#22 – Exodus 12:1-28
“I will pass over you”
G-d’s countdown from 10 has reached Number 1. Pharaoh has been warned of the impending judgment of the G-d of Israel. Every firstborn male, from the palace to the servant’s quarters and in the cow barn as well, will be struck dead. But first, the L-RD has a final set of instructions for the Jewish people.
A new calendar
Great empires have a way of seeing history through very parochial eyes. For example, Year 1 on the Roman calendar (753 BC on the Gregorian calendar used widely today) began with the founding of the City of Rome (Ab urbe condita or AUC).
We may suppose the Jewish people had grown accustomed to the Egyptian calendar marking the dynasties of the Pharaohs. Now G-d is going to institute a new way for His people to mark time: “This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you.” (Exodus 12:2.)
The L-RD continues with very specific instructions.
“Count 10 days into this first month on your new calendar. Every family must select an unblemished year-old lamb or goat. Observe it for four days to be certain it has no illness or defect.”
“At twilight on the 14th of the month everyone is to kill their lamb and collect the blood in a basin. Some of that blood must be applied with a hyssop branch to the doorposts and lintel of each home. Roast the lamb over fire and eat it, along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, at home with your family. But eat quickly, ready to leave at a moment’s notice.” (Exodus 12:1-11 NASB, paraphrased.)
Pretty strange way to prepare a meal before a trip, we might think. But this is no ordinary going-away dinner; it is “the L-RD’s Passover.”
“I will pass over you”
The sand in G-d’s 400-year (Genesis 15:13-14 NASB) hourglass has run out. After generations of bitter bondage, the Hebrews are more than ready to leave Egypt. But Pharaoh is unrelenting in his stubborn refusal to release his slaves. So, G-d has one final plague to unleash on the Egyptians.
For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—I am the Lord. (Exodus 12:12.)
Since the fourth plague, the G-d of Abraham has made a distinction between the Jewish people and the Egyptians, sparing Goshen from devastation. He intends to provide protection for them from the final judgment. But this time He requires action on their part: applying lamb’s blood to the entrances of each family’s homes.
The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; 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. (Exodus 12:13.)
A memorial Feast of Unleavened Bread
G-d will fill out the Jewish calendar with additional days of annual celebration and observance,[1] but Passover is the first to be initiated. A perpetual ordinance to be kept throughout ensuing generations, this is a memorial feast with specific elements. For seven days the Jewish people are to eat bread without leaven, recalling that when escaping Egypt there was no time for dough to rise. In fact, no leaven should be found in the house for that week. (Exodus 12:14-20 NASB.)
To underscore the seriousness of this permanent regulation, G-d states (then reaffirms) that “whoever eats what is leavened, that person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel,[2] whether he is an alien or a native of the land.” (Exodus 12:15,19b.)
Moses then passes on G-d’s instructions to the elders of Israel, including the key element of putting lamb’s blood on the entrances of their dwellings.
For the L-RD will pass through to smite 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[3] to come in to your houses to smite you. (Exodus 12:23.)
The importance of understanding the significance of the L-RD’s redeeming His people from Egyptian bondage (by both observing the Feast of Unleavened Bread annually and retelling the story to future generations) is underscored throughout this text.
“. . . You shall say [to your children who inquire], ‘It is a Passover sacrifice to the L-RD who passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt when He smote the Egyptians, but spared our homes.’” (Exodus 12:27.)
The Jewish people responded to Moses by bowing and worshiping the L-RD. They then went and did so; just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did. (Exodus 12:28.) Faith in action – worship and obedience – would bring deliverance from death for the firstborn of the Hebrews.
Fear factor/Misery index
After all the years of sighing and crying, toiling and boiling in the North African sun, the long nightmare of slavery is about to end. A final barbecue is planned, with a rather sparse menu. The meal must be eaten hurriedly because there is much to do before departing in the morning.
Was it a long or short night, huddled inside the home one last night? Were you the firstborn in your family, would you have double-checked to make sure the blood had been daubed on the doorposts and lintel as instructed?
Where is G-d?
Exodus opens with the Hebrews in misery, crying out for relief. G-d seems absent, perhaps uncaring. After His demonstrations of divine power and the protection from Plague 4 onward for the Jewish people, we now find Him being worshiped.
And He is setting up the Jewish calendar to begin with the annual recounting of this amazing chapter of history so future generations will know Him as “the L-RD our G-d who brought us out of bondage in Egypt.”
[1] See Leviticus 23 for the complete listing of “G-d’s appointed times.” Purim was added to the calendar in the days of Esther and Mordechai to celebrate deliverance from Haman’s evil plot to annihilate the Jewish people. Hanukkah (Feast of Dedication) occurs after the closing of the Tanakh; it is mentioned in John 10:22.
[2] This is only the second time the Torah levies this serious punishment. The first time is for the failure to circumcise one’s son, thus breaking G-d’s covenant (Exodus 17:14).
[3] The Passover Haggadah emphasizes G-d’s personal involvement in the slaying of the firstborn: “I Myself and not another.” Our text (Exodus 12:23) indicates the L-RD indeed will pass through to smite the Egyptians. It also references “the destroyer” whom He will not allow into the homes of the Hebrews to smite them. In 2 Samuel 24:15 NASB we also see the L-RD sending a pestilence (dever, the same word used of the fifth plague in Exodus 9:3) which killed 70,000 Israelites. 2 Samuel 24:16-17 refers to “the angel who destroyed the people” and “the Angel of the L-RD” – the same language used of the divine appearance at the burning bush. Some connect these two passages to identify “the destroyer” of Exodus 3 to be the angel of the L-RD as the instrument of divine judgment.
Click below to see all articles in this series or to sign up for notifications