Lesson #12

EXODUS 12:1-14
Lesson #12
THE PASSOVER, ITS PREPARATION AND SIGNIFICANCE

• Memory Verse: 1Corinthians 5:7

• In Exodus 1-11, we have seen the events leading up to Israel’s deliverance. With Exodus 12, we begin to see that long-awaited deliverance actually occur. God marks the event for the Jews in a very special way.
• In Genesis God began with a family (Abraham). When the Israelites entered Egypt, they were still a family. When the Israelites left Egypt, they became a nation. However, in the birth of a nation, the family is still important to God, as we will see in the Passover. The reason is that the family is the building block of a nation.

• Read Exo 12:1-2

• “This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.”

(2)

• With this verse, God establishes a national religious calendar for Israel commemorating the first Passover.
• Because the Passover is so important to God and to the Jews, everything of great importance in God’s economy is linked to the Passover.
• The crucifixion of Jesus Christ occurred on Passover and the events surrounding the crucifixion are linked to the Jewish religious calendar.
• For example, the day of Pentecost in the book of Acts occurs on the Jewish Pentecost.
• God established the Jewish religious calendar, through the books of Exodus and Leviticus, that corresponds to the agricultural seasons. Therefore, the agricultural seasons and the religious calendar are intertwined together.
• The first month of the religious calendar is called the month of Nisan or Abib which corresponds in our calendar approximately to the month of April.
• In reality Israel used two calendars given by God. One calendar was a civil calendar begun at creation and the other, as we see established here, a religious one, begun at the first Passover. The two calendars operated simultaneously and were linked together by the Sabbatic system. (explained below).

Sacred months	Civil months	Jewish Month	Our Aprox. Month	Festivals	Seasons
1	7	Abib or Nisan (30 days)	Apr	14th The Passover (Exo 12:1-51) 16th Firstfruits of Barley harvest (Lev 23:10-12)	Latter or Spring rains. (Deu 11:14)	H A R V E S T
2	8	Ziv or Iyyar (29 days)	May	14th Second Passover for those who missed the first one (Num 9:10-11)	Barley harvest. Wheat ripens.
3	9	Sivan (30 days)	Jun	6th Pentecost or Feast of Weeks or Feast of Giving the Law Firstfruits of wheat harvest. Firstfruits of all the ground. (Exo 23:19 Lev 23:17-20 Deu 26:2, 10)	Wheat harvest. Summer begins. No rain from April to September.
4	10	Tammuz (29 days)	Jul		Heat increases.	H O T
5	11	Ab or Av (30 days)	Aug		Streams dry.
6	12	Elul (29 days)	Sep	1st The Days of Awe (Teshwah) = 40 days of repentance	Grape harvest.
7	1	Ethanim or Tishri (30 days)	Oct	1st The Feast of Trumpets (Rash Hashanah) (Num 29:1) The Civil Calendar begins. 10th The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) (Lev 16) 15th Feast of Tabernacles (Succoth) (Lev 23:34) Firstfruits of wine and oil.	Former or early rains. (Joe 2:23)	P L A N T I N G
8	2	Bul or Marheswan (29 days)	Nov
9	3	Kislev (30 days)	Dec	25th Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah)	Winter begins.	W I N T E R
10	4	Tebheth or Tevet (29 days)	Jan
11	5	Shebat (30 days)	Feb
12	6	Adar (29 days)	Mar	14th Feast of Purim (Est 3:7; 9:21-24)	Frequent thunder and hail. Almond tree blossoms.	C O L D

• Notice that some months have two names.
• The first month of the religious calendar was called, Abib, which means = ear month. It refers to the month when the grain was forming in the ear.
• After the Babylonian captivity, new names were given to some months.
• With the establishment of the religious calendar, came the Sabbatic system.
• What is the Sabbatic system?
• The Sabbatic system is a series of calendar days, months, and years to measure time based on the number 7. It is a demonstration of God’s complete economy of blessings for His people.
• The number 7 in the Bible is God’s number of completion or perfection.
• Notice that the 7th month of the civil calendar is the first month of the religious calendar in which occurs the Passover.
• Number 7 is, therefore, the link between the civil calendar and the religious calendar.
• The word, Sabbath, first occurs in the Bible in Exo 16:23. However, the seventh day was set aside by God at creation as something special. (Gen 2:2)
• However, we do not see the importance of the Sabbath in God’s economy until the law was given in the books of Exodus and Leviticus. Then, not until the New Testament do we fully understand the significance of the Sabbatic system. (We will discuss this aspect later in our study of the book of Exodus.)

God’s Sabbatic System of the Religious Calendar

7th Sabbatic Year
	7th Year:  Sabbath Year
		7th Month:  Sabbath Month
			7th Week:  Sabbath Week
				7th Day Sabbath Day
			Pentecost   in 3rd Mo. 7 weeks after Passover
		Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, Feast of Tabernacles
	The Sabbath Year
The Year of Jubilee After 7 X 7 years

• “…they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house.”

(3)

• Immediately God established the celebration of the Passover in the family, because the family is the building block of the nation.
• Every family had to have their own lamb. However, if the family was small and they could not physically eat a whole lamb in one meal, they could be part of their neighbor’s family.
• Principle #1:

The family is very important to God. That family’s relationship to others who have no family is part of God’s economy for a strong nation.

• The same is true today in this New Testament era. This is why the church of the New Testament is important to a strong nation and subsequently to building the Kingdom of God.
• A church that emphasizes the family concept is the only way to build a strong church.
• Read Eph 3:14-21 (notice the word “family” in verse 15)
• A church that seeks to incorporate those who have no family ties does the will of God. (1Tim 5:3-5, 16 Jam 1:27)
• The characteristics of the lamb:

• “Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year…”

(5)

• The lamb must be perfect, not sick, lame, or infirm in any way. The lamb must be a year old, not one that is past its prime of life, and not one that is too young and not reached its prime of life.
• Why are these characteristics important?
• These specific characteristics point to Jesus Christ, the perfect Lamb of God.
• Jesus began to minister under the anointing of the Holy Spirit when he was in the prime of life (30 years old). He was perfect and without sin.
• “And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month…”

(6)

• From the first day of the month of Nisan (Abib) the Jewish family chose a perfect lamb. That lamb was supposed to live in the house with the family for four days. It was handled and loved by the members of the family. This practice accomplished two things:
• The family could examine it to be sure that the lamb was perfect and not sickly.
• The family would come to love the lamb and the lamb would come to love the family.
• In other words, a mutual love relationship was established where everyone in the family identified himself with the lamb.
• “…the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening

.” (6)

• Between 2 and 3 o’clock in the afternoon of the 14th day of the month of Nisan (Abib) all the lambs were killed at one time before all the people.
• The unity of all the people is affirmed every year around the sacrifice of thousands of lambs.
• Principle # 2

: A celebration that is performed annually helps to promote unity and a common identity.

• This is why God told the Jews to perform the Passover every year around the concept of the sacrificial lamb that enabled them to be free from bondage to Egypt (the world).
• The annual Passover was supposed to point the Jews to Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who died on the cross at 3 p.m. on the 14th day of Nisan.
• Notice that verse 6 says that they shall kill “it” in the evening. It does not say they shall kill “them” in the evening. Therefore, all these slain lambs, even though they are many, point to the one lamb, Jesus Christ, killed on Passover.
• The application of the blood:

• “And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.”

(7)

• The Israelites had to use the blood from the lamb they lived with for 4 days, (not blood from someone else’s lamb, and not eat the flesh from someone else’s lamb), They had to eat this same pet lamb within the structure of the family. Why?
• Remember the personal identification that occurred between the family members and the lamb living in the house. This tells us that a personal identification with Jesus Christ is very important. Just like the lamb living in the house, we are supposed to fall in love with Jesus. We are supposed to personally identify with Him and He with us. We are supposed to apply His blood to our sins. Through this personal identification, we are supposed to “eat of His flesh and drink of His blood” spiritually speaking.
• Read Joh 6:56
• The blood on the door posts of the house:
• Notice that salvation occurred within the family unit. That is the ideal.
• Principle #3

: God would have all members of a family to be saved and the means of salvation to operate in and through the family.

• God centered redemption in the family where the father is to be the priest of the home.
• Parents are to instruct the children in the ways of God. (6:4)
• Therefore, as children grow up in a Christian family, they should come to know the Lord personally.
• Family members are to love one another demonstrating the unconditional love of God. (Eph 5:33 1Pet 3:1-7)
• Therefore, as love is demonstrated within the family, unsaved family members should come to know the Lord personally.
• Unfortunately in this sinful world, the ideal does not always work the way God intended. That is why provision was made for those outside the family to celebrate the Passover with a family. This is one of the roles of a church, to supply that family relationship of saved people for those who have no saved family members. This family relationship within a church helps the individual to come to know and to love Jesus, the Lamb of God.
• Why is blood put on the post to the left and to the right of the door and over the top of the door?
• The blood of the Passover lamb represents the blood of Jesus shed on the cross.
• Notice that God told them exactly where to put the blood. Therefore, the location must be important. They must not put blood on the threshold of the door. Why?
• Read Heb 10:29
• The blood of the Passover lamb was sacred to God just as the blood of Jesus Christ is sacred to God.
• The Jewish Passover practice was that they kill the Passover lamb at the door of the house. The blood from the lamb ran into a ditch in front of the door.
• This practice was represented when the blood of Jesus Christ fell in a ditch at the foot of the cross.
• However, the threshold was to remain free of blood so as not to trample the sacred blood of Christ underfoot.
• The manner of eating the Passover lamb:

• “And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.”

(8)

• The lamb must be roasted.
• The fire that roasted the lamb symbolically represents the fact that God applied the fire of His judgment to Jesus on the cross when Jesus bore our sins. Jesus became sin for us, and the wages of sin is death. Therefore, Jesus bore the wrath of God’s judgment for us.
• The unleavened bread symbolically represents the fact that Jesus was without sin.
• Leaven, through the Old Testament and the New Testament, symbolically represents evil or sin.
• The bitter herbs symbolically represent Jesus’ suffering.
• The lamb must not be soaked in water. (9)
• Salvation is not by water baptism, it is by the fire of God’s judgment on sin.
• The Israelites must eat all the lamb at that one meal on that specific night. Why?
• The Israelites were going on a journey that night, and they would need their strength.
• Salvation in Jesus Christ occurs at one specific moment in time when a person invites Jesus Christ into his heart and life believing that Jesus died on the cross for his personal sins.
• Salvation does not come gradually by working for it over time.
• Salvation from bondage to sin occurs immediately when a person is born again.
• Read 2Cor 5:17
• Any of the lamb that was not eaten that night must be burned by fire. (10)
• Our God is a consuming fire, (Heb 12:29) and all sin was paid for by Jesus Christ on the cross.
• “…your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD’S passover.”

(11)

• The Israelites were to be ready to leave Egypt at a moments notice.
• The New Testament believer in Jesus Christ must be ready to leave this earth at a moments notice as he awaits the Rapture of the church. (1The 4:17)
• Notice that the scripture says the Passover is the Lord’s Passover.
• If the Passover was meant to be just another religious celebration, it would be man’s Passover.
• Because the Bible specifically tells us that it is the Lord’s Passover, it is something sacred.
• The Passover, therefore, specifically represents the person of Jesus Christ and His act on the cross. Jesus was not just another human who walked this earth 2000 years ago, He was God in the flesh. (Joh 1:1,14)
• The Lord’s Passover judgment:

• “For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite 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.”

(12)

• In this verse God tells us that He has the power over life, over death, and over judgment.
• Death came on all the firstborn of all creation, man and animals.
• Death came on the gods of Egypt.
• If the gods of Egypt were made of wood, stone, and metal, what does this verse mean?
• The pagan gods are spirit beings (demons) represented by wood, stone, and metal. The principal example of those demon spirits was the Pharaoh’s son, who embodied the pagan god Ra.
• We previously discussed the concept of the Firstborn and saw how the firstborn belonged to God and was supposed to serve God. However, Pharaoh’s firstborn son belonged to Satan and worshipped and served other pagan gods.
• Why were the animals included in God’s judgment?
• All creation was tainted by sin when Adam and Eve rebelled against God and fell in sin. All creation needs redemption. However, the final redemption of nature awaits the second coming of Christ. (Rom 8:22-23)
• Notice the I AM statement in Exo 12:12. The same I AM of the burning bush is the I AM of the Passover.
• The name that God gave this celebration:

• “…when I see the blood, I will pass over you…”

(13)

• The name Passover comes from this verse, when the angel of the Lord (Jesus Christ), will pass over the land and claim the unredeemed firstborn who rightfully belong to God.
• How many years were the Jews supposed to celebrate the Passover?
• The Jews were supposed to celebrate the Passover forever, from one generation to the next. (14)
• It was a celebration given specifically to the Jews to celebrate forever.
• Should Christians celebrate the Passover, since it has so much significance relating to Christ?
• The answer to this question is yes and no.
• Yes = Christians already celebrate the significance of the Passover every time they partake of Holy Communion recognizing symbolically the blood and body of Jesus Christ offered on the cross.
• On the night of the last supper that Jesus shared with his disciples, it was to be their last Passover celebration together. Therefore, they celebrated it one day early on the 13th of the Jewish month of Nisan. Much of the events of the last supper parallel the events of the Jewish Passover meal. However, about ? of the way through the Passover meal, Jesus re-directed it to initiate the first Holy Communion. Then, He said that we should keep Holy Communion in remembrance of Him until He RETURN s. (Luk 22:19-20)
• No = the Passover celebration was specifically given to the Jews to point them to Christ and His sacrifice as the Lamb of God.
• The New Testament believer in Jesus Christ has already experienced Jesus Christ when he is born again and has already identified himself with Jesus, the Lamb of God.

HOMEWORK
EXODUS 12:15-20
This is a self-study. Please do not send homework answers to the teacher forcorrection.

• Application of Exo 12:1-14
• Have you personally identified yourself with Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away sin?
• If you have not, you need to talk to your pastor or the teacher.

• Preparation for Exo 12:15-20
• What parallels do you see between the Passover lamb and Jesus Christ?
• Read Exo 12:15-20
• Of what significance is the practice of taking all leaven out of the house?
• What is the symbolic significance of leaven? How do you know? (Find at least one New Testament verse to verify your answer.)

• Memory Verse: John 6:35