21 INSTRUCTIONS

The passover was a highly symbolic spiritual ceremony to be repeated annually. So the details have rich meanings for us. They are worthy of our notice. “The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, ‘This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year’” (1,2). It is a good thing to begin each day, each year with a special prayer for God’s blessings on the day or year that is to follow. The Israelites’ new year was now to begin in the spring which is mentioned in the Song of Solomon 2:11&12 where we receive a sense of newness, a new beginning. “See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.” God’s word to Moses and Aaron imply that a new year, a milestone in our journey, should be noticed. We may guess that while Moses was bringing the ten plagues on the Egyptians, he was also moving about Egypt directing the Israelites to prepare for their departure at an hour’s notice. By this activity perhaps he had by degrees gradually given them a sense of camaraderie or groupness, brought them together because here they are referred to as “the whole community.” And now in the Passover celebration they would also have a spiritual ceremony, a meaningful celebration to remember their great deliverance and honor God. Not all Christians in the world observe the Jewish feasts, but in the same spirit we can observe the spiritual meanings of Christian celebrations.

God instructed that on the night they were to go out of Egypt they should, in each of their families, or several families together, kill a year old lamb or a kid goat, at its prime, without defect at twilight. They were to sprinkle blood on the door posts and door top and eat all the meat together. Notice that the family was the central featured social group or organization. Serving God as families has a long history beginning with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob’s family alters and now the celebration of the Passover.  Christian leader, encourage your people to have family worship. Let them not depend only on cooperate worship with the larger congregation.

They were to eat, the lamb slain, roasted, (probably in quarters), with unleavened bread and bitter herbs because they were to eat it in haste according to verse 11. “This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover.” Even the haste was symbolic because it would remind the Israelites of the haste with which they left Egypt when finally they had permission to go. We too hurry to leave captivity and sin. They were to leave none of the meat until morning. God wanted them to depend on Him for their daily bread, and not take thought for the morrow. He who led them would feed them.

A truly dreadful work was to be made this night in Egypt; all the first-born both of man and beast were to be slain and judgment executed upon the gods of Egypt. Moses does not mention this judgment on the gods here in this chapter, but he does speak of it in Numbers 33:4 saying, “who were burying all their firstborn, whom the Lord had struck down among them; for the Lord had brought judgment on their gods.” We don’t know if God destroyed the Egyptians’ god’s reputations only or actually physically demolished some idols. When people turn to God they also turn from false gods.

Let’s think about the protection of Israel’s first-born. Even before they ate the flesh of the lamb they were protected from the plague of the death of all other first-borns as they were ordered to sprinkle the blood of the lamb on the door-posts. By this their houses were distinguished from the houses of the Egyptians so their first-born would be protected from the sword of the destroying angel. Doing this was accepted as an indication of their faith in the divine warnings and their obedience to the divine commands. The symbolism is rich. Jesus’ blood of sprinkling today is the saint’s sign of faith that causes today’s death-angle to pass over us. It gives us boldness to stand before the throne of grace. The blood of Jesus, our Passover Lamb, applied to our door post becomes a wall of protection around us and a wall of separation between us and the people of this world.

The Passover was to be annually observed as a feast of the Lord in their generations, to which the feast of unleavened bread was connected. During this feast for seven days they were to eat only unleavened bread to remember their being limited to eating unleavened bread for many days after they came out of Egypt.

Jesus is referred to as our paschal lamb. You may have heard of this word. What does paschal mean? Paschal is the English adjective form of the Greek word pascha, which is derived from the Hebrew word pesah, or pesach, which means “passover.” The Pesach (or Passover) is the Jewish Feast celebrating the Israelites' deliverance from slavery in Egypt. The paschal lamb was typical; filled with meaning. Christ is our Passover as 1 Corinthians 5:7 says, “Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” It was to be a lamb and Christ is the Lamb of God, often in the Revelation called the Lamb, meek and innocent as a lamb, dumb before the shearers, quiet before the butchers. It was to be a male of the first year, in its prime. Likewise Christ offered up Himself in the midst of His young adult days, not in infancy with the babes of Bethlehem. The passive lamb symbolizes the strength and sufficiency of the Lord Jesus. It was to be without blemish, illustrating the purity of the Lord Jesus, a Lamb without spot as 1 Peter 1:19 says, “but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” The lamb was to be set apart, brought into the house and loved for four days before it was to be killed. It was not just some animal; it was a Friend of the family. This helps us feel what God must have felt when He gave Jesus for us. It is very significant that Jesus was crucified at the passover and solemnly entered into Jerusalem four days before, the very day that the paschal lamb in Jerusalem would have been set apart. It was to be slain, and roasted with fire, illustrating the extreme sufferings of the Lord Jesus, even to death, the death of the cross. The wrath of God is as fire, and Christ was made a curse for us. It was to be killed by the whole congregation between three o’clock and six. Christ too suffered at the cry of a whole multitude according to Luke 23:18, “But the whole crowd shouted, ‘Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!'” This was for the good of all His spiritual Israel.  Not a bone of it must be broken which is expressly fulfilled in the treatment given to Jesus as described in John 19:33 and 36. “But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.” “These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: ‘Not one of his bones will be broken,’” This had been prophesied and it symbolized the unbroken strength of the Lord Jesus our strong Lion.

The sprinkling of the blood was also meaningful. It was not enough that the blood of the lamb was shed, but it must be sprinkled, illustrating the application of the merits of Jesus’ death to our souls. We are protected under the blood. It was to be sprinkled with a bunch of hyssop.“Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go out of the door of your house until morning.” The everlasting covenant, like the basin, is the vessel to hold this blood, the benefits and privileges purchased by it are laid up for us; faith is the bunch of hyssop by which we apply the promises to ourselves and the benefits of the blood of Jesus are a covering, protecting and defending us.  The blood was to be sprinkled on the door-posts, teaching us of the public profession we are to make of faith in Christ, and obedience to Him, as those that are not ashamed to acknowledge our dependence on Him.

Isaiah tells of a highway to heaven. The passover is the highway; it is God’s way. “And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it.” The blood was to be sprinkled on the board across the top of the door and the sideposts, but not on the threshold according to verse 7. “Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs.” Why not the threshold? We must take heed lest we trample under foot the blood of the covenant. Hebrews 10:29 gives us this caution, “How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?” Jesus’ blood is precious and must be precious to us. The sprinkled blood was a means of the preservation of the Israelites from the destroying angel, who had nothing to do, no-one to kill, where the blood was. If the blood of Christ is sprinkled on our consciences, it will be our protection from the accusations of Satan, the wrath of God, the curse of the law and the damnation of hell. If we are covered by the Jesus’ passover blood, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).

The solemn eating of the lamb was a teaching illustration of our gospel-duty to Christ. The paschal lamb was killed, not to be looked at only, but to be fed on. We must by faith make Christ our own meal, our diet, as we feast on Him, consume Him. If we do, we will receive spiritual strength and nourishment from Him, just as our bodies do from food,. We may have delight and satisfaction in Him, as we have in eating and drinking when we are hungry or thirsty. This is a heavy truth and many who heard it even from Jesus’ own lips did not understand it. Jesus said in John 6:53 - 55, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.” The Paschal lamb was to be entirely, all eaten and those that by faith feed on Jesus must feed on a whole Christ. They must take all of  Him, Christ and His yoke, Christ and His cross, as well as Christ and His crown. Jesus is a true feast, but suffering also is part of the package. Verse 8 says, “That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast.” It was to be eaten with bitter herbs in remembrance of the bitterness of their bondage in Egypt. We must feed on Christ with sorrow and brokenness of heart in remembrance of sin and the burden of the people for whom we intercede. This will give an admirable appetite for the Paschal Lamb. Jesus will be sweet to us if sin be bitter.

The feast of unleavened bread was also a teaching illustration of the Christian life. Having received Christ Jesus the Lord, we must keep a feast in holy joy, continually delighting ourselves in Christ Jesus; no kind of work was to be done, no care admitted or accepted which would interfere with holy joy. If true believers do not enjoy a continual feast it is their own fault. It must be a feast of unleavened bread, kept in love and purity, without the leaven of malice, insincerity or hypocrisy. The law regarding the Passover was very strict and the Jews were equally strict in observing it. No leaven should be found in their houses. All the old leaven of sin must be put far from us, with the utmost caution and care, if we want to keep the feast of a holy life to the honor of Christ.

Moses was a teaching leader, a faithful steward in God’s house, teaching the children of Israel to observe all things which God had commanded him. He probably gave all these instructions as fully and clearly as he received them, even if they are not so fully or clearly recorded. Furthermore, after this the Israelites were to carefully teach their children the meaning of this service, as verse 26 says, “And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’” The question which the children should ask is what is the meaning of all this care and exactness about eating this lamb, and this unleavened bread, more than about common food? Why is there such a difference between this meal and others? It is a good thing and to be encouraged to see children become inquisitive learners, especially when they ask about the things of God. Those who are careful to ask for the right path will find it. Jesus Himself, when He was a child asked questions. “After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions” (Luke 2:46). It is healthy to ask questions and want to learn. Let us give our children our ears. Hear and answer their questions. It encourages them to ask more. That is good.

The Hebrew word pesach means a leap, or transition; it is a passing over. The destroying angel passed over the houses of the Israelites, and did not destroy their first-born. When a thousand fall at our side, and ten thousand at our right hand, and yet we are preserved, and still have our life, this should greatly affect us. Here is Psalm 91:7 “A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.” In war or plague, even Covid 19, if the arrow of death passed by us, passed over us, hit something or someone next to us and just missed us, we must not say it was by chance that we were passed over but by the special providence of our God.