Exodus 12

Exodus 12:1

12:1-10 The LORD gave detailed instructions to Moses and Aaron on how to prepare for the primary Passover. The lamb, of course, is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ (1Co_5:7). It was to be without blemish, speaking of the sinlessness of Christ; a male of the first year, perhaps suggesting our Lord’s being cut off in the prime of life; kept until the fourteenth day of the . . . month, pointing forward to the Savior’s thirty years of private life in Nazareth, during which He was tested by God, then publicly for three years by the full scrutiny of man; killed by the congregation of Israel, as Christ was taken by wicked hands and slain (Act_2:23); killed at twilight, between the ninth and eleventh hours, as Jesus was killed at the ninth hour (Mat_27:45-50). Its blood was to be applied to the door, bringing salvation from the destroyer (v. 7), just as the blood of Christ, appropriated by faith, brings salvation from sin, self, and Satan. The flesh was to be roasted with fire, picturing Christ enduring God’s wrath against our sins. It was to be eaten with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs, symbolizing Christ as the food of His people.

We should live lives of sincerity and truth, without the leaven of malice and wickedness, and with true repentance, always remembering the bitterness of Christ’s suffering. Not a bone of the lamb was to be broken (v. 46), a stipulation that was literally fulfilled in the case of our Lord (Joh_19:36). 12:11-20 The first Passover was to be observed by a people ready to travel, a reminder to us that pilgrims on a long journey should travel light. The Passover was so named because the Lord passed over the houses where the blood was applied. The expression “passover” does not mean “pass by.” Cole explains: Whether it was correct etymology or a pun, pesah to Israel meant “a passing-over” or “a leaping over” and was applied to God’s act in history on this occasion, in sparing Israel. The Passover was on the fourteenth day of Israel’s religious calendar year (v. 2). Closely connected with the Passover was the Feast of Unleavened Bread. On that first Passover night, the people left Egypt in such a hurry that there was no time for the dough to become leavened (vv. 34, 39). Thereafter, in keeping the Feast for seven days, they would be reminded of the speed of their exodus. But since leaven speaks of sin, they would also be reminded that those who have been redeemed by blood should leave sin and the world (Egypt) behind them. Whoever ate leavened bread would be cut offthat is, excluded from the camp and its privileges. In some contexts, the expression “cut off” means condemned to death. 12:21-27 Next we hear Moses passing on the instructions to the elders of the people. Further details are given about how to sprinkle the blood on the door. The hyssop may picture faith, which makes a personal application of the blood of Christ. The Passover would provide a springboard for teaching future generations the story of redemption when they would ask the meaning of the ceremony. 12:28-30 At midnight the blow finally fell as threatened. There was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead. The Israelites were at last permitted to leave.

Exodus 12:31

VII. THE EXODUS FROM EGYPT (12:3115:21) A. Flight toward the Sea (12:3113:22)12:31-37 Verse 31 does not necessarily mean that Moses met Pharaoh face-to-face (see Exo_10:29). What a servant says or does is often ascribed to his master. Moses had predicted that Pharaoh’s servants would beg the Israelites to go (Exo_11:8). The Israelites journeyed . . . to Succoth, a district in Egypt, not to be confused with the town of that name in Palestine (Gen_33:17). The Egyptians were only too glad to give their wealth to the Israelites and be rid of them. For the Hebrews, it was only just recompense for all the labor they had given to Pharaoh. It provided them with equipment for the journey and materials for the service of God. About six hundred thousand men left Egypt, in addition to women and children. The exact number of men was 603,550 (Exo_38:26). The total number of Israelites was about two million. 12:38, 39 There is considerable dispute concerning the date of the Exodus. A commonly accepted conservative date is c. 1440 B.C. Other scholars place it at 1290 B.C. or even later (see Introduction). A mixed multitude (that is, including foreigners) tagged along with the Israelites when they left Egypt. They are referred to as “rabble” in Num_11:4 (NASB), where they are seen complaining against the Lord despite His goodness to them. 12:40-42 Concerning the chronology in verse 40, see the commentary on Gen_15:13-14. The four hundred and thirty years mentioned here cover the total time that the Israelites spent in Egypt. It is an exact figure, to the very . . . day. The important thing to see is that the Lord did not forget the promise He had made centuries earlier. In bringing His people out, He fulfilled His Word. God is not slack concerning the promise of our redemption either (2Pe_3:9). In a coming day, Moses’ “antitype,” the Lord Jesus, will lead His people out of this world to the eternal Promised Land. 12:43-51 The ordinance of the permanent Passover specified that only circumcised men were allowed to participate, whether aliens, neighbors, or servants. No foreigner shall eat it . . . a sojourner and a hired servant shall not eat it.