The Passover as Judgment and Faith

Background

The given of instructions concerning the Passover and feast of unleavened bread represents an interruption of the plagues narrative. This raises the question why? There were interruptions up until now so why here? The answer is because the passover is integral to what God is going to do. In fact it is literally what God is going to do for Israel as he moves against Egypt. This will be the event that brings them freedom and they should never forget it. This allows the original readers to be made conscious of what the Lord has done and their need to continually remember and acknowledge Yahweh’s great act of salvation on their behalf.

Exposition

Verse 1: The first passover was unique in that it was celebrated inside Egypt. The people were still under the bondage of slavery. Pharaoh has refused compliance, to the detriment of his nation. Now a judgment will come that cause even him to break and bow to the Sovereign Lord of heaven and earth, the God of Israel. There would have been no need for this redemptive act of God if the people were already free. Blood wouldn’t needed to be shed if there was no bondage.

Verse 2: This month would mark the beginning of a new life for the Israelites. They would not longer be slaves in Egypt. They would no longer toil under heavy burden. They would be free to worship the God of heaven and earth. There old life would be left behind, not to be returned to, and a better life would begin. Their new existence is tied to the saving act of Yahweh on their behalf, for His glory and their good. Unlike the nations around them they shall have a spring new year. This doesn’t conflict with the agricultural calendar they will follow for harvest and celebrate feasts around.

Verses 3 - 4: It isn’t clear why so much time was given between the choosing and slaughtering of the lamb. Practically it would allow enough time for everyone to acquire a lamb and so not left to suffer judgment. In thinking of this I am reminded of the parable of the wise and foolish virgins (Matt. 25:1-13). The five foolish virgins suffer loss because they did not take the time to prepare for the coming of the bridegroom. The wise virgins were prepared and entered into glory and received their inheritance. Let’s take a moment to highlight the importance of verse 4: Why was it necessary to bring in another family to ensure all the meat is eaten? This would ensure that every person partake of the passover meal. It required every individual to believe and respond. J. Vernon McGee sums it up nicely: “God is presenting the modus operandi by which He is going to save individuals. No one is saved because he is the member of a nation or a family.”[1] The faith of someone else is theirs. It can’t save you or I.

Verse 5 - 7: What Yahweh required to passover the homes was the blood of an young, unblemished male lamb or goat. We will return to this on next week but for now we can’t help but to notice that Christ was young at his time of death, male, and possessed sinless perfection. We see two things in this: 1 - there couldn’t be any deformities or defects (cf. Lev. 22:20-22) in the offering. This points us to the holiness of God. He is pure and perfect with no fault or short coming. Therefore no such thing can enter his presence or be acceptable as a cover for sin against His perfect holy nature. 2 - there had to be blood shed for salvation to come. The penalty of sin is death and said penalty must be paid by someone. The blood, which was mixed with hyssop, needed to be applied on the doorposts and the lintels so the Israelite households would avoid the fate of Egyptian households. Being spared from the wrath of God required the application of the blood of the lamb. John Calvin, in applying this to Christ, states: “As to God’s will, that the side-posts and lintel should be sprinkled with blood, by this sign He plainly taught them, that the sacrifice would profit none but those who were stained and marked with Christ’s blood; for this sprinkling was equivalent to their bearing each one the mark of His blood upon their forehead.”[2] Charles Spurgeon, in his sermon The Sacred Love Token delivered on Aug 22, 1875, put it this way: “By an appropriating faith we must take Christ to be ours; we must, in a word, believe in the atonement which he has made, for an atonement which is not believed in is no atonement to us. Our Lord Jesus laid down his life for us, but he that believeth not in him shall by no means partake of any of the blessings of his death.”[3] This is what the Holy Spirit does in the life of the believer (1 Pet. 1:2). He applies to work of Christ, the salvation and righteousness He achieved, to the undeserving sinner. He makes the work of Christ efficacious in our lives. Without the regenerating power of the Spirit, the death and resurrection of Christ is of no use to us. Also of note is that applying the blood was an act of obedience that demonstrated true saving faith in the one who was delivering them.[4]

Verse 8 - 11: Given that the passover is meant as a sign of remembrance, detail must be given as to what was being remembered. The bitter herbs would remind them of their bitter and harsh labors. Eating fully clothed will call to mind the need for a quick departure. The shedding of blood will remain that that life was lost so their lives would be spared. These instructions are also very practical. Preparing food in this way leaves little to clean up, something that would slow a departure. More importantly, keeping leftovers would indicate a lack of confidence in what the Lord was going to do. It would be a lack of faith. The writer of Hebrews makes clear we can’t please God with faith (Heb. 11:6). Remember Christ, when he first sent out his disciples, told them to go without provisions. They needed to trust that the Lord would provide for them along their journeys. Let me make another point: When God acts his people must be ready to respond. There is an urgency to this first passover. They will be let go right after and they needed to be ready to move. Whether or not the people prepared themselves for departure depended their belief in the promises of God. True saving faith manifest itself in actions, in consistent obedience.

Verses 12-13: The Lord reiterates what he is about to do and makes clear it will be done. How is this so? He is the LORD. The judgment on the god’s of Egypt will be complete. They will be shown as impotent, unable to stand against the true Sovereign of the universe. In contrast, Israel will be saved and see their God is the one true God. But how could they be sure? What would confirm their salvation. It was the blood. The blood on the doorposts is the sign of their hope and love by God. Hear again the words of Charles Spurgeon: “Show me a token for good” is a prayer which is often used in a very mistaken sense. They desire some special transaction of providence, or remarkable dream, or singular feeling; but God says to all those who desire a token for good, “The blood shall be to you for a token.” What more can we desire? All the squadrons of the angelic host could not better assure us if each one brought a message from heaven. The best of all evidences of divine love is the cross. The strongest of all assurances of safety, the surest of all pledges of favour, the best token of grace that a man can possibly behold is the sprinkled blood, by which he is cleansed from sin. “The blood shall be to you for a token.”[5] All this being said, allow me to return to the point I made earlier: being an Israelite in and of itself wasn’t enough to avoid destruction. At this moment we should pause and ask why Israel would have to worry about the plague. Israel has been spared from the impact of the prior plagues. Why would they be at risk this time? We find an answer in the commentary of Joshua decades later (Josh. 24:14). Israel was guilty of idolatry. It is not at all a stretch to suppose that many Israelites willing participated in the worship of these gods that have been judged. As such they would have been worthy of judgment along with Egypt. Not only this but both Egypt and Israel shared a common origin, as does all humanity. We are all children of Adam. As such we are all born in sin (Rom. 3:9) and are children of wrath (Eph. 2:3). Death is due to all men in Adam (Romans 5:12). The fact that Israel has been spared is due only to the grace of God and nothing else. The truth of the matter is the path to life wasn’t / isn’t through ethnicity, rather it was / is based on faith in the promises of God and on sacrifice. They needed to do things the Lord’s way and so do we.

Practical Application

As we begin to study the passover I pray we will grasp the significance of the shed blood. The scripture tells us the life is in the blood (Gen. 9:4). Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin (Heb. 9:22). In order for the Israelites to receive and enjoy the promises of God, their inheritance, a substitute was needed to pray the price for their sin. The good news is that while we are under the blood we are perfectly secure. Protected by the blood of Christ shed on the cross, and his resurrection from the dead, we have assurance of salvation. No longer are we to dread the wrath of God, rather we rejoice in the love of our Father. Because of His grace we have eternal fellowship and relationship with Him. We are guaranteed to receive all he has prepared. Nothing can take this away from us and He will not fail to accomplish His purpose (Phil. 1:6). In Christ the old things are passed away and all things have become new (2 Cor. 5:17). The Father in His great and matchless love made a way for us and all he requires is us to take hold in believing faith. He will never let go. The passover was no small thing. There was a great price paid in blood for their salvation. It was not to be treated cavalierly or with indifference. Yahweh was about to bring both judgment and mercy in the land. Let us consider the magnitude of this. Let us never take this for granted. Rather let us strive to walk worthy of the calling to which we are called. God bless and Amen.

Gospel Application

The need for the passover shows us that there is no exception from the wrath of God and penalty of sin. We can’t rely on socioeconomic status, ethnicity, gender or any other thing to save us. While Yahweh is full of grace and mercy, he will not make the guilty innocent without the satisfaction of His justice. There is nothing we can do a part from him to change this. This is the bad news. The good news is He has made a way. That way is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He is thee passover lamb (1 Cor. 5:7) who willingly sacrificed himself so that we can have eternal life (1 John 4:10). His shed blood perfectly and completely washes us from sin and places us in the grace of God. If you don’t know him I call you to repent. Acknowledge and confess your sin. Cry out and ask for forgiveness. Place your trust in Christ alone and you will be saved. The people of Israel couldn’t afford to delay. It was literally a matter of life and death. So it is today. Now is the time and the acceptable hour. As you hear my voice please don’t harden your heart. Please and believe on today.

Bibliography

[1] McGee, J. V. (J. V. (1981). Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee, Volume 1. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc.

[2] Calvin, J., & Bingham, C. W. (2010). Commentaries on the Four Last Books of Moses Arranged in the Form of a Harmony (Vol. 1, p. 460). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

[3] Spurgeon, C. H. (1875). The Sacred Love-Token. In The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons (Vol. 21, p. 482). London: Passmore & Alabaster.

[4] Stuart, D. K. (2006). Exodus (Vol. 2, p. 276). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

[5] Spurgeon, C. H. (1875). The Sacred Love-Token. In The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons (Vol. 21, p. 481). London: Passmore & Alabaster.