THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR IS CHANGED
INTRODUCTION
What follows is brought into connection with the giving of the law at Sinai and in the fields of Moab and is distinguished concerning the former as the first or foundation law for the congregation of Jehovah. The creation of Israel as the people of Jehovah (Isaiah 43:15) commenced with the institution of the Passover.
The feast of the Passover was instituted as a memorial to Israel's deliverance from Egypt and their adoption as Jehovah's nation. Passover is a festival that laid the foundation of the nation, Israel's birth, into a new relationship with God.
Chapter 12 is a high point in the Book of Exodus. Here we find the institution of the feast of the Passover. It is a picture of that which Paul speaks of in 1 Corinthians 5:7, "… For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us." Christ is in this chapter.
COMMENTARY
1. The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt,
2. "This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year.
As proof of this, it was preceded by the appointment of a new era, fixing the commencement of the congregation of Jehovah. "This month" (i.e., the present in which ye stand) "be to you the head (i.e., the beginning) of the months, the first let it be to you for the months of the year;" i.e., let the numbering of the months, and therefore the year also, begin with it. Consequently, the Israelites had hitherto had a different beginning to their year, probably only a civil year, commencing with the sowing and ending with the termination of the harvest (cf. Exodus 23:16). In contrast, the Egyptians most likely commenced their year with the overflowing of the Nile at the summer solstice (cf1. Lepsius, Chron. 1, pp. 148ff.). The month which was henceforth to be the first of the year, and is frequently so designated (Exodus 40:2, Exodus 40:17; Leviticus 23:5, etc.), is called Abib (the ear-month) in Exodus 13:4; Exodus 23:15; Exodus 34:18; Deuteronomy 16:1, because the corn was then in the ear; after the captivity, it was called Nisan (Nehemiah 2:1; Esther 3:7). It corresponds very nearly to our April.
(2) The beginning of months. —up to now, the Hebrews had commenced the year with Tisri at or near the autumnal equinox. (See Exodus 23:16.) Thus, they followed neither the Egyptian nor the Babylonian custom. The Egyptians began the year in June, with the first rise of the Nile; the Babylonians in Nisannu, at the vernal equinox. It was this month which was now made, by God's command, the first month of the Hebrew year; but as yet, it had not the name Nisan: it was called Abib (Exodus 13:4), the month of "greenness." Henceforth the Hebrews had two years, a civil and a sacred one ). The civil year began with Tisri, in the autumn, at the close of the harvest; the sacred year began with Abib (called afterward Nisan) six months earlier. The first civil was the seventh sacred month, and vice versa.
The Lord makes all things new to those whom he delivers from the bondage of Satan and takes to himself to be his people. The time when he does this is, to them, the beginning of a new life. God appointed that, on the night they were to go out of Egypt, each family should kill a lamb or that two or three families, if small, should kill one Lamb. This Lamb was to be eaten in the manner here directed, and the blood to be sprinkled on the doorposts, to mark the houses of the Israelites from those of the Egyptians. The angel of the Lord, when destroying the firstborn of the Egyptians, would pass over the houses marked by the blood of the Lamb: hence the name of this holy feast or ordinance. The Passover was to be kept every year as a remembrance of Israel's preservation and deliverance out of Egypt and as a remarkable type of Christ. Their safety and deliverance were not a reward for their righteousness but the gift of mercy. They were reminded of this ordinance. They were taught that all blessings came to them through the shedding and sprinkling of blood. Observe, 1. The Paschal Lamb was typical. Christ is our Passover, 1Co 5:7. Christ is the Lamb of God, John 1:29; often, in the Revelation, he is called the Lamb. It was to be in its prime; Christ offered up himself amid his days, not when a babe at Bethlehem. It was to be without blemish; the Lord Jesus was a Lamb without spot: the judge who condemned Christ declared him innocent. It was to be set apart four days before, denoting the marking out of the Lord Jesus to be a Saviour, both in the purpose and in the promise. It was to be slain, and roasted with fire, denoting the painful sufferings of the Lord Jesus, even unto death, the death of the cross. The wrath of God is as fire, and Christ was made a curse for us. Not a bone of it must be broken, which was fulfilled in Christ, John 19:33, denoting the unbroken strength of the Lord Jesus. 2. The sprinkling of the blood was typical. The blood of the Lamb must be sprinkled, denoting the applying of the merits of Christ's death to our souls; we must receive the atonement, Romans 5:11. Faith is the bunch of hyssops by which we apply the promises and the benefits of the blood of Christ laid up in them, to ourselves. It was to be sprinkled on the doorposts, denoting the open profession we are to make of Faith in Christ. It was not to be sprinkled upon the threshold, which cautions us to take heed of trampling the blood of the covenant underfoot. It is precious blood and must be precious to us. The blood, thus sprinkled, was a means of preserving the Israelites from the destroying angel, who had nothing to do where the blood was. The blood of Christ is the believer's protection from the wrath of God, the curse of the law, and the damnation of hell, Romans 8:1, 3. The solemn eating of the Lamb was typical of our gospel duty to Christ. The Paschal Lamb was not to be looked upon but fed upon. So, we must by Faith make Christ our own; and we must receive spiritual strength and nourishment from him, as from our food, see John 6:53,55. It was all to be eaten; those who by Faith feed upon Christ must feed upon a whole Christ; they must take Christ and his yoke, Christ and his cross, and Christ and his crown. It was to be eaten at once, not put by till morning. Today Christ is offered and is to be accepted while it is called today before we sleep the sleep of death. It was to be eaten with bitter herbs in remembrance of the bitterness of their bondage in Egypt; we must feed upon Christ with sorrow and a broken heart in remembrance of sin. Christ will be sweet to us if sin is bitter. It was to be eaten standing, with their staves in their hands, ready to depart. When we feed upon Christ by Faith, we must forsake the rule and the dominion of sin; sit loose to the world, and everything in it; forsake all for Christ, and reckon it no bad bargain, Heb 13:13,14. 4. The feast of unleavened bread was typical of the Christian life, 1Co 5:7,8. Having received Christ Jesus the Lord, we must continually delight ourselves in Christ Jesus. No work must be done, that is, no care admitted and indulged, which does not agree with, or would lessen this holy joy. The Jews were very strict about Passover, so no leaven should be found in their houses. It must be a feast kept in charity, without malice, and in sincerity, without the leaven of hypocrisy. It was by an ordinance forever; so long as we live, we must continue feeding upon Christ, rejoicing in him always, with thankful mention of the great things he has done for us.
