Exodus 12:43 And the LORD said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the passover: There shall no stranger eat thereof:
44 But every man’s servant that is bought for money, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof.
45 A foreigner and an hired servant shall not eat thereof.
46 In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry forth ought of the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall ye break a bone thereof.
47 All the congregation of Israel shall keep it.
48 And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof.
49 One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.
50 Thus did all the children of Israel; as the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they.
51 And it came to pass the selfsame day, that the LORD did bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies.
God revealed much truth in Exodus 12. God repeated instructions given for a purpose. The life of human beings was at stake. This was not just the death of animals. This was not just the pollution of water. This was about the eternal destiny of souls.
I Timothy 2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
God’s desire is for all people to be saved. That was His desire in the book of Exodus and it is still His desire today. He does not delight in the death of the lost. However, in His love and justice, He must judge wickedness. That is what He is doing in our text.
In verses 43-45 the LORD laid out more important instructions regarding who can partake in the LORD’s Passover. No stranger was allowed to partake. A Hebrew servant that was bought with money needed to be circumcised before he could partake of the Passover. No foreigner or hired servant could eat thereof. This was a special sacrifice that has specific implication.
We have mentioned before that this Passover was a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ coming and laying down His life for the sheep. Only truly born again Christians can rightfully partake of the Lord’s Supper. Those who are not saved are strangers. They refuse to be a part of the family of God. The Catholics have their eucharist. Other religious groups follow the Catholic model to some degree. The Catholic Mass is an abomination to the LORD.
There are other groups that keep a perversion of the Lord’s Supper and they open it up to anyone who wants to participate. God pointed out in the Old Testament that the Passover was only for those who were circumcised and part of the nation of Israel. This physical circumcision was to be a picture of the spiritual circumcision that the LORD required of His children. In the New Testament it is for those who are circumcised of heart (born again Christians, separated unto the Lord through the new birth). Gentiles are not required by the Lord to be physically circumcised. The Lord’s Supper is for those who are faithful members of a true, Biblical local church. Those who partake unworthily bring God’s judgment upon them. Those who partake unworthily are those who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. They have rejected His sacrifice and yet they want to think they can partake of this important symbol and all will be good.
In verse 46 we see that this Passover meal was to be eaten within the confines of the house. Those in the house were not to step outside of the house. They were not to walk around and try to share it with others. This was not a free for all. This was a very sober event.
The Lord’s Supper is for those who are in the house. There are false religions that teach that you can partake of this Supper in your own house by yourself. This is heresy. It is to be administered in the Lord’s House under His direction.
They were also not to break any bone of the lamb. This was a picture of the fulfilment of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. Not a bone of His body was broken. That means that when they nailed Him to the cross they did not break any bones in His hands or His feet. They also did not break His legs, as they did with the two thieves.
Verse 47 tells us that the entire congregation of Israel was to eat of this meal. At this meal, God was delivering the entire nation from Egyptian bondage. He would deal with the rebellious hearts of the children of Israel later.
In verse 48 we are again reminded of the proper way to deal with the stranger. The stranger needed to be circumcised. Circumcision was an important command of God for the nation of Israel. Circumcision was only for the males within Israel. The stranger might be an adult male already, but they would need to be circumcised prior to being able to partake of the Passover. Circumcision was to be an outward sign of the inner surrender to the will of the LORD. God again reminded them that no uncircumcised person could eat of this Passover. In verse 49 we see that the same law applied to the Jew born in Israel, and to the stranger that came from somewhere else and wanted to join the nation.
In verse 50 we see that the children of Israel did as God commanded them on this matter. It is important to pay attention to what the LORD says and follow Him obediently. Salvation is only found in repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. Those who want to believe otherwise are not saved. Those who want to “earn” their salvation are not saved. God’s instructions are clear. They must be followed.
In verse 51 we see that that same day, the fourteenth of Abib, the LORD brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies. It was not through a physical battle. It was a spiritual battle that was fought and won by the LORD. The Egyptians would urge the children of Israel to leave. They would give them whatever they asked for as they left. There would be over a million Hebrews missing from Egypt in the morning. As we will see, this void would be shocking to Pharaoh soon, but for the moment he urged them to leave. This loss of people was besides all those who were killed by the LORD because their families rejected Him.
Those who are saved today are no longer servants of sin. They no longer march to the drum of the devil. The devil is never happy when a person is truly saved. He will try to weaken the true child of God in various ways. He will try to keep them from getting Scripturally baptized. He will try to keep them from joining a true local church. He will try to interfere with their walk in the Lord in some way. Sometimes he will succeed for a time. However, those who are truly saved will be chastened by the Lord. The Lord will not leave them alone. They are His children and He loves them and seeks to bring them along in their walk with Him. The important factor is to be His child. You cannot be a stranger to the Lord and be a part of His family. The true child of God will look like one of His children. They will grow in Him and learn to walk more faithfully with Him.
Pastor Bartel
