The Pharaoh of Egypt was worshipped as a god of the land. He should not feel
all that exclusive, however, since frogs and beetles were so recognized as
well. In actuality, the great struggle between Moses and Pharaoh was one that
symbolized the historic, Edenic struggle between false gods and the True God of
Heaven.
This chapter rises to singular importance in its representation of the deep and
full meaning of redemption by the blood of Christ – in fact, so important that
I will cover the chapter in two parts. The reader must bear in mind, however,
that the depth of meaning is of far too great a magnitude to be covered in many
volumes of books except those sixty-six books of our Holy Bible. The first
Passover represents a stark parallel to that greater Passover of the Lamb of
God on the brow of Calvary Mountain. The Passover in Egypt was a mere image of
that which was to be culminated by the death of our Lord Jesus Christ – the
true Passover Lamb and, in fact, our PASSOVER! “Purge out
therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For
even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us
keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and
wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” (1
Corinthians 5:7-8)
The tenth plague that God issues against Pharaoh and the land of Egypt could be
rationally considered their tithe of blood to God, for the tithe is a tenth of
the first-fruits of the people. The tenth plague requires the lives of the
first-born of Egypt (first fruits of the very people). It is the bitter tithe
of a cursed people as contrasted with that of a Holy people such as Israel was
considered by the Lord.
The chapter might be divided in the following parts:
· God’s dealing
with Pharaoh
a.
Pharaoh’s lack of heed for the first nine plagues
b.
The final plague of death of first
borns (the Passover) (12:14-28)
· Redemption of
God’s people
a.
By blood – 12:12-36
b.
By power – (12:37-14:31) First Stage of
Journey (12:37-51)
“And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of
Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall
be the first month of the year to you.” (Ex 12:1-2)
I need not remind the serious Bible scholar of the New Birth and Life that
begins when one is covered by the Blood of the Pascal (Passover) Lamb – it
begins not only a new year, but a new creation as well. Here is the Passover of
Christ – “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old
things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2
Cor 5:17) In the Hebrew calendar, the first day of Passover is Nissan
15 (April 11 this year of 2015) - very appropriate for this is
the beginning of the old Hebrew year (Spring, when life is created).
“Speak
ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month
they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their
fathers, a lamb for an house: And if the household be too little for the lamb,
let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number
of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the
lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the
first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from
the goats: And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same
month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall
kill it in the evening.” (Ex
12:3-6)
Have you considered the points of
exact congruence of the passive lamb of Goshen to that of the true Passover
Lamb of God? Jesus Christ was the Lamb of God – without blemish or spot: “Forasmuch
as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and
gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But
with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without
spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was
manifest in these last times for you.” (1 Peter
1:18-20) Moreover, Jesus came as a Son of His Father (a male). He
died in the very bud and bloom of His manhood. He was taken from among men and
was the only one who was worthy to die in our stead for our sins. He was
sacrificed on Passover Eve – at the very moment (6 PM) of the Temple sacrifice
of the Passover Lamb. The next day was dawning at sunset – the beginning of the
High Sabbath (2nd day of Passover – the night on which
the first-born of Egypt had died and the first-born of Israel were spared).
That high Sabbath would have been the 15th of
Nissan when Pharaoh awakened to the horror of his first-born being dead!
“And
they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the
upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.” (Ex
12:7)
In brushing the blood of the Passover lamb on the sides of the door (vertical
strokes, and the lintels (upper posts of the houses - horizontal) they were
unwittingly using that same pattern that the cross makes with its vertical and
horizontal beams. The long vertical beam of the cross illustrates our duty to
God; the shorter horizontal beam illustrates our duty to our neighbor as
outlined in the Great and Second Commandment: “Thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with
all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second
is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two
commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” ¯¯
“And
they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread;
and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all
with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the
purtenance thereof. And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning;
and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. And
thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your
staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD'S passover.”
¯¯ Observe how this reflects our observance of the Lord’s Supper. The Bread is
Unleavened for leaven represents sin, or false doctrine. (Matthew
16:12) They were to
consume it ALL – as we consume ALL of the Bread and Cup of the Holy Communion
(it represents the Body and Blood of our Lord). Note also that this represents “the
Lord’s Passover” – not a mere tradition of men!
In actuality, we observe in this passage the inauguration of
the Lord’s Supper, or PASSOVER: “For I will pass through the land of Egypt
this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and
beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the
LORD. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are:
and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be
upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. And this day shall be
unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout
your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.” (Ex
12:12-14) Though
our mode of observance was changed by the Lord on the night of His betrayal, we
are nonetheless commanded to keep the Passover of the Lord forever. Those who
are saved by the Blood of Christ from that darkness and death that will come
upon the land may partake of the Lord’s Supper worthily and enjoy the bliss of
knowing that the Angel of Death will Passover them at the last day. When that
awesome Angel sees the Blood of Christ over the doorposts and lintels of your
heart, he will PASSOVER you and you shall LIVE!
“Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first
day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened
bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from
Israel. And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the
seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall
be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of
you.” (Ex 12:15-16) Leaven, as a type of sin, was
removed from all homes. Then at twilight, as the 14th day of Nisan was ending,
the Passover lambs were slain. Sunset initiated the first day of the Feast of
Unleavened Bread. Nisan 15 was a "High Sabbath". Bread baked without
yeast was eaten during the seven days of the feast. Sunset began the 15th day
of Nisan. Jesus was buried, just in time for the Feast of Unleavened Bread. But
in the grave His body did not decay or see corruption. That Passover the
sinless unleavened 'Bread of Heaven' was revealed as that long awaited perfect
sacrifice for sin. Thus He fulfilled the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the
Passover Lamb.
“And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in
this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore
shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever. In the
first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even (the very moment of Christ
death), ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of
the month at even. Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses:
for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off
from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land.
Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened
bread.” (Ex 12:17-20) Leaven represents sin, and
bread represents (in the Communion) the Pure and Sinless Body of Christ –
therefore the symbol must be consistent with that being symbolized. It is for
this reason that we eat unleavened bread (usually a wafer) in Holy Communion. “Ye
cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers
of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils.” (1
Cor 10:21) It is
also for this reason that we must not come to the Lord’s Table bearing malice
toward our brother. “Therefore if thou bring
thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought
against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first
be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.”
(Matt 5:23-24)
The Passover in Egypt was only new to Pharaoh and his people. But the true
Passover was ordained from before the Foundations of the World. Even in the dim
and glimmering eternities past, that Passover was ordained of God to be our
salvation in all time – both BEFORE and AFTER the actual crucifixion, for that
which is ordained of God is ordained by the Great I AM – existing in the
Eternal Presence – and is already reality.
