Exodus 12:21 - Meaning and Application

Moses acted here like a faithful manager in God’s house, teaching the people of Israel to obey everything God had commanded him. No doubt he gave the instructions as fully as he received them, even if the details are not all written down. The first command was that, on the night when the firstborn were to be struck down, no Israelite was to go outside until morning, or until near morning, when they would be called to leave Egypt (Exodus 12:22).

This was not because the destroying angel could not tell an Israelite from an Egyptian in the street. God wanted to show them that their safety came from the blood that had been sprinkled. If they stepped away from that protection, they did so at their own risk. Those whom God has marked for himself must not mix with evil-doers, and they must not wander out of the house at the wrong time (Isaiah 26:20, 21). They were to stay inside and wait for the Lord’s rescue, and that is always wise.

They were also told to carefully teach their children what this service meant (Exodus 12:26, 27). The children would ask about this solemn meal soon enough, because they would notice the care and exactness around the lamb and the unleavened bread. They would ask, in effect, why this meal was different from every other meal. It is a good thing when children are curious about God’s ways. Jesus himself, as a boy, sat among the teachers, listening and asking questions (Luke 2:46).

We all need to understand the meaning of the holy acts by which we worship God. We should know what they are, what they point to, what duty they call for, and what good we should expect from them. Every ordinance has a meaning. Some, like the sacraments, do not explain themselves as plainly as others do, so we must search carefully. Otherwise, we may offer God blind worship, and we will neither please him nor benefit ourselves.

The parents were to answer the children by saying, “It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s Passover.” In other words, by killing this lamb, they were remembering the wonder and mercy God had shown their fathers. God had first made a way for their rescue by striking down the firstborn of the Egyptians. And though there were sins among Israel as well, sins that could have brought judgment on their own firstborn, God graciously accepted the family sacrifice of a lamb in their place. It was like the ram offered instead of Isaac, and in every house where the lamb was killed, the firstborn were spared.

This yearly observance looked back in memory. Its very name means a passing over, because the destroying angel passed over the homes of the Israelites and did not kill their firstborn. When God later speaks of bringing full ruin on his people, he says, “I will no longer pass by them” (Amos 7:8; Amos 8:2). That wording reminds us how often he had passed by them in mercy before.

Special mercies place special duties on us. When a thousand fall at our side and ten thousand at our right hand, yet we are spared, that should deeply affect us (Psalm 91:7). In war or in disease, if death passes near us, touches the one beside us, and just misses us, we must not call that chance. It is the special care of our God. Old mercies, whether shown to us or to our fathers, must not be forgotten. They should stay in lasting memory, so that God is praised, our faith is strengthened, and our hearts are enlarged in his service.

The Passover also looked forward to the great sacrifice of the Lamb of God in the fullness of time, offered in our place and in place of our firstborn. We were under the sword of the destroying angel, but Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us. His death became our life. In that sense, he was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, from the beginning of the Jewish church. Moses kept the Passover by faith in Christ, because Christ is the end of the law, the one who brings it to its goal for righteousness.

The people received these instructions with respect and willing obedience. They bowed their heads and worshipped (Exodus 12:27). By doing that, they showed that they accepted this command as a law and received it as a gift. When God gives us his law, we should honor him. When he speaks, we should bow our heads and worship.

They also went and did exactly as they were commanded (Exodus 12:23). There was none of the complaining and bitterness we saw earlier (Exodus 5:20, 21). The plagues in Egypt had done them good. They had raised their hope of a glorious rescue, which before they had almost given up on. Now they went out to meet that rescue in the way God had appointed. God’s mercies must be completed by humble obedience to his commands.