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Steven Cole · Citado em PreceptAustin
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Cole - To be delivered through the Passover blood, Moses and the Israelites had to trust God’s word and do what He told them to do. If anyone disputed it by saying, “It’s not logical that sprinkling blood on your doorposts would protect your oldest son from death,” his son would have died. It would not have been enough to say mentally, “I believe,” but not apply the blood. To be saved from the destroyer, the person had to believe God’s warning by applying the blood. The same is true with the blood of Christ. You can argue that God is a God of love, not judgment, and that you don’t need the blood of Christ to be saved. You will someday learn too late that He is a God who judges sinners. Perhaps you grew up in a Christian home and you believe in a general sense, but you have not personally fled to the cross. James (Jas 2:19+) warns us that the demons also believe in that manner, but they will not be saved. Unlike the Passover, it is not enough for your father to believe on your behalf. To be saved, you must acknowledge that as a sinner you deserve God’s judgment. You must abandon all trust in yourself or your good works as a means of salvation. And you must trust in Christ’s blood as God’s payment for your sins. Every sinner must apply the blood of Christ to his or her heart by faith to be saved from God’s judgment. (Overcoming Faith Hebrews 11:27-29)) Exodus 12:8 'They shall eat the flesh that same night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. eat the - Mt 26:26 Joh 6:52-57 roasted - De 16:7 Ps 22:14 Isa 53:10 unleavened - Ex 13:3,7 34:25 Nu 9:11 De 16:3 Am 4:5 Mt 16:12 1Co 5:6-8 Ga 5:9 with bitter - Ex 1:14 Nu 9:11 Zec 12:10 1Th 1:6 They shall eat the flesh that same night, roasted with fire - The same instruction was kept throughout Israel’s history of the Passover, as confirmed by 2 Chronicles 35:13 "So they roasted the Passover animals on the fire according to the ordinance, and they boiled the holy things in pots, in kettles, in pans, and carried them speedily to all the lay people."
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Cole - It is YHWH’s passover. Probably the word pesah, ‘passover’, in itself referred primarily to the victim, and secondarily to the feast in which the victim was the central feature. Literally we should translate ‘it is a passover victim for YHWH’. (Ibid) John Currid adds "The Passover is not primarily about the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt. Nor is it mainly about the humiliation of Pharaoh and Egypt. Rather its essential purpose is the glorification and exaltation of Yahweh: ‘It is Yahweh’s Passover.’" Passover (06453)(pesach/pesah) is a masculine noun thought by some writers (Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon) to have its origin from pacach/pasah which apparently means to pass over; to spare (Ex 12:13, 23, 27 - "Jehovah will pass" = pasah). Pesach/pesah virtually always refers to the Passover, either the feast or the Passover animal. Note that the Passover is combined with the Feast of Unleavened Bread by Luke who writes "the Feast of Unleavened Bread… is called the Passover, was approaching." (Lk 22:1+) Rooker adds that "These two ceremonies were apparently combined at the beginning, for the Passover lamb was to be eaten with unleavened bread (Ex 12:8)." (New American Commentary). Van Gemeren rightly states that "The etymology of the root פֶּסַח (pesah) is much disputed, and some very tenuous links have been established with the Akk. pašāu, to appease, and the Arab. fasaa, be/become wide (New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology & Exegesis 3:642). Rooker - The verbal root of the noun translated “Passover” occurs only four times in the Old Testament (Ex 12:13, 23, 27; Isa 31:5). The root has been variously explained: “to have compassion,” “to protect,” “to skip over.” In Isa 31:5 the verb is parallel to the verb “to rescue,” which would harmonize well with the first or second options and would indicate that what was critical during the tenth plague was not the death angel’s “passing over” Israelites’ homes as much as the fact that God was displaying his compassion in protecting his people. (New American Commentary). NET Note - The meaning of פֶּסַח (pesakh) is debated. (1) Some have tried to connect it to the Hebrew verb with the same radicals that means “to halt, leap, limp, stumble.” See 1 Kgs 18:26 where the word describes the priests of Baal hopping around the altar; also the crippled child in 2 Sam 4:4. (2) Others connect it to the Akkadian passahu, which means “to appease, make soft, placate”; or (3) an Egyptian word to commemorate the harvest (see J. B. Segal, The Hebrew Passover, 95–100). The verb occurs in Isa 31:5 with the connotation of “to protect”; B. S. Childs suggests that this was already influenced by the exodus tradition (Exodus [OTL], 183, n. 11). Whatever links there may or may not have been that show an etymology, in Exod 12 it is describing Yahweh’s passing over or through. Related Resources: How did Jesus fulfill the meanings of the Jewish feasts? Yeshua and the Feast of Unleavened Bread Passover - International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (see intro for etymology) Feasts of Israel - Baker's Evangelical Dictionary - scroll down for "Passover" Passover - Wikipedia American Tract Society Passover Bridgeway Bible Dictionary Passover Baker Evangelical Dictionary Passover Easton's Bible Dictionary Passover Fausset Bible Dictionary Passover Holman Bible Dictionary Passover Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread Hastings' Dictionary of the NT Passover Passover (I.) Passover (Ii. in Relation to Lord's Supper) What is Passover? What is the Passover Lamb? How is Jesus our Passover Lamb? If Jesus is our atonement, why did He die at Passover instead of the Day of Atonement? How do the elements of the Passover Seder point to Christ? Should Christians celebrate Passover? What is the meaning and importance of the Last Supper? David
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Cole says "No doubt the Egyptians used to pray to their gods for the safety of their first-born." Currid - God will demonstrate his superiority over ‘all’ the false gods of Egypt (which has already been demonstrated by the plagues against specific gods). Pharaoh is included. All of these are non-gods. This is a great statement of monotheism. Herschel Hobbs - The plagues as a whole were against the gods of Egypt. In the Egyptian worldview, the Nile River, for example, was seen as a god. Most of the animals that suffered under the plagues, including the tenth, were worshiped by the Egyptians as gods. Pharaoh himself was considered a god. For the Lord to slay the firstborn of their divine Pharaoh as well as their own firstborn and the firstborn of their animals showed the Egyptians who truly was God. John J Davis on against all the gods of Egypt - “The firstborn of Pharaoh was not only his successor to the throne, but by the act of the gods was a specially born son having divine property. Gods associated with the birth of children would certainly have been involved in a plague of this nature. These included Min, the god of procreation and reproduction, along with Isis who was the symbol of fecundity or the power to produce offspring. Since Hathor was not only a goddess of love but one of seven deities who attended the birth of children, she too would be implicated in the disaster of this plague. From excavations we already have learned of the tremendous importance of the Apis bull, a firstborn animal and other animals of like designation would have had a tremendous theological impact on temple attendants as well as commoners who were capable of witnessing this tragic event. The death cry which was heard throughout Egypt was not only a wail that bemoaned the loss of a son or precious animals, but also the incapability of the many gods of Egypt to respond and protect them from such tragedy.” (Moses and the Gods of Egypt : Studies in Exodus) (Bolding added) I will execute judgments-I am the LORD - Pharaoh had said he did not know Jehovah.He will know Him now! As Jehovah states in Exodus 7:5+ “The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out My hand on Egypt (THIS CULMINATES IN THE TENTH PLAGUE) and bring out the sons of Israel from their midst.” Notice the phrase I am the LORD is a reminder that Pharaoh had asked "Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice to let Israel god?" (Ex 5:2+) THOUGHT - Even as the Egyptians would know Jehovah from His great judgments, so too every person ever born will one day know Jehovah first when they are forced to bow to Him and confess that He is Lord (Php 2:9-11+) and then when He casts them into eternal judgment in the Lake of Fire (Rev 20:11-15+). Do you know Jehovah-Jesus? Do you really know Him, know Him intimately in sense that you have trusted your life and eternal destiny to Him and His sufficient payment of His precious blood to redeem you from "Egypt" so to speak, from sin's (penalty and power and ultimately its presence) and Satan's "sovereignty" (albeit "sovereignty" on the leash of the Sovereign God). "He says, “AT THE ACCEPTABLE TIME I LISTENED TO YOU, AND ON THE DAY OF SALVATION I HELPED YOU.” Behold, now is “THE ACCEPTABLE TIME,” behold, now is “THE DAY OF SALVATION”– (2 Cor 6:2) “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (Acts 16:31+) Exodus 12:13 '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. the blood - Ex 12:23 Ge 17:11 Jos 2:12 Heb 11:28 and when - 1Th 1:10 1Jn 1:7 THE BLOOD A SIGN OF PROTECTION The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live - The blood was a sign pointing to the family within the house as protected from the "plague." Don't miss the spiritual truth here -- (1) It was not a sign for Pharaoh but for you, for the Israelites. (2) The sign was a manifestation of God's grace, for He was bestowing unmerited favor on the Israelites. They did not deserve the sign of the blood, but God provided it and He did it based on His promises to Abraham (and the patriarchs) in the unconditional covenant He made with him (a covenant also based on grace!) Bruckner - This was not a blood ritual that fended off an angry God. God’s grace had provided them with a sign of the Lord’s prevenient provision of protection in the midst of general judgment in the land. The provision was part of the Lord’s identity and the whole exodus pattern. God had come down to deliver the people. The miracle was that anyone responded by seeking God’s shelter and lordship. Currid on the blood as a sign - A Sign is "a physical symbol that points to a spiritual reality; that is, the people inside the houses covered with blood belong to Yahweh. The blood does not cause the people to be Yahweh’s, but simply acts as a billboard proclaiming the fact." Sign (0226)('oth) means a signal, a mark a miracle and is used to describe amazing events such as God bringing Israel out of Egypt (Ex 4:8, 9, Nu 14:22) or a sign serving to authenticate the message as from God (1Sa 2:34, 10:7, 9) in contrast to the signs from false prophets (Dt 13:1, 2). And when I see the blood I will pass over you - The blood was God's sign - "Do not enter this house. The verb pass over (pasach) is partially explained by the second half of the verse which states no plague will befall them. S Lewis Johnson in his sermon (note below is from article in Emmaus Journal) says "I will pass over you,” speaks of the safe keeping and protection provided through the sacrifice of the substitute. This Hebrew verb that is translated here “pass over” is a word that suggests protection. In fact, in some places in the Old Testament it is used of a bird hovering over its young in the nest. And so the suggestion is that when the destroying angel comes through the Lord will hover over those homes that have the blood on the doorposts and protect them from the destroying angels. It is interesting that the same Hebrew word for sign was used to protect Cain from being slain (Ge 4:15). This recalls the mark in Ezekiel 9:4+ "The LORD said to him (Ezekiel), “Go through the midst of the city, even through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark (tav - compare Hebrew letter taw/tav which in Greek is a mark of a T the figure of one variety of a Roman cross!) on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations which are being committed in its midst. 5 But to the others He said in my hearing, “Go through the city after him and strike (nakah - same verb used here in Ex 12:13); do not let your eye have pity and do not spare.” The point is that God wants us to know that (1) destruction will come on all who do not have "the mark" (of Jesus), all who are not covered by the blood of the Lamb of God Who Alone takes away the sin of the world (Jn 1:29+). S Lewis Johnson on the meaning of pass over (pasach) - The verb translated here “pass over” is not a word of omission, but of protection. It is not that the Lord will skip over the houses with the blood to those that do not have it. The Hebrew word (פָּסַח [pāsaḥ]) is not easy to define, for its usages are not numerous. It has been given the meaning of “to limp” (cf. 1 Kings 18:21) or “to leap over.” I think the clue to its meaning is found in Isaiah 31:5, where it refers to the protection of Jerusalem by Yahweh [the LORD]. He is compared to birds that hover over their young with outspread wings to protect them. The idea is set out in more detail in Exodus 12:23 where we read, “For the Lord 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 to come in to your houses to smite you.” Since the destroying angel exists under God’s control, he cannot enter the houses under the protecting hand of God. One is reminded of Peter’s words in the same chapter of his first epistle in which he refers to the Lord Jesus “as of a lamb unblemished and spotless” (1 Peter 1:19)—“who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:5). There are some important spiritual truths illustrated here. In the first place, it is clear that the safety of the Israelites depended upon the blood shed and sprinkled on the doorposts. It did not depend upon their sense of sin, or upon the possession of certain graces, or upon any spiritual experiences they may have had. It depended upon the blood. With the blood in the proper place they were safe. Our spiritual salvation depends upon the blood of the cross alone. With that sprinkled upon the doorposts of our hearts we are as safe as a prophet or an apostle. It is the blood of the cross that is the foundation of our salvation. In the second place, the certainty of their salvation depended upon the word of God. It was He who promised that, if they would put the blood on the door, He would pass over them. So, while their safety depended upon the blood, their certainty, or assurance of safety, depended upon the faithfulness of God to His Word and their confidence in Him. It was entirely possible for some who had put the blood on the door to still be in a state of anxiety over their safety. Their safety, however, did not depend upon their state of mind, but simply upon the presence of the blood upon the doorpost. So, in our salvation our safety depends upon the blood of Christ shed on the cross, but our assurance of safety depends upon our confidence in what God has said. (JESUS OF NAZARETH AND PAUL OF TARSUS ON THE PASSOVER LAMB - S Lewis Johnson see full article online; See also Dr Johnson's sermon by same name) Bruckner - The Lord protected and saved them. The people could, however, reject the protection God offered. The absence of blood on a doorframe would constitute a rejection of God’s offer of grace, protection, and lordship. The Lord offered three promises, better translated, “I will see the blood and I will pass over you; no destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.” This was the very purpose for which God had come down.
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Cole - The connection between passover and the feast of ‘unleavened bread’ is equally close, so that they are normally considered one festival, not two (Ex 23:15) and apparently called together ‘unleavened bread’. Now this day will be a memorial to you - What day? "The reference is to the fifteenth day of the month, the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread." (NET Note) The Feast would be a memorial of God’s sparing the firstborn of the Israelites in Egypt and of Israel’s deliverance from Egyptian bondage. NET Note explains that "The point of the word “remember” in Hebrew is not simply a recollection of an event, but a reliving of it, a reactivating of its significance. In covenant rituals “remembrance” or “memorial” is designed to prompt God and worshiper alike to act in accordance with the covenant. Jesus brought the motif forward to the new covenant with “this do in remembrance of me.”" Memorial (reminder, remembrance) (02146)(zikkaron from zakar = to remember) means a memorial, a remembrance (with an implication of honor, worship, and celebration), a record, a reminder. That by which the memory of a person or thing is preserved. Something that keeps remembrance vivid. A memorial is a monument, statue, holiday, or ritual that serves as a remembrance or reminder of a person or an event. Uses 25x in 22v - Exod. 12:14; Exod. 13:9; Exod. 17:14; Exod. 28:12; Exod. 28:29; Exod. 30:16; Exod. 39:7; Lev. 23:24; Num. 5:15; Num. 5:18; Num. 10:10; Num. 16:40; Num. 31:54; Jos. 4:7; Neh. 2:20; Est. 6:1; Job 13:12; Eccl. 1:11; Eccl. 2:16; Isa. 57:8; Zech. 6:14; Mal. 3:16 And you shall celebrate it as a feast to the LORD - NET Note explains that "As the wording implies and the later legislation required, this would involve a pilgrimage to the sanctuary of Yahweh." Currid - This verse uses three terms to define the Passover. First, it is ‘a memorial’. That noun derives from the verb that means ‘to remember/remind’. Passover, therefore, is to serve as a reminder to the Hebrew people of their lives of slavery and of the events of their redemption. Secondly, Passover is ‘a feast’. A ‘feast of gathering’ or a ‘pilgrim-feast’ is what is especially signified by this word. The Hebrews are being called together and appear before Yahweh; it is a communal celebration (see Exod. 23:14–17). Finally, Passover is ‘a lasting ordinance’. The Hebrew term for ‘ordinance’ means ‘law/rule/statute’. And thus we see a law given to Israel by God that precedes the laws revealed at Sinai. Israel is not lawless before the meeting at the mount. Note, in addition, the continuous, binding nature of the ordinance: bound to ‘law’ is a masculine adjective which means various things, but in the context of our passage probably signifies ‘in perpetuity/in continuous existence’. The command to keep the Passover is emphasized by the reiteration of this law in Exodus 12:24 and 13:10. Throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance - Notice tehre are two expressions of time (generations...permanent) which serve to emphasize that this celebration (or feast) was to be kept in perpetuity. Permanent (05769)(olam) means eternity, the distant future; duration, perpetual - without end, always, everlasting time. Criswell - For the Christian, the memorial observance of the Lord's Supper replaces the Passover Feast in this day of grace (Luke 22:20; 1 Cor. 5:7, 8). The Jews remembered their deliverance from Egypt in the annual Passover festival (cf. Ex. 12:24-27). Jesus died at Passover time as the new Passover Lamb (5:7) through whom believers are delivered from sin and Satan. As the Savior ate the Last Supper during the Passover and just before He died (cf. Matt. 26:19-30), He instituted this memorial of His death (vv. 24, 25). When He said, "This is My body," as He held the bread, the disciples understood the symbolism because they could see His physical body present before them. The Oriental considers eating together a sign of the bond among those present, and the Lord's Supper points to the bond among the various people present (1 Cor 10:17) and between each participant and the Lord (1 Cor 10:16, 20, 21). The actions in the Supper are eloquent. The Lord, as it were, hands His people the broken bread, saying by this action, "Look! My body was given for you; I died for you." As the Christian takes the bread and eats it, making it part of himself, he says by this action, "Yes, Lord! You died for me, and I am again showing my response to Your death. I am relying upon You to save me. I renew my vow of obedience to You. I love You." The enacted dialogue with the fruit of the vine is similar. The Christian should make sure that there is no unconfessed sin within him before he comes to the Lord's Supper (1 Cor 11:28). The Supper is for repentant sinners who have put their faith in Christ. It is to be taken seriously, the participants being conscious of the presence of Christ at His table, and not despising others who are present; for they, too, are His body (1 Cor 11:29). The Lord's Supper is shared "till He comes" (1 Cor 11:26); it looks forward to the Lamb's Supper (cf. Rev. 19:7-9). In summary, the Lord's Supper is designed to symbolize and communicate six distinct truths: (1) a memorial to remind us of the central truth in Christianity -- the atonement of Christ (1 Cor 11:24, 25), (2) the fellowship of Christ's body (1 Cor 11:18), (3) a diagnostic feast in which the believer examines his own walk with Christ (1 Cor 11:28), (4) a feast of thanksgiving for salvation (1 Cor 11:24), (5) a witness to Christ's death (1 Cor 11:26), and (6) a feast of hope (1 Cor 11:26). (Believer's Study Bible) Here are Paul's instructions... For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death (CRUCIFIXION) until He comes (RESURRECTION, ASCENSION, RETURN - SHOULD MOTIVATE HOLY LIVING - Who you are looking for should impact what we are living for!). (1 Cor 11:23-26) How do the elements of the Passover Seder point to Christ? Answer: The Seder is the traditional dinner that Jews partake of as part of Passover. The annual Passover commemoration is celebrated by nearly the entire Jewish community, bonding families and communities to their Jewish roots. Each year Jewish people, religious and nonreligious, celebrate the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by gathering and experiencing the Passover Seder. The Hebrew word Seder means “order.” The Passover meal has a specific order in which food is eaten, prayers are recited, and songs are sung. Each item on the Passover plate has a specific historical meaning related to the exodus of the Jews from Egypt and their freedom from slavery. But 1 Corinthians 5:7 identifies Jesus Christ as our Passover; thus, the Seder carries a New Testament meaning related to Jesus the Messiah. In the Seder, there are several strong symbols of Christ. One is the shank bone of a lamb, which reminds the participants of the feast of God’s salvation. During the tenth plague, God instructed the Israelites to daub their doorposts and lintels with the blood of a spotless lamb so that the Lord would “pass over” their homes and preserve the lives within (Exodus 12:1–13). This is a symbol of salvation in Egypt, but it is also a picture of Jesus who was and is the “Lamb of God” (John 1:29). His sacrifice preserves the lives of all who believe. The instructions for the original Passover specified that the lamb’s bones could not be broken (Exodus 12:46), another foreshadowing of Christ’s death (John 19:33). Another symbol of Christ on the Seder plate is the matzoh, or unleavened bread. As the Jewish people left Egypt, they were in great haste and therefore had no time to allow their bread to rise. From then on, Passover was followed by the week-long Feast of Unleavened Bread (Deuteronomy 16:3). There are some fascinating things about the matzoh that provide a remarkable picture of the Messiah: For example, the matzoh is placed in a bag called an echad, which means “one” in Hebrew. But this one bag has three chambers. One piece of matzoh is placed into each chamber of the bag. The matzoh placed in the first chamber is never touched, never used, never seen. The second matzoh in the bag is broken in half at the beginning of the Seder; half of the broken matzoh is placed back in the echad, and the other half, called the Afikomen, is placed in a linen cloth. The third matzoh in the bag is used to eat the elements on the Seder plate. The word echad is used in Genesis 2:24 (the man and his wife will become “echad,” or “one” flesh). The word also appears in Numbers 13:23 when the spies returned from Canaan with an echad cluster of grapes. In both cases, the word echad refers to a complex unity of one. Many Jews consider the three matzohs to represent Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But they cannot explain why they break “Isaac” in half or why they place half of the middle matzoh back in the echad and keep the other half out, wrapped in a cloth. The meaning of the Seder’s ritual of the matzohs is understood with clues from the New Testament. The Trinity is pictured in the matzohs. The first matzoh that remains in the bag throughout the Seder represents Ha Av, the Father whom no man sees. The third matzoh represents the Ruach Ha Kodesh, the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. And the second matzoh, the broken one, represents Ha Ben, the Son. The reason the middle matzoh is broken is to picture the broken body of Christ (1 Corinthians 11:24). The half put back in the echad represents Jesus’ divine nature; the other half, wrapped in a linen cloth and separated from the echad represents Jesus’ humanity as He remained on earth. The linen cloth that wraps half of the second piece of matzoh suggests Jesus’ burial cloth. During the Seder, this linen cloth with the Afikomen inside is hidden, and after the dinner the children present look for it. Once the Afikomen is found, it is held as a ransom. Again, we see that these rituals point to Christ: He was fully God yet fully human; He was broken for us; He was buried, sought for, and resurrected; and His life was given a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). Jesus is the completion of the New Covenant of Jeremiah 31:31, and the Passover Seder rituals bear that out. Also, the matzoh used for the Passover Seder must be prepared a certain way. Of course, it must be unleavened—leaven is often equated with sin in the Scriptures, and Jesus is sinless. Second, the matzoh must be striped—Jesus’ “stripes” (His wounds) are what heal us spiritually (Isaiah 53:5). And, third, the matzoh must be pierced—Jesus was nailed to the cross (Psalm 22:16). The other elements of the Seder plate are traditional reminders of the Israelite enslavement to the Egyptians. They are as follows: Vegetable (Karpas) – This element, usually parsley, is dipped in salt water and eaten. The karpas pictures the hyssop that was used to apply the blood of the Passover lamb to homes of the Israelites in Egypt. In the New Testament, hyssop was used to give the Lamb of God vinegar when Jesus said He thirsted (John 19:29). The salt water represents the tears shed during the bitter years of slavery and the Red Sea that God split during the exodus. Bitter Herbs (Maror) – The eating of “bitter herbs” is commanded in Exodus 12:8. In modern times, this is usually horseradish, one of the bitterest herbs. The maror reminds the Jews that they were unable to offer sacrifice and worship to God, and that was bitterer than the slavery of Egypt. Charoset (haroseth) – Charoset is a mixture of apples, nuts, wine, and spices. It represents the mortar the Israelites used in the constructing buildings during their slavery to the Egyptians. Of all the elements of the Seder, charoset alone is sweet, and this is a reminder of the hope of redemption. Hard-boiled or Roasted Egg (Baytzah) – Traditionally, hard-boiled eggs were eaten by mourners, and the egg is eaten during the Seder to remind participants that they are always in mourning for the loss of their temple. The fact that the egg is roasted evokes the roasting of the sacrifice on the altar of the temple. There are also four cups of wine used at various points during the Seder. Each of these glasses of wine has a name: the first glass is the “cup of sanctification.” The second is the “cup of judgment.” The third is the “cup of redemption.” And the fourth is the “cup of praise.” At the Last Supper, Jesus took the first cup and promised His disciples that the next time He drank the fruit of the vine with them would be in the kingdom (Luke 22:17). Later in the Seder, Jesus took the third cup—the cup of redemption—and used that cup as a symbol of the New Covenant in His blood (Luke 22:20). Thus Jesus fulfilled the Passover symbolism and infused the whole feast with a new meaning. In Exodus 6:6, the Lord God promised His people that He would save them from slavery: “I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment.” The phrase “with an outstretched arm” is repeated throughout the Old Testament in connection with Passover remembrances: Deuteronomy 4:34; 7:19; 9:29; 26:8; 2 Kings 17:36; Psalm 136:12; Jeremiah 32:21. Can it be coincidence that, in the New Testament, the Messiah had both of His arms outstretched as He freed us from sin and brought us salvation? (Source: Gotquestions.org) Exodus 12:15 'Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses; for whoever eats anything leavened from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. Seven - Ex 12:8 13:6,7-10 23:15 34:18,25 Lev 23:5-8 Nu 28:17 De 16:3,5,8 Mt 16:12 Lu 12:1 Ac 12:3 that person - Ex 12:19,20 31:14 Ge 17:14 Lev 17:10,14 Nu 9:13 Mal 2:12 Ga 5:12 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread - Note the phase you shall eat, not you might consider eating. The former stresses that the eating of unleavened bread for seven days was obligatory not optional (cf "cut off"). Thus the NET version renders it "you must eat" unleavened bread and also avoid all leaven! The Feast of Unleavened Bread (aka Passover) began on the tenth day of Abib (Nisan) when each household was to take a lamb for themselves (Ex 12:3) and they kept watch over it until the fourteenth day of Abib, when it was killed (Ex 12:6) and the Passover meal was eaten The day of eating the Passover meal coincided with the first day of unleavened bread (mentioned in Ex 12:8, but no timing specified). Now the timing of the eating of unleavened bread is specifically given as to be continued for the next seven days. And so the Unleavened Bread continued through the twenty-first of Abib. Here is the schedule for the Feast of Passover/Unleavened Bread - Luke links these two feasts together writing "Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was approaching." (Lk 22:1+) 10th of Abib - Select lamb. Watch next 4 days. 14th of Abib - Kill lamb. Eat lamb. Eat unleavened bread. 15th of Abib - Feast of Unleavened Bread begins 21st of Abib - Continue eating unleavened bread next 7 days from 15th to 21st of Abib. Bruckner has an interesting note on timing - The Passover lamb was killed on the fourteenth of the month. The Feast of Unleavened Bread began on the day they left Egypt, from the evening of the fourteenth day (v. 18), technically the beginning of the fifteenth. It continued through the twenty-first (seventh day), which was the day of the concluding feast. Unleavened bread was like eating something with the consistency of our modern day cracker.
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Cole - This ‘sabbath’, with which the feast of unleavened bread begins and ends, is not as sacred as weekly sabbath, or atonement day. Cooking may still be done, unlike stricter ‘sabbaths’. Exodus 12:17 'You shall also 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 permanent ordinance. BGT Exodus 12:17 καὶ φυλάξεσθε τὴν ἐντολὴν ταύτην ἐν γὰρ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ταύτῃ ἐξάξω τὴν δύναμιν ὑμῶν ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου καὶ ποιήσετε τὴν ἡμέραν ταύτην εἰς γενεὰς ὑμῶν νόμιμον αἰώνιον NET Exodus 12:17 So you will keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because on this very day I brought your regiments out from the land of Egypt, and so you must keep this day perpetually as a lasting ordinance. LXE Exodus 12:17 And ye shall keep this commandment, for on this day will I bring out your force out of the land of Egypt; and ye shall make this day a perpetual ordinance for you throughout your generations. NLT Exodus 12:17 "Celebrate this Festival of Unleavened Bread, for it will remind you that I brought your forces out of the land of Egypt on this very day. This festival will be a permanent law for you; celebrate this day from generation to generation. KJV Exodus 12:17 And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever. ESV Exodus 12:17 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. NIV Exodus 12:17 "Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. ASV Exodus 12:17 And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day throughout your generations by an ordinance for ever. CSB Exodus 12:17 "You are to observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread because on this very day I brought your divisions out of the land of Egypt. You must observe this day throughout your generations as a permanent statute. You shall also observe - Ex 7:5 13:8 Nu 20:16 permanent ordinance - Ex 12:14 You shall also observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread - NLT = "Celebrate this Festival of Unleavened Bread." The idea of observe (Hebrew = shamar; Lxx = phulasso - protect like a sentinel guards a post) is to keep or guard the Feast for - Term of explanation - explaining why observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread. On this very day - Literally “on the bone of this day” which means “the substance of the day,” the day itself, the very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt - NLT - "it will remind you that I brought your forces out of the land of Egypt on this very day." Hosts is usually a military term portraying the people of God in battle array, but can also simply describe an orderly departure (also used in Ex 6:26+). Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as a permanent ordinance. - NLT - "This festival will be a permanent law for you; celebrate this day from generation to generation." Repetition of permanent ordinance from Ex 12:14 underscores the importance and benefit of the Passover/Unleavened Bread to future generations, to the posterity of the Hebrews. THOUGHT - When one considers that the passover celebration clearly points to the Messiah, it is not surprising that God ordained that the Jews never cease to celebrate this feast. There is always the potential that an unsaved Jewish person will have the eyes of their heart opened and come to faith in their Messiah, Yeshuah. Let it be so LORD. In Yeshua's Name. Amen Fascinating article from a Jewish perspective. Getting so close to the knowledge of the Messiah, but still failing to receive Him as Redeemer. So tragic! Power of the Passover Exodus 12:18 '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. Ex 12:1,15 Lev 23:5,6 Nu 28:16 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. - "Holy, set-apart days and weeks begin and end in the evening. Leviticus 23:32 says, ‘From evening until evening you shall keep the Sabbath." (Currid) Exodus 12:19 'Seven days there shall be no leaven found in your houses; for whoever eats what is leavened, that person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is an alien or a native of the land. Seven - Ex 23:15 34:18 De 16:3 1Co 5:7,8 that person shall be cut off - Ex 12:15 Nu 9:13 whether - Ex 12:43,48 THE SERIOUSNESS OF NO LEAVEN! Seven days there shall be no leaven found in your houses; for whoever eats what is leavened - The implication is that if you have leaven you will eat leavened bread.
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Cole - In later Judaism, the hunt for leaven all through the house has become a symbolic ritual (ED: EVEN PRACTICED IN MODERN JUDAISM IN THE "SEDER CELEBRATION"). Here it is simply a practical exclusion. Exodus 12:21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Go and take for yourselves lambs according to your families, and slay the Passover lamb. elders - Ex 3:16 17:5 19:7 Nu 11:16 and take - Ex 12:3 Nu 9:2-5 Jos 5:10 2Ki 23:21 2Ch 30:15-17 35:5,6 Ezr 6:20 Mt 26:17-19 Mk 14:12-16 Lu 22:7-13 1Co 10:4 lamb - Ex 12:3 the passover - 1 Co 5:7. ELDERS BRIEFED ON DUTY OF EACH FAMILY The details of how the Feast of Passover (and by implication Unleavened Bread) was to be memorialized in future years were laid down repeated in the instructions to the elders (Ex 12:21–27). Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them - Speaking to the elders of Israel (first time in Ex 3:16+) would allow the instructions to be disseminated throughout the 1.5-2 million Israelites. Recall that in Ex 6:9 "Moses spoke thus to the sons of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses on account of their despondency and cruel bondage." But 9 plagues including protection for Israel had "changed their tune," had given Moses esteem in the community and given them a willingness to receive and believe what he said. And remember also that the oppressive conditions had worsened, not gotten better, so it was another way God was preparing the Israelites to desire to depart. Mackay on elders - We here come across for the first time a major group in Israelite society, who are to play a significant role in the following narrative (Ex. 3:16, 18; Ex 4:29; Ex 12:21; Ex 17:5, 6; Ex 18:12; Ex 19:7; Ex 24:1, 9, 14; Nu 11:16, 24, 25; 16:25). The elders (the word originally signified ‘the bearded ones’) were a well-known institution in society at that time. Through age and experience they were looked up to as those who were capable of leading the community. It was not the role of the elders to frame legislation or establish legal precedents, but to administer the agreed standards of the community and to arbitrate in disputes. By accepting the authority and judgments of the elders society could live harmoniously without having to resort to violence to settle disputes between individual and families. The institution of elders did much to promote the cohesion and solidarity of Israelite and other similar societies. (MC-Ex) Go and take for yourselves lambs (or goats - seh) according to your families, and slay the Passover lamb. - NLT = "Go, pick out a lamb or young goat for each of your families, and slaughter the Passover animal." Go and take is literally "draw out and take” where the verbs depict the need “to draw out” a lamb or goat selected from among the rest of the flock. These commands are given to the leaders in Israel who were to obey so that the rest of Israel would follow their lead. Paul writes "lean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed." (1 Cor 5:7) Exodus 12:22 "You shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts; and none of you shall go outside the door of his house until morning. a bunch - Lev 14:6,7 Nu 19:18 Ps 51:7 Heb 9:1,14,19 11:28 12:24 1Pe 1:2 apply - Ex 12:7 none of you shall go outside - Mt 26:30 HYSSOP TOUCHING THE DOORPOSTS WITH HYSSOP SOAKED IN BLOOD You shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts - Bunch of hyssop - from the picture above one could see how several of these bushes could function like a brush. The application of blood in Ex 12:7 does not mention hyssop. S Lewis
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Cole - Dungeon is “Literally, the ‘pit-house’. Pits were a common prison. Here the opposite to pharaoh is not the ‘mill girl’ (Exodus 12:29), but the prisoner of war in the dungeon.” Guzik suggests that "This plague was directed against two significant Egyptian gods. First, Osiris was the Egyptian god thought to be the giver of life. Second, this was against the supposed deity of Pharaoh himself, because his own household was touched (the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne). THOUGHT - The question is, have you entered in? Have you applied the blood, by repentance and faith upon your heart and life? Exodus 12:30 Pharaoh arose in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians, and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was no home where there was not someone dead. and there was a great cry - Ex 11:6 Pr 21:13 Am 5:17 Mt 25:6 Jas 2:13 A GREAT CRY FOR ALL AFFECTED Pharaoh arose in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians - The entire country woke up in terror because of the deaths.