Exodus 12:18  In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even.
19  Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land.
20  Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread.
21  Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover.
22  And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.
23  For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.
24  And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever.

God began these verses by repeating what He had already said. God repeats things that we tend to take for granted. He reminded Moses of the importance of this first month. The fourteenth day of this month at even was very important. That was the night that would change things for the nation of Israel as well as for the nation of Egypt.
Israel was to make sure they had removed all leaven from their houses that day and until the twenty-first day of that month. We mentioned already that leaven is a picture of sin in the Bible. That does not mean we should not use leaven in our bread baking. It means that those who have worked with leaven understand the ability of that leaven to change the nature of the dough. It does not take much leaven to have a major effect on the dough. If the leaven is left out, that also will have an effect on the dough.
God is not concerned about our bread. He is concerned about our souls. Sin is the problem. I was alerted to a problem within IFB churches recently. I had not checked this out because I was already aware of some of the compromises taking place so I just did not bother looking any further. The writer pointed out the influence these particular compromised churches would have in the very near future. They do not need to have any effect on us. If we obey God and know Him, we will not be a part of the meetings in question and thus not impacted by the shifting sands of compromise. The issue was with regard to the change in music standards and in dress standards. Some might read this and scoff at it. They would suggest that neither of these matters. People have different tastes and that is all there is to it. Those who take that view do not understand the importance of purity in the Christian life. They do not understand it because they have chosen to shut out God’s truth.
When we begin to adopt the world’s standards, which are sin, we weaken our foundation. We do not weaken THE foundation. Jesus Christ is never weakened. However, those who take a compromised position on any Biblical doctrine, are no longer standing on that firm foundation. They have moved off. God has not changed.

Romans 6:12  Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

In our text, leaven must be removed from the house on the fourteenth day and must not be in the house until the end of the twenty-first day. Verse 19 repeats this important command. This was very serious and God warned that those who did not follow this command would be cut off from the congregation of Israel. They would demonstrate that they were not a part of spiritual Israel. They were physically present, but spiritually they were not there.
This warning applied to the stranger as well as the one born in the land. Some of the Egyptians joined Israel after this Passover judgment. They were allowed to do that but they needed to join physically and spiritually. The Bible shows us many of them did not join spiritually and they were a problem for the nation of Israel.
In verse 20 Moses was further reminded that they were not to eat anything leavened during the prescribed time. All their bread must be unleavened. As they ate this flat bread, it was a reminder to them of the importance of being free from sin, not just for those seven days, but every day. This could only be possible for those who truly trusted in the Lord. They would still sin, as did Moses, but they also knew when they sinned and they sought God’s forgiveness for sin. They did not want to be living in sin.
In verse 21 Moses began to relay the LORD’s message to the elders of Israel. He needed to have the message straight first before he could teach it to others. Biblical teaching is important. Until a person is saved and then taught, he cannot teach others spiritual things.
The elders needed to lead the rest of the nation in the preparation for this important upcoming event. They needed to choose out the lamb for their families and they needed to prepare for the killing of that lamb for the passover.
In verse 22 Moses gave further instructions based on what he had been taught. Hyssop was a brush type plant that would be suitable for applying the blood of the lamb to the door posts and lintel. The inhabitants of the house needed to remain inside the house until morning. It is not enough to know about the blood. It is not enough to have the blood available. The blood needed to be applied to the door posts and the persons needed to be inside the house where it was applied.
In a similar manner, it is not enough to have a Bible sitting on your coffee table. It is not enough to talk about Jesus Christ. His blood needs to be applied to your heart. Those who have been saved need to live for Christ. The phoney Christianity that is so prevalent today is a sham. It has no merit and those who hold to that will be shocked when they find out it was a lie they chose over the truth.
In verse 23 the LORD promised that He would pass through the land of Egypt to smite the Egyptians. Lost people will be judged by the true God. However, when the LORD would see the blood sprinkled on the door posts and lintel of the Hebrew homes, the destroyer would not smite the firstborn in that house. This would all take place in one night, but the LORD would not make any mistakes. God sees all and He knows all. His judgment is always sure.
In verse 24 Moses told the elders that they were to observe this thing for an ordinance, a command, for ever. They were to teach it to their sons so that they would also observe to do as commanded.
This reminds us of the importance of individual salvation. A saved parent cannot cover for their children. Each person must be taught the truth, and that is the key. Each person must be willing to receive the truth and personally be saved. When the Bible speaks of household salvation, it does not teach that if one person gets saved then all will be saved. It speaks of the impact that true salvation has on the lost sinner and that impact is very impressionable upon others in the house. Adam and Eve’s children did not all choose to follow the LORD. Cain was a rebel who raised rebels. Abel had a humble heart and trusted in the God and was murdered for his faithfulness to Him. By the time of Noah, only eight people trusted in the true God. Many perished in their sin. During the time of Moses, many of those who had the blood applied to their door posts and lintel perished. The blood was there, but it was not applied to the heart of the people inside.
Personal application of the truth is essential. Head knowledge alone will not do. We can observe this all the time. It is important to know the truth and to act upon the truth. Don’t miss out on the most important decision in life. Without God’s gift of eternal life, nothing else matters.
Pastor Bartel