Bible History of the Old Testament

No. 40

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The Passover

Every one of the Passover ordinances had already been given to Israel in advance for everything that God wanted them to do for this special night.  This night fell on the tenth day of the month of Abib (called the month of ears because it was the month that the ears on the wheat first appeared).  This month was afterwards called Nisan in Esther and Nehemiah.  But on this special night, the "Passover" sacrifice was chosen by each household.  This was actually four days before the "Passover" took place. 

The people of Israel must have remembered the words that God had told to Abraham, that "in the fourth generation" the children of Israel would again come back to the land of Canaan. 

The "Passover" sacrifice could be either a lamb or kid of goats, but it must be "without blemish, a male of the first year."  Each lamb or kid was supposed to be only large enough for the sacrificial meal so that it could be eaten entirely.  If a family wasn't large enough, they could join with other families until they had enough to consume the animal. 

The sacrifice was to be offered "between the evenings" by each head of the company.  The blood was caught in a basin and some of it was smeared on both sides and the top of the door posts of the houses.  The blood was to be smeared by using a branch of hyssop.  In ancient times, hyssop was regarded as possessing cleansing properties. 

Since the blood was to be applied to the house itself, it meant that the blood would atone for it, and essentially the whole house would have been converted into an altar.  When Jehovah saw this blood, then, the house would be atoned for, and it would be passed over and no one inside of it would be harmed.  In other words, the destroyer would only be granted inside of the houses that were not atoned for by the blood.  So the term "Passover" literally expresses the meaning and object of the ordinance.

The blood-sprinkled houses of Israel were eating the sacrificial meal while the destroyer was moving over the land of Egypt killing the first-born son of every household that was not atoned for. 

The Passover Meal of the Israelites consisted of the Paschal lamb, and "unleavened bread" on a bed of "bitter herbs."  It's as if the herbs were a symbol of all the bitterness of Egypt, and on top of it was the sacrificial lamb and unleavened bread to sweeten the bitterness and make it a festive supper.  Every single thing that they did on this night had a deep meaning. 

• The blood of the sacrificial lamb was put on the doorposts of each house, and it protected Israel.  It pointed to Jesus, whose precious blood is the only safety for God's people.

• The hyssop was used for the cleansing of the leper.  It was the symbol of purification.

• The unleavened bread meant that "of sincerity and truth."  The old leaven symbolized the spiritual corruption that they had been living in, and the unleavened bread pointed to the truths that they would be shown in the future. 

• The spiritual teaching also extended even to the smallest details.

• The lamb was to be "roast," neither eaten "raw" (not properly cooked), nor "sodden with water."  The lamb was not to be mingled with the water in any way, because it alone was to be the food of the sacrificial company.  For similar reason, it was to be roasted and served up whole so it would be complete and not have any broken bones at all.  This was to point to Jesus on the cross, when they did not break a single bone of His when He was crucified. 

• None of the lamb was to be kept for another meal, but any left was to be burned. 

• Everyone who ate the meal had to profess their faith in the coming deliverance.

• They were to sit down with their loins girded, with shoes on their feet and a staff in their hand, because they were awaiting the signal of their redemption, and they must be ready at any time to depart from Egypt.

It must have been a terrible sound of agony when all the Egyptians woke up the next morning to find their firstborn sons all dead, plus the firstborn of all their livestock.  They found out that their gods had been powerless to help them and could not stand up to the REAL God. 

This night was also the night of Israel's birth as a nation:  of their creation and adoption as the people of God.  This great event made the very order of their year to be changed.  The Paschal supper was made a forever yearly institution.  God would set forth new rules as to its future observance when the people entered their new Promised Land of Canaan. 

The observance of the Passover was to be followed by a "feast of unleavened bread" that lasted for 7 days.  During this time, all leaven would be taken out of each household. 

Finally, the fact that God had set Israel apart and redeemed them to Himself, was brought forth with the command that "all the firstborn both of man and of beast" would be sanctified to the Lord as His. 

Pharaoh Called Moses Back and Let the People Go

After this terrible thing had happened, Pharaoh sent word right away to Moses and Aaron.  He hastily dismissed the people unconditionally, and only asked that they leave a "blessing" behind instead of a curse. 

The Bible says that the Egyptians were now very anxious for the Israelites to leave Egypt because they feared that they would all be dead before much longer.  So by the time it was morning, the Israelites were on their way out of the land of Egypt. 

Their army consisted in round numbers of 600,000 men, plus the women and children with them.  So with all combined, it would have been at least two million people.  This represented an incredible increase of people from the 70 who had come to Egypt 430 years before.  The sons of Jacob may also have brought other people with them who later became incorporated in the nation. 

Along with the two million Israelites, there also went with them several foreigners who were greatly impressed by the God of the Israelites and wanted to be a part of what He was doing among them.  They were not allowed to be true Israelites, but for the most part were made to do the manual and harder jobs. 

The Taking of Joseph's Bones

They did a great thing, though, when they remembered to take with them the bones of Joseph.  He had made the request of them before he died, because he believed in the prophecies that had been made about the Israelites going to a place that God would provide for them to be their own land.  Joseph had died centuries before the fulfillment of God's promise took place. 

The rest of this text will be continued next month.  We will go into more detail about the Israelites leaving Egypt and what they encountered in the wilderness.

For more information from this book, go to the Archives Page at my site   www.cathydeaton.com     There are other articles of interest there also.

This text has been taken from the book Bible History Old Testament written by Alfred Edersheim.  Permission has been given to use this book.