Exodus 12:10, commentary and pictures

On that night of deliverance in Egypt every household was to eat the slain lamb completely before morning and destroy by fire anything that remained. The command was part of the directions that shielded Israelite families from the coming judgment on the firstborn and made them ready to leave Egypt at once as a free people. Keeping it required implicit faith shown in full obedience, for only the houses marked and kept according to the directions would be passed over, and neglect would leave even a Hebrew household exposed. The lamb so eaten foreshadowed the sinless Lamb of God, whose body and blood are the only propitiation for sin and the spiritual food that gives hope of resurrection to immortal life. Its blood on the doorposts was the sign of accepting the promised Redeemer, sheltering believers from divine wrath as it sheltered Israel, and foreshadowing God's protection of His sealed people in the final time of trial.

Passover Night in Egypt

The verse is part of the special directions given to preserve the Israelites and their families from the plague about to be sent upon Egypt and to prepare them for leaving Egypt. It belongs to the solemn ordinance of the Passover instituted on the night of the last plague upon Egypt. That plague was more severe than any before it and came because the king and his idolatrous priests opposed to the last the request to let the Hebrews go, while the people desired that the Hebrews be permitted to leave. Its nature and effect were told beforehand to Pharaoh and to the people of Egypt as well as to the Israelites, and the night was terrible to the Egyptians and glorious to the people of God.

On the last night of bondage, when no token of deliverance yet appeared, each family was to gather inside its dwelling and be ready for immediate release. They were to slay a lamb without blemish, mark its blood on the doorposts, and eat the lamb roasted whole with unleavened bread and bitter herbs in haste with loins girded, shoes on feet, and staff in hand. That meal preceded the midnight passage of the destroying angel through Egypt slaying the firstborn of man and beast, Pharaoh's command to leave, and the going out of the Hebrews from Egypt as an independent nation. For that supper nothing of the lamb was to be left until the morning, and what remained of it until the morning was to be burned with fire.

The Passover was then commanded to be kept yearly so that Israel would keep in memory the wonderful deliverance. It was kept in solemn night assembly with hasty eating of the lamb with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, with girded loins, shoes on feet, and staff in hand, while rehearsing the story of the sprinkled blood, the death-dealing angel, and the march out of bondage. When children asked its meaning parents were to tell the story of the Lord passing over the houses of Israel when He smote the Egyptians, repeating the wonderful deliverance from generation to generation. The yearly ordinance was designed to call minds away from world-loving interests and from cares and anxieties about temporal concerns to review the works of God, His miracles, mercies, and loving-kindness. In this way love and reverence for Him would increase and lead them always to look to Him and trust Him in trial and not turn to other gods.

Lamb Foreshadowing Christ

The lamb slain in Egypt foreshadowed the sinless Lamb of God, and its sacrifice was a symbol of Christ's body pointing forward to His approaching death as the only true propitiation for the sins of humanity. Its merits alone avert judgment and condemnation, for Christ is the great antitype of the paschal lamb. The blood put on the lintel and doorposts was the symbol of Christ's blood shed for the sins of the world. It is efficacious to cleanse the believing sinner from sin and to shelter believers from the wrath of a sin-hating God coming upon the impenitent and unbelieving world, as His wrath fell upon the Egyptians.

Eating the flesh of the lamb recalled Israel's protection when the firstborn of their enemies were slain in Egypt, and it points to receiving Christ by faith. The lamb's flesh represented the Lamb of God who gave His flesh for the life of the world, and the blood placed as a sign of safety represented Christ's blood shed for the sins of the world. Christ's flesh and blood are spiritual food, and those who by faith eat His flesh and drink His blood have well-founded hope that He will raise them from the dead to immortal life in the kingdom of God. The same truth symbolized in the paschal service is taught in Christ's words about eating His flesh and drinking His blood for eternal life.

The Passover represents Christ and cannot be fully explained without Him, for He is the key that unlocks its meaning and gives access to its riches. It was instituted by Christ Himself before His incarnation as the foundation of the whole Jewish economy, and the Lord's Supper was connected with it. All its services and ceremonies are valueless if the Saviour represented is rejected. Israel made the symbol all-important while its significance went unnoticed and failed to discern the Lord's body. The reality the lamb represented stood among those keeping the feast offering mercy, and they refused His offers.

The priests' exact observance while rejecting Christ defiled their souls and became bitter mockery. This was most clearly seen when type met antitype at His trial, as the leaders would not enter the judgment hall lest they be defiled so they might eat the Passover while His divinity clothed with humanity stood in their midst. Jesus observed the rites of the Passover service at age twelve as acts signifying His own life and beginning to reveal His mission to save the heirs of the covenant promises, the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The Passover was still being observed when Jesus the antitypical Lamb had been slain and lay in the tomb.

Faith Obedience and Protection

The directions given for that night were a test of faith to be shown through complete obedience, for each family was to obey in faith, gather within the house, and be ready to depart, with blood on the lintel and doorposts marking the houses for the angel to pass over. Without following this process households would have been treated like the Egyptians, and neglecting the directions would leave even a Hebrew household exposed to the judgment on the firstborn, so that those who failed to follow the command received no protection. None could be benefited by the provision for salvation unless by their acts they manifested faith in the provision made, doing the work left them to do and thereby showing faith in what God had provided.

The blood mark was a sign that the household accepted the promised Redeemer, for the lamb prefigured the slaying of the Son of God and the efficacy of His blood shed for the salvation of the sinner. The parents showed their faith in the great Sacrifice by implicitly obeying the directions given, and the faith of believing parents covered themselves and their children, so the destroying angel passed over every house that had the mark. This is a symbol that the faith of believing parents extends to their children and covers them from the destroyer's power and shields them from his power.

The sparing of the marked houses when the firstborn of Egypt were struck foreshadows God's protection of His sealed people during the time of trial and divine judgments. Today families must gather their children about them if they desire to save them from the destructive power of the evil one, and have faith in the blood of Christ in order to pass safely through the perilous times just before us. The blood means faith in the blood of Christ for protection, needed as the conflict between Christ and Satan will increase in intensity until the end of this earth's history. In these days of deception and false doctrine every Christian must gather his family into his home and sprinkle the doorpost with the blood of the Lamb of God, so that when the destroying angel passes over he sees the blood and passes over, for the end is near and in the judgment every soul will have just the spirit and character cherished in the home life, the judgment only pointing out the character manifested in association with family members and with neighbors and the world.

The gathering of children into their own homes under the marked doorposts illustrates the mother's duty to separate her children from harmful influences and raise them among people who honor God and His law. Parents must follow the light God has given rather than expect Him to do the work He has entrusted to them.