Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 12:3
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 a house:
3. the congregation ] P’s standing expression for Israel, as an organized religious community, or ‘church.’ It occurs in P more than 100 times, usually alone (‘the congregation’), sometimes with the addition of ‘of Israel’ (as here, vv. 6, 47, Lev 4:13), or ‘of the children of Israel’ (Exo 16:1-2, &c.). Except in P and the allied narrative of Joshua 22, it occurs in the historical books only in Jdg 21:10; Jdg 21:13; Jdg 21:16, 1Ki 8:5 (not in LXX.) = 2Ch 5:6, 1Ki 12:20.
the tenth day] perhaps (Di. B.) some sanctity attached to the day which closed the first decade of the month: the 10th day of the seventh month was the Day of Atonement (Lev 23:27); in Islam, also, as Di. observes, the 10th day of the 12th month is the day of the great sacrifice at the Mecca pilgrimage; cf. Benzinger, Arch. 2 p. 169.
a lamb ] The Heb. seh denotes a single head of the tsn, or smaller cattle (including both sheep and goats), without reference to age or sex; and may be used of either a sheep or a goat (hence RVm.): see v. 5b; and comp. Num 15:11 b ( Lex. ‘or for a seh among the lambs or the goats’), Deu 14:4 b ( Lex. ‘the seh of lambs and the seh of goats’).
fathers’ houses ] A ‘father’s house’ is a common expression in P and Chr. for a family: see on Exo 6:14.
a lamb for an household ] The Passover was to be a domestic institution: each lamb was to be partaken of only by members of one family, or (in the case provided for in v. 4) of two families living side by side.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
A lamb – The Hebrew word is general, meaning either a sheep or a goat – male or female – and of any age; the age and sex are therefore epecially defined in the following verse. The direction to select the lamb on the tenth day, the fourth day before it was offered, was intended to secure due care in the preparation for the great national festival. The custom certainly fell into desuetude at a later period, but probably not before the destruction of the temple.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Exo 12:3-4
If the household be too little for the lamb.
Too little for the lamb
I. The text reminds us of a primary privilege.
1. That each man of Israel ate the passover for himself; every man according to his eating. So do we feed upon Jesus, each one as his appetite, capacity, and strength enable him to do.
2. But this same delicious fare should be enjoyed by all the family–a lamb for an house. Oh, that each of the parents and all the children and servants may be partakers of Christ!
II. The text is silent as to a certain contingency.
1. The lamb was never too little for the family; and assuredly the Lord Jesus was never too little even for the largest family, nor for the most sinful persons.
2. There is no reason to stint our prayers for fear we ask too much.
3. Nor to stay our labours because the Lord Jesus cannot give us strength enough, or grace enough.
4. Nor to restrain our hopes of salvation for the whole family, because of some supposed narrowness in the purpose, provision, or willingness of the Lord to bless.
III. The text mentions a possibility, and provides for it.
1. One family is certainly too small a reward for Jesus–too little for the Lamb.
2. One family is too little to render Him all the praise, worship, service, and love which He deserves.
3. One family is too little to do all the work of proclaiming the Lamb of God, maintaining the truth, visiting the Church, winning the world. Therefore let us call in the neighbour next unto our house.
(1) Our next neighbour has the first claim upon us.
(2) He is the most easy to reach, and by each calling his next neighbour all will be reached.
(3) He is the most likely person to be influenced by us. At any rate this is the rule, and we are to obey it (see Luk 24:47; Joh 1:41; Neh 3:28). If our neighbour does not come when invited, we are not responsible; but if he perished because we did not invite him, blood-guiltiness would be upon us (Eze 33:8).
IV. The whole subject suggests thoughts upon neighbourly fellowship in the gospel.
1. It is good for individuals and families to grow out of selfishness, and to seek the good of a wide circle.
2. It is a blessed thing when the centre of our society is the Lamb.
3. Innumerable blessings already flow to us from the friendships which have sprung out of our union in Jesus.
4. Our care for one another in Christ helps to realize the unity of the one body, even as the common eating of the passover proclaimed and assisted the solidarity of the people of Israel as one nation. This spiritual union is a high privilege.
5. Thoroughly carried out, heaven will thus be foreshadowed upon earth, for there love to Jesus and love to one another is found in every heart. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Sharing religion with others
There are some things which can be shared with our neighbours, and some which cannot, in the religious life. In securing the means of grace we can go halves with our next-door neighbours; but not so in the great fact of personal salvation. We can join with a neighbour in taking a pew in church, or in getting a waggon to carry us to church, or in subscribing for a religious paper–and paying for it too; but we can share no neighbours seat in heaven; his team will never carry us there; the truths which benefit him from the weekly paper do not, because of their gain to him, do us any good. And if our nextdoor neighbours family is a household of faith, that doesnt make ours so. The members of his family may be saved and ours lost. Neighbourliness is commanded and commended of God; but God doesnt want you to leave your salvation in the hands of your next-door neighbour. The blood above your neighbours doorpost will not save your household from death. (H. C. Trumbull.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 3. In the tenth day of this month] In after times they began their preparation on the thirteenth day or day before the PASSOVER, which was not celebrated till the fourteenth day, see Ex 12:6: but on the present occasion, as this was their first passover, they probably required more time to get ready in; as a state of very great confusion must have prevailed at this time. Mr. Ainsworth remarks that on this day the Israelites did afterwards go through Jordan into the land of Canaan; Jos 4:19. And Christ, our Paschal Lamb, on this day entered Jerusalem, riding on an ass; the people bearing palm branches, and crying, Hosanna, Joh 12:1; Joh 12:12-13, c.: and in him this type was truly fulfilled.
A lamb] The original word seh signifies the young of sheep and of goats, and may be indifferently translated either lamb or kid. See Ex 12:5.
A lamb for a house] The whole host of Israel was divided into twelve tribes, these tribes into families, the families into houses, and the houses into particular persons Num. i., Jos 7:14. –Ainsworth.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
In the tenth day; partly, that they might have the lamb ready for the sacrifice, and might not be distracted about procuring it when they should be going to use it; partly, that by the frequent contemplation of the lamb, as a sign appointed by God, they might have their faith strengthened as to their approaching deliverance, and afterwards might have their minds quickened to the more serious consideration of that great deliverance out of Egypt, and of that more glorious deliverance from hell by Christ the true Passover, which should be offered for them; partly, to teach the church in all ages how necessary a thing preparation is to the solemn duties and exercises of religion; and partly, to signify that Christ should be first set apart, and separated to the ministry, which was done three or four prophetical days, i.e. years, before his death, and afterwards offered: most of which reasons being perpetual, it may seem this usage was so too, and not for the first passover only.
They shall take to them, into their houses, where the Jews tell us he was tied to the bed-post.
A lamb, or kid, Exo 12:5, for the same word signifies both, though a lamb was commonly used, and a kid only in case of the want of a lamb; and the Chaldee and LXX. do almost constantly translate the Hebrew word lamb. And Christ is seldom or never typified by a kid, but generally by a lamb, as he is called Joh 1:29, partly for his innocency, meekness, patience, &c., but principally with respect to the paschal lamb, instead whereof he was in due time to be offered; whence he is called our Passover, 1Co 5:7.
A lamb was to be disposed of to every house or family, according to its quantity, or the number of persons in it, as the next verse explains it. The several families are called
the houses of their fathers, because they consist of those persons which come from one father or grandfather. The people were divided into tribes, the tribes were subdivided into families, and the families again into houses, which were like sprigs taken from the greater branches, and planted apart, and each of these had their several fathers, from whom they were denominated, as here they are.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
3. Speak ye unto all thecongregation of IsraelThe recent events had prepared theIsraelitish people for a crisis in their affairs, and they seem tohave yielded implicit obedience at this time to Moses. It isobservable that, amid all the hurry and bustle of such a departure,their serious attention was to be given to a solemn act of religion.
a lamb for an houseakid might be taken (Ex 12:5).The service was to be a domestic one, for the deliverance was to befrom an evil threatened to every house in Egypt.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel,…. That is, to the elders of the people, and heads of families; unless we can suppose that they had been gradually gathered, and were now gathered together in a body by the direction of Moses, by whom they were assured that their departure was at hand; and the rather it may be thought that so it was, since the following order concerned the whole and every individual:
saying, in the tenth [day] of this month; the month Abib or Nisan, which shows that this direction must be given before that day, and so very probably on the first of the month, as before observed:
they shall take to them every man a lamb; not every individual person, but every master of a family, or head of an house, as follows:
according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house; if large enough to eat up a whole lamb, otherwise they were to do as next directed: the Targum of Jonathan suggests, that this direction of taking a lamb to them on the tenth day of the month was only for this time, and not for following ages; and so the Jewish doctors c commonly understand it as being peculiar to the passover in Egypt, and not in later times; for they d say,
“what difference is there between the passover in Egypt, and the passover in later ages? the passover in Egypt was taken within the tenth day, and was obliged to sprinkling with a bunch of hyssop upon the lintel, and upon the two side posts, and was eaten with haste in one night, but the passover in later ages was kept all the seven days.”
The ground and reason of this special direction for taking up a lamb on the tenth day was, that they might have a lamb ready; and that through the multiplicity of business, and the hurry they would be in at their departure, they might not forget it, and neglect it; and that they might have time enough to examine whether it had all the prerequisites and qualifications that were necessary; and that while they had it in view, they might be led to meditate upon, and talk of, expect and firmly believe their deliverance; yea, that their faith might be directed to a far greater deliverance by the Messiah, which this was only typical of, Heb 11:28 but some of these reasons would hold good in later times, and it seems by some circumstances that this rule was attended to.
c Ben Gersom in loc. Maimon. Korban Pesach. c. 10. sect. 15. d Misn. Pesach. c. 9. sect. 5.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Verses 3-10:
God gave precise instructions for this ceremony which was to become a perpetual ordinance in Israel. Each provision had symbolic meaning, which related to God’s plan of redemption.
“Lamb” seh, may refer to either a young sheep or a goat. In this case, it must be of the “first year.”
“According to the house of their fathers,” lit., “for a father’s house,” or a family.
“Too little for a lamb,” or “too few to eat the meal at a sitting.” In this instance, the meal should be shared with a neighbor. The meal must be prepared with consideration for the number likely to eat. Sharing the Pascal meal illustrates the obligation of Christians to share with others the Gospel of Christ, Ac 1:8; Mt 5:15, 16.
“Without blemish,” the lamb must not be lame, sick, marred in any way. The Law later expressly forbade any blemished animals for sacrifice, see Le 22:20-25. This provision typifies the Lamb of God, who is “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners” (Heb 7:26), and who is the “lamb without blemish and without spot” (1Pe 1:19).
The lamb was to be penned up from the tenth day to the fourteenth, likely to give time to observe it carefully to determine that it had no blemish.
The “whole assembly,” all Israel, was to partake of this rite.
The lamb was to be slain, its blood caught in a basin (v. 22), and then sprinkled on the “upper door post” (lintel) and the two side posts or door frames. Fig. A shows the significance of this provision. Lines drawn from where the blood was sprinkled form a cross. [figure in hardbound commentary]. This pictures the cross upon which the Lamb of God died for man’s redemption from sin.
The Hebrews commonly boiled the meat of sacrificial meals, 2Sa 2:14, 15. The Paschal meal was to be roasted, which was simpler and quicker than boiling. Since haste was essential, this was the best way to prepare the meat.
The Paschal meal was to be eaten with “bitter herbs” or vegetables, a picture of the bitterness of Israel’s servitude in Egypt.’ Jewish tradition says that chicory, endive, wild lettuce, and nettles were included in this.
The Paschal lamb was to be eaten in its entirety. This symbolizes the total Person of Christ our Passover, who was offered for sin, Isa 53:1-5. It also illustrates the unity of God’s people.
“Purtenances”quereb, denotes the intestines. Jewish tradition says the intestines were removed, washed and cleansed, then replaced to be roasted and eaten.
The Lamb was to be totally consumed the night of the Paschal feast. Nothing was to be left until the morning. This symbolizes the total Person of Christ who is the one Offering for sin.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
3. Speak ye unto all. A question is asked on this passage, why, when one Lamb alone was offered in sacrifice for the reconciliation of the Church, and God was propitiated by the blood of one Christ alone, He should have commanded a lamb to be slain in every house, as if there were to be a special sacrifice for every one apart? The reply is easy; because, although all were protected from destruction by the same blood, and the general rite united them altogether into fellowship in the same expiation, yet still it was not unreasonable that, by that special application, so to speak, God would have every family separately reminded, so as to feel the grace more peculiarly conferred on itself. Thus now-a-days we have all the same baptism, whereby we are ingrafted in common into the body of Christ; yet His baptism is conferred on every individual, that they may more surely acknowledge that they are partakers in the adoption, and therefore members of the Church. God, then, in commanding them to slay a lamb in every house, did not wish to draw away the people to different grounds of hope, but only to shew them in a familiar way, that all houses were under obligation to Him, and that not only the salvation of the whole people ought to be confessed to come from Him, but that His singular blessing ought to shine forth in every family. The cause of his desiring the neighbors to be added if the number of people in one house were not, sufficient to eat the Passover, was that nothing might be left of it; and this amongst others appears to have been the chief reason why the whole lamb was to be consumed, viz., lest they should mix this sacred feast with their daily food, and also lest its dignity should be diminished by appearing in the form of tainted meat. Perhaps, too, God provided this, lest any superstition should creep in from the preservation of the remnants; and therefore commanded the very bones to be burnt.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
CRITICAL NOTES.
Exo. 12:3. The house of their fathers.] More exactly: a fathers house. The designation naturally imports family in the larger sense of family of families, the entire group formed by the union of grown-up sons and daughters with their children under the ancestral roof. Only in the event of this group being too small for a lamb, were mere neighbours to unite.
Exo. 12:6. Whole assembly of the congregation.] Here, at the very outset of Hebrew national history, is an illustration of the truth that, fundamentally, all Hebrews were priests (cf. Exo. 19:6),a truth which lives on in its interest when connected with unfulfilled prophecy (Isa. 61:6), and with the antitypical realisation in the Christian ecclesia (1Pe. 2:9). Moreover, it is observable that the first Passover was a domestic observance, and that the Lords Supper was instituted as a part and an outgrowth of such an observance in an upper room.In the evening.] Literally, between the two evenings, probably, says Dr. Davies (Heb. Lex.), between sunset and dark (cf. Deu. 16:6), as the Karaites and Samaritans hold, or perhaps the time between the suns declining and its actual setting, as the Pharisees insisted and the Jews now hold. Kalisch, deeming the former view the most rational, translates the expression at dusk, and quotes with approval the following from Ebn Ezra: We have two evenings; the first, the setting of the sun, that is, the time when he disappears beneath the horizon; and the second, the ceasing of the light which is reflected in the clouds; and between both lies an interval of about one hour and twenty minutes.
Exo. 12:11. Passover.] Heb., Pesach, a stepping over, sparing; from pa-sach, to move away from, to move forward from, to move over from one object to another (Furst). The noun pesach occurs forty-eight times in the Old Testament, always rendered passover in the Authorised Version; and reappears in the Septuagint under the form pascha, which is then used in the New Testament twenty-nine times, most notably in connection with the Messiahs death in the Gospels, when the New Feast was instituted, also, with more direct application to the same great fact, by the Apostle Paul, 1Co. 5:7 (lit. for OUR PASSOVER ALSO was slain [even] Christ). The verb pa-sach is rendered pass over in Exo. 12:13; Exo. 12:23; Exo. 12:27 of this chapter, and in Is. Exo. 31:5.
Exo. 12:12. Gods or Egypt.] Which words, says Kalisch, evidently mean that the uniform and general extirpation of all the first-born of the Egyptians, which calamity their gods will be powerless to avert, will be a manifest proof to those who have hitherto worshipped them that they are a vain support and an idle refuge: thus the authority of the idols will be destroyed in the eyes of the Egyptians, and this was the severest judgment which the omnipotent Lord of the Universe could exercise against them
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Exo. 12:3-13
THE INSTITUTION OF THE PASSOVER
I. The circumstances under which the Passover was instituted. The king of Egypt and his people had rebelled against the command of the Lord, as made known by Moses and Aaron, in not consenting to give Israel their freedom. Mercy had been tried, judgment had been inflicted, all to no purpose. The heart of Pharaoh was still hardened against the Divine request, and now Heaven is driven to the last extremity of retribution, and has determined on and announced the death of Egypts first-born. The Divine edict has gone forth. At this crisis the Passover was instituted for the safety of the children of Israel. How would the destroying angel know the homes of Egypt from the homes of Israel? and what token should he have of the safety of the latter? This was the question. The Passover was the answer. Blood was to be sprinkled on the upper door-post of the houses occupied by the Israelites. And so the world of unregenerate humanity is under the dire sentence of death, and the sentence is soon to be executed. But how shall the good escape the sword of the avenger? By taking immediate refuge in the Cross of Christ. This is the only refuge of man from moral and eternal death. The Cross was instituted to save men from the edict of moral death.
(1) It was instituted under perilous circumstances.
(2) It was instituted under exceptional circumstances.
(3) It was instituted under painful circumstances. And so the Cross of Christ was instituted under circumstances morally dangerous, morally exceptional, and morally painful, but under circumstances which rendered it most welcome to the true Israel.
II. The proceedings by which the Passover was characterised.
1. A lamb was slain in the houses of the Israelites (Exo. 12:3-4). Every householder was to take a lamb, without blemish, of the first year, and, after keeping it four days in the house, was to kill it. This was emblematical of things in the Christian economy. Christ is the Lamb of God. He was taken from amongst the flock in the vigour of manhood. He was ordained to be slain from the foundation of the world. He was without moral defect. He was slain on Calvary.
2. The blood of the lamb thus slain was to be sprinkled on the upper door-post of the houses of the Israelites (Exo. 12:7). It was not enough to kill the lamb; its blood must be sprinkled on the upper door-posts of the house, if the inmates are to be safe. And it is not sufficient for the safety of men that Christ died; His precious blood must be sprinkled on their hearts. The blood was not sprinkled on the threshold of the door, but high up on the posts. The blood of Christ is sacred, and must not be trampled under foot of men. The mark of a Christian life is to be evident to the world and easily discernible. There would be no difficulty in knowing the houses of the Israelites. The house of a good man should always be known by the token of the Cross upon it.
3. The slain lamb was eaten by the Israelites in an attitude of pilgrimage and haste (Exo. 12:11). The slain lamb was to be eaten by the Israelites. It was not to be eaten raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire. None of the animal was to remain. All were to eat of it. During the repast, their loins were to be girt and their feet were to be shod. And so the soul must appropriate Christ; it must cultivate an attitude of moral haste, and it must be mindful of its pilgrim condition, if it is to be saved by Him.
III. The results by which the Passover was followed. (Exo. 12:13.)
1. After the celebration of the Passover the Israelites were safe. After the sprinkling of the blood upon the door-post of the house the Israelites were safe from the stroke of the avenging angel. They were protected because they complied with the ordinance of God for their safety. And so men are only safe when they have yielded obedience to the terms of salvation which God requires. The Israelites might have done many wise things, and availed themselves of many preventatives against the destruction of the angel; but if they had not sprinkled the blood upon the door-posts they would have perished. Men may strive to do many things to ameliorate their condition as sinners, but the Cross of Christ is their only real protection.
2. After the celebration, of the Passover the Israelites were free. After the destruction of the first-born the Israelites were commanded to leave Egypt. The proud tyrant gave them their freedom. He had no wish, at that sad moment, to prolong the conflict with Jehovah, of whose power he had received sufficient demonstration. The souls of men are only free when they are sprinkled with the blood of Christ, and when they have made a personal appropriation of the Saviour. Then they are free from the tyranny of pride and passion; they enter upon the long and trying pilgrimage of moral goodness.
3. After the celebration of the Passover the Israelites were joyous. They were pleased with their freedom and the prospects before them. They were grateful for the terrible retribution they and their families had escaped through the abundant mercy of God. And so when the soul has received Christ, its first experiences, as it steps out into the new and mysterious life, are those of joy and gratitude. LESSONS:
1. That every household should have an interest in the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
2. That to experience the saving benefit of Christs death the soul must personally receive Him.
3. That Christ as dying is the only hope of the soul.
4. That Christ died for all.
THE PASSOVER AS ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE ATONING WORK OF CHRIST, AND OF ITS RECEPTION BY THE BELIEVING SOUL
I. In the victim it provides. 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 (Exo. 12:3). Thus the victim provided for the celebration of the Jewish Passover was a lamb. Jesus Christ is called the Lamb of God (Joh. 1:29). He was innocent; He was meek. He was Divinely appointed to be a sacrifice for sin.
1. This lamb was to be a male of the first year (Exo. 12:5). Because after that it would be no lamb, but a sheep, and because it must be perfect and strong. And so Christ was mighty in strength. He required to be strong. He had a great task to accomplish, and many hindrances to overcome. He had perfect strength (Psa. 89:19; Isa. 19:20; Tit. 2:13). Men must render to God the activities of youth.
2. The lamb was to be without blemish (Exo. 12:5). It was not to be lame or blind or sick, or in any way defective. So Christ was a perfect offering. He was pure. Sin strove in vain to soil Him. His enemies could find no fault in Him. He was sinless (1Pe. 1:19).
3. The lamb was to be set apart four days (Exo. 12:6). They were commanded to set apart the Paschal lamb four days, because if they had delayed it till the moment of their departure from Egypt, they might in the haste of other business have forgotten it; in order that they might detect any blemish in the lamb; that they might by a sight of the lamb be awakened to a grateful expectation of their approaching deliverance; and that they might repose a sure trust in the help of God against their enemies. And so Christ was ordained from eternity as the offering for human guilt. He was in every way tested.
II. In the sacrifice it requires. And the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening (Exo. 12:6). Thus the lamb was to be slain, and by all Israel. The continued life of the victim would not have ensured the needed safety. Its death was a necessity. And so in reference to Christ; we are saved by His death. Without shedding of blood there is no remission. He was slain by the entire congregation. The world, Jews and Gentiles, cried out, Crucify Him! crucify Him! The Paschal lamb was roast with fire. In this we have set forth the sufferings of Christ. No pain equal to that occasioned by burning. Christ in the agony of the garden and on the cross.
III. In the duty it enjoins. 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 (Exo. 12:7). The blood appointed to be a means to preserve the Hebrews from death is emblematical of the blood of Christ, whereby men are delivered from sin and everlasting death. True the destroying angel would know the houses of the Israelites without this sign on the door-post, but this shedding of blood was the Divinely-appointed method of safety, and was the token of Gods care over them. Christian families must have the blood of Christ sprinkled on the lintels of their doors. They must remember Christ when they go in and out; they must confess Christ to the unbelieving world; then they will be safe from the minister of vengeance. The blood of Christ is the only protection of the soul, and must be sprinkled as well as shed (Rom. 5:11). The soul must make a personal appropriation of Christ. To know Christ will profit little. We must feast on Him by faith.
IV. In the spirit it demands. (Exo. 12:22.) The bunch of hyssop signifies faith and humility. David said, Wash me with hyssop and I shall be clean (Psa. 51:7). Hyssop is a lowly herb growing in rocky places. In the reception of Christ the soul must be humble. The Paschal lamb was also to be eaten with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs (Exo. 12:8). Here we have shadowed forth the need of repentance and sincerity. And if the soul is to receive Christ, it must be with a contrite heart and with a deep sense of demerit. The Paschal lamb was to be eaten in the attitude of haste (Exo. 12:11). The loins must be girded, the feet must be shod, the hands must hold the staff. The redeemed soul must sit loose to earthly things. The good are pilgrims in the world; they must be ready to go to Canaan.
V. In the peril it averts. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you (Exo. 12:13). Thus we see the peril escaped by the Israelites through the proper observance of the Passover, and in this we have an emblem of the dangers averted from men by a believing interest in the atonement of Jesus Christ. They are delivered from the power of the second death. They escape the stroke of the destroying angel. Their safety is welcome and happy.
VI. In the extent it contemplates. By a proper observance of the Passover all Israel would be preserved from the blow of the destroying angel, not one soul excepted. And so by application to the atonement of Jesus Christ the whole world may receive an eternal salvation from the awful penalties of sin. LESSONS:
1. That Christ crucified is the only hope of moral safety.
2. That Christ appropriated is the only refuge of the soul.
3. That Christ must be received by repentance and faith.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Exo. 12:3-13. God alone can ordain sacraments in His Church. Set times or days for duties can only be constantly appointed by God.
God leaves to prudence some smaller circumstances of worship, which nature and reason may judge fit (Exo. 12:3-4).
The Passover is an evening sacrifice, sweet and real. The blood of the Passover must be sprinkled to give benefit. Houses in the law, but souls in the Gospel, must be sprinkled with blood.
The night of death to enemies God makes the night of feasting to His Church.
Gods rules must qualify persons at all times for His Passover communion.
Speed in the use of Gods ordinance must be used when God commands it.
The occasion of festival to the Church:
1. The destruction of Gods enemies.
2. The destruction of false gods.
3. The deliverance of souls from bondage.
4. The demonstration of the Divine existence.
God sees and answers His own signs, and will spare His people in destroying sinners.
ILLUSTRATIONS
BY
REV. WM. ADAMSON
Passover-Relics! Exo. 12:7. Millington says that the sprinkling of the blood upon the doorposts probably gave rise to certain traditions and customs among other nations. Pliny tells how houses may be preserved from the perils of sorcery, by sprinkling the door-posts with the blood of the hyna; while in another place he relates how the newly-wedded bride was in the habit of anointing the door-posts of her home with the blood of a wolf. These, like many other heathen relics of Scripture customs and ceremonies, are sad declensions from the lofty and sublime ideals in Revelation. Though, after all, beneath their floating nebulous vapours there lies the solid germ of truth: the human conviction of the necessity of mediation and atonement for safety and preservation. So that, even these pass over-relics echo one voice
The Cross unfolds the mystery,Jesus died;
The sinner lives; the law is satisfied.
Conder.
Passover-Safety! Exo. 12:13. The Israelites had to sprinkle the blood, and this involved an act of faith. By grace were they saved, through faith. A gentleman, crossing a dreary moor, came at length upon a solitary cottage. Glad of the shelter, he could not help pondering upon the loneliness of its inmates, and wondering at their self-security. In the morning, when about to proceed on his way, he inquired of its occupant, whether she was not afraid to live in this lonely place. Oh no! responded his humble and aged hostess; for faith closes the door at night, and mercy opens it in the morning. Having by faith sprinkled the atoning blood upon the lintels, Israels host could repose securely until Mercy opened the door, with the cry: The hour of deliverance has come. And so can the Israel of God!
Who know not where
His islands lift His fronded palms in air;
Who only know they cannot drift
Beyond His love and care.
Whittier.
Types and Shadows! Exo. 12:3. When the miner, in the American prairies, sinks a shaft to strike the coal formation, he finds far down the images of beautiful plants, lying like lacework spread out upon tables of ebony; images of ferns, and leaves, and flowers, which millions of years ago perhaps ceased, from some change of climate, to open in the cold spring-time, and hence to fall into autumn. There these pictures lie, telling us of a time when perpetual summer-time reigned, and that where the drifting snows of December fall, tropical birds sang and fluttered in palm-trees, and flowers filled the whole day and night with perfume. In our own land, when men of scientific skill ascend the lofty mountains, they perceive traces of a time when huge icebergs grazed their peaks, just discernible above the waters of an Arctic Sea. Yet all these, whether tropical or arctic, dimly shadowed forth more perfect adaptations in nature and natures growth; and so all the Bible vegetationthe ritual growth, as well as moral and vicarious developmentwere images of good things to come; shadows of more glorious and blessed realities of life and salvation in Christ. But just as there are certain more clearly-defined type-memorials perceived by the scientific student, so, in Revelation, are there certain rites and ceremonies more distinctly prefigurative of the atoning blood of the Lamb. Such is the Passoverdim and shadowy memorial of that wondrous Paschal sacrifice
That sovereign balm for every wound,
That cordial for our fears.
Watts.
Jewish Passover! Exo. 12:7. Bonar and MCheyne record a visit paid to a family of Jews at Jassy. It was the night preceding the day of Atonement; on the eve of which solemn day it is the Jewish custom to kill a cock for every man, and a hen for every woman. In the morning, the Shochet or slayer, going round to the houses, arouses the inmates to bring out the fowls to be killed in a proper manner. This, says Trench, is the only blood that is shed in Israel now. Even the paschal lamb is no more slain. A cock and hen, killed by the knife of the Shochet, is all the sacrifice which Israel knows. It is for this wretched, self devised sacrifice that Israel rejects the blood of the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!
Dear, dying Lamb, Thy precious blood
Shall never lose its power.
Cowper.
Shelter! Exo. 12:13. In the East Indies there grows a tree, which is called a nonconductor of lightning. When the dreadful thunderstorms burst in those tropical regions, the lightnings would strike the surrounding trees of the forest, but never touch this nonconductor. It was some time before the natives discovered this peculiar property; but, once ascertained, they invariably gathered their flocks and families beneath these singular trees, as soon as they saw the storms gathering. No matter how loud the thunder, how vivid the fiery gleams, the refugees were safe under its far-spreading arms. There was only one danger, which arose from the falling of some forest giant upon it, crushing it beneath the weight of the fall. If, however, this tree was stronger than the falling trunk, it stood firm. So amid the storms of life there is the Tree of Life, the Saviour of sinners, beneath whose extended wings fugitive penitents are safe. No lightnings of Divine wrath can injure that sacred Tree; and such is its almighty strength, that no riven, blasted trunks can crush it beneath their falling weight. Israels first-born, safe under the spreading branches of Divine providence and truth, were types and teachers of penitent sinners, who avail themselves of the salvation promised and presented beneath the outspread arms of the Cross of Calvary
We have no shelter from our sin,
But in Thy wounded side.
Alexander.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(3) In the tenth day.It is evident that this direction must have been given before the tenth day had arrived, probably some days before. The object of the direction was to allow ample time for the careful inspection of the animal, so that its entire freedom from all blemish might be ascertained. The animal was not to be killed till four days later (Exo. 12:6).
A lamb.The word used (seh) is a vague one, applied equally to sheep and goats, of any age and of either sex. Sex and age were fixed subsequently (Exo. 12:5), but the other ambiguity remained; and it is curious that practically only lambs seem to have been ever offered. The requirement indicates a social condition in which there was no extreme poverty. All Israelites are supposed either to possess a lamb or to be able to purchase one.
According to the house of their fathers.Rather, for the house of their fathers: i.e., for their family.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
3, 4. In the tenth day After this first passover there is no record of any instance where the lamb was selected before the fourteenth day .
A lamb for a house No special number is here mentioned as necessary to constitute the paschal company, but a Jewish tradition fixed ten as the least number, and, reckoning children, it probably averaged about twenty . It became a custom for each person to eat a piece of the lamb about the size of an olive, which would allow the paschal company to be quite large . An individual might not eat the passover alone . Thus was symbolized the fellowship of the Church in partaking of Christ .
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Exo 12:3. In the tenth day of this month It appears from Exo 12:6 that the passover was to be celebrated on the fourteenth day of the month. In after-times they did not begin their preparation till the thirteenth, or the day before the passover: but now, they are ordered to prepare on the tenth day of the month; not only because this being the first time of the celebration of the passover, they might require more time to prepare for a ceremony entirely new; but because, being to depart from Egypt suddenly, and in great haste, they might be perfectly ready, and have no hindrance from a neglect of any part of the duty enjoined. It is plain, from Exo 12:5 that the animal to be sacrificed might either be a lamb or a kid: accordingly, the word rendered lamb, signifies either, as you may observe it rendered in the margin of our Bibles. Lambs were, however, more generally chosen than kids. Some have observed, that this appointment of a lamb or kid to sacrifice, was partly in opposition to the Egyptian worship of the ram; which they began this day (the tenth of the month Abib) with a sacrifice to a real ram, the representative of the constellation Aries. The Egyptians worshipped Jupiter Ammon in the likeness of a ram or a goat; therefore they never sacrifice these creatures: and, consequently, the Israelites’ sacrifice of them was an abomination to the Egyptians. A lamb for an house, signifies a lamb for each family, Gen 7:1. The Jewish writers tell us, that there were not to be fewer than ten, nor more than twenty persons to the eating of one lamb. Men, women, and children, masters, and servants, (all but uncircumcised males,) were, without discrimination, entertained at this sacred repast.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
DISCOURSE: 77
THE PASSOVER
Exo 12:3-11. 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. 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. 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 Lords passover.
THE mercies promised to the Lords people shall be fulfilled to them in due season. Their trials may be long continued, and may increase when the time of their termination is near at hand: but God will not forget his promises, or delay the execution of them beyond the proper time. He had foretold to Abraham that his posterity should be ill treated in Egypt to a certain period; but that they should then be brought out of it with great substance. The appointed period, foretold four hundred and thirty years before, was arrived, and yet the condition of the Israelites was as distressed as ever: but at its conclusion, even on the self-same day, the promised deliverance was vouch-safed; and an ordinance was appointed to keep up the remembrance of it to all future generations.
From the words of our text we shall be led to notice,
I.
The ordinance itself This was,
1.
Commemorative
[The deliverance of Israel from the sword of the destroying angel, and from their bondage in Egypt, was great [Note: Deu 26:8.], and unparalleled from the foundation of the world [Note: Deu 4:34.]. And, in the commemoration of it, God appointed that in all future ages one of the junior members of each family should ask the reason of the institution, and the head of the family should relate what God had done for their nation in passing over the houses of the Israelites when he slew the Egyptians, and in bringing them out of their cruel bondage [Note: 527.]. To this the Apostle refers, when he speaks of the Lords Supper as an ordinance appointed for the shewing forth of the Lords death, till he come again at the end of the world to judgment [Note: 1Co 11:26.].]
2.
Typical
[Every the minutest particular in this ordinance seems to have been intended to typify the redemption of the world by the death of Christ. The lamb which was to be under a year old, denotes Christ, the Lamb of God, in a state of perfect purity [Note: This seems more suited to its tender age than the explanation generally given, of Christ being cut off in the midst of his years.]. It was to be a male, as being the most perfect of its kind, and without blemish, in order to represent the perfect manhood of Christ, who was indeed a lamb without blemish and without spot [Note: 1Pe 1:19.]. It was to be set apart four days before it was slain; not only to mark Gods eternal designation of Christ to be a sacrifice, but to foreshew that Christ, during the four last days of his life, (from his entrance into Jerusalem to his death,) should be examined at different tribunals, to ascertain whether there were the smallest flaw in his character; that so his bitterest enemies might all be constrained to attest his innocence, and thereby unwittingly to declare, that he was fit to be a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. The precise hour of the day wherein Jesus was to die, is thought to have been predicted by the time appointed for the slaying of the paschal lamb, which was between the two evenings, or soon after three oclock in the afternoon: and it was ordered to be slain by all the congregation; to shew that all ranks and orders of men, both of Jews and Gentiles, should concur in his death. Its blood was to be sprinkled on the door-posts and lintels, to shew that the blood of Christ must be sprinkled upon our hearts and consciences, if we would not fall a prey to the destroying angel: but it was not to be sprinkled on the threshold, because the blood of Christ is not to be trodden under foot, or counted by any as an unholy thing [Note: Heb 10:29.]. Its flesh was to be roasted, (not to be eaten raw or boiled,) that the extremity of our Saviours sufferings from the fire of Gods wrath might be more fitly depicted. It was to be eaten by all; because none can ever be saved, unless they eat of Christs flesh, and receive him into their hearts by faith. It was to be eaten whole, and not a bone of it to be broken [Note: Joh 19:36.] ; probably to intimate, that we must receive Christ in all his offices and in all his benefits; and certainly to foreshew, that he should be exempt from the common fate of all who died his death, and be marked out thereby with the most undoubted evidence, as the true Messiah. And none of it was to be left till the morning, lest it should be treated contemptuously by the profane, or become an occasion of idolatry or superstition to mistaken zealots; and to guard us also against similar abuses in the supper of our Lord.]
Some other particulars worthy of observation will occur, while we consider,
II.
The manner of its celebration
In this also was the ordinance both commemorative and typical. The bitter herbs and unleavened bread were intended to keep up a remembrance of the bitter sorrows which they endured, and the bread of affliction which they ate, in Egypt [Note: Deu 16:4.] ; and their standing, with their loins girt, and shoes on their feet, and staves in their hands, denoted the haste with which they were driven out of the land, as it were, by the Egyptians themselves. As types, these things declared in what manner we should feed upon the Lord Jesus Christ. We know that it is possible enough to strain types and metaphors too far: but in interpreting the import of the paschal sacrifice, though in some smaller matters we may not be able to speak with certainty, the great outlines are drawn by an inspired Apostle; who says, Christ our passover is sacrificed for us [Note: 1Co 5:7-8.]. Taking him then for our guide, we say that we may learn even from the manner in which the passover was celebrated, how we are to feast upon the Lamb of God that has been slain for us. We are to do it,
1.
With humble penitence
[The bitter herbs reminded the Israelites of the misery they had endured: but we must further reflect upon the guilt we hare contracted. Their bondage was the effect of force and constraint; ours has been altogether voluntary; and therefore has involved us in the deepest guilt When we eat of Christs flesh, we must recollect that his sufferings were the punishment of our iniquities; and we must look on him whom we have pierced, and mourn; yea, we must mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son [Note: Zec 12:10.]. And the more assured we are of our deliverance from wrath through him, the more must we abhor ourselves for all our iniquities, and for all our abominations [Note: Eze 16:63.] ]
2.
With unfeigned sincerity
[This is expressly declared by the Apostle to have been intended by the unleavened bread [Note: 1Co 5:7-8.]. Sin is a leaven, the smallest portion of which will leaven and defile our whole souls. It must therefore be purged out with all possible care and diligence. If we retain knowingly and wilfully the smallest measure of it, we have nothing to expect but an everlasting separation from God and his people Let us then search and try our own hearts; and beg of God also to search and try us, to see if there be any wicked way in us, and to lead us in the way everlasting We must be Israelites indeed and without guile, if we would enjoy the full benefits of the body and blood of Christ.]
3.
With active zeal
[We are in a strange land, wherein we have no continuing city; but we seek one to come, even a city that hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. We are not to take up our rest in this world, but, as pilgrims, with our loins girt, our shoes on our feet, and our staff in our hand, to be always ready to proceed on our journey to the heavenly Canaan. In this state and habit of mind we should feed upon Christ from day to day; commemorating the redemption he has wrought out for us, and receiving from him renewed strength for our journey This weanedness from every thing in this world, and readiness to depart out of it at any moment that our Lord shall call us, constitutes the perfection of a Christians character, and the summit of his felicity ]
Application
[Whether we be Israelites feeding on the Paschal Lamb, or Egyptians lying on our beds in thoughtless security, let us remember, that the hour is fast approaching, when God will put a difference between the Israelites and the Egyptians. Let the one rejoice in the safety which they enjoy under the blood sprinkled on their hearts; and let the other tremble at their impending danger from the sword of the destroying angel: and let all endeavour to realize the unavailing cries of Gods enemies, and the joyful exultations of his redeemed people. O terrible judgment! O glorious deliverance! May God keep us all from hardening our own hearts, and stir us up to an immediate compliance with the directions given us in the Gospel!]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Was not this typical of the Lord Jesus? Is he not uniformly known through all scripture as the Lamb of God? See Rev_13:8; Rev_5:6-9; Rev_5:12 then Joh 1:29 . Four days before the Lamb was to be killed in the passover, he was to be separated and set apart for this service: from the 10th day of the month until the 14th. Now it is worthy of remark, that Jesus came into Jerusalem four days before his crucifixion.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Exo 12:3 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:
Ver. 3. In the tenth day. ] The paschal lamb was taken up the tenth day, but not sacrificed till the fourteenth, that they might “so kill the passover” as first to “sanctify themselves and prepare their brethren.” 2Ch 35:6 For which cause also it was a received tradition among the Jews, that during those four days the lamb was tied to their bedposts. a
a Hospin., De Orig. Fest., cap. 5.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Israel. Some codices, with Samaritan Pentateuch, The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel, Septuagint, and Syriac, read “of the sons of Israel”.
man. Hebrew. ‘ish (App-14.)
lamb. Hebrew. seh, “one of a flock”, i.e. a lamb or a ‘ kid, Exo 12:5. Deu 14:4. 2Ch 35:7.
house. Fixed later (by custom) as not less than ten persons.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Speak ye: Exo 4:30, Exo 6:6, Exo 14:15, Exo 20:19, Lev 1:2
in the tenth: Exo 12:6, Joh 12:1, Joh 12:12
take to: Gen 4:4, Gen 22:8, 1Sa 7:9, Joh 1:29, Joh 1:36, 1Co 5:7, Rev 5:6-13, Rev 7:9-14, Rev 13:8
lamb: or, kid, The word seh means the young of both sheep and goats, and may be indifferently rendered either lamb or kid. It is evident from Exo 12:5, that the Hebrews might take either; but they generally preferred a lamb, from being of a more gentle nature. Lev 5:6, Num 15:11, 2Ch 35:7
an house: The Israelites were divided into twelve tribes, these tribes into families, the families into houses, and the houses into particular persons. Num 1:1-54, Jos 7:14
Reciprocal: Gen 22:7 – lamb Exo 12:21 – and take Exo 12:47 – All the Exo 13:13 – lamb Lev 4:32 – a lamb Jos 4:19 – first month 2Ki 23:21 – as it is written 2Ch 30:1 – to keep Heb 11:28 – he kept
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Exo 12:3. In the tenth day of this month It was necessary they should now begin to prepare the passover four days before, because otherwise it would have been difficult to get ready so many lambs in Egypt, especially as they were to depart in haste; besides, this being the first instance of the celebration of the ordinance, they would require more time to prepare for a ceremony entirely new. But in future ages they did not begin the preparation till the thirteenth, the day before the passover. They shall take every man a lamb The Hebrew word signifies a lamb, or kid, (Deu 14:4,) as is evident from Exo 12:5; for they might take either for this sacrifice: but commonly they made choice of a lamb.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
12:3 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] {c} fathers, a lamb for an house:
(c) As the fathers of the household had great or small families.