Exodus 12:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,
2 This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.
3 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:
4 And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb.
5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:
6 And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.
7 And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.
8 And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.
9 Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof.
10 And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire.
11 And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD’S passover.
12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.
In chapter 11 the LORD gave a summary of the final plague He would bring against Egypt. This plague was also a picture of an important aspect of the promise that God made after the fall of man in Genesis 3. In verse 15 there, God promised that the seed of the woman would bruise the head of the serpent. From that point, the LORD continued to build that picture by adding details to it.
In our text today, the LORD gave further instructions to Moses and Aaron about the promise of Genesis 3:15. He did this by giving the instructions to this last plague. The implementation of this plague would also change the calendar for the Hebrews. The Hebrews do not work on the calendar we use. God was making changes for them to help them to see that they were a unique nation in the world. Their laws were different and God would reveal more of that to them. Their calendar would be different, and most importantly, their God was to be different. They were to worship and serve the true God and by doing that, they were to show the rest of the world the blessing of knowing this true God.
On the tenth day of this new first month, the congregation of Israel was to choose out a lamb for every household. This would require a number of lambs. God also told them that if the household was too little for the lamb, then that smaller household should join with another household in order to do justice to the picture that the LORD was painting here.
It was important for each household to make sure the lamb they chose was without blemish. It needed to be a male of the first year. The people were given the option of taking this male from among the sheep or among the goats.
This animal needed to be chosen on the tenth day of this first month and then kept for observation until the fourteenth day of the month. This would give them some time to examine the animal to be sure that it was healthy and fit for this very important sacrifice. Keep in mind, this sacrifice was a very important picture of the promise made in Genesis 3:15.
To the Egyptians, this fourteenth day would be the initiation of this final plague. To the Hebrews the fourteenth day would be the fulfilment of a new feast that the LORD was instituting for them.
On the fourteenth day each family was to take their lamb and kill it. They were to catch the blood in a basin and then strike that blood on the two side posts and the upper door post of the houses where they were going to eat the meat of their chosen lamb.
The blood was significant. The LORD would show the nation that they were not to eat the blood. It was to be used as an atonement for the household. It was a picture of a much more precious blood that would one day be shed as the only means for them and for all people to be forgiven and saved.
The LORD gave very specific details as to how this blood was to be handled. He also gave very specific details as to how the meat of the lamb was to be handled.
It was important that the meat be roasted in fire that night and that it be eaten together with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs. This was not a feast designed to be a tasty meal for them. It was to be a meal that would be remembered in a very sober manner. It was not a regular weekly meal to be had. God instituted it here and it was to be kept as a memorial every year after that.
It was important that the people not eat the meat raw, or cooked in water. It needed to be roasted in the fire. The entire lamb was to roasted. The reason the household needed to be big enough was so that nothing would be left over of the animal. It needed to be entirely consumed. Anything that was left over needed to be burned in the fire.
The people also needed to be properly dressed while eating this animal. They needed to be fully dressed, with shoes on their feet and their staff in their hand. This was not a meal to be eaten in leisure. It was to be eaten in haste. It was named “the LORD’s passover”. This was not something the people developed. It could not be altered. The LORD gave very specific instructions for the preparation and consumption of this animal and the people needed to follow those instructions carefully.
In verse 12 the LORD stated that He would pass through the land that night and He would smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both of man and of beast. The LORD declared that this judgment would be against the gods of Egypt.
The “gods” here would include the rulers of Egypt, but also the idols of Egypt.
Numbers 33:4 For the Egyptians buried all their firstborn, which the LORD had smitten among them: upon their gods also the LORD executed judgments.
The LORD was continuing to show the Egyptians that their gods were nothing. They needed to be destroyed. The Hebrews also needed to know that the Egyptian’s idols were nothing. They had been influenced by false gods and they had not kept themselves separated from them as God intended when He brought Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldees. The LORD would continue to show the Hebrews that they needed to serve the true God alone.
All people need to know there is only one true God. New Evangelicalism prides itself in being open minded and willing to accept different gods. They accept different Jesuses. They also accept different Holy Spirits. They do not accept the Godhead as God defines it. They are open to have many variations of the Godhead. They assume that it is “cool” to be open minded and not be dogmatic.
God stated that His purpose in what He was doing was so that the Egyptians and the Hebrews would know that He was the LORD. Salvation is only through the true God. There is only One Creator of all things. There is only One Sustainer of all things. All people will be accountable to One True Judge. It is important to know the true God and to serve Him faithfully. Peace and blessing do not come through compromise. They come through submission to the truth. God declared:
Isaiah 48:22 There is no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked.
Pharaoh could not find peace. The nation of Egypt could not find peace. The Hebrews did not know peace at this time either. God would continue to show them that He is the source of peace. Those who would submit to Him, would know His peace. A large number of those who left Egypt never knew that peace and they perished in the wilderness. Their children would enter the promised land, but many of them would also never know true peace. It is important to know the LORD and rest in Him.
Pastor Bartel
