And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,
The Lord spoke in the land of Egypt on the last night of bondage, after the plagues of locusts and darkness and before the final judgment fell, to begin the Passover and mark the birth of Israel as an independent people with direction for departure and preservation from the coming destruction. Each family was to show faith by gathering in one dwelling, slaying a lamb without blemish, striking its blood upon the doorposts and lintels as a token, and eating it roasted whole with unleavened bread and bitter herbs in haste with loins girded, shoes on, and staff in hand, for that night God would smite all the firstborn of man and beast and judge the gods of Egypt, but would pass over every house marked by the blood. That day was to be kept yearly as a memorial feast and solemn ordinance forever, so that when children asked its meaning each generation would repeat how God passed over Israel's houses while smiting the Egyptians. The voice speaking was Christ before His incarnation instituting a type of Himself, for the innocent slain lamb symbolized the death of the sinless Son of God, and its blood on the doorposts symbolized His blood shed for the sins of the world to cleanse the believing sinner and shelter him from the wrath coming upon the impenitent, as the wrath fell upon the Egyptians. Safety depended not merely on belonging to the Hebrews but on obedient faith, for the provision did not benefit those who failed to do the work appointed, and without obedience even the firstborn of a Hebrew household would not be spared.
Setting and Passover Directions
The word was spoken in the land of Egypt while Israel was still in bondage, after the plagues of locusts and oppressive darkness and before the final and most severe plague was executed. It came on the last night of bondage when no token of deliverance appeared. That same night was terrible to the Egyptians and glorious to the people of God.
The speaking began the observance of the Passover and marked the birth of the Hebrew nation as an independent people. It gave the children of Israel direction concerning their departure from Egypt and especially for their preservation from the coming judgment. The message declaring the nature and effect of the last plague was told by Moses to Pharaoh and the people of Egypt as well as to the Israelites. At that time the king and his idolatrous priests still opposed letting Israel go even though the people desired it.
Each family was to gather within one dwelling and show faith by obeying God. They were to slay a lamb without blemish and strike its blood upon the doorposts and lintels as an outward token and sign, which the angel was to respect. They were to eat the lamb roasted whole with unleavened bread and bitter herbs within, in haste with loins girded, shoes on feet and staff in hand, as the Lord's passover. For that night He would pass through Egypt to smite all the firstborn of man and beast and execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt, but when He sees the blood He will pass over them so the plague will not destroy them. Safety depended on obedient faith and not merely belonging to the Hebrews, for without obedience even the firstborn of a Hebrew household would not be spared.
That night at midnight the Egyptian firstborn were slain. Pharaoh commanded Israel to leave and serve the Lord, and they were told they could go free. They began their journey from bondage the next morning. This day was to be kept as a memorial feast to the Lord throughout their generations by a solemn ordinance forever. It was established to keep the deliverance in memory, so that when children ask its meaning each generation will repeat the story of God passing over Israel's houses while smiting the Egyptians.
Christ Foreshadowed in Passover
The voice that spoke to Moses and Aaron in Egypt was the voice of Christ, who had been speaking through the patriarchs and prophets from the days of Adam. The Passover ceremony then set forth was instituted by Christ Himself before His incarnation as a type of Himself, for He is the foundation of the Jewish religious system.
The innocent lamb slain at His direction symbolized the death of the Son of God, the sinless Lamb of God. Its flesh recalled the Lamb of God and the protection of the Hebrews when Egypt's firstborn were slain. The blood marking the doorposts symbolized Christ's blood shed for the sins of the world. That blood is efficacious for the believing sinner to cleanse from sin and to shelter from the wrath of God coming upon the impenitent and unbelieving world, even as the wrath of God fell upon the Egyptians.
The deliverance thus wrought foreshadowed salvation through Christ, whose merits alone avert the judgment and condemnation of fallen humanity. Eating Christ's flesh and drinking His blood means receiving Him by faith. That spiritual nourishment gives believers hope that Christ will raise them from the dead to immortal life.
The Passover cannot be fully explained without Christ as revealed in the Old Testament, because it points to and represents Him. Christ is the key that unlocks the Old Testament and gives access to its rich treasures. Rejecting the Saviour thus represented would make all religious services and ceremonies valueless.
Christ identified Himself as the Passover's great antitype and fulfillment when He connected the Lord's Supper with the feast. At His trial the type met its antitype, while the ceremony's own Institutor stood in human form among those observing it. The leaders at that hour were guarding their ritual purity so they could eat the Passover while condemning Him. Even as a boy of twelve, Jesus had seen its rites and increasingly understood that their meaning was bound up with His own life and His mission to redeem the heirs of the covenant promises.
Faith Obedience and Remembrance
Safety on that night depended on obedient faith and not on merely belonging to the Hebrews, for the blood on the doorway was a sign the destroying angel was to respect only where the directions were followed. Each family was to show its trust in the message by gathering within one dwelling and eating ready to depart, marking doorposts and lintels as appointed, and without such obedience even the firstborn of a Hebrew household would not be spared. No one could be benefited by the provision for salvation without doing the work left to do, since actions were to show faith in the salvation provided.
The same requirement illustrates that those who would be marked as securely His own must obey His commandments, including the Sabbath, for that sealing shows them to be His chosen. Parents bear responsibility for gathering their children and training them in such obedience to God.
The yearly ordinance was established to keep the wonderful deliverance from Egypt in memory. It was designed to call minds away from world-loving interests and from cares and anxieties about temporal concerns, to review the works of God, His miracles, mercies and loving-kindness. That review was to increase love and reverence for Him, leading to ever looking to Him and trusting Him in all trials and not turning to other gods.
The ceremonies were afterward rehearsed at Jerusalem as a night assembly, with men eating in solemn silence a hasty meal of lamb with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, with loins girded, shoes on feet and staff in hand. While they ate, the story of the sprinkled blood, the death-dealing angel, and the grand march from the land of bondage was rehearsed, with God's commandments and the experiences of the past recounted and sung on the journey. Those sights and retellings stirred the imagination and impressed the heart, fixing them forever in the memory of children and youth through nature and kindly human association.
The Lord spoke in the land of Egypt on the last night of bondage, after the plagues of locusts and darkness and before the final judgment fell, to begin the Passover and mark the birth of Israel as an independent people with direction for departure and preservation from the coming destruction. Each family was to show faith by gathering in one dwelling, slaying a lamb without blemish, striking its blood upon the doorposts and lintels as a token, and eating it roasted whole with unleavened bread and bitter herbs in haste with loins girded, shoes on, and staff in hand, for that night God would smite all the firstborn of man and beast and judge the gods of Egypt, but would pass over every house marked by the blood. That day was to be kept yearly as a memorial feast and solemn ordinance forever, so that when children asked its meaning each generation would repeat how God passed over Israel's houses while smiting the Egyptians. The voice speaking was Christ before His incarnation instituting a type of Himself, for the innocent slain lamb symbolized the death of the sinless Son of God, and its blood on the doorposts symbolized His blood shed for the sins of the world to cleanse the believing sinner and shelter him from the wrath coming upon the impenitent, as the wrath fell upon the Egyptians. Safety depended not merely on belonging to the Hebrews but on obedient faith, for the provision did not benefit those who failed to do the work appointed, and without obedience even the firstborn of a Hebrew household would not be spared.
Setting and Passover Directions
The word was spoken in the land of Egypt while Israel was still in bondage, after the plagues of locusts and oppressive darkness and before the final and most severe plague was executed. It came on the last night of bondage when no token of deliverance appeared. That same night was terrible to the Egyptians and glorious to the people of God.
The speaking began the observance of the Passover and marked the birth of the Hebrew nation as an independent people. It gave the children of Israel direction concerning their departure from Egypt and especially for their preservation from the coming judgment. The message declaring the nature and effect of the last plague was told by Moses to Pharaoh and the people of Egypt as well as to the Israelites. At that time the king and his idolatrous priests still opposed letting Israel go even though the people desired it.
Each family was to gather within one dwelling and show faith by obeying God. They were to slay a lamb without blemish and strike its blood upon the doorposts and lintels as an outward token and sign, which the angel was to respect. They were to eat the lamb roasted whole with unleavened bread and bitter herbs within, in haste with loins girded, shoes on feet and staff in hand, as the Lord's passover. For that night He would pass through Egypt to smite all the firstborn of man and beast and execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt, but when He sees the blood He will pass over them so the plague will not destroy them. Safety depended on obedient faith and not merely belonging to the Hebrews, for without obedience even the firstborn of a Hebrew household would not be spared.
That night at midnight the Egyptian firstborn were slain. Pharaoh commanded Israel to leave and serve the Lord, and they were told they could go free. They began their journey from bondage the next morning. This day was to be kept as a memorial feast to the Lord throughout their generations by a solemn ordinance forever. It was established to keep the deliverance in memory, so that when children ask its meaning each generation will repeat the story of God passing over Israel's houses while smiting the Egyptians.
Christ Foreshadowed in Passover
The voice that spoke to Moses and Aaron in Egypt was the voice of Christ, who had been speaking through the patriarchs and prophets from the days of Adam. The Passover ceremony then set forth was instituted by Christ Himself before His incarnation as a type of Himself, for He is the foundation of the Jewish religious system.
The innocent lamb slain at His direction symbolized the death of the Son of God, the sinless Lamb of God. Its flesh recalled the Lamb of God and the protection of the Hebrews when Egypt's firstborn were slain. The blood marking the doorposts symbolized Christ's blood shed for the sins of the world. That blood is efficacious for the believing sinner to cleanse from sin and to shelter from the wrath of God coming upon the impenitent and unbelieving world, even as the wrath of God fell upon the Egyptians.
The deliverance thus wrought foreshadowed salvation through Christ, whose merits alone avert the judgment and condemnation of fallen humanity. Eating Christ's flesh and drinking His blood means receiving Him by faith. That spiritual nourishment gives believers hope that Christ will raise them from the dead to immortal life.
The Passover cannot be fully explained without Christ as revealed in the Old Testament, because it points to and represents Him. Christ is the key that unlocks the Old Testament and gives access to its rich treasures. Rejecting the Saviour thus represented would make all religious services and ceremonies valueless.
Christ identified Himself as the Passover's great antitype and fulfillment when He connected the Lord's Supper with the feast. At His trial the type met its antitype, while the ceremony's own Institutor stood in human form among those observing it. The leaders at that hour were guarding their ritual purity so they could eat the Passover while condemning Him. Even as a boy of twelve, Jesus had seen its rites and increasingly understood that their meaning was bound up with His own life and His mission to redeem the heirs of the covenant promises.
Faith Obedience and Remembrance
Safety on that night depended on obedient faith and not on merely belonging to the Hebrews, for the blood on the doorway was a sign the destroying angel was to respect only where the directions were followed. Each family was to show its trust in the message by gathering within one dwelling and eating ready to depart, marking doorposts and lintels as appointed, and without such obedience even the firstborn of a Hebrew household would not be spared. No one could be benefited by the provision for salvation without doing the work left to do, since actions were to show faith in the salvation provided.
The same requirement illustrates that those who would be marked as securely His own must obey His commandments, including the Sabbath, for that sealing shows them to be His chosen. Parents bear responsibility for gathering their children and training them in such obedience to God.
The yearly ordinance was established to keep the wonderful deliverance from Egypt in memory. It was designed to call minds away from world-loving interests and from cares and anxieties about temporal concerns, to review the works of God, His miracles, mercies and loving-kindness. That review was to increase love and reverence for Him, leading to ever looking to Him and trusting Him in all trials and not turning to other gods.
The ceremonies were afterward rehearsed at Jerusalem as a night assembly, with men eating in solemn silence a hasty meal of lamb with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, with loins girded, shoes on feet and staff in hand. While they ate, the story of the sprinkled blood, the death-dealing angel, and the grand march from the land of bondage was rehearsed, with God's commandments and the experiences of the past recounted and sung on the journey. Those sights and retellings stirred the imagination and impressed the heart, fixing them forever in the memory of children and youth through nature and kindly human association.