Exodus 12:
“The Lord Delivers The Children Of
By
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In our last study, we looked at chapters 10 and 11 of the book of Exodus.
1.1.1. We looked at plagues eight and nine that the Lord
poured out upon the Egyptians through Moses, prior to that last act in which
the Lord kills the firstborn throughout the
1.1.2. We saw that the Lord was turning up the heat on
Pharaoh to release the Israelites and let them leave and worship their God in
the wilderness, however we saw that the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart so that
he would not respond to the warnings the Lord gave him and let the Israelites
leave.
1.2.
In our study
today, we are going to look at chapters 12 of the book of Exodus.
1.2.1. We are going to look at the all important doctrinal foundation
from this book that forms all orthodox Christian theology concerning the
substitutionary sacrifice and atonement of blood as symbolized by the Passover
Lamb that each family in the nation of Israel is commanded to slay and eat and
then pour the blood of the lamb over the doorposts and lintel of their
house. Doing this will keep away the
angel of death who will come over the nation of
1.2.2. We will look at dozens of types of Christ and the work
of Christ performed upon
2.
VS 12:1-5 - “1
Now the Lord said to Moses and
Aaron in the
2.1.
The Lord
establishes a whole new calendar for the nation of
2.2.
Jesus Christ is
referred to as a “lamb” numerous places in the scripture, all of which
point back His being typified as the Passover “lamb” that was sacrificed
at this time, including:
2.2.1. The first mention of a “lamb” for sacrifice is
found in Genesis 22:8, and note that
this says that the Lord will provide “Himself” a lamb, in other words He
will become the lamb of the sacrifice: “8
Abraham said, “God will provide Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my
son.” So the two of them walked on together.”
2.2.2. I Isaiah prophesied that the suffering Messiah would
be a lamb in Isaiah 53:7: “7 He was oppressed and He
was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to
slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not
open His mouth.”
2.2.3. John the Baptist declared
that Jesus was “the lamb of God” in John
1:29: “29 The next day he saw Jesus
coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the
world!”
2.2.4. He is the unblemished and spotless lamb in 1 Peter
1:18-19: “18 knowing that you were not
redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of
life inherited from your forefathers, 19 but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished
and spotless, the blood of Christ.”
2.2.5. He is the resurrected and ruling lamb who is worthy of
worship as He sits upon His throne in Revelation 5:12, “12 saying with a loud voice,
“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and
might and honor and glory and blessing.””
2.3.
Why did the Lord require a lamb and the blood of the
slain lamb poured on the doorposts of the houses in order to keep away the
Angel of Death who would come over the nation of
2.3.1. The issue has to do with
the fact of sin and its consequences.
Mankind had fallen into sin and every man, woman, and child on the earth
is subsequently born into sin. Sin
separates a man or woman from God. God
is a holy and a just God and man’s sin required a penalty to be paid. The penalty of sin though is death (Rom.
6:23). Mankind deserved to die and each
person would have died and suffered the full penalty for his/her sin, but God
is also loving and kind and did not want to punish mankind. Therefore, God the Father was willing to send
His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to come and to die in our place so that we
do not have to die. His was a
substitutionary death for He died in our place.
The lamb without spot or blemish who was to be slain and have its blood
poured on the doorposts of the houses symbolized the Lord Jesus Christ, the
lamb of God, whose blood was shed upon Calvary’s cross in an atoning sacrifice
so that it could be the covering or atonement over our sin as God’s people. Thus was the justice and wrath of God being
fully satisfied because Jesus Christ as mankind’s kinsman redeemer qualified to
be a worthy substitute for us and could die in our place. The angel of death was going to go over every
household, killing the firstborn of every one that did not have the blood as a
covering or atonement for those in the house.
2.4.
The lamb had to
be without spot or blemish and this symbolized the fact that not any sacrifice
would suffice as a substitute for the sin of mankind. Only the Lord Jesus Christ, the one whom
Peter called the “lamb without spot or blemish” (1 Peter 1:19) could
qualify to be worthy to atone for the sins of mankind.
2.5.
Notice that for each individual and family in the nation
of
2.6.
In Exodus 12:27,
the Passover is referred to as a “sacrifice”: “you shall say, ‘It is a Passover sacrifice to the Lord who passed over the houses of the
sons of
2.7.
Every subsequent Passover feast the lamb for each
household was to be slain by the priests in the tabernacle or temple, and in
the place prescribed by the Lord (Deuteronomy 16:4-5; 12:5-6; Numbers 9:6-7;
13; Exodus 23:18; 2 Chronicles 35:11; Ezra 6:20).
3.
VS 12:6-11 - “6 ‘You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the
same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of
3.1.
The Lord prescribes exactly how the Passover sacrifice is
to be performed, and the Passover feast is to be eaten. The Lord always requires mankind to come to
Him only according to the way in which He has proscribed. Any attempt by man to come to Him any other
way is strictly forbidden.
3.2.
The author makes
it clear here that the Passover lamb had to be ‘killed.’ This symbolizes the fact that Jesus Christ
did in fact have to die upon the cross of
3.3.
The unleavened
bread was to be eaten with ‘bitter herbs’ and this is symbolic of the
fact that one who comes to saving faith in Christ must come via repentance and
dying to self.
3.4.
Notice that the
blood must be put on the doorposts and lintels of a person’s house. This signifies the fact that a person has to
personally “appropriate” the blood of Jesus Christ over his own life in
order to receive salvation. The fact
that Jesus Christ died is not enough in and of itself for mankind. The blood of his sacrifice must be applied to
our lives. This “appropriating is
done” by personally believing upon the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation,
just as these scriptures tell us:
3.4.1. John 1:12-13: “12
But as
many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe
in His name, 13 who were born, not of
blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”
3.4.2. John 3:15-16: “15
so that whoever believes will in
Him have eternal life. 16 “For God so
loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in
Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
John 3:18: “18 “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not
believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the
only begotten Son of God.”
3.4.3. John 11:26: “26
and everyone who lives and
believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?””
3.4.4. John 20:31: “31
but
these have been written so that you
may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you
may have life in His name.”
3.4.5. Acts 13:39: “39
and
through Him everyone who believes is
freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of
Moses.”
3.4.6. Acts 13:48: “48
When
the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of
the Lord; and as many as had been
appointed to eternal life believed.”
3.4.7. Acts 16:31: “31
They
said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and
you will be saved, you and your household.””
3.4.8. Romans 10:9-10:
“9 that if you confess with your
mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from
the dead, you will be saved; 10
for
with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the
mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”
3.4.9. 1 Corinthians 1:21:
“21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come
to know God, God was well-pleased
through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.”
3.4.10.Galatians 2:16:
“16 nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law
but through faith in Christ Jesus, even
we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in
Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law
no flesh will be justified.”
3.4.11.Galatians 3:22:
“22 But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those
who believe.”
3.4.12.Ephesians 2:8-9:
“8 For by grace you have been saved
through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of
God; 9 not as a result of works, so that
no one may boast.”
3.4.13.1 John 5:13: “13
These things I have written to
you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you
have eternal life.”
3.5.
Today, many
churches are buying into the doctrine of “Universalism.” This teaches that because of Jesus’ Christ
sacrifice that everyone is already saved and none shall go to hell. However, to hold this view one must
misunderstand sin and the consequences of sin causing men and women to be
separated from God, plus the fact that one must personally believe in Jesus
Christ in order to be saved. Also, this
view comes as a result of a misunderstanding about the nature of God. God is holy and just and must punish sin (“He
will in no wise let the guilty go unpunished”), but He is also loving and
doesn’t want to punish mankind.
Therefore, it was because of His love that He sent His only begotten Son
to come and die upon
3.6.
The blood is to be put on the two doorposts and the
lintel of each of the houses and this is because the blood is intended to have
its effect in a god-ward direction.
When the Lord sees the blood of Christ over the life of an individual He
is pleased and His wrath completely appeased towards that person’s sin.
3.7.
The flesh of the lamb
was to be completely eaten by each family which is to symbolize the fact that
the Lord Jesus Christ is the “Bread of Life” and meant to be the
sustenance of His people, and He is to be our complete sufficiency. To explain this concept, Jesus Christ said
that His disciples must eat His flesh and drink His blood to have eternal life
in His Bread of Life discourse (John 6:54-56).
3.8.
The Passover Lamb
was not to be boiled but completely roasted in fire which symbolizes the fiery
crucible of the
3.9.
If any of the lamb is left over in the morning, the Lord
tells Moses that it is to be burned with fire.
4.
VS 12:11-12 - “11 ‘Now you shall eat it in this manner: with your
loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you
shall eat it in haste—it is the Lord’s
Passover. 12 ‘For I will go through
the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the
land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will
execute judgments—I am the Lord.” - The Lord tells Moses that the Israelites were
to eat the Passover lamb in haste, for it is the Lord’s Passover, and when they
eat it they are to have their loins girded, sandals on their feet, and their
staff in their hand
4.1.
Notice here that
we are told that this ‘is the Lord’s
Passover.’ This was not man’s institution
nor came about as a result of the will of man.
The Passover was instituted by God as an illustration of the way for
which mankind may come into relationship with the Lord, by the blood of Jesus
Christ.
4.2.
The Lord tells Moses that the children of
4.3.
Salvation for the Christian involves separation from the
world. We have seen that
4.3.1. In our previous studies of the plagues we saw that the
Lord required that the children of
4.3.1.1.Galatians 1:4:
“4 who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us
from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father.”
4.3.1.2.John 15:19: “19
If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are
not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world
hates you.”
4.3.1.3.John 17:14: “14
I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are
not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”
4.3.1.4.James 4:4: “4
You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is
hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world
makes himself an enemy of God.”
4.3.1.5.Hebrews 13:13:
“13 So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His
reproach.”
4.3.1.6.2 Corinthians 6:17:
“17 “Therefore, come
out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord. “And do not touch what is unclean; And I
will welcome you.”
4.3.1.7.1 John 2:15: “15
Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the
world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
4.3.2. Pharaoh, who symbolizes
Satan, tried to get the children of
4.3.2.1.Likewise, the Devil tries
to get God’s people to compromise their faith and conduct so that they might
stumble in their faith and also have a bad testimony before the people of this
world.
4.4.
The eating of the Passover meal in haste and being ready
to go also symbolizes that the person who becomes a believer in Christ is not
meant to be a spectator in the things of God, not a couch potato Christian, but
he is to step out and let the Lord work through His life. He is called to serve not to sit.
5.
VS 12:13-15 - “13 ‘The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses
where you live; 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. 14 ‘Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you
shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lord;
throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a permanent
ordinance. 15 ‘Seven days you shall eat
unleavened bread, but on the first day you shall remove leaven from your
houses; for whoever eats anything leavened from the first day until the seventh
day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.” - The Lord tells Moses that the blood will be a
sign to them and that when the Lord sees the blood that He will pass over that
house, and the day shall be a memorial to them and celebrated throughout their
generations as a permanent ordinance, and in preparation for the day each year
the children of Israel are for the week before it to remove all leaven from
their houses and not eat any unleavened bread
5.1.
Verse 13 may indicate that the Lord Himself is the angel
of death who will take the lives of all of the firstborn.
5.2.
The day is meant to be a memorial to the children of
5.3.
‘Leaven’ in the scripture is symbolic of “sin,”
and thus we see here that in preparation for this Passover day every year the
children of Israel are to have no “leaven” in their house and eat no
unleavened bread. This symbolizes the
importance of having your life pure before the Lord as a Christian and not
allowing unconfessed sin to remain in your life. A pure sanctified heart and mind is where the
Lord wants to dwell, and the person typified by this shall be blessed by the
Lord.
6.
VS 12:16-20 - “16 ‘On the first day you shall have a holy assembly,
and another holy assembly on the seventh day; no work at all shall be
done on them, except what must be eaten by every person, that alone may be
prepared by you. 17 ‘You shall also 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 permanent ordinance. 18 ‘In the first month, on the fourteenth day
of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first
day of the month at evening. 19
‘Seven days there shall be no leaven found in your houses; for whoever eats
what is leavened, that person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel,
whether he is an alien or a native of the land. 20 ‘You shall not eat anything leavened; in all your
dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.’ ”” - The Lord gives Moses more information on how
to carry out the celebration of the Passover
6.1.
Notice that the Passover lamb was only to be prepared by
each family for themselves and that they were not to have anyone bring in or
prepare that meal for them, for it says:
‘that alone may be prepared by you.’ This is to signify that each believer is to
take hold of the Lord individually and that you cannot get into God’s kingdom
based upon the faith of anyone else.
6.2.
Notice also that it “must be eaten by every person”
also symbolizing the same point as above that each individual must take hold of
the Lord individually if they are to be saved.
6.3.
Notice that the non-Jew “alien” living in your
house must also not eat any leavened bread during that week or he shall be cut
off.
7.
VS 12:21-25 - “21 Then Moses called for all the elders of
7.1.
We have to admire Moses’ obedience and godly tenacity to
do as the Lord told him and go to the children of Israel and tell them about
the Passover lamb and how the lives of their firstborn would only be spared if
they in fact carried out the regulations of the Passover feast and put the
blood of the Passover lamb upon their doorposts. Surely Moses must have wondered if the
children of
7.2.
Moses told the Israelites to take a bunch of ‘hyssop’
and to dip it in the blood and they use the ‘hyssop’ to administer the
blood to their line and two doorposts. ‘Hyssop’
symbolizes faith that is the means to appropriate the blood of Christ to our
hearts and thus receive salvation. We
believe in Jesus Christ and that He died for our sins and rose again on the
third day and thus we are saved.
7.3.
The requirement to stay in their houses throughout the
night that the angel of death passes over symbolizes the Christian must
persevere faithful in his faith in Christ until the end in order to be saved:
7.3.1. Hebrews 3:6: “but Christ was faithful as a Son over His
house—whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our
hope firm until the end.”
7.3.2. Hebrews 3:14: “For we have become
partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until
the end.”
7.3.3. Matthew 10:22:
“22 You will be hated by all because of My name,
but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.”
7.4.
The fact that all
would be saved in one’s household if the blood was on their doorposts and
lintel, and this was to be appropriated by faith, is surely where the similar
concept in Acts 16:31 came from: “31
They
said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your
household.””
8.
VS 12:26-38 - “26 “And when your children say to you, ‘What does
this rite mean to you?’ 27 you shall say, ‘It is a
Passover sacrifice to the Lord who
passed over the houses of the sons of
8.1.
Moses told the children of Israel that one day they would
tell their children of the incredible things that the Lord had done on their
behalf in sparing them and yet taking the lives of all of the firstborn of all
of the Egyptians.
8.2.
The children of
8.3.
Notice here how believing God’s word always leads a
person to worship the Lord.
8.4.
The children of
9.
VS 12:29-33 - “29 Now it came about at midnight that the Lord struck all the firstborn in the
9.1.
The angel of the Lord came through all of the
9.2.
We can imagine the chaos, grief, anger, fear, and angst
of the people of the
9.3.
Notice that there was not a single home throughout the
land that did not have blood applied to its doorposts and lintel where there
was also not a dead body.
10.
VS 12:34-36 - “34 So the people took their dough before it was
leavened, with their kneading bowls bound up in the clothes on their
shoulders. 35 Now the sons of Israel
had done according to the word of Moses, for they had requested from the
Egyptians articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing; 36 and the Lord
had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them
have their request. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.” - We read that the children of
11.
VS 12:37-39 - “37 Now the sons of
11.1. If just the men numbered
600,000, there were probably at least 2 million people who left
11.2. Notice here that a ‘mixed
multitude’ also went out with the children of
12.
VS 12:40-51 - “40 Now the time that the sons of
12.1. Note here some new
regulations for observance of the Passover throughout the generations of the
children of
12.1.1.Your slave could eat of
the Passover meal with you.
12.1.2.A sojourner or a hired
servant could not eat the meal with you.
12.1.3.You were not to eat the
meal at someone else’s house.
12.1.4.Your were not to bring
any of the flesh of the lamb outside of your house.
12.1.5.You were not to break any
bone of the Passover lamb (we know that this symbolized Christ who did not have
a single bone break during His crucifixion, and not even his legs were broken
after he had hung on the cross for the day).
12.1.6.If a stranger sojourned
with you he could eat of the Passover and celebrate with you only if all of his
males were circumcised.
13.
CONCLUSIONS:
13.1. Have you applied the
blood of the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (Jesus Christ)
upon the doorposts and lintels of your heart and life?