Exodus 12 -13

 

Tonight our lesson will come from Exodus 12 and Exodus 13. You might recall from our lesson over the 10 plagues that before God actually made the 10th plague happen he instructs Moses in Chapter 12 about the Passover. First we are going to examine what was involved in the Passover Let us begin by reading in Exodus 12:1

 

Exodus 12:1 Now the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,  2 "This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you.  3 "Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: 'On the tenth day of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household.  4 'And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man's need you shall make your count for the lamb.  5 'Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats.  6 'Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight.  7 'And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it.

 

Not only was God instituting the Passover he was making this time a new year a new beginning for the Children of Israel. It is believed that this was around March or April that this new year began. On the 10th day of this new year a goat or lamb was to be selected. This a family event and every house hold was to do this. Now we learn that the God would allow 2 smaller families to share a goat or lamb. Now this could not just be any lamb or Goat it was to be carefully chosen and made sure that did not have any blemishes which means that it was healthy animal and one your best. The second provision was that had to be a male and it had be within its first year. Then on the 14th day the animals was to be killed at twilight or the evening and some of its blood put on the two door post and the lintel (the top part of the door).

 

Exodus 12:8'Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. The bitter herbs were to remind the children of Israel of the bitter experience that had in Egypt.

 

  9 'Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire -- its head with its legs and its entrails.  10 'You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire. The lamb had to be roasted and could not be eaten raw or boiled and every thing was to be eaten from head to his feet before morning came. Now historical traditions says that each person portions wasn’t very big I could just imaging if I were there that I would try to get a portion that I liked. I personally would try to avoid the brain or any other inward part of the animal.

 

  11 'And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD's Passover. 

This shows us that the children of Israel were to be ready to leave in moments notice as learn latter they did have time to prepare much food before the Pharaoh ran them out of his kingdom. We also learn from this verse that this was the lord Passover.

 

12 'For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike 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.  13 'Now 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 the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.  14 'So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance. God give clear instructions for the purpose of the Passover meal. It was to be observed a memorial for how God passed over the children of Israel and how that night led to salvation from Egyptian bondage.

 

Exodus 12: 15 'Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.  16 'On the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation for you. No manner of work shall be done on them; but that which everyone must eat -- that only may be prepared by you.  17 'So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance.  18 'In the first month, on 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 shall be found in your houses, since whoever eats what is leavened, that same person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land.  20 'You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.' "

 

Here we learn about the feast of the unleavened bread which also represents what God did for the children of Israel. God was very serious about them not having leaven because if someone was caught eating food that is leavened will be cut of or kicked out the congregation of Israel. The feast was to begin after the Passover lamb was slain on the 14th day of the evening and lasted for 7 days until the 21st. This was to be observed once a year.

 

Now Moses takes what God has told him and he tells it to the Children of Israel but notice what he says to them.

 

Exodus 12:25 "It will come to pass when you come to the land which the LORD will give you, just as He promised, that you shall keep this service.  26 "And it shall be, when your children say to you, 'What do you mean by this service?'  27 "that you shall say, 'It is the Passover sacrifice of the LORD, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households.' " So the people bowed their heads and worshiped.

 

Children are always watching and learning from you. Its only natural for them  to ask questions about things they do not understand and God knows this. He knew that there children would ask them why are killing a lamb why are going 7 days without eating anything with leaven? This would give them the opportunity to teach them about God.

 

This brings us to the second part of our lessons in which I am going show you how the Passover lamb is a type of Christ and how this feast is similar to the Lords Supper. Just as the Children of Israel were to teach their children about the Passover, in a similar manner when our kids see us partaking of the Lords Supper and they want to know why  we do it. We need to teach them why and how Jesus is our Passover lamb. The Passover lamb in the OT was only for the Children of Israel but the Jesus our Passover lamb is for everyone.  Notice what John  the Baptist says about  Jesus.

 

John 1:29   29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

 

Jesus truly is our Passover lamb. With this in mind let us now compare the similarities between the Passover lamb and Jesus Christ.

 

Exodus 12:5 Lamb without blemish

 

Jesus was without blemish

 

Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.

 

1 Peter 2:22  "Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth";

 

Exodus 12:5 Lamb was to the best of the flock

 

Jesus was the best

 

John 3:16  "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

 

Exodus 12: 5-13 The Lamb had to be slain before Salvation

 

Jesus had to be slain before mankind could be saved

 

Hebrews 9:24 For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;  25 not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another --  26 He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

Exodus 12:9 The Lamb’s bones were not broken

 

Jesus bones were not broken

 

John 19: 32 Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him.  33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.  34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.  35 And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe.  36 For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, "Not one of His bones shall be broken."

 

Exodus 12:8 Lamb must be eaten

 

Jesus must be eaten

 

John 6:51 "I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."

 

When we eat of his flesh and drink of his blood this means we become like him we strive follow after him by obeying all his words.

 

Exodus 12:14-28 The Passover was celebrated yearly

 

Death of Jesus is celebrated weekly.

 

Matthew 26:26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is My body."  27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you.  28 "For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.  29 "But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom."

 

When do find Christians partaking of the Lord Supper with Christ?

 

Acts 20:7   7 Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread,

 

The Passover was a very serious matter and the Children of Israel had to prepare for it and make sure they didn’t have leaven in their house. Christians should also take the Lord Supper very serious and should partake of it with a serious mind.

 

1 Corinthians 11:23-29  23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread;  24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me."  25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me."  26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes.  27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.  28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.  29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.

 

Just like the Passover we are remembering what Christ did for us and when we partake of it we are proclaiming Christ death for all sinners until he comes again. A person who does not partake of the Lords Supper in worthy manner is like the Jew in OT that would be found with leaven in household he would  be found guilty. Its important that we know what we are doing when we eat of the bread and drink of the fruit of the vine. It also serves as reminder for us to live more faithful lives as remember sacrifice Christ made for us.

 

 

Exodus 12:43-48  43 And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "This is the ordinance of the Passover: No foreigner shall eat it.  44 "But every man's servant who is bought for money, when you have circumcised him, then he may eat it.  45 "A sojourner and a hired servant shall not eat it.  46 "In one house it shall be eaten; you shall not carry any of the flesh outside the house, nor shall you break one of its bones.  47 "All the congregation of Israel shall keep it.  48 "And when a stranger dwells with you and wants to keep the Passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as a native of the land. For no uncircumcised person shall eat it.

 

Only those that were circumsized were to partake of the Passover.

 

In similar manner only those who have been circumsized in the heart through  baptism should partake of the Lords supper.

 

Colossians 2: 11 In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,  12 buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.

 

Notice what Paul says.

1 Corinthians 10:6 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?  17 For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.

 

Notice that is only those that are of the one body which is the church that are to partake of the Lords Supper.

 

The Children of Israel do as their instructed and the 10th plague comes true and then we read about there exodus out Egypt in Exodus 12:35:42

 

37- 38 We learn that there were 600,000 thousand men. This number did not include the women  or the children. The children would be anyone 19 and under. It also did not include the Egyptians that came along with them. There could have easily have been somewhere between 2millon and 3 million people that were leaving Egypt.

 

Exodus 13:1-10 Moses  once again stresses the importance of feast of the Unleavened bread and Lord also tells Moses that the Children of Israel are consecrate or set aside the first born of both man and animal.

 

Exodus 13:11-16 We learn more about this giving of the first born.

 

Exodus 13:11 " And it shall be, when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as He swore to you and your fathers, and gives it to you,  12 "that you shall set apart to the LORD all that open the womb, that is, every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have; the males shall be the LORD's.  13 "But every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb; and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. And all the firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem.  14 "So it shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, 'What is this?' that you shall say to him, 'By strength of hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.  15 'And it came to pass, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the LORD killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all males that open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.'  16 "It shall be as a sign on your hand and as frontlets between your eyes, for by strength of hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt."

 

The 1st born of animal that is a male is to be sacrificed.

A donkey can be redeemed or replaced with a sacrifice of a lamb

All first born male children are to redeemed by an animal sacrifice. And again it these sacrifices are to be used to teach the children about what God did for them in Egypt. 

Once again we  see a lamb being about to redeem mankind and that exactly what Jesus Christ did  for all of us he was lamb that was sacrificed so that we could live and have forgiveness of sin. And should always strive to teach our children about how Christ died for us so that we could be redeemed.