Exodus 12:7, commentary and pictures

On the night of the last and most terrible plague on Egypt, each household was to slay a lamb without blemish and strike its blood with hyssop on the two side posts and upper post of the house where it was eaten roasted inside, while at midnight the angel passed through to slay the firstborn of man and beast. The blood outside was a token upon the house, so the destroying angel would recognize the marked dwelling, pass over it and not enter, and the plague would not destroy those inside. The blood on the doorposts is the symbol of the blood of Christ, the sinless Lamb of God slain for the sins of the world, which alone cleanses the believing sinner from sin and shelters him from the wrath of God upon the impenitent. No one is benefited by that provision without doing his appointed part, for protection required exact obedient faith, gathering the whole family inside and remaining there, so that a household disregarding the command or leaving children outside would not be spared. The marked homes provide the pattern for the sealing of God's saints for protection in the coming judgment, and give parents their charge to bring their children inside under the blood, separate from the world and familiar with God's law, that believing parents' mark may cover their little ones when the scourge passes.

Passover Night in Egypt

Each family, alone or joined with another, was to slay a lamb or kid without blemish and sprinkle its blood with hyssop on the two side posts and upper door post of the house where it was to be eaten. The direction was given for preservation from the coming judgment on Egypt, with the blood as a token upon the house so that the destroying angel coming at midnight would not enter that dwelling and the plague smiting the firstborn would not destroy those inside.

The ordinance belonged to the night of the last plague upon Egypt, which was the most severe of all and came after the plagues of locusts and of oppressive darkness in which the Hebrews still had pure air and light in their dwellings. Moses made known the nature and effect of that final plague beforehand to Pharaoh and to the people of Egypt as well as to the Israelites, while the king and his idolatrous priests still opposed letting Israel go though the people desired their departure. That night was terrible to the Egyptians and glorious to the people of God.

The blood was put outside as a token for a sign while the lamb was eaten roasted whole with bitter herbs inside, as the angel of God passed through Egypt at midnight to slay the firstborn of man and beast. It was placed on the sides and top of each household's doorway, on the two doorposts and lintel of every house where the Passover was eaten. The doorway was marked with blood by a robed figure while the destroying angel swept across the sky above the buildings, belonging together with the Passover supper gathered around the table inside, the passing of the destroying angel, and the slaying of the firstborn mourned by the Egyptians.

The blood token marking the Israelite homes was seen and ridiculed by the Egyptians before the firstborn were slain. When the plague came the firstborn of Egypt from the king upon his throne down to the lowliest servant were slain and wailing filled all Egypt, while the houses with the blood were passed over. The stroke humbled proud Pharaoh, who went in haste with his counselors and rulers to Goshen, bowed before Moses and Aaron, bade Israel go and serve God with flocks and herds, implored them to leave lest all Egypt be as dead men, and entreated a blessing from Moses to protect him from further plague.

The marking took place on the night of Israel's release from slavery in Egypt, on the night of the final judgment on Egypt. The Passover observance with its marked houses commemorated God's deliverance of Israel from bondage. In the later Passover service the lamb, the unleavened bread, the bitter herbs, and the story of the sprinkled blood recalled that deliverance from bondage, with the blood joined to the death-dealing angel and to the grand march from the land of bondage. It was rehearsed in solemn silence in the night assembly at Jerusalem, in the hasty meal of lamb, unleavened bread and bitter herbs eaten by men with girded loins, shoes on feet and staff in hand, to make the event vivid, stir the imagination, impress the heart, and fix the deliverance forever in the memory of children and youth.

Blood as Protecting Sign

The blood was a token set upon the house, so that the destroying angel coming on his mission of death to slay the firstborn of man and beast would recognize the marked dwelling, pass over it and not enter it, and the plague smiting Egypt would not destroy those inside. The blood of the slain lamb placed on the lintel and doorposts marked each Israelite house where the lamb was eaten and marked their deliverance. It was a sign of their connection with God. It was a sign of safety and protection for the Hebrews when the firstborn of their enemies were slain in Egypt.

The blood struck on the doorposts was a signature of blood declaring that the Israelites were God's property and a witness that they were His denominated people. Houses thus marked were not visited by the destroying angel and were preserved from general ruin. The blood therefore identified the households that obeyed God's instructions and were spared when judgment struck Egypt. Each family was to gather inside with its children, ready to depart, and the angel passed over the houses marked with blood, while the blood offered no protection to a household that disregarded the command or left its children outside.

Christ Foreshadowed in Lamb

The blood struck on the side posts and lintel was the symbol of the blood of Christ. That blood is efficacious for the believing sinner to cleanse him from sin and to shelter him from the wrath of God that is to come upon the impenitent and unbelieving world, just as the wrath of God fell upon the Egyptians while sheltered Israel was spared. The yearly ordinance was given to keep the deliverance from Egypt in memory and to turn minds from world-loving interests and temporal cares and anxieties to review God's works, miracles, mercies, and loving-kindness, so that love and reverence for Him would increase and lead to continual looking to Him and trusting Him in trial and not turning to other gods.

The slaying of the lamb was to be associated with the future death of the Son of God. The lamb to be eaten was a symbol of Christ's body, and the slain lamb points to Christ's own death for the sins of the world as the only true propitiation, whose blood preserves sinners from the wrath of a sin-hating God. The ordinance thus carried a mournful interest because it pointed forward to His approaching death.

The lamb and its blood prefigured Christ, the sinless Lamb of God. His merits alone avert judgment and condemnation for fallen humanity, and His blood alone has power to save the world and redeem believers from sin and eternal death. Sinful people continually depend on its merits for safety from Satan's power and for final redemption, and Israel's deliverance was a type of the great salvation He brought. The blood on the doorposts was a sign of safety when the firstborn were slain, because it represented Christ's blood shed for the sins of the world.

Those who by faith eat Christ's flesh and drink His blood will finally be raised from the dead, and this spiritual food gives a well-founded hope of resurrection to immortal life in the kingdom of God. God desired Israel to behold in the paschal lamb Him who gave Himself for the life of the world and through the symbol to receive Him, for only through dying could He impart life to men and His death is the means of salvation. The same truth symbolized in the paschal service is taught when Christ says the bread He gives is His flesh for the life of the world and that eating His flesh and drinking His blood gives eternal life.

The Passover cannot be understood apart from Christ, for its blood and ceremonies represented Him and pointed to the Messiah revealed in the Old Testament. He is the key that unlocks its meaning and gives access to its treasures, proving His identity with the Messiah through Moses and the prophets. All such religious services and ceremonies are valueless if the Saviour they represent is rejected. Yet the Jews made the symbol all-important while its significance went unnoticed, discerning not the Lord's body even while Christ Himself stood in their midst presenting Himself as Saviour and they refused His offers of mercy.

Christ identified Himself as the Passover's great antitype when He connected the Lord's Supper with the Passover. The Passover lamb prefigured Christ the antitypical Lamb whose death fulfilled that symbol, so that at His trial type was meeting antitype. The ceremony had been instituted by Christ Himself before His incarnation, and its meaning was bound up with His own life and mission to save the covenant people, for He is the foundation of the whole Jewish economy. Yet the priests, scribes, and rulers were exact about their own maxims and traditions not to enter the judgment hall lest they be defiled and be kept from eating the Passover, while they condemned to death the One who gave it.

Faith Shown by Obedience

No one is benefited by God's provision for salvation unless he performs the work God leaves him to do, doing his appointed part and manifesting by his own acts his faith in that provision. The blood struck on the doorposts was the symbol of the blood of Christ, which is efficacious for the believing sinner to cleanse him from sin and to shelter him from the wrath of God that will come upon the impenitent and unbelieving world, just as the wrath of God fell upon the Egyptians while sheltered Israel was spared. The slaying of the lamb was to be associated with the future death of the Son of God for the sins of the world, and the yearly ordinance was given to keep the deliverance from Egypt in memory and to turn minds from world-loving interests and temporal cares to review God's miracles, mercies and loving-kindness, so that love and reverence would increase and lead to continual looking to Him and trusting Him in trial instead of turning to other gods.

Protection required exact obedience, for God tested faith by giving His people some part to act in connection with His interposition in their behalf. An Israelite neglecting the blood on the plea that God could distinguish Hebrews from Egyptians would not have had heavenly sentinels guard that dwelling, and without that response even the firstborn in a Hebrew household would not be spared. The blood offered no protection to a household that disregarded the command or left its children outside, for each family was to gather inside, ready to depart, and the angel passed over only the houses marked with blood.

The blood on the houses was a sign of faith in God's promised deliverance and a visible mark of trusting in the only begotten Son, so that the destroying angel would pass over. The sign was not enough apart from obeying the other directions, for the people had to keep their families separate from the Egyptians, gather with their children inside their own houses and remain there, thereby showing faith through action. Believing Egyptians were welcomed into those houses, and without the blood mark Israelites received no distinction from the Egyptians. The blood points to salvation through Christ's merits, while the people's obedience demonstrates faith; obedience does not earn salvation, but faith must be shown by turning from sin and obeying God's requirements.

The blood prefigured the slaying of the Son of God and the efficacy of His blood shed for the salvation of the sinner, and the mark was a sign that the household accepted Christ as the promised Redeemer and showed faith in Jesus the great Sacrifice. The parents evidenced their faith by implicitly obeying the directions given, and their obedient faith covered themselves and their children. The house so marked was shielded from the destroyer's power, and the destroying angel passed over every house that had the mark. The faith of believing parents thus extends to and covers their little children who have had no test of character, protecting them from the destroying angel.

Final Judgment Foreshadowed

The blood on the two side posts and upper door post was a sign of God's protection of Israel during the night of judgment in Egypt, when without that prescribed act Israel was not distinguished from Egypt. That marking foreshadows the sealing of God's saints, who will be protected in the time of trial and divine wrath when Christ rules the nations. The blood-marked homes provide the pattern for a coming judgment in which the destroying angel will kill those who do not have the mark. The mark or seal of believing parents will cover their children when the parents separate them from wicked influences, discipline them, teach them obedience, and bring them to God for His blessing.

The destroying angel is again to pass through the land, and a mark, the keeping of His holy Sabbath, is to be placed upon God's people. Those who comply with the conditions receive His promises, but all who follow their own will and judgment and depart from His instructions to come to their own terms will perish with the wicked when His judgments visit the earth. The command then to bring the children into the house, to strike the blood on the doorpost, and for none to go out, was because all found among the Egyptians would be destroyed with them.

Just as truly as the blood struck on the posts was a signature of blood declaring that the Israelites were God's property and a mark that preserved them from general ruin, so a mark is placed upon every child of God in this age. That signature is borne by placing himself in harmony with God's holy law. The Sabbaths are given as the sign between God and His people that He sanctifies them and identifies them as belonging to Him.

Its lesson for Christians is to gather their families under the protection of the Lamb of God amid deception and false teaching. The judgment will reveal the character formed in the home and shown in relationships with family, neighbors, and the world. The blood means faith in the blood of Christ, and the same gathering and marking is needed today to save children from the destructive power of the evil one. The conflict between Christ and Satan will increase in intensity until the end of this earth's history, and faith in the blood of Christ is what will bring God's people safely through the perilous times just before them.

Home and Parental Charge

When the destroying angel was about to smite the firstborn of man and beast, Israel was commanded to bring the children into the house, to strike the blood on the doorpost, and for none to go out of the house, because all found among the Egyptians would be destroyed with them. The households were to remain gathered inside their own houses within the protection signified by the blood, and the blood-marked house was a place of safety and separation. Without the blood mark Israel received no distinction from the Egyptians, but houses thus marked as a witness that they were God's denominated people were not visited by the destroying angel, and believing Egyptians were welcomed into those houses.

At the birth of Israel as a nation God gave this object-lesson to impress all hearts with guarding the associations of children, preserving them from harmful companionship and making them from their earliest years familiar with the precepts and principles of God's law. Parents who love and fear God are now to keep their children under the bond of the covenant, within the protection of those sacred influences made possible through Christ's redeeming blood, bringing them out from the influence of the world. They must not break down the barriers that truth builds as a fortress about them, since it is unsafe to permit children to associate with unbelievers as freely as with Christians. Whether youth who have received wise instruction and training from godly parents will continue to be sanctified through the truth depends largely upon the influences they meet after leaving their homes among those to whom they look for Christian instruction.

If parents allow their children to receive an education with the world and make the Sabbath a common day the seal of God cannot be placed upon them and they will be destroyed with the world with their blood resting upon the parents. But if parents faithfully teach God's commandments, separate children from wicked influences, bring them into subjection to parental authority, discipline them, teach them obedience, and by faith and prayer commit them to God, He will work with their efforts and when the overflowing scourge passes they with their children may be hidden. The mark or seal of believing parents will cover their children when they are separated from wicked influences, disciplined, taught obedience, and brought to God for His blessing.

Every family is to mark the doorposts of its house with the blood of Jesus Christ as its safeguard. The marking is done by lives of consecration and obedience lived in the home by parents and children in their special work for the home church. Model homes formed in this way produce a perfect church.