Exodus 12: 1 – 51
Pharaoh’s Last Stand
12 Now the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2 “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. 3 Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. 4 And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man’s need you shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6 Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. 7 And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. 8 Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire—its head with its legs and its entrails. 10 You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire. 11 And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD’s Passover. 12 ‘For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. 13 Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. 14 ‘So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance. 15 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. 16 On the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation for you. No manner of work shall be done on them; but that which everyone must eat—that only may be prepared by you. 17 So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance. 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. 19 For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses, since whoever eats what is leavened, that same person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land. 20 You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.’” 21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. 22 And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning. 23 For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you. 24 And you shall observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever. 25 It will come to pass when you come to the land which the LORD will give you, just as He promised, that you shall keep this service. 26 And it shall be, when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ 27 that you shall say, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice of the LORD, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households.’” So the people bowed their heads and worshiped. 28 Then the children of Israel went away and did so; just as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did. 29 And it came to pass at midnight that the LORD struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of livestock. 30 So Pharaoh rose in the night, he, all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead. 31 Then he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, “Rise, go out from among my people, both you and the children of Israel. And go, serve the LORD as you have said. 32 Also take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone; and bless me also.” 33 And the Egyptians urged the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste. For they said, “We shall all be dead.” 34 So the people took their dough before it was leavened, having their kneading bowls bound up in their clothes on their shoulders. 35 Now the children of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, and they had asked from the Egyptians articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing. 36 And the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. Thus they plundered the Egyptians. 37 Then the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children. 38 A mixed multitude went up with them also, and flocks and herds—a great deal of livestock. 39 And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they had brought out of Egypt; for it was not leavened, because they were driven out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared provisions for themselves. 40 Now the sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. 41 And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years—on that very same day—it came to pass that all the armies of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt. 42 It is a night of solemn observance to the LORD for bringing them out of the land of Egypt. This is that night of the LORD, a solemn observance for all the children of Israel throughout their generations. 43 And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the ordinance of the Passover: No foreigner shall eat it. 44 But every man’s servant who is bought for money, when you have circumcised him, then he may eat it. 45 A sojourner and a hired servant shall not eat it. 46 In one house it shall be eaten; you shall not carry any of the flesh outside the house, nor shall you break one of its bones. 47 All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. 48 And when a stranger dwells with you and wants to keep the Passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as a native of the land. For no uncircumcised person shall eat it. 49 One law shall be for the native-born and for the stranger who dwells among you.” 50 Thus all the children of Israel did; as the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did. 51 And it came to pass, on that very same day, that the LORD brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt according to their armies.
What does today’s topic remind you of? If you are a history buff like me you might have thought that somehow the words remind you of Custer’s Last Stand. If that is actually what you were thinking, you win a cookie.
The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass and also commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes and the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army. The battle, which resulted in the defeat of US forces, was the most significant action of the Great Sioux War of 1876. It took place on June 25, 1876, along the Little Bighorn River in the Crow Indian Reservation in southeastern Montana Territory.
The fight was an overwhelming victory for the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho, who were led by several major war leaders, including Crazy Horse and Chief Gall, and had been inspired by the visions of Sitting Bull. The US 7th Cavalry, including the Custer Battalion, a force of 700 men led by Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer, suffered a major defeat. Five of the 7th Cavalry's 12 companies were annihilated and Custer was killed, as were two of his brothers, a nephew and a brother-in-law. The total US casualty count included 268 dead and 55 severely wounded (six died later from their wounds), including four Crow Indian scouts and two Pawnee Indian scouts.
I found a great interest in this battle for a few reasons. I was born on June 25th. Secondly, a godly man by the name of Chuck Smith whom God used greatly to further His kingdom was also born on this day.
I believe that I also found great interest in this tragic event because of the different positions people have taken regarding Custer’s real character. It is historically noted that Custer’s wife lived the rest of her life after her husband’s death trying to paint a great legacy regarding her husband and how he was such a great guy and hero. I, however, after studying Custer’s life, his Civil War antics, and his treatment of the American Nationals speak many volumes that he was not such a good guy. In fact he was a bigoted, egotistical, narcissistic villain. It did not mean anything to him to slaughter the women and children to get the males to surrender to any of his whims. He would make all kinds of promises and treaties and break them in the blink of an eye. In fact if you study the battle you will find that his strategy was to lead his troops in an attack of the village where the women and children were. Unfortunately for him and his troops they found the village disserted. As he made his way from the village to the Little Bighorn range this is when he and his whole regiment were outmaneuvered.
Because of his desire to make the history books he put all his troops in harm’s way. You know the rest of story as to what happened because of his swollen ego.
As I contemplate what happened to Custer and the 7th Calvary, in a unique way I think about the same type of a hardheaded leader. It is Pharaoh I am talking about. Because of his vain thoughts of himself as someone above all other human beings he caused the death and ruin of every family in Egypt.
12 Now the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,
This is a turning point in the book. It was a moment of huge historical importance, for in this month Israel’s deliverance was to be achieved. Thus there is the specific declaration of a new beginning. From this day on life was to be seen as having begun in this month because it was in it that their deliverance from Egypt, ready for their reception of their future inheritance, commenced. It was in fact the month of Abib, the month in which the feast of unleavened bread was celebrated will be celebrated. Later in Canaan they would celebrate the agricultural New Year in the Autumn because then the harvest was over and the new round of nature was to begin, but even so this probably continued to be the New Year religiously speaking, for it commenced the round of feasts that led finally up to Tabernacles. This was the official calendar. The other simply one observed because of the nature of things. It was only later that that would become official.
2 “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. 3 Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. 4 And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man’s need you shall make your count for the lamb.
On the tenth day of the month of Abib every household was to take a lamb (or goat) and set it apart ready for the Passover.
This was not specifically said here to be for a sacrifice, although it is in verse 27. The purpose of the lamb was that it should be eaten. This is made abundantly clear. If the household could not fully eat it then two households could combine. But its ‘holiness’ is made clear in that it must all be eaten and any that is not eaten must be burned with fire. None must be left. And the putting of the blood on the doorpost (verse 7) in the light of its purpose (to prevent the smiting judgment of Yahweh ) suggests that it signifies some kind of a substitution appeasement. The firstborn would not die because the blood was on the doorpost. Thus it clearly has a sacrificial element. The people would be protected by the blood and would hardly see it otherwise than as a sacrifice.
At this stage there was no priestly caste, and it is therefore probable that leaders of households acted as family priest. Thus each slaying would be made by the family priest. Certainly by the time of Jesus it had obtained sacrificial status for it had to be slain by the priests in the Temple.
The mentioning of ‘The congregation of Israel is re-emphasizing the unity of the children of Israel. They are one people, one gathering. The plea to Pharaoh had been that as a group they should be able to gather as a congregation in the wilderness to serve Yahweh. This was a phrase that would later represent the gathering of the whole people at a central sanctuary but it is not quite as fixed as that yet. Here it is rather those who are seen as being attached to ‘the children of Israel’ and represented by their leaders. It represents those who will gather to them when the time for departure comes.
5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats.
The lamb (or kid) was to be without blemish. This too emphasizes the sacrificial element. It is separated to our Holy Father God Yahweh and must therefore be ‘perfect’.
6 Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. 7 And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it.
The blood of the lamb was to be put on the lintel and on the two doorposts. This is a ceremony required by a benevolent Yahweh from His people and attracts his protection. The blood is there for Him to see. And He does not need to be warded off. Rather our Holy Lord God wants to be satisfied that they have fulfilled His requirements.
Passover was held at the time of the full moon, fourteen days after the new moon which would commence the month. This would aid them in their journey.
The Passover celebration was to be both communal, for all would do it together, and individual, for each family unit would perform it. It had most of the elements of a sacrifice. An unblemished lamb, set apart as holy, solemnly killed by the priestly head of the household, partaken of by the household and the remainder burned with fire, with its blood applied before Yahweh. It was distinctive because of the nature of the circumstances which would ever be remembered.
8 Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire—its head with its legs and its entrails. 10 You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire.
The lamb was to be eaten roasted with fire, not raw or boiled with water. The roasting may have been for purposes of speed, compared with boiling. Among other peoples sacrificial flesh was often eaten raw with a view to absorbing the blood of the animal, its life-force. But it was not to be so here. The eating of the blood would later be strictly forbidden to Israel (Leviticus 7.26) and clearly was so here. However, sacrificial flesh was certainly often boiled (Leviticus 6.28). This is therefore a specific enactment. ‘
The purpose of unleavened cakes’ is that they are quickly and easily cooked. There is continual emphasis in the passage on speed and readiness. In Deuteronomy 16.3 they are called ‘the bread of affliction’ because of their connection with the escape from Egypt.
In addition our Lord wants His people to remember their affliction and His rescue by having them include ‘Bitter herbs.’ The lives of the children of Israel had been made ‘bitter’ and this symbolized the bitterness of their lives in Egypt. (Later, according to the Mishnah, these would be composed of lettuce, chicory, pepperwort, snakeroot and dandelion).
Nothing was to be left of the meal. Whatever was uneaten was to be burned with fire. This would be because it was seen as a holy meal, set apart to God, and thus to be reserved only for use in the celebration. What remained was used as an offering to God. The whole of the sacrifice was thus seen as that night preparing them for their deliverance by sanctifying them (setting them apart as holy) in God’s eyes.
11 And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD’s Passover. 12 ‘For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. 13 Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
As they prepared the lamb and ate it they were to be dressed ready for a journey with staff in hand, and they were to eat in expectancy of soon leaving (‘in haste’) for during that night Yahweh was about to smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt.
The instructions about dress are not just as a symbol although they became that later on. The point is being made that the children of Israel must be ready for departure and that that departure will be hasty. They have only a few days to prepare for it and when the time comes they must be ready for it. It was a guarantee that their deliverance was coming.
The reference to having their ‘Loins girded ’ means that their robes are to be tucked in so as not to impede the feet or get mud-ridden when walking. ‘
Now besides Pharaoh the head god our Holy Creator God Is also dealing as He reveals -‘Against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments. I am Yahweh’. The protection of the gods was constantly sought by the Egyptians, but those so-called gods will be unable to intervene, as they had been unable to intervene previously. Indeed they will be unable to save themselves and their protégés. The sacred animals that represent them will all face death in the family. Their priests will suffer the same fate. And a potential god will be smitten in the house of Pharaoh, for his heirs were destined to become gods. It was a night of judgment. So Yahweh, ‘He Who Is there to act’, will act. He will make Himself known under His true name as the uniquely all-powerful.
It is noteworthy that Moses himself never mentions the gods of Egypt. He does not see himself as battling with them. Considering his background this is remarkable and demonstrates to what extent he sees Yahweh not only as the most powerful God but as the only God.
14 ‘So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance. 15 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.
From this time on ‘forever’ the Passover must be celebrated yearly as a reminder of and participation in this first feast and the deliverance it showed.
The fifteenth of Abib when the Passover was eaten and the firstborn of Israel were spared and the children of Israel began their departure from the land. The day began in the evening and the Passover was therefore eaten on the first ‘day’ of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
It signified a feast of unity, and while Passover was observed in separate houses it was observed by the congregation of Israel all at the same time. And its connection with the feast of unleavened bread meant that in the future it would have to be observed in connection with the gathering together of the people of Israel. In this sense it too would be a pilgrimage feast for in the future the Israelites will make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to participate in Passover.
Please notice the statement of ‘Seven days.’ We all need to recognize that this first Passover the Israelites did not kick back and celebrate for 7 days. They got out of Egypt right away. Our Holy God Is instructing them for future celebrations.
In addition we see some more future instructions as our Holy Redeemer points out that ‘The first day you shall put away leaven out of your houses.’ All leaven had to be removed from each house so that only unleavened bread remained. We are probably justified in seeing in this a picture of the need for the removal of all corrupting tendencies from the lives of partakers.
Unity with Israel in the covenant of Yahweh requires obedience to the demands of the covenant God. Thus to deliberately partake of leavened bread during the seven day period would be to signify an unwillingness to belong to the covenant community, and would result in removal from ‘the congregation of Israel’. Such a person might even, at this stage, be put to death (Numbers 15.27-36). To have become a member of the covenant was a serious matter. But being ‘cut off’ may simply indicate expulsion.
16 On the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation for you. No manner of work shall be done on them; but that which everyone must eat—that only may be prepared by you.
The seven day period was to begin on day one and end on day seven with both days being observed as days of rest from labor, apart from that necessary for the feast. They were holy days. On these days they would gather for feasting and worship. They were days set apart for God later to become known as ‘Sabbaths’. Thus such set apart days (both the first and the last of the seven) were to be seen as times when no work must be done. This was to be as a reminder of the bondage that had been theirs in Egypt.
17 So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance.
From this day on the first day of this feast would be a reminder of their being freed from slavery. As they ceased from work they would remember how they had been freed from slavery in Egypt. So from this day on the fifteenth day of Abib was a day set apart, a day on which the Passover would be eaten (having been killed on the fourteenth between the two evenings) and as a day of cessation from labor.
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. 19 For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses, since whoever eats what is leavened, that same person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land. 20 You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.’”
The details are now repeated so that the listeners are reminded of them. (In the first place Moses and Aaron, but finally all who listen to this account read out at a feast). The ban on unleavened bread begins on the fourteenth day of the month as the next evening approaches and the Passover lamb is killed, and goes on until the end of the twenty first day, a period of just over seven days.
Our Lord’s words‘whether he be a sojourner or one born in the land ’ is looking forward to the ideal day when the land promised to their fathers, and to them in 3.8, finally belongs to them in its totality. All would know of the land that God had promised to give to the seed of Abraham. This was confirmation that these promises were to be fulfilled in the not too distant future. Then everyone in that land, whether born there, or living there having been born elsewhere, will be subject to these regulations. This is a message of hope for it guarantees that they are to receive the land promised to their fathers. God has promised that He Is delivering them so as to give them the land. This is spoken in anticipation of, and guarantee of, that day. Their inheritance is guaranteed to them on this their day of deliverance.
21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb.
That these instructions result from Moses having already explained what is in the previous verses comes out in that he speaks of ‘the Passover’ as though they will understand it. Now he tells them to carry them into effect. There is thus a period of four to five days between the ‘drawing’ and the ‘killing’ in which they can begin to prepare for their deliverance.
22 And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning. 23 For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you.
They are to put blood on the doorposts and lintels of their houses using hyssop dipped in the blood from the slain lamb gathered in a basin, and striking the doorposts and lintel. They are then to remain in their houses, for Yahweh will go through the land of Egypt to smite the Egyptian. And when He sees the blood on the lintel and doorposts He will ‘pass over’ (the thought is of protection by hovering or circling over) and prevent destruction because He will know them as those who are in the covenant community and under His protection, and as those who have made the offering of the lamb, with whom He is well pleased.
The lamb’s blood is to be collected in a basin, and the hyssop then dipped in, and the blood put on the lintels and doorposts of their houses. This application of the blood confirms the sacrificial significance of the slaying of the lamb. It had to be applied in accordance with ritual, and the blood must not be touched.
The house has been made holy to Yahweh by the application of the blood and those who are within it share that holiness and so must not go out into the cursed world. They are thus invulnerable and seen as under His protection. They are His.
It is made quite clear that it is our Holy God Yahweh Himself Who smites the Egyptians. The blood is not for protection to divert demons or a marker to identify the houses, but as a token to Yahweh that those within the house are within the covenant.
24 And you shall observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever. 25 It will come to pass when you come to the land which the LORD will give you, just as He promised, that you shall keep this service. 26 And it shall be, when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ 27 that you shall say, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice of the LORD, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households.’” So the people bowed their heads and worshiped. 28 Then the children of Israel went away and did so; just as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.
It is constantly emphasized that what is to happen is so stupendous that it will act for ever as a reminder of the faithfulness of Yahweh to His covenant. And this is spelt out in the form of someone asking, ‘Why do you serve God in this way?’ And the reply is, ‘This is the sacrifice to do with Yahweh’s protective watch over His people when He smote the Egyptians’.
The people respond in obedience and worship and do what they have been commanded through Moses and Aaron. Thus are they ready when Yahweh acts. Take note that they no longer grumble or disagree with what Moses says. What has previously occurred has filled them with awe and they have recognized that Yahweh is acting for them.
29 And it came to pass at midnight that the LORD struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of livestock.
In the middle of the night ‘all’ the firstborn in the land of Egypt were smitten from the highest to the lowest. The maidservant behind the mill spoken about in chapter 11.5 has been replaced here by the captive in the dungeon. Both were seen as on a similar level.
It is difficult to comment on this awe-inspiring and dreadful statement. A terrible epidemic passes through a whole nation so that on one night the vast multiplicity of deaths strikes terror in the minds of the people, and yet not one household of the children of Israel is affected. And the firstborn seem particularly to have been affected in a widespread way. But outstanding examples were certainly known such as the firstborn of the house of Pharaoh and the firstborn of prisoners in dungeons. All classes were affected.
And this was at the hand of Yahweh. Whatever the secondary cause, the primary directing was His, for He controls all things. The judgment may seem appalling, and it truly was. But we may also see in it an act of mercy. Only the firstborn died, whereas God could have smitten the whole of Egypt. However it was sufficient for its purpose. The whole of Egypt wanted to get rid of the Israelites.
30 So Pharaoh rose in the night, he, all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead.
The greatness of the tragedy is stressed. We may theorize about what it was but it affected both man and cattle, and especially affected the firstborn, and all in one night. And in the end we are clearly told that it was the hand of God that affected ‘Pharaoh, his high officials and bureaucrats, and the common people. From every house came the cry of mourning. Some houses would not contain a firstborn son. Others would contain more than one firstborn.
31 Then he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, “Rise, go out from among my people, both you and the children of Israel. And go, serve the LORD as you have said. 32 Also take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone; and bless me also.”
This last plague was too much even for Pharaoh. He now wanted nothing more than to get Moses and Aaron away from his people as soon as possible. Possibly in spite of his earlier statement he called them to him at his palace. And he gave them the permission that they had been seeking, including all that Moses had previously demanded (10.9, 26). They could go and serve Yahweh in the wilderness. And he goes so far as to ask Yahweh’s blessing on himself. He has come a long way from his sarcastic question, “Who is Yahweh?” (5.2). Now he knows and seeks His benediction.
Our Holy Righteous Ruler Yahweh has delivered the final telling blow and Pharaoh tells Moses and Aaron that very night that they get out right away with all that they have and worship Yahweh. They thus depart loaded with riches as the Egyptians, eager to see them go, pour treasures on them.
33 And the Egyptians urged the people that they might send them out of the land in haste. For they said, “We shall all be dead.”
The ordinary Egyptians and the bureaucrats were also eager to see the exit of the children of Israel. They had had enough. All their firstborn were dead. Soon they might be included as well.
34 So the people took their dough before it was leavened, having their kneading bowls bound up in their clothes on their shoulders.
We see here a description confirming that all leaven had been got rid of. The fact that they felt that they could not wait for it to leaven illustrates the speed at which they left.
35 Now the children of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, and they had asked from the Egyptians articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing. 36 And the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.
It was important that the people depart as victors to demonstrate the superiority of Yahweh. The children of Israel possibly knew that they were leaving for good for that was what Yahweh had promised right at the beginning (3.8, 16). What the Egyptians thought we are not told. They were probably so keen to get rid of them that they did not care. It was only Pharaoh with his insatiable demand for slave laborers who thought at this stage in terms of their returning.
The jewels of silver and gold and the splendid clothing would be given with a view to pleasing Yahweh at the feast in the wilderness. It was to be for His treasure house. Or it may be that a cowed people were just happy to pour the riches on them hoping that it might please Yahweh and thus save them from further plagues. Either way the children of Israel departed with the spoils of war.
I see an interesting irony in that Pharaoh had sought a blessing on himself, which would include a wish for his prosperity, while Yahweh was ensuring the prosperity of His own people.
So all having been done as Yahweh had commanded, they were ready to go on their way. Their permission was to go into the wilderness to serve Yahweh. But Yahweh’s intention was that they leave Egypt permanently as He had promised and soon Pharaoh would panic and chase them with his army, breaking his treaty with Yahweh and releasing them from any obligation to return.
The journey from Egypt now commencing we are informed of the quantity of those leaving and the connection backwards with when they first entered Egypt. This is then followed by instructions concerning who in the future will be able to participate in the Passover. This had become very important in view of the mixed multitude (peoples of many nations) who accompanied them. As a result of the Passover their firstborn sons and beasts had been spared so regulations concerning the firstborn are laid down, together with those concerning the accompanying feast which was even then in process. And following that we are given information about the initial stages of their journey.
37 Then the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children.
Meanwhile the people of Yahweh began their journey on foot into the wilderness via Succoth leading towards Etham on the edge of the wilderness (13.20. They had been given the date and were ready. Then they streamed towards Succoth near the border to gather for the march,.
The word Succoth means ‘booths’ or ‘tents’. Possibly originally it had been a city of tents, and the name had clung to it.. But there is an ironic twist in the fact that the first stage of their journey is represented as being from the city of the great king to ‘the place of tents’, for this indicated their future. It parallels the journey of Abraham from Ur of the Chaldees to Canaan. (Indeed all who would serve God must go ‘from Rameses to Succoth’, from living for man’s glory to becoming a stranger and pilgrim in the world (1 Peter 2.11), counting what this world offers as nothing, for man’s glory offers nothing but bondage, while submission to God leads to freedom)
Probably we should read here that it was ‘six hundred family or military units on foot who were men’. Much later ‘eleph’ became established as indicating ‘one thousand’.
38 A mixed multitude went up with them also, and flocks and herds—a great deal of livestock.
This ‘mixed multitude’ would consist of other ‘foreigners’ who had connected themselves with them, from many nations. They were clearly large enough numerically for a separate mention. The ones mentioned there were probably the rogue element in Israel that every nation possesses. The battle of Moses with Pharaoh would naturally be widely known and many slaves and sojourners would by it have been encouraged to join this group of people who had such a powerful God, especially if it offered them a chance themselves to escape from oppression in Egypt. And there might well have been some, including Egyptians, who had been impressed by Israel’s God and had themselves observed the Passover stipulations. There were clearly a good number in this mixed multitude and they would all probably later be required to submit to Yahweh’s covenant. They would by that identify themselves as ‘children of Israel’, especially in the making of the covenant at Sinai. That this could be so is shortly legitimized (12.48-49). That the children of Israel were not all directly descended from Jacob was already true in that the ‘households’ of Jacob and his sons, which would include slaves and retainers, were also included. Now that expands even further. God’s mercy extends to all who will submit to Him and to His covenant.
Together with the mixed multitude were many herds and flocks. The description is here intended to indicate the large quantity of persons and animals that were on the move.
39 And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they had brought out of Egypt; for it was not leavened, because they were driven out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared provisions for themselves.
The total unpreparedness of the children of Israel is stressed. Because of the speed with which they were sent out of Egypt there had not been time to leaven the dough. This is an explanation of why unleavened bread was eaten during the seven days of what became the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and why God made unleavened bread a symbol of the feast and of the departure from Egypt. In their flight they no doubt observed the feast as best they could.
40 Now the sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. 41 And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years—on that very same day—it came to pass that all the armies of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.
The ‘sojourning’ of the children of Israel in Egypt is stated to have been for four hundred and thirty years. However this figure may be based on the ‘four hundred years’ of Genesis 15.13 (i.e. four generations - Genesis 15.16) with a complete ‘thirty’ years added.
42 It is a night of solemn observance to the LORD for bringing them out of the land of Egypt. This is that night of the LORD, a solemn observance for all the children of Israel throughout their generations.
The importance of the night is linked to Yahweh’s watch over the people on Passover night. To Him it was ‘a night of watching’ as He watched over them to protect them and then to deliver them. And when they in future celebrated the Passover they too would be aware of Him watching over them, in the same way as this, throughout their generations, for they too were His people. The result will be that they too would ‘watch’ as they considered His goodness and mercy, on the anniversary of that night, into future generations.
We have here a reminder to us too that as we go forward with God on the journey to which He calls us He will be watching over us to protect and lead us, and to enable us to deal with the Enemy, and that we must always be watching Him.
43 And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the ordinance of the Passover: No foreigner shall eat it. 44 But every man’s servant who is bought for money, when you have circumcised him, then he may eat it. 45 A sojourner and a hired servant shall not eat it.
When the Passover was kept those who partook could only be those who had entered the covenant community of ‘the children of Israel’. Thus a purchased man, once he was circumcised, could enter the covenant, and then belonged and could partake, because he was permanently among them. But those who were just passing through, such as a hired man who would one day leave, or a sojourner who was temporary, could not eat of the Passover because they were not members of the covenant. They were not committed to Yahweh. But in verse 48 provisions is made for them to enter the covenant if they were willing to become permanently committed by being circumcised.
46 In one house it shall be eaten; you shall not carry any of the flesh outside the house, nor shall you break one of its bones. 47 All the congregation of Israel shall keep it.
Stress is laid on the fact that nothing of the Passover lamb may be taken out of the house in which it was killed. It must be burned inside (12.10). Furthermore no bone of it must be broken. This was because the flesh and body were seen as holy and perfect, and as belonging to Yahweh, and must be kept perfect. These sacrificial animals were His gift to His people but they remained His. They may eat of them in the place commanded but they were not to be seen as just ordinary food. They were sacrificial food in a way that other sacrifices eaten by the people, which did not all have to be eaten on the same day, were not, demonstrating that the people who partook were set apart for Him and unified with Him.
There were to be no exemptions for the children of Israel. All of them must partake wherever possible. Like circumcision into the covenant the Passover was the sign of those who were His.
48 And when a stranger dwells with you and wants to keep the Passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as a native of the land. For no uncircumcised person shall eat it.49 One law shall be for the native-born and for the stranger who dwells among you.”
But anyone who wished to enter into the privileges of Yahweh’s covenant with the fathers and eat the Passover might do so by commitment and circumcision. By this they would be declaring their intent to become ‘children of Israel’, and must be welcomed on equal terms. They could now partake of the holy meal because they had been made a part of the holy people, and were thus themselves holy to Yahweh. This is why the ‘mixed multitude’ (verse 38) could join the covenant, become members of the children of Israel, and keep the Passover. But in order to do so they must be committed to being circumcised. It is then that strangers will regularly come among them and be faced with the choice described.
The importance of these words for our understanding of how the church fits in with Israel cannot be overemphasized. Jesus’ Apostles and the all Jewish church went out to call men to follow Jesus and join the community of the true Israel, ‘the true vine’ (John 15.1-6), and soon learned that Gentiles too could be welcomed into ‘the church of Christ’ (Matthew 16.18),
50 Thus all the children of Israel did; as the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.
This passage might be seen as confirming that the mixed multitude, who were now recognized as being potential children of Israel, did agree to fulfill God’s requirement and gave their commitment to be circumcised. In the event it would have to await a suitable occasion when they could have time to recover, but the intention would be there and would be accepted. The impression given elsewhere is in fact that circumcision was not carried out in the wilderness, even for the Israelites, something which had to be remedied when they arrived in the land (Joshua 5.2-9). But it would certainly seem that the mixed multitude were included at the covenant ceremony at Sinai. There is no suggestion anywhere that they were not.
51 And it came to pass, on that very same day, that the LORD brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt according to their armies.
It is a triumphant declaration that Yahweh did what He had promised with none to thwart Him. This was what the celebration of the Passover was all about, the deliverance of their firstborn through the shedding of blood, and their own deliverance from Pharaoh through the power of Yahweh.
We can imagine the joy of the Israelites as they streamed from the places where they had lived for so long, and had found themselves in bondage, to a new life. They knew little of what lay before them. All they knew was that because of the power of Yahweh Pharaoh had to let them go, and they were free. Every true Christian has experienced that deliverance, although in our case the Passover was of Christ the Passover lamb sacrificed for us (John 1.29; 1 Corinthians 5.7), and the freedom was from the bondage of the guilt of sin. And we too have commenced our pilgrim journey (1 Peter 2.11). But the difference between us and them is that their leader was Moses, and while he was a great man of God, he was a man of like passions as they were, while our Leader Is the Lord Jesus Christ, made into a perfect Leader through His own sufferings (Hebrews 2.10), and able to save to the uttermost those who come to God by Him because of His continual heavenly intercession for us. Do you sometimes begin to feel alone? Never forget that there Is One Who always sees you, and continually makes intercession for you without ceasing (Hebrews 7.25).
