directs how it is to be answered; but of course, it is not meant that there was to be a formal, parrot-like confinement to these words. What, for instance, could be more gratifying to the children, who in after times asked this question, than to begin by pointing out to them, how God himself expected them to ask this question? Then the words he had directed Moses to provide for an answer, might be repeated. But it would have been a poor spiritless answer, unpleasing to God, and profitless to the children, if it had stopped with the bare utterance of the words in ver. 27. There was room for much to be said, that would very peculiarly impress the mind of a thoughtful child. It might be reminded that whereas, now, little children were born in the freedom of Canaan, some among their forefathers had been born in the bondage of Egypt. It might be told of that Pharaoh who had threatened the men children with destruction. In particular, the story of the infant Moses might be told. So now, in those parts of the world where the idols are abolished, and former idolaters are gathered round the throne of grace for Christian worship, an opportunity is given for explaining to the children, in how much better a state, and with how much better surroundings they are brought up. "What mean ye by this service?" was a question which could be answered in form, and yet with such absence of heart, as utterly to chill and thwart the eager inquirer. Whereas, if it were only answered with evident care, with amplitude of detail, with loving desire to interest and satisfy, then the child thus favoured, would be laid under great obligations to be thankful in feeling, and devoted in service. A question of this sort gave great opportunity. Happy those who could seize the opportunity at once, and use it to the full.
IV IT WAS A QUESTION WHICH CAME TO CALL EVERY ISRAELITE, AT THE ANNUAL OBSERVANCE OF THE PASSOVER, TO A CAREFUL CONSIDERATION OF HIS OWN FEELINGS WITH RESPECT TO IT. It was a question which helped to guard against formality. A little child may render a great service, without knowing it, even to a grown man. God can send the little ones, to test, to rebuke, to warn, to stir out of lethargy. "What mean ye by this service?" How is the Israelite of the grown generation to answer this question? He may tell the child what the service is intended for, the historical facts out of which it arose, and the Divine appointments concerning it; but after all, this is no real answer to the question. It may be an answer to satisfy the inquiring child, and yet leave the person who has to give it, with a barbed arrow in his memory and conscience. Notice the precise terms of the question. What mean ye by this service? How should the child ask in any other terms? It looks and sees the parents doing something new and strange; and to them it naturally looks for explanation and guidance. The question is not simply, "Why is this thing being done?" but "Why are you doing it, and what do you mean by it?" It became only too possible in the lapse of ages, to go through this service in a cold, mechanical, utterly unprofitable way. Not so, we may be sure, was it observed the first time in Egypt, on the night of deliverance. Then all was excitement, novelty, and overflowing emotion. Be it ours, in considering all outward and visible acts in connection with religion, all symbolic and commemorative institutions, to ask ourselves in great closeness and candour of personal self-application, "What mean we by this service?" Do we mean anything at all, and if so, what is it that we mean? To answer this is not easy: it is not meant to be easy. Perhaps one great reason why there are such marked and unabated differences of opinion with respect to Baptism and the Lord"s Supper is, that we have never sufficiently considered the question, "What mean ye by these services?" It is hard work to be quit of mere superstition, mere clinging to outward observances as matters of custom, tradition, and respectability. It is very certain that to this question of the children, put in all its particular emphasis, only too many fathers in Israel would have been forced to reply, "We do this thing because our fathers did it." Remember that forms are, in themselves, nothing to the invisible, spiritual God. Their value is as containing, protecting and expressing what we have to present. That which pleased Jehovah and profited Israel was not the outward passover service, but the intelligence, the perceptions, the gratitude, the aspirations, and the hopes that lay behind it. Y.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v27 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Exo_12:29-32
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Exo_12:29-32
THE DEATH OF THE FIRST-BORN OF EGYPT
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I. We see here that God’s vengeance is as certainly executed upon the rebellious as it is threatened. The death of the first-born was threatened to Pharaoh some time ago, and he had had ample opportunity of obeying the Divine command, and of averting the dread penalty. But no, he still remains obstinate in heart, and will not yield to the will of God; hence the time of destruction has come. The first-born of Egypt are slain, in every house they are dead. There is great mourning in the nation. Nor has the household of the king escaped the common woe. This is not occasioned by pestilence or plague, but by the sudden stroke of Heaven. And thus are the threats of God against the sinner abundantly executed. They may be delayed, but they will not be forgotten. They are awfully certain. The greatness of the calamity will not prevent its final execution; even though it require the death of a vast multitude, the threat of Heaven will come to pass. Let not the sinner imagine that he can escape the retributions of God, either through the inability or unwillingness of God to inflict them, or through his own ability to resist them. Men cannot elude the stroke of Heaven.
II. We see here that God’s vengeance is upon all sinners, no matter what their social position, whether king or beggar. There was death in the palace as well as in the dungeon, in the family of the king as well as in the midst of the slaves. The judgments of God are characterised by equity; they are without partiality. They are no respector of persons. They are not turned aside by social accidents, nor are they bribed by cunning and winning arrangements. Moral considerations determine the retributions of human life. There is no impediment in the way of Divine justice and the execution of its sentence upon all men. God can send His messengers into the palace as well as into the dungeon; bolts and bars, guards and sentinels, cannot keep out the subtle angel of death. Death has many doors into the homes of men. He takes the rich from their wealth, the poor from their misery; and perhaps in the next life the relations of men may be inverted—the poor man may be the prince and the prince, the slave in the dungeon.
III. We see here that God’s vengeance comes upon sinners when they least expect it, and in their moments of fancied security. It was night. All Egypt was in slumber. Men were not even dreaming of approaching ill. There was nothing to disturb their usual repose; when suddenly a cry arose, which every moment gathered volume until it became a piercing wail. Mothers were attending to their loved ones, and watching them pass into the silence of death. And this was the scene throughout the homes of Egypt. And so, the judgments of Heaven often come upon sinners when least anticipated, in the midst of carnal repose and fancied security. Then they awake, but for a moment, and too late, to find that the stern messenger of eternal justice has seized upon them. It often happens that when men are the most insensible to the retributions of Heaven, they are the nearest to it. God sometimes comes to the wicked soul in the midnight hour. The darkness cannot hide from Him. We know not what will be in the approaching night.
IV. We see here that God’s vengeance may make the most obstinate sinners yield to the demands of Heaven.
1. We see that Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron. The terrible stroke of death had indeed done its sad work; and the Monarch of Egypt, alarmed, was glad to get rid of those who. had occasioned him and his nation so much calamity. And thus the purpose of Heaven is at last accomplished. Israel is free; and the two servants of God are rejoiced to see the glad result of their long and anxious toil. It was a moment of deep humility for the king; it was a moment of triumph for Moses and Aaron. How strangely are the scenes of life blended in this world, even at one and the same time! This midnight hour was to Egypt the hour of death, but to Israel it was the hour of freedom. The same hour brings different and varied events and emotions even to the same people.
2. We see that Pharaoh yielded to the demand of Heaven. He gave the Israelites their freedom, and so regarded the claim of God as enforced by severe retribution. True there was not much virtue in the obedience of Pharaoh as it was occasioned by awful plague. But do we not in this incident see the supreme folly of sin and rebellion against God? The sinner will have to yield to the demands of Heaven, and hence the wisdom of an immediate compliance thereto. Why suffer so many dreadful plagues to no purpose? Surely it is better to fall in with the Divine arrangement at first, than to have such painful visitations of vengeance only to yield at last. It is well to avoid the penalties of sin, though this is the very lowest motive for obedience to the will of Heaven. The submission of Pharaoh:—
(1) It was immediate upon the plague.
(2) It was complete in its obedience.
(3) It was comprehensive in its injunction.
(4) It was welcomed by the Egyptians. And thus culminated the judgments of Heaven upon the land of Pharaoh; the sufferings of Israel in a cruel bondage; and the toils of His devoted ministers in reference to a proud king.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Exo_12:29-30. It is God’s miraculous distinguishing judgment to kill the first-born only.
Choice of beasts, as well as men, God strikes for man’s sin.
Vengeance makes a terrible rousing to the wicked from their midnight rest.
God’s wrath makes the wicked howl in their midnight wakings.
It is God’s eminent stroke when no house escapes without the slaughter of some.
ILLUSTRATIONS
BY
REV. WM. ADAMSON
Religions Tuition! Exo_12:27. Moses might well have been daunted in his mission to instruct Israel in Religion. To teach a set of wild, ignorant boys is no easy matter. The teacher may have received many hints and practical suggestions from his pastor; but the task will still be arduous. Just so with Moses: God had counselled him in many points, and furnished him with useful data of instruction; still it would prove up-hill work. We find, however, that he grappled to the difficulty With spirit. Arthur Madden did the same, when divinely sent to instruct a class of roughs in the hamlet where he lived. The most discouraging feeling to him was that he was only breaking up fallow ground for another to sow in; that he was only commencing a work which another would be privileged to complete. And if Moses thus felt, he was able to grasp the fact that his was a great mission of instructing Israel, one great work to be carried on from age to age, employing many generations of workers; and that therefore his duty was to work with might and main, uprearing in the midst of Israel’s vast host an edifice or temple of religions principle, which would last longer than the pyramids, those gray piles of hieroglyphic grandeur beneath whose shadows they were then in slavery, and which have survived the language which the Pharaohs spoke—
“Preserving its dead emblems to the eye,
Yet hiding from the mind what these reveal.”
—Montgomery.
Divine Dealings! Exo_12:29. It is no use to coax or flatter the tiger, which has seized your babe, and whose teeth have met in its little thigh. You must thrust the flaming brand or the glittering spear into its face; then it will howl and drop its victim in the shock of sudden pain. How fondly will you staunch the bleeding wounds, and undo the cruel injury inflicted on your child! God found that mild measures would not influence Pharaoh to release his prey, that he only snarled, and bit all the more cruelly. No wonder that He hurled His flaming brand or glittering sword in the Egyptian lion’s face, and forced him to let go his bruised and palpitating victim. How tenderly God bound up Israel’s wounds when He had allured their host into the wilderness! So does He deal with our oppressors and ourselves. On them He pours His righteous judgments; while on His own He showers deliverances: Why? That we may become holy as He is holy—
“Complete thy purpose, that we may become
Thy perfect image, O our God and Lord.”
Divine Distinctions! Exo_12:30. Israel’s first-born were unharmed. Side by side stood two houses. The one was that of a publican of worthless character, who took pleasure in giving every annoyance to God’s people, and inflicting injuries upon those who were earnest Christians. The other was that of a family which honoured God—hallowed their roof-tree and daily life with prayer, and hoped for an inheritance in heaven. One night, the publican’s house caught fire, and being chiefly of wood, it burnt like tinder. The family at the castle and the people of the village gathered in groups to arrest, if possible, the progress of the flames. It was soon apparent that their efforts were fruitless, and that the fire would speedily spread its ravages to the neighbour’s cottage. When all were anxiously watching the fiery element, which had now almost wholly consumed the publican’s haunt, suddenly a tremendous torrent of pelting rain fell, hissing and steaming on the burning wreck and the fire-cracked ground, and soon driving many of the crowd to seek shelter within their hornet. That Providence saved the next house from sharing the fate of its neighbour; and thus, as God preserved Israel while He punished Pharaoh, so was the home of Abner Stone protected, whilst that of the godless Dan Ford was wholly destroyed—
“Angels of life and death alike are His;
Without His leave they pass no threshold o’er.”
—Lowell.
Moral Freedom! Exo_12:31. A traveller, who was both a scholar and a high-born gentleman, fell into the hands of pirates, and was carried off to some robber nest on the Barbary shore. There for the rest of his life was he left to languish, rowing the galley, grooming the charger, and tending the cattle of his Moslem master. Could ought be more bitter and heartbreaking! He had tastes which could no longer be cultivated, longings which could no longer be gratified, relations who could no longer be visited, and spiritual emotions which could be confessed only to incur taunts and mockery. Something like this was the experience of free-born Israel, and how welcome freedom! Certainly similar to this was the condition of Adam when he fell into the bondage of sin, until he became familiarised with his serfdom. Even then, there comes across the human mind a longing to taste the sweets of the glorious liberty of the children of God. The Paschal Lamb pledges our deliverance from sin-tyranny. The Blood of Sprinkling gives a happy exodus from the Egypt of Satan’s domination. We have redemption through His blood—
“Dearly are we bought, for God
Bought us with His own heart’s blood.”
—Hart.
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.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v26 He set our households free
He set our households free
This means that Yahweh spared the Israelites' firstborn sons. AT: "He did not kill the firstborn sons in our houses" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
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as Yahweh had commanded Moses and Aaron
"everything that Yahweh told Moses and Aaron to do"
translationWords
children
worship
sacrifice
Yahweh
Passover
Israel
Egypt
household
free
bow
command
Moses
Aaron
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 v26 12:26-27 In the future, the Passover celebration would be…
12:26-27 In the future, the Passover celebration would be a memorial reminding future generations of Israelites of God’s grace in providing them a way of escape from death. For more than 3,000 years the Jewish people have celebrated this great formative event in their history.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.