Commentary - Exodus 12:1-13

Bird's-eye view

In Exodus 12, we arrive at the very heart of the deliverance of Israel from Egypt. This is not merely a historical account of an ancient people escaping slavery; it is the institution of the central redemptive ordinance of the Old Covenant. Everything here is dripping with typological significance, pointing forward to the ultimate Passover Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ. God is not just getting His people out of Egypt; He is establishing a memorial, a ritual meal that will define them as His redeemed people for generations. This chapter lays the foundation for understanding sacrifice, substitution, and salvation. The blood on the doorposts is a stark and bloody picture of the gospel. God is about to unleash His final, devastating judgment on the gods of Egypt, and the only thing that distinguishes His people from the condemned is the blood of a substitute. This is the gospel in miniature, the pattern for our great Exodus in Christ.

The instructions are meticulous and detailed for a reason. God is teaching His people how to approach Him and how to remember His salvation. From the selection of the lamb to the manner of eating it, every detail is instructive. This is a new beginning for Israel, marked by a new calendar, centered around this act of redemption. They are to eat in haste, as a people leaving bondage for a promised land. The entire event is a dramatic portrayal of the principle that life comes through death, and deliverance from judgment comes through a substitutionary sacrifice. God is not just flexing His muscle; He is revealing His heart, His plan of redemption that was set before the foundation of the world.

Outline

Clause-by-Clause Commentary

v. 1 Now Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,

Right at the outset, we must note where this revelation occurs. God speaks to His appointed mediators, Moses and Aaron, while they are still in the land of Egypt. Salvation is not something that begins after you get yourself to a better place. The word of redemption comes to the people while they are still in the house of bondage. God does not wait for us to clean ourselves up or escape our predicaments. He invades our Egypt, our state of sin and misery, with His gracious word of deliverance. This is always how God works. The gospel comes to sinners, not to the righteous.

v. 2 “This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you.”

This is a radical reordering of life. God establishes a new calendar for His people, and the central event is His act of redemption. Before this, their time was likely ordered by the agricultural seasons or the decrees of Pharaoh. But now, their time, their very understanding of the rhythm of life, is to be centered on the Passover. What God is saying is that this deliverance is the most important event in their history, and it will define everything else. For the Christian, our new calendar began at the cross and the empty tomb. Our lives are no longer defined by the old markers of the world but by the reality of our redemption in Christ. We are a new creation, and so we live by a new time, the time of the new covenant.

v. 3 “Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers’ households, a lamb for each household.’”

The instruction is for all the congregation. No one is exempt. Salvation is a corporate affair, but it is applied at the most basic level of society: the household. Each family, under its head, is responsible to take a lamb. This is not a religion for isolated individuals. It is a covenant that encompasses families. The father of the household acts as the priest for his family, securing the lamb that will be their salvation. This points to the household nature of the new covenant as well, where the promises are for believers and for their children.

v. 4 “Now if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according to the number of persons in them; according to what each man should eat, you are to apportion the lamb.”

Here we see God's practicality and His concern for community. The lamb is not a mere token; it is a meal to be eaten. No part of the provision is to be wasted. If one family cannot consume a whole lamb, they are to join with their neighbors. This fosters community and shared participation in the redemption. The salvation God provides is always sufficient, and it is to be shared. Notice the standard: a household might be too small for the lamb, but the lamb is never too small for the household. Christ is more than enough for all who come to Him.

v. 5 “Your lamb shall be a male, without blemish, a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats.”

Here the typological significance becomes undeniable. The lamb must be without blemish. This is not simply about finding a healthy animal for dinner. It is a picture of the perfection required in a substitute. A blemished sacrifice cannot atone for blemished people. This points directly to the Lord Jesus, the Lamb of God, who was "holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners" (Heb. 7:26). He was the perfect sacrifice. It was to be a male, the head, representing the whole. And it was to be a year old, in the prime of its life. This was not a throwaway animal; it was the best of the flock, a costly sacrifice.

v. 6 “And you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight.”

The lamb was selected on the tenth day but not slaughtered until the fourteenth. For four days, this perfect, blemish-free lamb lived with the family. It was brought into the home. The children likely played with it. It became, in a sense, a part of the family. This would have made the slaughter all the more poignant. This was not the death of some anonymous animal; it was the death of their lamb. This period of observation also corresponds to the final days of Jesus' ministry. He entered Jerusalem on the tenth of Nisan and was examined by the priests, the scribes, and the rulers. They could find no fault in Him. He was publicly displayed as the blemish-free lamb before His sacrifice. The slaughter was to be done by the whole assembly, signifying that all the people were responsible for its death, and all participated in its benefits.

v. 7 “Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.”

The blood is the key. The death of the lamb is not enough. The blood had to be applied. It had to be put where God would see it: on the doorframe, the entrance to the home. This is a public declaration of faith. An Israelite could not just believe in the efficacy of the lamb's blood in his heart; he had to paint it on his house for all to see, including the angel of death. The blood formed a visible sign of the cross on their homes. For us, the blood of Christ must be personally applied by faith. We must come under the protection of His shed blood. It is not enough to know that Christ died; we must take refuge in that death for ourselves.

v. 8 “And they shall eat the flesh that night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.”

Salvation is not just about escaping judgment; it is about partaking of the sacrifice. The people had to eat the lamb. This signifies union and communion with the sacrifice. Christ says, "Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life" (John 6:54). We partake of Christ by faith. The roasting with fire speaks of the judgment and wrath that the lamb endured. The unleavened bread signifies the need to put away the "leaven of malice and evil" (1 Cor. 5:8) and to live in sincerity and truth. Redemption demands sanctification. The bitter herbs were a reminder of the bitterness of their bondage in Egypt. We should never forget the misery from which we were saved. We feast on our salvation with a sober memory of our past slavery to sin.

v. 9 “Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather roasted with fire, both its head and its legs along with its entrails.”

The instructions are specific to prevent any shortcut or dilution of the symbol. It could not be eaten raw, as that would be to despise the need for the sacrifice to be completed. It could not be boiled, which would mingle the lamb with water and diminish the picture of it enduring the fire of judgment alone. It had to be roasted with fire, a picture of the unmitigated wrath it absorbed. The whole animal was to be roasted, head, legs, and entrails, signifying the completeness of the sacrifice. We must take all of Christ, not just the parts we find palatable.

v. 10 “And you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until morning, you shall burn with fire.”

The provision of the lamb was for that night of redemption. It was not to be treated as common leftovers. This was a holy meal for a holy night. Anything not consumed was to be destroyed by fire, treating it as a holy thing set apart for God. This teaches us to treat the elements of our salvation, like the Lord's Supper, with reverence and awe. The benefits of Christ's death are to be received fresh, by faith, not stored up or treated casually.

v. 11 “Now you shall eat it in this manner: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste, it is the Passover of Yahweh.”

They were to eat as people ready to leave. Their robes were tucked in for travel, their shoes were on, and their walking sticks were in hand. They were pilgrims, sojourners, leaving the land of bondage. This was not a leisurely banquet. They ate in haste, expecting their marching orders at any moment. This is how Christians are to live. We are to live in this world as those who are ready to depart, with our minds set on the heavenly country. We have been redeemed, and now we are on a pilgrimage to the promised land. And the reason for all this is stated plainly: it is the Passover of Yahweh. This entire event belongs to God. It is His plan, His deliverance, His glory.

v. 12 “And I will go through the land of Egypt on that night and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments, I am Yahweh.”

Here God reveals the terrible backdrop for this meal of salvation. While Israel feasts, God is executing judgment. He Himself will go through the land. The death of the firstborn was the final, crushing blow against Pharaoh's pride and Egypt's power. It was also a judgment against their false gods. The firstborn was consecrated to the gods; the sacred animals like the Apis bull were considered deities. By striking them all down, Yahweh demonstrates His absolute supremacy over all the pretended powers of this world. He concludes with His covenant name: I am Yahweh. This is the ultimate declaration of authority. He is the self-existent, sovereign Lord, and He will do as He pleases.

v. 13 “And the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and I will see the blood, and I will pass over you, and there shall be no plague among you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.”

The blood was a sign for you. It was an assurance to the Israelites cowering inside their homes. But the decisive factor was not their seeing the blood, but that God would see it. "When I see the blood, I will pass over you." Their safety did not depend on the strength of their faith, the quality of their obedience, or their subjective feelings of security. It depended entirely on the objective reality of the blood on the doorposts and God's promise to honor it. The destroying plague would not touch them, not because they were inherently better than the Egyptians, but because a substitute had died in their place and the blood was the evidence. This is the heart of the gospel. Our salvation rests not on what we do, but on what God sees: the precious blood of His Son, our Passover Lamb, applied to the doorposts of our hearts by faith.