Exodus 12 - "In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord's Passover."

The Passover

1 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 

2 “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. 

3 Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household. 

4 And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. 

5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats,

6 and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.[a]

7 “Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.

 8 They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. 

9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. 

10 And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn.

 11 In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord's Passover. 

12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. 

13 The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.

14 “This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast.

 15 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.

 16 On the first day you shall hold a holy assembly, and on the seventh day a holy assembly. No work shall be done on those days. But what everyone needs to eat, that alone may be prepared by you.

 17 And you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day, throughout your generations, as a statute forever.

 18 In the first month, from the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. 

19 For seven days no leaven is to be found in your houses. If anyone eats what is leavened, that person will be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a sojourner or a native of the land. 

20 You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwelling places you shall eat unleavened bread.”

21 Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and select lambs for yourselves according to your clans, and kill the Passover lamb. 

22 Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning.

23 For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you. 

24 You shall observe this rite as a statute for you and for your sons forever. 

25 And when you come to the land that the Lord will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this service. 

26 And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ 

27 you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’” And the people bowed their heads and worshiped.

28 Then the people of Israel went and did so; as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.

The Tenth Plague: Death of the Firstborn

29 At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock.

 30 And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians. And there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where someone was not dead. 

31 Then he summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, “Up, go out from among my people, both you and the people of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as you have said. 

32 Take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone, and bless me also!”

The Exodus

33 The Egyptians were urgent with the people to send them out of the land in haste. For they said, “We shall all be dead.” 

34 So the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading bowls being bound up in their cloaks on their shoulders. 

35 The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. 

36 And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.

37 And the people of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. 

38 A mixed multitude also went up with them, and very much livestock, both flocks and herds. 

39 And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough that they had brought out of Egypt, for it was not leavened, because they were thrust out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves.

40 The time that the people of Israel lived in Egypt was 430 years. 

41 At the end of 430 years, on that very day, all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. 

42 It was a night of watching by the Lord, to bring them out of the land of Egypt; so this same night is a night of watching kept to the Lord by all the people of Israel throughout their generations.

Institution of the Passover

43 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the statute of the Passover: no foreigner shall eat of it, 

44 but every slave[b] that is bought for money may eat of it after you have circumcised him. 

45 No foreigner or hired worker may eat of it. 

46 It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the flesh outside the house, and you shall not break any of its bones. 

47 All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. 

48 If a stranger shall sojourn with you and would keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised. Then he may come near and keep it; he shall be as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. 

49 There shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among you.”

50 All the people of Israel did just as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron.

 51 And on that very day the Lord brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts.

Footnotes:

1. Exodus 12:6 Hebrew between the two evenings
2. Exodus 12:44 Or servant; the Hebrew term ‘ebed designates a range of social and economic roles (see Preface)

Observation Questions

Where did the Lord tell Moses and Aaron that it was the first month of the year for them? (verse 1-2)

On what day of the first month was every man to take a lamb for the passover? (verse 3)

Was the lamb to be without blemish? (verse 5)

How old was the lamb to be? (verse 5)

Would the lamb be male? (verse 5)

Could the lamb be from the sheep or goats? (verse 5)

When was the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel to kill their lambs? (verse 6)

Where were they to put some of the blood? (verse 7)

When were they to eat the flesh? (verse 8)

How were they to eat the lamb? (verse 8)

Was any of it to be eaten raw or boiled in water? (verse 9)

What was to be done to anything that remained until the morning? (verse 10)

How was the meal to be eaten? (verse 11)

Who was God to execute judgements on? (verse 12)

Who will the blood be a sign for? (verse 13)

For how many days were they to eat unleavened bread? (verse 15)

What happened if someone ate what was leavened? (verse 15)

On what days would there be a holy assembly? (verse 16)

What was to be dipped in the blood that was in the basin? (verse 22)

What would the Lord do when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts? (verse 23)

What did the people do in response to what was said? (verse 27)

Did the people of Israel do what the Lord had commanded? (verse 28)

The Tenth Plague: Death of the Firstborn

When did the Lord strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt? (verse 29)

Was there any house where someone was not dead? (verse 30)

When did Pharaoh summon Moses and Aaron? (verse 31)

What did Pharaoh tell Moses and Aaron to do? (verse 31-32)

The Exodus

Did the people leave before their dough was leavened? (verse 34)

Had the Israelites asked the Egyptians for silver, gold, and clothing? (verse 35)

Who caused the Egyptians to give to the Israelites? (Verse 36)

Had the six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children, prepared any provisions for themselves? (verse 37-39)

How long did the people of Israel live in Egypt? (verse 40)

Was the night a night of watching by the Lord? (verse 42)

Institution of the Passover

What slaves may eat of the passover? (verse 44)

Was any foreigner or hired worker allowed to eat it? (verse 45)

Were any of the bones of the lamb to be broken? (verse 46)

Was any uncircumcised person allowed to eat of it? (verse 48)

Did all the people of Israel do just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron? (verse 50)

On what day did the Lord bring the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts? (verse 1-(specifically 1-3 & 41)-51)

Thoughts

“Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it." - verse 7

"Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts."  - verse 9

My own thoughts... It was to be eaten in haste. The cooking method seems to be the kind that was used when roasting a pig. If "none of it is to be eaten raw" and it is to be "roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts", how much time would it take to cook?

"And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn." - verse 10

What kind of light does the NT give to these things?

"In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord's Passover."  - verse 11

"Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel." - verse 15

"Be careful," Jesus said to them. "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees." - Matthew 16:6

"For seven days no leaven is to be found in your houses. If anyone eats what is leavened, that person will be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a sojourner or a native of the land."  - verse 19

"You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwelling places you shall eat unleavened bread.” - verse 20

 It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the flesh outside the house, and you shall not break any of its bones. - verse 46

 "But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: 

But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.

And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe." - John 19:33-35 (and Psalm 34)

"Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning." - verse 22

"Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit." - John 19:28-30

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. - John 14:6

"At the end of 430 years, on that very day, all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt." - verse 41

If a stranger shall sojourn with you and would keep the Passover to the Lord,

 let all his males be circumcised. 

Then he may come near and keep it; 

he shall be as a native of the land. 

But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it.  - verse 48

What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 

 For he says to Moses,

“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
    and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”

 It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.

 For Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”

 Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.

 One of you will say to me: “Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist his will?” 

But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’”

 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?

What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction?

 What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory—  even us, whom he also called,not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? 

 As he says in Hosea:

“I will call them ‘my people’ who are not my people;
    and I will call her ‘my loved one’ who is not my loved one,”

 and,

“In the very place where it was said to them,
    ‘You are not my people,’
    there they will be called ‘children of the living God.’”

 Isaiah cries out concerning Israel:

“Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea,
    only the remnant will be saved.
 For the Lord will carry out
    his sentence on earth with speed and finality.”

 It is just as Isaiah said previously:

“Unless the Lord Almighty
    had left us descendants,
we would have become like Sodom,
    we would have been like Gomorrah.”

What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal. 

 Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone. 

 As it is written:

“See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble
    and a rock that makes them fall,
    and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame.”

Romans 9:14-33