Scripture: The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household. And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.
“Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD’S Passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.
“This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. On the first day you shall hold a holy assembly, and on the seventh day a holy assembly. No work shall be done on those days. But what everyone needs to eat, that alone may be prepared by you. And you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day, throughout your generations, as a statute forever. In the first month, from the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. For seven days no leaven is to be found in your houses. If anyone eats what is leavened, that person will be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a sojourner or a native of the land. You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwelling places you shall eat unleavened bread.”
Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and select lambs for yourselves according to your clans, and kill the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you. You shall observe this rite as a statute for you and for your sons forever. And when you come to the land that the LORD will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this service. And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ you shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORD’S Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.'” And the people bowed their heads and worshiped.
Then the people of Israel went and did so; as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.
Exodus 12:1-28 ESV [Click here to read the entire chapter.]
Observation: Recapping Yesterday’s Daily Focus, Yahweh commands Moses to instruct fellow Israelites to ask their Egyptian neighbors for their gold and silver jewelry. Thus, Moses confronts Pharaoh with no plea bargain but instead conveys the details of this last plague of death and the Egyptians’ response:
- It will extend from the palace to the non-Hebrew slave quarters.
- Their cries of anguish will exceed past and future lament.
- Neither the Egyptians nor even their dogs will resist Israel.
- Pharaoh’s subjects will bow to Moses and implore the Hebrews and other God-fearers who follow them to leave.
- God will leave Egypt when the Egyptians bow to him and beg him to leave, implying that Pharaoh will have no say in the matter.
Then, burning with anger, Moses abruptly leaves Pharaoh’s court. Along the way, Yahweh reminds Moses that Pharaoh will not heed his words so that the Lord’s wonders “may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.” Lastly, to no surprise, hard-hearted Pharaoh refuses to let God’s people go.
Today’s reading presents an instructional interlude on how to observe the Passover here and each subsequent year commencing on the tenth day of the now-designated first month of the Hebrew calendar (Abib):
- Select a śeh (lamb or kid) according to the number of people who are present (v.4)
- The animal must be a year-old male without defect (v.5)
- Slaughter the animal at twilight on the fourteenth day (v.6)
- Apply the animal’s blood to the doorframe (v.7)
- Eat the roasted lamb or kid with bitter herbs and unleavened bread to remember the anguish of slavery (v.8)
- Roast the meat in whole with the head and legs intact and the washed intestines left inside (v.9)
- Burn all leftovers before sunrise to prevent the profaning of the sacrifice (v.10)
- Eat the meal with haste and expectancy, symbolized by tucking the robe in the belt, wearing sandals, and holding the staff in hand (v.11)
- For seven days, starting on the 14th, remove all leaven from the house and eat only unleavened bread (v.15)
- Observe a holy assembly of rest on the first and seventh day (v.16)
Thus, proper observance of the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread (14th-21st) required that future generations vigilantly wait, watch, and act their part in this reenactment of the Exodus to freedom. And with the advent of a new calendar year, Passover signaled new beginnings for God’s people (echoing their Creation story).
Takeaway: For the original audience (Israel poised to enter the Promised Land), in addition to the above remembrances of suffering, haste, and expectancy, observing the Passover Feast reminded them of God’s character (holy, all-powerful, like no other god) and nature (deliverer and sacrificial redeemer). The celebration also points to Israel’s relationship with Yahweh as his treasured possession set apart (holy) to serve him (priests). Indeed, upon arrival at the sacred Mountain (Mount Sinai), Yahweh instructs Moses to say to his people, “Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel” (Exodus 19:5-6). Still, to fulfill their calling, Israel must obey God’s commands as his covenant keepers). Otherwise, like the stubborn, rebellious Pharaoh, there will be no Passover, for they will face humiliation and death.
Our takeaway? Theologian Peter Enns notes, “The Passover is not simply a matter of a lamb replacing the Israelites’ firstborn. It is also God purchasing, so to speak, the redemption of his firstborn son Israel through the death of the Egyptian firstborn, since it was precisely this catastrophe that led Pharaoh to call for Israel’s release” (The NIV Application Commentary: Exodus, p.254). In sum, Enns says that shedding blood symbolizes God’s ownership of the firstborn and his means to protect his firstborn son: Israel then, the Church today. How so? Under the New Covenant, the Passover points us to the Cross, where the Father’s only begotten Son laid down his life, shedding his blood to ensure we are the Father’s prized possession. And the observance of the Last Supper in the sacrament of Holy Communion is our regular “holy assembly.”
Our part? Like Israel, we must watch for our Warrior King to act through his Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ last days, he commanded his disciples to watch prayerfully (Mark 14:38) and act (go and make disciples of all nations; Matthew 28:18-19). The same applies to us today. We remember the sacrifice of our Lord in the eating of the bread and drinking of the wine. Then, empowered by his presence, we move out, prayerfully watching for where the Holy Spirit is working, and do our part as Christ’s hands, feet, and voice to make disciples of all nations.
Prayer: Father God, we thank you for the sacrifice of your Son, our Passover Lamb, who has set us free from sin, ensuring our adoption as your prized possession. So please help us watch for our Warrior King to act through the power of the Holy Spirit to set free those imprisoned by sin and join with him to usher them into your sacred kingdom of priests. Amen.
Rev. Gordon Green, M.Div., M.A. Counseling
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