1And Jehovah will say to Moses and to Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2This month is to you the beginning of months: this to you the first month of the year. 3Speak ye to all the assembly of Israel, saying, In the tenth of this month and they shall take to them each a sheep, according to the house of the fathers; a sheep for a house. 4And if the house shall be little from being for a sheep, and he taking, and his neighbor drawing nigh his house according to the number of souls; each according to the mouth of his eating shall ye reckon for the sheep. 5A perfect sheep, a male, the son of a year, shall be to you from the he-lambs and from the goats ye shall take. 6And it shall be to you for a preservation till the fourteenth day of this month; and they shall slaughter it, all the convocation of the assembly of Israel, between the two evenings. 7And they took from the blood and gave upon the two door-posts, and upon the lintel within the houses which they shall eat it in them. 8And they shall eat the flesh in that night roasted with fire and unleavened; upon bitter herbs shall they eat it 9Ye shall not eat from it raw and boiled from boiling with water, but roasted with fire, its head with its legs with its inner part 10Ye shall not leave from it till morning: and that remaining from it till morning, ye shall burn with fire. 11And so shall ye eat it, your loins girded, your shoes on your feet and your staff in your hand: and ye ate it in hasty flight; a passing over to Jehovah. 12And I passed over in the land of Egypt in this night, and I struck every first-born in the land of Egypt from man even to quadruped: and against all the gods of Egypt I will do judgments: I Jehovah. 13And the blood was to you for a sign upon the houses where you are there: and I saw the blood and I passed over you, and the blow shall not be upon you to destroy, in my striking upon the land of Egypt 14And this day shall be to you for a remembrance; and ye kept it a festival to Jehovah for your generations: ye shall keep a festival a law forever. 15Seven days ye shall eat unleavened; wholly in the first day shall ye turn away leaven in your houses; for all eating leavened and that soul was destroyed from Israel from the first day even to the seventh day. 16And in the first day a calling of holiness, and in the seventh day a calling of holiness shall be to you; every service shall not be done in them only what shall be eaten by every soul; this only shall be done by you. 17And ye watched the unleavened; for in this self-same day I brought forth your armies out of the land of Egypt and watch ye this day for your generations a law forever. 18In the first, in the fourteenth day of the month, in the evening, ye shall eat unleavened till the one and twentieth day of the month in the evening. 19Seven days leaven shall not be found in your houses; for all eating from the leavened, that soul shall be destroyed from the assembly of Israel, for the sojourner or for the native of the land. 20All leavened ye shall not eat: in all your dwellings ye shall eat unleavened. 21And Moses will call for all the old men of Israel and he will say to them, Draw out and take to yourselves a sheep according to your tribes, and slaughter the passing over. 22And take ye a bundle of hyssop, and dip in the blood that is upon the threshhold, and touch upon the lintel, and upon the two door-posts from the blood which is upon the threshhold and ye shall not come forth each from the door of his house till morning. 23And Jehovah passed over to strike the Egyptians; and he saw the blood upon the lintel, and upon the two doorposts, and Jehovah passed by the door and will not give him destroying to come in to your houses to strike. 24And watch ye this word for a law to thee and to thy sons forever. 25And it shall be when ye shall come to the land. which Jehovah will give to you, as he spake, watch ye this service. 26And it shall be when your sons shall say to you, What this service to you? 27And they said, This the sacrifice of the passing over to Jehovah, who passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt in his striking the Egyptians, and he delivered our houses. And the people will bow down and will worship. 28And the sons of Israel will go, and will do as Jehovah commanded Moses and Aaron; thus did they. 29And it will be in the middle of the night, and Jehovah struck every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh sitting upon his throne, to the first-born of the captive which is in the house of the pit; and every first-born of the cattle. 30And Pharaoh will rise up in the night, he and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there will be a great cry in Egypt: for not a house where there was not the dead there. 31And he will call for Moses and for Aaron by night, and he will say, Arise, go forth from the midst of my people, also ye, also the sons of Israel; and go, serve Jehovah as ye spake. 32Also your sheep, also your oxen take as ye spake, and go and bless also me. 33And Egypt will be strong upon the people to hasten to send them forth out of the land; for they said, We are all dying. 34And the people will take up their dough before it will be leavened, their kneading-bowls bound in their garments upon their shoulders. 35And the sons of Israel did as Moses spake: and they will ask of the Egyptians, silver vessels and gold vessels,' and garments. 36And Jehovah gave favor to the people in the eyes of the Egyptians, and they will lend them; and they will strip the Egyptians. 37And the sons of Israel will remove from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand footmen; men apart from the little ones. 38And also a great mixture went up with them; and sheep and oxen, very much cattle. 39And they will cook the dough which they brought out of Egypt unleavened cakes, for it was not leavened; for they were driven out of Egypt, for they could not linger, and also they made not for themselves food. 40And the dwelling of the sons of Israel which they dwelt in Egypt, was thirty years and four hundred years. 41And it will be from the end of thirty years and four hundred years, in this self-same day all the armies of Jehovah will go forth out of the land of Egypt 42This a night of watchings to Jehovah, for bringing them forth out of the land of Egypt: it is this night to Jehovah of watching to all the sons of Israel for their generations. 43And Jehovah will say to Moses and Aaron, This the law of the passing over: every son of a stranger shall not eat of it. 44And every servant of a man bought with silver, and thou hast circumcised him, then he shall eat of it 45The sojourner and the hireling shall not eat of it 46In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not bring forth out of the house from the flesh without, and ye shall not break a bone of it 47All the assembly of Israel shall do it. 48And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and do the passing over to Jehovah, all the males to him being circumcised, and then he shall draw near to do it; and he was as a native of the land: and every one uncircumcised shall not eat of it. 49One law shall be to the native and to the stranger sojourning in the midst of you. 50And all the sons of Israel will do as Jehovah commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they. 51And it will be in this self-same day, Jehovah brought forth the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt with their armies.
Matthew Henry - Concise Commentary 1 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 wherein 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 door-posts, to mark the houses of the Israelites from those of the Egyptians. The angel of the Lord, when destroying the first-born 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, both 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 of their own righteousness, but the gift of mercy. Of this they were reminded, and by 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,
1Cor 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 in the midst of 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,
Roma 5:11. Faith is the bunch of hyssop, 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 door-posts, 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 under foot the blood of the covenant. 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,
Roma 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 only, but to be 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,
John 6:55. 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, as well as Christ and his crown. It was to be eaten at once, not put by till morning. To-day Christ is offered, and is to be accepted while it is called to-day, 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 brokenness of heart, in remembrance of sin. Christ will be sweet to us, if sin be bitter. It was to be eaten standing, with their staves in their hands, as being 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 every thing in it; forsake all for Christ, and reckon it no bad bargain,
Hebre 13:13,
Hebre 13:14. 4. The feast of unleavened bread was typical of the Christian life,
1Cor 5:7,
1Cor 5:8. Having received Christ Jesus the Lord, we must continually delight ourselves in Christ Jesus. No manner of 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 as to the passover, so that no leaven should be found in their houses. It must be a feast kept in charity, without the leaven of malice; and in sincerity, without the leaven of hypocrisy. It was by an ordinance for ever; 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.
21 That night, when the first-born were to be destroyed, no Israelite must stir out of doors till called to march out of Egypt. Their safety was owing to the blood of sprinkling. If they put themselves from under the protection of that, it was at their peril. They must stay within, to wait for the salvation of the Lord; it is good to do so. In after-times they should carefully teach their children the meaning of this service. It is good for children to ask about the things of God; they that ask for the way will find it. The keeping of this solemnity every year was, 1. To look backward, that they might remember what great things God had done for them and their fathers. Old mercies, to ourselves, or to our fathers, must not be forgotten, that God may be praised, and our faith in him encouraged. 2. It was designed to look forward, as an earnest of the great sacrifice of the Lamb of God in the fulness of time. Christ our passover was sacrificed for us; his death was our life.
29 The Egyptians had been for three days and nights kept in anxiety and horror by the darkness; now their rest is broken by a far more terrible calamity. The plague struck their first-born, the joy and hope of their families. They had slain the Hebrews' children, now God slew theirs. It reached from the throne to the dungeon: prince and peasant stand upon the same level before God's judgments. The destroying angel entered every dwelling unmarked with blood, as the messenger of woe. He did his dreadful errand, leaving not a house in which there was not one dead. Imagine then the cry that rang through the land of Egypt, the long, loud shriek of agony that burst from every dwelling. It will be thus in that dreadful hour when the Son of man shall visit sinners with the last judgment. God's sons, his first-born, were now released. Men had better come to God's terms at first, for he will never come to theirs. Now Pharaoh's pride is abased, and he yields. God's word will stand; we get nothing by disputing, or delaying to submit. In this terror the Egyptians would purchase the favour and the speedy departure of Israel. Thus the Lord took care that their hard-earned wages should be paid, and the people provided for their journey.
37 The children of Israel set forward without delay. A mixed multitude went with them. Some, perhaps, willing to leave their country, laid waste by plagues; others, out of curiosity; perhaps a few out of love to them and their religion. But there were always those among the Israelites who were not Israelites. Thus there are still hypocrites in the church. This great event was 430 years from the promise made to Abraham: see
Galat 3:17. So long the promise of a settlement was unfulfilled. But though God's promises are not performed quickly, they will be, in their season. This is that night of the Lord, that remarkable night, to be celebrated in all generations. The great things God does for his people, are to be not only a few days' wonder, but to be remembered throughout all ages; especially the work of our redemption by Christ. This first passover-night was a night of the Lord, much to be observed; but the last passover-night, in which Christ was betrayed and in which the first passover, with the rest of the Jewish ceremonies, was done away, was a night of the Lord, much more to be observed. Then a yoke, heavier than that of Egypt, was broken from off our necks, and a land, better than that of Canaan, set before us. It was a redemption to be celebrated in heaven, for ever and ever.
43 In times to come, all the congregation of Israel must keep the passover. All that share in God's mercies should join in thankful praises for them. The New Testament passover, the Lord's supper, ought not to be neglected by any. Strangers, if circumcised, might eat of the passover. Here is an early indication of favour to the gentiles. This taught the Jews that their being a nation favoured by God, entitled them to their privileges, not their descent from Abraham. Christ our passover is sacrificed for us,
1Cor 5:7; his blood is the only ransom for our souls; without the shedding of it there is no remission; without the sprinkling of it there can be no salvation. Have we, by faith in him, sheltered our souls from deserved vengeance under the protection of his atoning blood? Do we keep close to him, constantly depending upon him? Do we so profess our faith in the Redeemer, and our obligations to him, that all who pass by may know to whom we belong? Do we stand prepared for his service, ready to walk in his ways, and to separate ourselves from his enemies? These are questions of vast importance to the soul; may the Lord direct our consciences honestly to answer them.