Exodus 12

This section of the book of Exodus focuses on an unpopular subject: death. King Jehovah (Ps. 95:3)

was about to confront King Pharaoh with another king—death, the “king of terrors” (Job 18:14). The last enemy, death (1 Cor. 15:26), would visit Egypt with one last plague and deliver one last blow to the proud ruler of the land. In one solemn night, all the firstborn sons and all the firstborn livestock in Egypt would die, and there would be a great cry throughout the land (Ex. 11:6; 12:30). Only then would Pharaoh let God’s people go.

However, death wouldn’t visit the Jews and their livestock in the land of Goshen, because the Israelites belonged to the Lord and were His special people. In the land of Goshen, all that would die would be innocent yearling lambs, one for each Jewish household. This night would mark the inauguration of Passover, Israel’s first national feast. In this chapter, we want to examine five different aspects of the Passover event.

Passover marked a new beginning for the Jews and bound them together as a nation. When the Lord liberates you from bondage, it’s the dawning of a new day and the beginning of a new life. Whenever you meet the words “redeem” or “redemption” in the New Testament, they speak of freedom from slavery. (There were an estimated 60 million slaves in the Roman Empire.) Jewish believers would immediately think of Passover and Israel’s deliverance from Egypt through the blood of the lamb.

The Jewish nation in the Old Testament had two calendars, a civil calendar that began in our September–October, and a religious calendar that began in our March–April. New Year’s Day in the civil year (“Rosh Hashana”—“beginning of the year”) fell in the seventh month of the religious calendar and ushered in the special events in the month of Tishri: the Feast of Trumpets, the day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles. But Passover marked the beginning of the religious year, and at Passover, the focus is on the lamb.

Isaac’s question “Where is the lamb?” (Gen. 22:7) introduced one of the major themes of the Old Testament as God’s people waited for the Messiah. The question was ultimately answered by John the Baptist when he pointed to Jesus and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1: nkjv). That the Passover lamb is a picture of Jesus Christ is affirmed in the New Testament by the evangelist Philip (Acts 8:32–35; Isa. 53:7–8) as well as by the apostles Paul (1 Cor. 5:7), Peter (1 Peter 1:18–20), and John (Rev. 5:5–6; 13:8).

The lamb was chosen and examined (vv. 1–6a) on the tenth day of the month and carefully watched for four days to make sure it met the divine specifications. There is no question that Jesus met all the requirements to be our Lamb, for the Father said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17). During the days preceding Passover, our Lord’s enemies questioned Him repeatedly, waiting for Him to say something they could attack. During His various trials and interrogations, Jesus was repeatedly questioned, and He passed every test. Jesus knew no sin (2 Cor. 5:21), did no sin (1 Peter 2:22), and in Him there was no sin (1 John 3:5). He’s the perfect Lamb of God.

On the fourteenth day of the month, at evening, the lamb was slain (Ex. 12:6b–7, 12–13, 21–24) and its blood was applied to the lintel and side posts of the doors of the houses in which the Jewish families lived. It wasn’t the life of the lamb that saved the people from judgment but the death of the lamb. “Without shedding of blood there is no remission” (Heb. 9:22; Lev. 17:11). Some people claim to admire the life and teachings of Jesus who don’t want the cross of Jesus, yet it’s His death on the cross that paid the price of our redemption (Matt. 20:28; 26:28; John 3:14–17; 10:11; Eph. 1:7; 1 Tim. 2:5–6; Heb. 9:28; Rev. 5:9). Jesus was our substitute; He died our death for us and suffered the judgment of our sin (Isa. 53:4–6; 1 Peter 2:24).

However, to be effective, the blood had to be applied to the doorposts; for God promised, “[W]hen I see the blood, I will pass over you” (Ex. 12:13). It isn’t sufficient simply to know that Christ was sacrificed for the sins of the world (John 3:16; 1 John 2:2). We must appropriate that sacrifice for ourselves and be able to say with Paul, “The Son of God loved me, and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20), and with Mary, “My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior” (Luke 1: nkjv). Our appropriation of the Atonement must be personal: “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28).

The Jews dipped flimsy hyssop plants into the basins of blood and applied the blood to the doorposts (Ex. 12:22). Hyssop was later used to sprinkle the blood that ratified the covenant (24:1–8) and that cleansed healed lepers (Lev. 14:4, 6, 49, 51–52). Our faith may be as weak as the hyssop, but it’s not faith in our faith that saves us, but faith in the blood of the Savior.

The lamb was roasted and eaten (vv. 8–11, 46), and the eating was done in haste, each family member ready to move out when the signal was given. The meal consisted of the roasted lamb, unleavened bread, and bitter herbs, each of which symbolized an important spiritual truth.

In order that the lamb might be kept whole, it was roasted in the fire and not boiled in water. It’s not likely that the Jews had vessels large enough for boiling a whole lamb, but even if they did, it was forbidden. The bones would have to be broken and the meat in cooking would separate from the bones. The bones were not to be broken nor were pieces of meat to be carried outside the house (v. 46; John 19:31–37; Ps. 34:20). It was important to see the wholeness of the lamb.

We trust Christ that we might be saved from our sins by His sacrifice, but we must also feed on Christ in order to have strength for our daily pilgrim journey. As we worship, meditate on the Word, pray, and believe, we appropriate the spiritual nourishment of Jesus Christ and grow in grace and knowledge.

Along with the lamb, the Israelites ate bitter herbs and unleavened bread (Ex. 12:14–20, 39; 13:3–7). Tasting the bitter herbs would remind the Jews of their years of bitter bondage in the land of Egypt. However, when circumstances became difficult during their wilderness journey, the people usually recalled “the good old days” and wanted to go back to Egypt (16:3; 17:1–3; Num. 11:1–9; 14:1–5). They forgot the bitterness of their servitude in that horrible iron furnace.

Their bread was unleavened (without yeast) for two reasons: there wasn’t time for the bread to rise (Ex. 12:39), and leaven was a symbol of impurity to the Jews. For a week after Passover, they were required to eat unleavened bread and to remove every trace of leaven from their dwellings.

Yeast is an image of sin: it’s hidden; it works silently and secretly; it spreads and pollutes; and it causes dough to rise (“puffed up”—1 Cor. 4:18–5:2). Both Jesus and Paul compared false teaching to yeast (Matt. 16:6–12; Mark 8:15; Gal. 5:1–9), but it’s also compared to hypocrisy (Luke 12:1) and sinful living (1 Cor. 5:6–8). Paul admonishes local churches to purge out the sin from their midst and present themselves as an unleavened loaf to the Lord.

If any meat was left over from the feast, it had to be burned. The lamb was so special that it couldn’t be treated like ordinary food. In a similar way, the manna was special and couldn’t be hoarded from day to day, except for the day before the Sabbath (Ex. 16:14–22).

They ate as families and as a congregation (vv. 25–28; 13:8–10). The meal was prepared for the family (see 12:3–4) and was to be eaten by the family members. God’s concern is for the entire family and not just for the parents. If the precious Jewish children were not protected by the blood and strengthened by the food, they couldn’t be delivered from Egypt, and that would be the end of the nation.

Though there were many Jewish households in the land of Goshen, God saw all of them as one congregation (vv. 3, 6). When local Christian congregations today meet to celebrate the Lord’s Supper, God sees each individual assembly as part of one body, the church. That’s why Paul could write about “the whole building … the whole family … the whole body” (Eph. 2:21; 3:15; 4: nkjv). Israel was one nation because of the blood of the lamb, and the church is one fellowship because of Jesus Christ.

Not only was the Passover supper an ordinance to be obeyed (Ex. 12:14, 17, 24, 43), but it was also a “memorial” to be celebrated to keep alive in Israel the story of the Exodus (v. 14; 13:8–10). After Israel had entered and conquered the Promised Land, it would be easy for the people to settle down and forget the great acts of God on their behalf. The annual observance of Passover would give Jewish parents another opportunity to teach their children the meaning of their freedom and what God did for them. The adults were to be “living links” with Israel’s past so that each new generation would understand what it meant to be a member of God’s chosen nation. (See Deut. 6:1–15; 11:18–21; Ps. 34:11; 78:1–7; 145:4.)

In later years, orthodox Jews took Exodus 13:8–9 and 16 literally, along with Deuteronomy 6:8–9 and 11:18. Moses said that Passover was to be “like a sign” (see Ex. 13: niv), that is, a reminder to them of what the Lord had done. Instead, the orthodox interpreted this to mean that the Jewish men were to wear the Scriptures on their person. So, they wrote Scripture passages on parchment and put them into little boxes which they wore on the left arm and the forehead. In the New Testament, they are called “phylacteries” (see Matt. 23:5).

Eating the feast was forbidden to those outside the covenant (Ex. 12:43–51). Not only did a “mixed multitude” join with Israel when they left Egypt (v. 38), but the Jews would encounter many different nations on their march and when they reached Canaan.

Israel might be tempted to let their Gentile neighbors join with them in celebrating Passover, their “national independence day,” but the Lord prohibited this practice. Later, He would forbid the Jews from joining with their neighbors in their pagan religious ceremonies, for Israel was to be a separated people (Deut. 7:1–11).

Who were these “foreigners” whom God said the Israelites couldn’t invite to the Passover celebration? They were non-Israelites who had never been circumcised and therefore were not children of the covenant. They might be slaves in the camp of Israel or simply strangers (resident aliens) living among the Jews. Any stranger or servant could submit to circumcision and become a part of the nation and share the covenant privileges, but they also had to accept the responsibilities.

We usually call this event “the Jewish Passover,” but the Bible calls it “the Lord’s Passover” (vv. 11, 27; Lev. 23:5; Num. 28:16). The observance was more than an “Independence Day” celebration, because the feast was kept “unto the Lord” (Ex. 12:48; Num. 9:10, 14). “It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s passover” (Ex. 12:27). The focus of attention is on the Lord because what occurred that special night was because of Him. At least seventeen times in Exodus 12 “the Lord” is mentioned because He was the one in charge.

God revealed His power (vv. 29–30). After the Jews held their Passover feast “between the evenings,” they waited for God’s signal to depart. At midnight, the Lord struck the firstborn, death visited every Egyptian household, and a great cry arose throughout Egypt (11:6; 12:30). Death is no respecter of persons, and that night it touched the family of the lowest Egyptian prisoner as well as Pharaoh himself. However, not a single death occurred among the Jewish people in the land of Goshen. The lesson here is obvious: Unless you’re protected by the blood of Christ, when death comes, you’ll be completely unprepared, and you don’t know when death is coming.

God kept His promises (vv. 31–36). God told Moses what was going to happen and Moses announced it to Pharaoh (11:1–8), but Pharaoh didn’t believe it. However, God’s word didn’t fail. Just as He said to Moses, the firstborn in Egypt died, there was a great cry in Egypt, Pharaoh told the Israelites to leave, and the Egyptian people freely gave them of their wealth. Promises were fulfilled that night that were made to Abraham centuries before (Gen. 15:13–14). “There has not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised through His servant Moses” (1 Kings 8: nkjv).

God delivered His people (vv. 37–42, 51). The Israelites marched boldly out of Egypt in full view of the Egyptians who were busy burying their dead (Num. 33:3–4). If there were about 600,000 Jewish men taking part in the Exodus, then the total number of Jews must have been about 2 million. Like an army with its divisions (Ex. 12:17, 51), they marched quickly in orderly fashion, with their flocks and their herds. Not one Jew was too feeble to march, and the Egyptians were glad to see the Jews get out of their land (Ps. 105:37–38).

Two different words are used to describe what the King James Version calls “the mixed multitude” that left Egypt with the Jews. In Exodus 12:38, the word is simply a “swarm” or “multitude,” while in Numbers 11:4, it’s “rabble” (see niv). This suggests that the “mixed multitude” originated most of the complaining in the camp that created so many problems for Moses. Some of this crowd may have been Egyptians who had married Jews, contrary to God’s law; others were probably Egyptians who were frightened, impressed with Jehovah’s power (Ex. 9:20), and wanted to benefit from being with God’s chosen people. Perhaps they thought more judgments might fall on the land and they wanted to escape them.

Whoever they were, this “mixed multitude” represents those in this world who outwardly identify with God’s people but inwardly are not truly the children of God. They might be church members and even religious leaders, but their attitudes and appetites are radically different from those who truly belong to the Lord. Jesus warned, “Not everyone who says to Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matt. 7: nkjv). Great multitudes followed Jesus during His earthly ministry, but He wasn’t impressed with these crowds. See Matthew 13:1–9, 18–23; Luke 14:25–35; and John 6:60–71.

God’s promises are never in error and His timing is never wrong (Ex. 12:40–41). The exodus took place 480 years before the fourth year of Solomon’s reign (1 Kings 6:1), which was the year 966 BC That means that the date of the Exodus was 1446 BC and that Jacob’s descendants had been in Egypt since 1876 BC Both Genesis 15: and Acts 7: give “four hundred years,” which is a round figure, but Galatians 3: specifies “430 years.” Most conservative biblical scholars accept 1446 as the date of the exodus.

Israel’s exodus from Egypt is mentioned many places in Scripture as the greatest demonstration of Jehovah’s power in the history of Israel. The prophets point to the exodus as proof of God’s love for Israel (Jer. 2:1–8; Hos. 11:1). They also refer to the exodus when they speak about the Jews’ deliverance from Babylonian captivity (Jer. 16:14; 23:7–8). Isaiah promises a future regathering of Israel to their land and compares it to the exodus (Isa. 11:15; 43:14–21; 51:9–11). Frequently, Isaiah mentions a “highway” that will facilitate this future exodus of the Jews from the Gentile nations (11:16; 19:23; 35:8; 62:10).