Exodus 12 describes the establishment of the Passover.
If you don’t normally watch our YouTube videos, the next few videos would be highly beneficial to view. Rudy Ross provides an excellent explanation of the Passover, drawing upon his extensive knowledge of Hebrew life.
The Israelites are about to exit slavery in Egypt and become a nation.
But before this took place, a divine consecration was necessary. Their outward freedom from the land of Egypt needed to be accompanied by freedom from everything of an Egyptian or idolatrous nature.
The Passover festival was to lay the foundation for Israel’s birth into a new life of grace and fellowship with God. They were to renew it forever. As Rudy explains, this is the longest running festival in human history.
The Beginning of a New Year
The creation of Israel began with the institution of the Passover, which also marked the beginning of the year.
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you” (Exodus 12:1-2).
More than likely, the Egyptians celebrated the overflowing of the Nile at the summer solstice as the beginning of their year. God commanded a different beginning for His people.
The Passover Lamb
God gave Moses detailed prescriptions for the Passover experience.
“Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household.
If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbor in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it.
Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year-old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats.
You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight” (Exodus 12:3-6).
The lamb was to be free from blemish and injury. This recognized the sacredness of the purpose to which they were devoted, but it was also a symbol of the moral integrity of the persons represented by the sacrifice.
God freed the people not only to escape the bondage of slavery and enjoy a new life, but also so they could represent Him in the world. Genesis 12 recounts the call, not just of Abraham, but of all his descendants, who He has called to be a blessing to the world.
“I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3).
Freed people need to be free from sin and self, so they can live in union with God and reflect His character to a watching world.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus highlighted the eternal principle of mission and morality.
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything but is thrown out and trampled under foot” (Matthew 5:13).
Propitiation and Expiation
Two theological terms, propitiation and expiation, help explain how sin is addressed in relation to God. Propitiation speaks of an action that appeases God’s wrath, while expiation refers to the act of removing the sin that causes that wrath.
Both words translate the same Hebrew or Greek word and highlight different emphases.
The hyssop that was used for applying blood to the doorposts and lintel of homes was always used in reference to propitiation and expiation.
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 lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water but roasted over the fire, with its head, legs, and inner organs.
You shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn with fire.
This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand, and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the Passover of the Lord” (Exodus 12:7-11).
In Egypt, the Israelites had no common altar. For this reason, the houses in which they assembled for the Passover were consecrated as altars.
The lamb or goat was not to be boiled, because to do so, it would have had to be cut to fit within a cooking pot. It was more than likely roasted over a fire on a spit.
The integrity and unity of the lamb given to them to eat was a picture of the undivided unity and fellowship with the Lord, the One who had provided them with a meal.
The bitter herbs were meant to remind the Israelites of the bitterness of life experienced in Egypt, and this bitterness was to be overpowered by the pleasant taste of the lamb.
Judgment and Salvation
The Passover meant judgment for the Egyptians, but deliverance for the obedient Hebrews whose homes were marked with blood on the doorposts and lintels.
I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from human to animal, 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 live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt” (Exodus 12:12-13).
God declared that He would be a judge against the Egyptians and their false gods. The gods of Egypt were spiritual authorities and powers that governed the life and the spirit of the Egyptians.
While God passed over the Hebrews, they learned that little help was to be found in their gods, and how vain and false was their worship of them.
Today, we can view the Passover in relation to our own sin. God sees all the sins we have committed. However, when we trust in Jesus, God sees the shed blood of His Son instead of our sins.
Because of this, He passes over us, grants us forgiveness, and offers us fellowship with Him.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this on YouTube today.
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