Exodus 12:13, commentary and pictures

On the night of the last and most terrible plague, Israel was to slay a lamb without blemish, strike its blood on the doorposts and lintel, remain inside with the family and eat in haste, and where God saw the blood He passed over that house and its firstborn were spared from the destroying angel at midnight. Safety depended wholly on that token in exact obedience, for without the blood on the door even Hebrews were not distinguished from Egyptians, and to neglect the striking, to leave the house, or to trust sincerity without heeding all directions left the dwelling unguarded. The slain lamb and its blood foreshadow the sinless Lamb of God, whose atoning blood shed for the sins of the world alone cleanses the believer and shelters from the wrath of a sin-hating God upon the impenitent. Sinners are therefore saved only through faith in Christ and His righteousness, not by knowledge, status, or works, yet that faith must be shown by turning from sin to obedience and cooperating with all that God provides. God Himself pledges that His destroying wrath will not fall on one soul that seeks refuge under that blood, which is the seal of the living God and the sign of the cross seen in His obedient sons and daughters, and which will again mark and protect His people through final judgment and the perilous times just ahead.

Passover Night in Egypt

Before the judgment God gave directions through Moses for Israel's preservation from the coming stroke upon Egypt. Each household was to slay a lamb without blemish, take its blood and strike it upon the doorposts and upon the upper doorpost as a token without for a sign upon the houses where they were. While that token was without they were to remain within, gathered with their families inside their own houses and none going out, eating the lamb roasted whole with bitter herbs and unleavened bread, girded and in haste and prepared to leave. The blood was to be the sign God would respect, showing faith in His promised deliverance and distinguishing those inside when He smote the land.

At midnight the angel of God passed through the land doing dreadful work, slaying the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Where God saw the blood upon the house He passed over those inside, the destroying angel did not enter that dwelling, and the plague to destroy was not upon them. Every house had to be marked, for houses without the token lost their firstborn, and the sheltered ate the Passover supper under the token. The blood sprinkled upon the doorway thus divided the spared from the smitten on that night.

This was the last plague upon Egypt, more severe and closer and more dreadful than any plague before it. That night was terrible to the Egyptians and glorious to the people of God. Moses made known beforehand to Pharaoh, to the people of Egypt, and to the Israelites the nature and effect of that last plague. The king and his idolatrous priests opposed to the last the request to let the Hebrews go, while the Egyptian people desired that they be permitted to leave.

Israel made great preparations, but the Egyptians saw them and ridiculed the token of blood. When God smote the land the firstborn were slain from the king upon his throne down to the lowliest servant, and there was wailing throughout all Egypt. Then Pharaoh remembered his proud boast that he did not know the Lord and would not let Israel go. Humbled, he went in haste with his counselors and rulers to Goshen and bowed before Moses and Aaron, bade them go and serve their God with their flocks and herds as requested, implored them to leave quickly and be gone for fear all would be as dead men, and entreated a blessing from the servant of God thinking it would protect him from further effects of the plague.

That last night of bondage, when there had appeared no token of deliverance, became the birth of the Hebrew nation, released immediately to go out from Egypt as an independent nation and march out of the land of bondage. The deliverance was instituted as a solemn ordinance to be kept yearly as the Lord's passover, a lasting memorial of preservation. Its paschal service solemnly rehearsed the sprinkled blood, the death-dealing angel, the night assembly with girded loins and shoes on feet and staff in hand, and the hasty meal of lamb with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Parents were to tell children from generation to generation that it was the sacrifice of the Lord's passover who passed over Israel's houses when He smote the Egyptians, calling minds away from world-loving interests and temporal cares and anxieties to review His miracles, mercies and loving-kindness, to increase love and reverence and trust in trial, and to impress the heart and fix the deliverance forever in the memory of child and youth.

Protection Through Obedient Faith

The blood was a token upon the houses where they were, by which God distinguished His people and protected them in judgment, and when He saw it He passed over that dwelling and spared it from the destroying plague. The lamb's blood on lintels and doorposts marked the homes as connected with God and trusting in Him, so the destroying angel coming at midnight did not enter but passed over and spared the firstborn inside. The token belonged with obedience and faith in the promised deliverance, for the sign was to be respected together with gathering the family inside their own houses, and blood alone did not spare those who disregarded the directions. The Passover so kept was to be a lasting memorial of preservation.

Israel was safe only when the blood was on the doorposts, and every other means of safety would fail to keep the angel of death from entering. Without that sign even Hebrews were not distinguished from Egyptians when the destroyer struck. The blood at the houses points to salvation through the blood of Jesus alone, who bears sin and cleanses from it and gives His righteousness, so that sinners are saved by faith in Christ and not by knowledge, status, or human achievement.

The token required exact obedience: to place the blood upon the house, to separate families from the Egyptians, to bring the children into the house, to strike the doorpost with blood, and for none to go out of the house. All found among the Egyptians would be destroyed with them, and without gathering inside and marking the doorway even Hebrew firstborn would not be spared. To slay the lamb without striking the doorpost, to fail to separate the children, or to go out left them unsecure with no exemption above the Egyptians. Neglect of the blood on the plea that God could distinguish Hebrews from Egyptians would have left that dwelling unguarded.

God tests faith by giving a part to act in connection with His interposition, fulfilling His promises to those who comply with all the conditions and leaving those who depart from His instructions to follow a way of their own choosing to perish with the wicked when judgments visit the earth. Deliverance by blood requires evidence of faith by obedience, and honest belief and sincerity without heeding all the Lord's directions would not save the firstborn from the destroyer. People must not substitute their own judgment for God's commands or assume He will protect them while they disregard His instructions.

No one is benefited by this provision of God for salvation unless he performs the work God leaves him to do and by his own acts manifests faith in the provision made. The slain lamb points to the future death of the Son of God, and the blood marking the doorposts stands for the blood of Christ, which cleanses the believing sinner from sin and shelters him from the wrath of God coming upon the impenitent and unbelieving world, just as the wrath of God fell upon the Egyptians while Israel was passed over.

Blood Foreshadowing Christ

The slain Passover lamb points to the future death of the Son of God, and the blood marking the doorposts stands for the blood of Christ. The blood God commanded upon the doorposts was a sign of safety that protected Israel when the firstborn of their enemies were slain, and it represented the blood of Christ to be shed for the sins of the world. The lamb to be eaten at the feast pointed forward to Christ's approaching death as the only true propitiation for humanity, while the Jews were about to celebrate with great display even as the very One the lamb represented stood among them presenting Himself as Saviour and they refused His mercy.

The innocent lamb without blemish prefigured the sinless Lamb of God, whose merits alone avert judgment and condemnation from fallen humanity. Its body eaten at the feast was a symbol of Christ's body given for the life of the world, pointing to eating Christ's flesh and drinking His blood by faith. Those who by faith so eat His flesh and drink His blood receive Him who gave Himself for the life of the world and gain a well-founded hope of resurrection to immortal life in the kingdom of God. Yet many made the symbol all-important while its significance went unnoticed, discerning not the Lord's body.

The blood signifies Christ's atoning blood, teaching that without shedding of blood there is no remission of sins. It cleanses the believing sinner from all sin and alone has power to save the world through His complete sacrifice as the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, whose crucified and risen blood is the sinner's only hope received by faith in the Redeemer's merits. As God's wrath fell upon the Egyptians while Israel was passed over, so that blood shelters believers from the wrath of a sin-hating God coming upon the impenitent and unbelieving world. As the lamb's blood shielded Israel, the merits of the sinless Lamb alone avert judgment and condemnation.

The sprinkled blood teaches continual dependence of sinful man upon the merits of that blood for safety from Satan's power and for final redemption. The blood means faith in the blood of Christ, and faith in it will bring God's followers safely through the perilous times just ahead as the conflict between Christ and Satan increases in intensity to the end of earth's history. The Passover and its ceremonies cannot be fully explained apart from Christ, for He is the key that unlocks the Old Testament and gives access to its treasures, and all services are valueless if the Saviour represented in them is rejected. There is virtue in the symbolic service only as it directs worshipers to Christ as personal Saviour, for people are saved through Christ only as by faith they make His life their own, and God means the service to lead to prayerful study and meditation on His mission and to show in deliverance from Egypt a promise of deliverance from sin.

Salvation Through Christ Alone

Sinners are saved only through the blood of Jesus Christ, who bears sin and cleanses from it, and salvation depends on faith in Christ and His righteousness, not on knowledge, status, or human achievement. Without shedding of blood there is no remission of sins, and the slain lamb points to Christ as the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, whose crucified and risen blood cleansing from all sin is the sinner's only hope, with salvation gained only through the merits of the Redeemer received by faith. Every other means of safety would fail, for Israel was protected from death in Egypt only by the blood placed on the doorposts, and when God saw it the plague passed over them.

Redemption from the penalty of transgression is by Christ only, and man is saved by faith not by works, yet faith must be shown by works. Deliverance by blood requires evidence of faith by obedience, so all who hope to be saved by the merits of the blood of Christ have something to do in securing salvation, turning from sin to obedience, cooperating with saving agencies, appreciating and using the helps God has provided, and believing and obeying all divine requirements. God gave His Son to die as a propitiation for sin and manifested the light of truth, the way of life, facilities, ordinances, and privileges to be used.

The blood is the token of blood-bought rights Christ purchased for the redeemed, with all hopes of eternal life centered in Him as the Lamb of God who alone takes away sins and spiritual uncomeliness. It testifies that the sinner has accepted Christ as personal Saviour, and there is no guarantee of safety in this life or the future life unless the angel of God's ministration sees the blood of the covenant on the threshold. Christ pleads this blood with divine eloquence for His church on earth before the Father, claiming exemption for His people from the deluge of divine wrath.

The blood is Christ's precious life given with infinite love, now seen by faith as the Lamb that was slain risen and at the right hand of God making intercession before the Father for the church on earth. Though innocent, He was pronounced guilty as the Father let His wrath fall upon Him, and His complete sacrifice enables God to pass over the repentant sinner. God Himself pledges that His wrath will not fall to destroy one soul that seeks refuge in Him when He sees the blood.

To every humble, contrite, believing soul the rainbow of promise round about the throne, with the cloud of confessed sins behind it, is assurance that his life is one with Christ and Christ is one with God. With the cloud of their sins behind it they see about the throne the rainbow reflecting its glory and giving evidence to unbelievers. This calls for earnest prayer in Christ's name for the heavenly unction to prepare the way of the Lord, and for cultivating Christ's infinite love by loving one another as He has loved.

Those who by faith receive Christ and spiritually eat His flesh and drink His blood have a well-founded hope of resurrection to immortal life in the kingdom of God and will finally be raised from the dead. The blood on the doorposts was a sign of safety that protected them when the firstborn in Egypt were slain, while the lamb whose flesh was eaten represented the Lamb of God and the blood represented Christ's blood shed for the sins of the world.

The token is the seal of the living God placed in the foreheads of His people, a mark angels but not human eyes can read which the destroying angel must see. It is the sign of the cross of Calvary seen in God's adopted sons and daughters, meaning the sin of transgression of the law of God is taken away. Those who have it have on the wedding garment and are obedient and faithful to all God's commands.

Memorial Fulfilled in Christ

The Passover looked both backward and forward, backward commemorating the deliverance of Israel from Egypt and forward as typical pointing to Christ the Lamb of God slain for the redemption of fallen man. The blood sprinkled upon the doorposts prefigured the atoning blood of Christ and taught continual dependence of sinful man upon the merits of that blood for safety from Satan's power and for final redemption. It was both commemorative and typical, and the type reached the antitype when Christ the Lamb without blemish died upon the cross.

The paschal service was given to call God's people away from worldly cares and world-loving interests and temporal cares and anxieties, to remind them of His wonderful work in delivering them from Egypt. It turned minds to review His miracles, mercies and loving-kindness, increasing love and reverence for Him and leading them to look to Him and trust Him in trial and not turn to other gods. In that deliverance from Egypt was shown a promise of deliverance from sin. As the blood of the slain lamb sheltered the homes of Israel, so the blood of Christ saves souls, but there is virtue in the symbolic service only as it directs worshipers to Christ as personal Saviour, and only as by faith they make His life their own does God mean it to lead them to prayerful study and meditation on His mission.

The Passover was instituted by Christ Himself before His incarnation, and He was the foundation of the whole Jewish economy. Its rites as seen at Jerusalem when He was twelve years old were bound up with His own life and with the work He would accomplish for the children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the appointed heirs of the covenant promises. The type reached the antitype when Christ the Lamb of God without blemish died upon the cross. Jesus is the antitypical Lamb the feast kept for centuries prophesied, slain by wicked hands while the people were still observing the Passover and presenting their morning and evening sacrifices in the temple and while His body lay in Joseph's tomb over the Sabbath. His death in the midst of the feast fulfilled prophecy and gave the feast its full meaning, proving the crucified one is the world's Redeemer, a truth convicting all who searched the prophecies about the feast, whether they sought to understand it, to disprove Jesus, or to find hope in Him.

At His trial type met antitype, for Christ in humanity, His divinity clothed with humanity, the foundation of the Jewish system, stood in the midst of the priests while they kept the outward Passover ceremony. They were exact about not entering the judgment hall lest they be defiled so they might eat the Passover, yet in blindness under satanic deception they rejected and condemned the true Passover Himself even as they sought His death. That joining links the blood in Egypt to death on a cross on a hill. Christ identified Himself as the Passover's great antitype and fulfillment when He connected the Lord's Supper with the Passover.

Christ ate the Passover supper with His disciples just before His crucifixion and the same night instituted the ordinance of the Lord's Supper to be observed in commemoration of His death, leaving an ordinance to commemorate the events of His crucifixion.

Future Judgment and Sealing

The marking of the side posts and upper door posts before the slaying of the firstborn foreshadows the marking or sealing of the saints before the seven last plagues. Israel was safe in that perilous night because God was their protector, and the true Israel will be safely protected when Christ rules the nations with a rod of iron and dashes them in pieces like a potter's vessel, because He has promised to give His angels charge over them to keep them in all their ways. Those who keep the word of Christ's patience in the time of waiting and trial will be kept from the hour of temptation or trial that shall come upon all the world to try them that dwell on the earth. The destroying angel is again to pass through the land to slay utterly old and young, men, women and little children who lack the mark. Without that sign Israelites were not distinguished from Egyptians, and without that obedience Israel had no exemption above the Egyptians, for all found among the Egyptians would be destroyed with them.

The judgment will reveal the character formed in family life and shown in relations with neighbors and the world. The blood on the doors was a signature of blood declaring the Israelites were God's property, a mark placed over the Hebrew dwellings to preserve the people from general ruin. In the same way every child of God in this age bears the signature God has appointed by placing himself in harmony with God's holy law. That mark placed upon every one of God's people to preserve them from ruin is God's Sabbaths as the sign that He sanctifies them.

In the day of final destruction God will pass over those who keep the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, so the destruction falling on the world will not fall on them, just as He passed over the blood-marked houses when He smote Egypt. The blood was a sign by which God distinguished and protected His people from destruction, and the Sabbath is likewise a sign between God and His people. Parents who allow children to receive education with the world and make the Sabbath a common day prevent the seal of God from being placed upon them so they will be destroyed with the world with blood resting upon the parents. Faithfully teaching God's commandments, bringing children into subjection to parental authority, committing them to God by faith and prayer, and not substituting human judgment for God's commands brings God's working with parental effort so that parents and children may be hidden in the secret of the Lord's pavilion when the overflowing scourge passes through the land.

Guarding Family and Home

Before the slaying of the firstborn, God commanded His people to gather their children into their own houses and to abide within that protection under the blood marked on the lintel and side posts, so that when the destroying angel went through Egypt he would recognize the marked dwellings as the homes of His followers and pass over them and not destroy them. The blood on the doorposts was the token assuring protection, a witness that they were God's denominated people, and houses thus marked were not visited with the plague of death. Given at the birth of Israel as a nation, this command was an object-lesson to impress all hearts with the importance of guarding the associations of children, with all civil, religious and social arrangements made to preserve them from harmful companionship and to make them familiar from their earliest years with the precepts and principles of the law of God. The same duty continues today, for mothers and fathers are not to leave this work to God or angels but must protect their children from influences that turn them from God and heaven.

Parents must bring their children out from the influence of the world and educate them in right lines. This means separating them from the world and wicked company, choosing their society, teaching obedience to parents as preparation for obedience to God's commandments, praying with and for them to Christ who receives little children, and training them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Without such obedience Israel had no exemption above the Egyptians, and the same protection will be needed again when the destroying angel goes forth to slay utterly old and young, men, women and little children who lack the mark.

Parents who love and fear God should keep their children under the bond of the covenant, within the protection of those sacred influences made possible through Christ's redeeming blood. Christians in days of deception are to apply this lesson by gathering their families under the Lamb's protection, for the judgment will reveal the character formed in family life and shown in relations with neighbors and the world. Faith in the blood of Christ will bring them safely through the perilous times just ahead as the conflict between Christ and Satan increases in intensity until the end of this earth's history.

The blood on the houses was a sign that the household accepted the promised Redeemer and trusted in God, for the lamb's blood prefigured Christ's blood whose saving power shields from destruction. The Israelites' obedience showed their faith, and that obedient faith of the parents covered the parents and their children, as the destroyer passed over every marked house. So the seal or mark of believing parents will cover children who are properly taught and brought up, illustrating that a believing parent's faith extends to the children. The blood for a token upon the houses is the blood of Jesus Christ as a safeguard, to be marked on the doorposts of every family, meaning faith in the Father's only-begotten Son through whom believers receive everlasting life. This calls for model homes where parents and children live lives of consecration and obedience under that blood, by which children are separated from the world, and such homes produce a perfect model church; the Christian work is likened to placing this mark of blood on the home and gathering the children there.