"Covenant Implications of Passover"pt.1 Exodus 12:1-7

Introduction:

At the end of Exodus 11 Pharoah has been told by the Lord through Moses that this 10th plague will be the last one. The context is setting the backdrop of the stage for the divine drama to unfold.

The Passover is being instituted center stage with the horror of the 10th plague upon Egypt in the background. This was the plague where the Lord foretold that He would go through the land of Egypt and the firstborn of the Egyptian households would be put to death as His judgement was being poured out on the Egyptians.

Their slavery in Egypt was formerly told to Abraham in Genesis 15 and they had been in Egypt for 400 years and God in fulfillment to His promises to Abraham was bringing the out of their bondage and returning them to the land promised to Abraham.

So we need to understand that there are covenant implications connected to the events surrounding the institution of Passover. Our approach this morning is going to be to make some textual observations, then to focus in on the theological truth and then to apply that truth to our lives. The first textual observation we see in in verses 1-2: The Institution of the Calendar, look back at your text:

I. Explain the Text:

A. The Institution of the Calendar (1-2).

The Lord is speaking to both Moses and Aaron and He established the month of Abib (Nisan) in the Jewish religious calendar as the first month of the year.

Now this Israelite calendar was a lunar calendar that had periodic adjustments to the solar year. In the general sense Abib began in what we would refer to as mid-March and run through mid-April according to the Gregorian calendar that is common to us today.

This brings us to the Institution of the Passover itself. Look back to verses 3-6:

B. The Institution of the Passover (3-6).

Notice that the Lord instituted Passover as a formal feast celebration that was to begin on the 10th day of that first month of the year. The festivities would all kick off with a man selecting a lamb on behalf of the whole household (3).

This feast would be the perpetual reminder of not only their liberation from Egypt but it was the feast that pointed them in the direction of a new year and the new beginning for the covenant people of God.

And there was also instruction for small households to celebrate with their nearest neighbor according to the appropriate number who would be eating the Passover lamb during the celebration (4).

This was to be an all inclusive celebration among the people of Israel. No one was to be left out, even small households were to be incorporated into larger households to ensure that everyone celebrated in partaking of the Passover lamb.

We learn from verse 5 that the Passover lamb was to be a male yearling without blemish and he could be taken from among the sheep or the goats. But it would be on the 14th day of the month that all of Israel would kill their lambs (5-6).

They were to keep it with them for 4 days. This lamb would be with the family living in their midst from the 10th day of Abib to the 14th day of Abib. Have you ever been around a yearling lamb? They are so incredibly cute even when they are being a nuisance. My Grandfather once had one and all the grand-kids loved on it and treated it like a pet.

Then right after the sun goes down but before the land grows dark the lambs are all to be killed. They would roast the lamb and the household would eat the food as nourishment for their upcoming journey.

This was very practical, but God gave them some specific instructions on what they were to do with the blood of that Passover lamb in verse 7:

C. The Application of the Blood (7).

The Lord instructed them that blood from these lambs was to be applied to the doorpost of their homes (7).

And it is not because God’s favorite color is red. Blood is significant because of the sacrificial emphasis that goes back to right after the fall. Remember God did not receive Cain’s sacrifice because there was no blood associated with it.

The critical nature of blood in association with sacrifice even carried through in ancient history into pagan cultures informing their superstitions. Some theologians point this out that, “In primitive religions blood is often used to ward off evil powers”. Door frames of Mesopotamian houses were often painted red because the color was believed to ward off evil spirits. (The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament on 12:7).

This pagan notion probably got implemented into pagan cultures through oral tradition. But in the history of Israel this superstition of the color red was not necessarily a point of reference for them.

Lambs being killed and blood being used in such a manner had a connection to ancient animal sacrifices of burnt offerings. Like Abraham on Mount Moriah being provided a young ram caught in the thicket in Genesis 22:13.

So now we have seen the textual observations, what really is the focal point of the theological truth of Exodus 12:1-7?

II. Focus the Theological Truth:

A. This text is explaining some of the basic elements of Passover as an Institution. But the theological truth is all about the covenant provisions of God bringing about the liberation of His people. And God was doing all of this for His own glory.

God is glorifying Himself through the institution of the Passover and there is a clear distinction being made between the covenant people of God and the Egyptians.

He is preparing His covenant people for liberation and He is preparing the Egyptians for judgement. And through both of these elements the Lord will indeed be glorified.

III. Application to Our Lives

So when we consider how this theological truth applies to our lives, We need to understand that there are covenant implications connected to Passover but God did not just establish Passover to liberate His people. He established Passover primarily to display His glory in Christ among the nations of the world.

Egypt was the superpower of the day and the Lord would display His glory by bringing Egypt to their knees. You have to go back to Exodus 9:16 to understand this “glory display” aspect of the providence of God in these historical events. The Lord says to Pharoah: “16 But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.”

This is the verse that Paul quotes in Romans 9:17 concerning God’s freedom in extending mercy to whom He wishes according to His sovereign purpose. The Lord was not ever obligated to show mercy to Pharoah. He was using Pharoah to maximize His glory in Christ among the nations of the world.

And if you remember the historical context of the Book of Exodus, you know there were a series of 9 other plagues leading up to this 10th one. Every plague was carried out in an attempt to persuade Pharoah to let God’s covenant people go. But God hardened Pharaoh’s heart and Pharaoh out of the hardness of His own heart continued to resist the Lord’s commands.

The implications of covenant are tied to the overarching plan of God to glorify Himself in Christ and the redemption of sinners is one of the ways in which God does this. God desires a people for Himself for eternity to enjoy Him for all time.

Remember as we have seen over the last few weeks there are covenant promises at stake to the physical descendants of Abraham but in an extreme sense there are covenant promises at stake to the spiritual descendants of Abraham.

There is a deep contrast being established in this section dealing with the 10th plague between the firstborn of Egypt and the firstborn of Israel. The firstborn of Israel would be struck down but the firstborn of Israel would be set apart by God. This is why God took the firstborn for Himself in the place of the firstborn Israel on the night that He went through the land of Egypt.

You may not be aware of this but in Numbers 3:12-13 the Lord explains what He did in sparring the firstborn of Israel:

Numbers 3:12–13: 12 “Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, 13 for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the Lord.”

The Levities would be set apart by God as His own and they would go eventually go through religious washings as symbolic of being purified from sin. This would be their consecration into the priesthood where they would minister before God. Both Moses and Aaron were from the tribe of Levi.

This was all instituted in connection to the 10th plague and the Passover. You see, you need a priesthood to minister in order to sacrifice those Passover lambs every year on behalf of the people. This was all built in to the plan and purpose of God where He would substitute the firstborn of Israel for a priesthood to minister before Him.

Christian God did all of this because He had His spiritual provision in Christ in view. The whole account of the Passover along with the Priesthood and the Firstborn is rich in symbolism of the provision of sovereign grace to the people of God. These Old Testament covenant implications are foundational to how we understand the Christian faith.

The glory of God’s salvation to us is on display.

Our identity and our function of purpose in His Kingdom is being define by these truths.

If we loose sight of these things we will by default attempt to derive a substance to our Christianity from the pragmatic contributions of our Christian experience. It will be a Christianity that is self-informed and determined.

The substance of Christianity is not primarily what it means to you. The real substance of Christianity is in all that God has decreed it to be in Christ and the Holy Spirit application of it in your life Christian.

This is why when the New Testament describes what being a Christian is, it is actually defining Christ and understanding Christ from the teaching and imagery of the Old Testament.

Christian it is no mistake that Christ is declared to be the “Firstborn” of God in the Scriptures. Such statements are declarations of the exclusiveness, eternality and preeminence of Christ.

Psalm 89:27–29 “27 And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth. 28 My steadfast love I will keep for him forever, and my covenant will stand firm for him. 29 I will establish his offspring forever and his throne as the days of the heavens.”

Romans 8:29 “29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”

Colossians 1:15–18 “15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.”

Hebrews 1:6 “6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.””

Hebrews 12:22–23 “22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,”

Revelation 1:4–5 “4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood”

Those verses are all talking about Christ and His identity as the firstborn of God. Eternal, exclusive and preeminent and there is none greater or more glorious as He is the second person of the Godhead, the King of all glory!

Our identity in Christ is what it is due to our identification with Him.

1 Peter 2:9 “9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

Conclusion:

How could sinners, once enemies of God, justly deserving His righteous wrath have such an identity as Peter declares?

When we realize that it was no mere man who died in our place but the Firstborn of God who died for us; and He died to ransom us as priest for God that it would be our eternal joy to minister before Him for all eternity then we know that we have a new identity in Christ.

Christian we have been transformed internally and transformed externally out from our identification with sin and darkness into and identification with the righteousness of God in Christ.

Our identity has changed and our purpose has changed and where we will spend eternity has changed all because of Christ.

Unbeliever You need a make-over. Believe the gospel!

Christian, Confess your sin and receive. Let’s Pray!