Exodus chapter 12
THE PASSOVER
The Passover, one of the most fundamental topics in scripture, central to everything in connection with the people of God. It became the first of the seven set feasts in Israel's calendar (Leviticus 23); it was also the first of three mandatory feasts to be held each year (Exodus 23v14-15 and Deuteronomy 16v16); it was the first festival to be held on entering the promised land (Exodus 12v24-27 and Joshua 5v10-11). It is also central to the Christian faith today. Paul, writing to the Corinthian church, said,
"Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us"-1 Cor. 5v7.
The link is further enhanced by the fact that Christ Himself instituted the memorial feast for Christians at the Passover meal-Luke 22v7-20. Matthew 26v17-29. The importance of the Passover to both Judaism and Christianity is thus established. It is, therefore, necessary to observe each and every detail for such a cardinal aspect of both. We can profit by tabulating each step in the chapter.
This is an institution by God. It is not of man, even of good men, either by concept or design; it is entirely of God, and should not be altered in any way by man. Exodus 12v1 "And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying...". It was the Lord, (Jehovah-the ever existing one) who designed and demanded it. This observation is important for the fact of it is repeated in both testaments. "It is the Lord's Passover"-v11; "It is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover-v27; "In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the Lord's Passover"-Leviticus 23v5. The same emphasis is placed on the New Testament equivalent, where the Christian memorial is stated as "the Lord's Table"-1st Cor. 10v21; and the Lord's Supper-1st Cor. 11v20.
The Passover represents a NEW BEGINNING. "This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you"-refer 13v4, 23v15, 34v18, Deuteronomy 16v1,where it is called the month Abib. The term Abib refers to the time of year when the young shoots of corn begin to appear. In Nehemiah and Esther it is called Nisan, the Assyrian translation which means the month of flowers, or the mo0nth of spring. At the Passover, God changed the 7th year of the civic calendar to be the first month of the religious calendar, and so the Passover feast was instituted as an entirely new beginning. This is of courser mirrored in the Christian faith, where entrance into Christianity is described as being "born again", and the doctrine of all things new is developed: 2nd Cor. 5v17, "a new creation"; Eph. 2v15 and 4v24 "a new man". Jesus spoke of new wine; Hebrews refers to the new covenant, and the new and living way. All Christians are described as newborn babes, in which their lives have taken on a new destiny and a new character in the image of God. The importance of the Passover is enshrined in this new beginning that would radically change Israel's relationship to God, and, ultimately the believing Gentile world.
The Passover applies to all the congregation of Israel. "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."
This is the first occurrence of "the congregation of Israel"-sometimes "the congregation of the Lord". It becomes a regular reference to the sum total of God's redeemed people. No less than 149 times in 140 verses of Hebrew scriptures is this phrase cited. It refers to a gathered company, and proclaims God's view of His people in totality, He sees them as a corporate group, yet consisting of many individuals and households. This is clear from the ensuing verses. Each household had to choose a lamb of sacrifice; this would amount to thousands of lambs, yet, when the sacrifice was made it was declared "the whole congregation shall kill it in the evening". Multiple homes sacrificing, yet ONE LAMB slain. This concept is repeated in the Church in 1st Corinthians 10v17, where the Christian memorial takes place locally, yet it is declared to be the function of the corporate body the Church-"We being many are ONE BREAD, and ONE BODY: for we are all partakers of that one bread. We must not become parochial in our thinking, for when we gather for this purpose locally we are sharing communion with the corporate body, the Church. There is a progressive teaching of the slain lamb in scripture-Genesis 22, a lamb for the individual; Exodus 12, a lamb for an house; Leviticus 16, a lamb for the nation; John 1, a lamb for the world. The worth of the lamb is thus proclaimed in its efficacy for human sin.
Specification for the lamb
"Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year; ye shall take it out from the sheep or from the goats." The offering for sin must be without sin. A holy God requires a perfect sacrifice. Without blemish is without defect; the N/T adds "without spot"- 1st Peter 1v19. Blemish may be external marking, discolouration, or other defect. Spot may be an indication of internal disease. The substitute offering must be free from all evidence of defects. Of Jesus, the lamb of God, it was said He was "Holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners"-Heb. 7v26; and that He offered Himself without spot to God"-Heb. 9v14. This aspect of His offering is so crucial, for without a spotless sacrifice there is no redemption. Not a stain upon His soul, not a defect; whether from demons or men or God, the pronouncement was the same; from demons "the holy one of God"; from the judiciary of men "I find no fault in Him"; from God "My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased". In thought, in word, in deed, He was faultless, unblemished, sinless.
The type that points to Christ must fit perfectly. It must be a male of the first year, Christ was a man. It must be of the first year, that is in the full strength and vigour of youth-this was no offering of waning power or vitality. Interestingly enough, the major title for Christ in the book of Revelation is the Young Lamb, occurring 28 times. It was in the full vigour of youthful dedication that He offered Himself to God. God allowed the offering to be taken from the sheep or the goats, for not everyone would have access to lambs.
Instructions to the worshippers
Take it from the sheep or the goats on the 10th day of the month. God is concerned with timing, and the accuracy of this is awesome! Written more than 1500 years before the event it was fulfilled to the very day. Scholars tell us it can be verified that Christ entered Jerusalem on the 10th of Nisan, and was slain on the 14th Nisan. God presented Him for inspection on the day predicted. This ought to cause us to worship for the wonder of this; only God could make this happen as He foretold in Exodus.
Keep it from the 10th to the 14th day. Again, scholars tell us that from the time Jesus entered Jerusalem, until He was crucified, He was subjected to the most intense scrutiny, more than He had ever been in life. The Scribes, the Pharisees, the Sanhedrim, the Sadducees, the Priests, the Herodians, the Romans, all scrutinised Him, and could make no charge against Him that would stand. A study of the gospels reveal the level of testing during these four days. Jesus had largely avoided Jerusalem in His public ministry for His time had not yet come, but now the Divine clock compelled Him to move among them at close quarters. They stalked Him, and confronted Him in the streets, in the temple, in houses; they mocked Him insulted Him, but He was beyond reproach. This was, indeed, the Lamb without blemish ready for sacrifice. He was tested, legally, and religiously, and socially and politically, but He remained what He ever was, the perfect Lamb of God's choosing.
Kill it between the evenings. A perfect live person, sinless and irreproachable, cannot save us, He could only condemn us. He must die, His blood must be shed, if sinful man is to be saved. In the history of the bible, millions of sacrifices have been made, and rivers of blood have flowed, all pointing to the Lamb of God that must die for the sin of the world. From the beginning it has been declared that the way back to God was only on the basis of the death of a worthy substitute. The Lamb of God is not a role model to teach us how to live; He is a substitute who must die, and only in His death are we saved. It is to be killed "between the evenings"-R.V.- that is during the day of the fourteenth of the month, thus underlining the accuracy of the prediction. Jesus was crucified and died on the day of the 14th. Preparation for the Passover, and Participation of the Passover took place in the evenings, immediately before and after the day of His death.
Strike it The blood of sacrifice had to be applied to each individual household. The context was that the judgment of God would pass through Egypt to slay the firstborn of every household of man and beast, not covered by the blood. The declaration of God was "When I see the blood, I will pass over you"-Exodus 12v13, "And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are...". Preservation from the avenging angel was only through the blood. This was no mere ritual, this was a matter of life and death. There are two expressions in the New Testament, "the shedding of blood", and "the sprinkling of blood". The former is to satisfy the demands of God; the latter is the personal application to the individual. The precious blood of Christ has been shed, to the eternal satisfaction of God. Have I applied it to myself, without which, the wrath of God abides over me? This 3500 year old ritual is relevant to every living being today. This demands the attention of all, the obedience of all, the humility of all to accept God's terms.
Eat it Just as the food that we eat becomes part of our bodies, so the intake of the sacrifice of Christ for us becomes food for our souls. We are not only saved by Him, we are sustained in Him. That which symbolises Christ, for us becomes our food. The Passover is Christ in His death; the Manna is Christ in His life; the Old Corn of the land is Christ in His resurrection. All three become the food of the believer. For Israel this new life began with the Passover meal, for us today it begins with our conversion. We can now understand the instructions for eating. "Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire, his head and his legs with the purtenance thereof." The death of Christ is presented as intense suffering, and it is in that way we are to think of it. The whole lamb is to be roast with fire, the head-His mind; the legs, His walk; the purtenance (inwards), His inner motivations. All these are to occupy as we "eat the Passover", the biblical equivalent of worship. We feed on His mind, His walk, and His emotions, until He becomes part of us. They ate the roast lamb with bitter herbs, and so we measure, as we eat, the extremity of His anguish in all these aspects, as we recall the cost of our redemption. They ate it in haste, with shoes on their feet, and their loins girt. Association with God in the death of the lamb. demanded separation from idolatrous Egypt. They were to journey three days (complete separation) into the wilderness to worship God. The Passover Lamb separates us from the world and reconciles us to God.
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