Partake of God's Provision for You
Notes
Transcript
Throughout these instructions that the LORD was giving to the children of Israel, there were very specific actions they were to do to demonstrate their faith in the LORD the God of Israel. So far, the children of Israel were to:
1. Chose a lamb one-year old without spot or defect for each family/group on the 10th of Nisan;
2. Keep the lamb safe and separated until the 14th of Nisan;
3. Kill the lamb “between the evenings” of the 14th of Nisan, this done by the head of the household representing the whole family.
We will see in this section of Scripture today God’s provision for His own, the special prohibitions regarding the sacrificial lamb, and how the recipients shall partake of the LORD’s Passover.
1. The Lamb provides its recipients great benefits, 12:7-8
1. The Lamb provides its recipients great benefits, 12:7-8
The two great benefits that are provided by this Passover lamb is salvation from God’s judgment, and the strength for the journey through life ahead.
A. The LORD’s Lamb provides salvation from God’s judgment.
A. The LORD’s Lamb provides salvation from God’s judgment.
Starting in verse 7, we note that not all but only some of the blood was to be taken from the sacrificed lamb. After the killing of the lamb, each head of the household was to take some of the blood from the lamb. At the entry to their residences, they were to place some on the left doorpost, some on the right doorpost and at the top of the doorway. This was to be done only on the houses in which the family/families gathered to eat the lamb on the 14th of Nisan.
This is an evidence of faith. It did not take all the blood, only some of the blood faithfully applied as instructed. They have never had a sacrifice with these instructions before, but this is different—this is from the LORD Himself, not passed on from their fathers before them
The placement of the blood is an obvious reference to the cross. No blood was to be placed on the threshold of the door where it might be stepped on. The writer to the Hebrews reminds us:
How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?
B. The LORD’s Lamb provides strength for the journey through life ahead.
B. The LORD’s Lamb provides strength for the journey through life ahead.
1. The lamb was to be eaten that very night...
1. The lamb was to be eaten that very night...
… that night being the 14th of Nisan by those within the house covered by the blood applied to the doorway. Only those within that family / group in that house were to eat of that sacrificed lamb. Everyone had to follow the LORD’s directions.
The sacrificed lamb was to be roasted with fire on the night of the 14th of Nisan. In type, fire speaks of judgment. There must be judgment of sin. The children of Israel were not struck done by this tenth plague because the lamb they picked, sacrificed and applied the blood to their home entryway took the LORD’s judgment instead of their firstborn, both man and beast. Later, the Lamb of God took our judgment for sin upon Himself.
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
2. The roasted lamb was to be eaten that same night with two “side dishes:”
2. The roasted lamb was to be eaten that same night with two “side dishes:”
a. It was to be eaten with unleavened bread.
a. It was to be eaten with unleavened bread.
Throughout Scripture, leaven speaks of sin. The unleavened bread speaks of Jesus Christ, without sin, as the One whom we are to feed upon.
“I am the bread of life.
“Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.
“This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.
“I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.”
b. It was to be eaten with bitter herbs.
b. It was to be eaten with bitter herbs.
There are many different meanings given to this, but in this context, it points to the truth that even after we have partaken of / received the Savior, our experience will not always be sweet as we are “being saved;” i.e. our sanctification.
We recognize, if we are honest with ourselves, that our Christian walk sometimes resembles the saying, “Every time I take two steps forward, I take one step backwards.” We will get discouraged and feel defeated at times if we allow ourselves to be spiritually nearsighted. When we see things with corrected lenses, i.e. see from the revealed perspective God has given in His Word, we can trust that He alone will bring His great and precious promises to us to fulfillment. Our task is to daily trust Him alone.
2. The Lord’s warnings regarding the eating of the Lamb, 12:9-10.
2. The Lord’s warnings regarding the eating of the Lamb, 12:9-10.
The LORD placed prohibitions on the eating of the lamb; These prohibitions also teach us how we should come to the Lamb of God.
A. The sacrificed lamb cannot be eaten raw, 9a.
A. The sacrificed lamb cannot be eaten raw, 9a.
As a type pointing to Christ, the sacrifice could not be eaten raw. The sacrifice spoke of judgment of sin in human lives and as such, it required both the sacrifice and the fire of judgment.
--When we are coming to Christ, we are coming as sinners, desperately needing a sacrificial substitute who will endure God’s judgment in our place. Jesus, as the Lamb of God, is our sacrificial substitute who endured the cross, despising the shame, so that in faith, we do not need to. To learn all we can of Christ is not a quick read, but it takes time to study, to reflect, to consider all that the Scriptures say about Him.
B. The sacrificial lamb cannot be boiled with water, 9b.
B. The sacrificial lamb cannot be boiled with water, 9b.
Again , as a type of Christ, this lamb cannot have anything added to the sacrifice itself to make it more palatable. They were not to make a soup or stew, or even boil it to make the meat more tender.
— When we come to Christ, we must trust Him and Him alone, not adding anything to Him and His finished work on the cross.
C. The sacrificial lamb cannot be kept for “leftovers,” 9c-10.
C. The sacrificial lamb cannot be kept for “leftovers,” 9c-10.
The last part of verse 9 tells us that the lamb is to be roasted with fire intact. It is not to have the choice parts removed, neither any part of the lamb deemed less desirable.
— We are to take Jesus whole, as He is. We cannot sort Him into those parts of Him we like and discard what we do not like. He is not just a worker of signs and wonders, a teacher, a man of true justice, an example to mankind…He is more than those things and we must take Him as He is: The Lamb of God, God the Son, Messiah and the Savior to all who receive His gift of salvation, offered to each individual by the grace of God through faith in what Jesus Christ did for you and me.
All the household was to eat as much of the roasted lamb as they could, but before the morning, anything not eaten was to be burned with fire. It was provision for that day alone, giving strength for the events of the day to come.
3. The LORD’s Lamb was to be eaten in a specific way, 12:11-13.
3. The LORD’s Lamb was to be eaten in a specific way, 12:11-13.
The LORD even gave specific instructions for how, on this particular meal, they were to eat His Passover:
A. They were not to be relaxed in their eating, but with their loins girded.
A. They were not to be relaxed in their eating, but with their loins girded.
This meant they were ready for any action that needed to be taken at a moments notice. They did not have to change clothes before they could leave; they were in the clothes they would travel in, ready to depart when Pharaoh would send them out away from himself and Egypt.
B. They were not to be barefoot, but they were to have sandals on their feet.
B. They were not to be barefoot, but they were to have sandals on their feet.
Once again, they were ready to go at a moment’s notice. They weren’t concerned about tracking something in the house that might have gotten on their sandals…they were not returning back to these homes after tonight!
C. They were not to recline at this meal, but they were to eat with their staff in their hand.
C. They were not to recline at this meal, but they were to eat with their staff in their hand.
They did not have their hands free, but had one hand on the stick that would help support them in the days ahead. This was not a relaxing, enjoyable meal, but a good, hearty, quick meal that would give them strength for what was ahead.
D. They were not to eat casually but in haste.
D. They were not to eat casually but in haste.
This eating was not for enjoyment—this was not a dinner party. They were not to linger over it, savoring it, but they were to eat it in haste, for they did not know when the order to move out would occur.
Because it is the Lord’s Passover, He has the right to set up the rules. But why must they eat it in such a fashion? Because that very night of the eating of the lamb, the Lord will go through the land of Egypt with deliberate purpose. The Lord will strike down all the firstborn of Egypt, both man and beast, and He will execute judgments against all the false gods of Egypt.
To be spared of this judgment, the application of the blood of the sacrificial lamb applied to the doorways in the instructed manner was of vital importance.
— We must note that the blood applied benefitted those within the house ONLY if it was applied as instructed, for each individual household / group. It was an act of faith in what the Lord has said, and they could not deviate from His instructions. Their obedience evidenced their faith (Exodus 12:28).
Then the sons of Israel went and did so; just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.
— The blood pointed to a substitute for each firstborn of the children of Israel. Remember, the children of Israel were not without sin.
“Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins will die.
“The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the father’s iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son’s iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself.
They were in desperate need of a savior / substitute for their sin. The Lord gave instructions for a lamp without defect at the full vigor of life to die that they might be spared of the tenth plague.
— The Lord gave the blood of an innocent, sinless One to make our salvation possible, sparing us from His judgment on our sin, having taken away our sins from us and laying them on the Sinless Son of God.
And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
— The blood applied as instructed was what the Lord looked for. He wasn’t looking for how good the children of Israel were, for doing the best that they could. He did not look to observe how good-looking they were. He did not seek to discover how nice they were to others. They were to evidence that they believed the LORD.
The LORD gave the children of Israel the means to be spared from the tenth plague. They needed to believe what the LORD had said, evidenced by acting upon all His instructions. The Lord would save; they believed, demonstrating it by their actions.
As the LORD is personally involved in this judgment, just so He is also personally involved in His offer of salvation. The obedience of the children of Israel to His Passover would result in the LORD “passing over” them in judgment, for His provision for their salvation from the tenth plague met their need and as a result, they would not suffer this plague of destruction when the LORD strikes the land of Egypt.
— The Lamb of God provides for us today the means for the LORD to pass over us when He judges the world. His Lamb has satisfied God’s righteous demands, providing satisfaction for His holiness, and making it possible for any who will call to Him for salvation will receive it.
‘And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
Let the Lord Jesus Christ be your Passover Lamb. Will you call on Him today?