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Commentary on Exodus 12 verses 1–20
Moses and Aaron here receive of the Lord what they were afterwards to deliver to the people concerning the ordinance of the passover, to which is prefixed an order for a new style to be observed in their months (Exo 12:1, Exo 12:2): This shall be to you the beginning of months. They had hitherto begun their year from the middle of September, but henceforward they were to begin it from the middle of March, at least in all their ecclesiastical computations. Note, It is good to begin the day, and begin the year, and especially to begin our lives, with God. This new calculation began the year with the spring, which reneweth the face of the earth, and was used as a figure of the coming of Christ, Sol 2:11, Sol 2:12. We may suppose that, while Moses was bringing the ten plagues upon the Egyptians, he was directing the Israelites to prepare for their departure at an hour's warning. Probably he had be degrees brought them near together from their dispersions, for their are here called the congregation of Israel (Exo 12:3), and to them as a congregation orders are here sent. Their amazement and hurry, it is easy to suppose, were great; yet now they must apply themselves to the observance of a sacred rite, to the honour of God. Note, When our heads are fullest of care, and our hands of business, yet we must not forget our religion, nor suffer ourselves to be indisposed for acts of devotion.
I. God appointed that on the night wherein they were to go out of Egypt they should, in each of their families, kill a lamb, or that two or three families, if they were small, should join for a lamb. The lamb was to be got ready four days before and that afternoon they were to kill it (Exo 12:6) as a sacrifice; not strictly, for it was not offered upon the altar, but as a religious ceremony, acknowledging God's goodness to them, not only in preserving them from, but in delivering them by, the plagues inflicted on the Egyptians. See the antiquity of family-religion; and see the convenience of the joining of small families together for religious worship, that it may be made the more solemn.
II. The lamb so slain they were to eat, roasted (we may suppose, in its several quarters), with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, because they were to eat it in haste (Exo 12:11), and to leave none of it until the morning; for God would have them to depend upon him for their daily bread, and not to take thought for the morrow. He that led them would feed them.
III. Before they ate the flesh of the lamb, they were to sprinkle the blood upon the doorposts, Exo 12:7. By this their houses were to be distinguished from the houses of the Egyptians, and so their first-born secured from the sword of the destroying angel, Exo 12:12, Exo 12:13. Dreadful work was to be made this night in Egypt; all the first-born both of man and beast were to be slain, and judgment executed upon the gods of Egypt. Moses does not mention the fulfillment, in this chapter, yet he speaks of it Num 33:4. It is very probable that the idols which the Egyptians worshipped were destroyed, those of metal melted, those of wood consumed, and those of stone broken to pieces, whence Jethro infers (Exo 18:11), The Lord is greater than all gods. The same angel that destroyed their first-born demolished their idols, which were no less dear to them. For the protection of Israel from this plague they were ordered to sprinkle the blood of the lamb upon the door-posts, their doing which would be accepted as an instance of their faith in the divine warnings and their obedience to the divine precepts. Note, 1. If in times of common calamity God will secure his own people, and set a mark upon them; they shall be hidden either in heaven or under heaven, preserved either from the stroke of judgments or at least from the sting of them. 2. The blood of sprinkling is the saint's security in times of common calamity; it is this that marks them for God, pacifies conscience, and gives them boldness of access to the throne of grace, and so becomes a wall of protection round them and a wall of partition between them and the children of this world.
IV. This was to be annually observed as a feast of the Lord in their generations, to which the feast of unleavened bread was annexed, during which, for seven days, they were to eat no bread but what was unleavened, in remembrance of their being confined to such bread, of necessity, for many days after they came out of Egypt, Exo 12:14-20. The appointment is inculcated for their better direction, and that they might not mistake concerning it, and to awaken those who perhaps in Egypt had grown generally very stupid and careless in the matters of religion to a diligent observance of the institution. Now, without doubt, there was much of the gospel in this ordinance; it is often referred to in the New Testament, and, in it, to us is the gospel preached, and not to them only, who could not stedfastly look to the end of these things, Heb 4:2; Co2 3:13.
1.The paschal lamb was typical. Christ is our Passover, Co1 5:7. (1.) It was to be a lamb; and Christ is the Lamb of God (Joh 1:29), often in the Revelation called the Lamb, meek and innocent as a lamb, dumb before the shearers, before the butchers. (2.) It was to be a male of the first year (Exo 12:5), in its prime; Christ offered up himself in the midst of his days, not in infancy with the babes of Bethlehem. It denotes the strength and sufficiency of the Lord Jesus, on whom our help was laid. (3.) It was to be without blemish (Exo 12:5), denoting the purity of the Lord Jesus, a Lamb without spot, Pe1 1:19. The judge that condemned him (as if his trial were only like the scrutiny that was made concerning the sacrifices, whether they were without blemish or no) pronounced him innocent. (4.) It was to be set apart four days before (Exo 12:3, Exo 12:6), denoting the designation of the Lord Jesus to be a Saviour, both in the purpose and in the promise. It is very observable that as Christ was crucified at the passover, so he solemnly entered into Jerusalem four days before, the very day that the paschal lamb was set apart. (5.) It was to be slain, and roasted with fire (Exo 12:6-9), denoting the exquisite 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. (6.) It was to be killed by the whole congregation between the two evenings, that is, between three o'clock and six. Christ suffered in the end of the world (Heb 9:26), by the hand of the Jews, the whole multitude of them (Luk 23:18), and for the good of all his spiritual Israel. (7.) Not a bone of it must be broken (Exo 12:46), which is expressly said to be fulfilled in Christ (Joh 19:33, Joh 19:36), denoting the unbroken strength of the Lord Jesus.
2.The sprinkling of the blood was typical. (1.) It was not enough that the blood of the lamb was shed, but it must be sprinkled, denoting the application of the merits of Christ's death to our souls; we must receive the atonement, Rom 5:11. (2.) It was to be sprinkled with a bunch of hyssop (Exo 12:22) dipped in the basin. The everlasting covenant, like the basin, in the conservatory of this blood, the benefits and privileges purchased by it are laid up for us there; faith is the bunch of hyssop by which we apply the promises to ourselves and the benefits of the blood of Christ laid up in them. (3.) It was to be sprinkled upon the door-posts, denoting the open profession we are to make of faith in Christ, and obedience to him, as those that are not ashamed to own our dependence upon him. The mark of the beast may be received on the forehead or in the right hand, but the seal of the Lamb is always in the forehead, Rev 7:3. There is a back-way to hell, but no back-way to heaven; no, the only way to this is a high-way, Isa 35:8. (4.) It was to be sprinkled upon the lintel and the sideposts, but not upon the threshold (Exo 12:7), which cautions us to take heed of trampling under foot the blood of the covenant, Heb 10:29. It is precious blood, and must be precious to us. (5.) The blood, thus sprinkled, was a means of the preservation of the Israelites from the destroying angel, who had nothing to do where the blood was. If the blood of Christ be sprinkled upon our consciences, it will be our protection from the wrath of God, the curse of the law, and the damnation of hell, Rom 8:1.
3.The solemnly eating of the lamb was typical of our gospel-duty to Christ. (1.) The paschal lamb was killed, not to be looked upon only, but to be fed upon; so we must by faith make Christ ours, as we do that which we eat, and we must receive spiritual strength and nourishment from him, as from our food, and have delight and satisfaction in him, as we have in eating and drinking when we are hungry or thirsty: see Joh 6:53-55. (2.) It was to be all eaten; those that 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. Is Christ divided? Those hat gather much of Christ will have nothing over. (3.) It was to be eaten immediately, not deferred till morning, Exo 12:10. Today Christ is offered, and is to be accepted while it is called today, before we sleep the sleep of death. (4.) It was to be eaten with bitter herbs (Exo 12:8), 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; this will give an admirable relish to the paschal lamb. Christ will be sweet to us if sin be bitter. (5.) It was to be eaten in a departing posture (Exo 12:11); when we feed upon Christ by faith we must absolutely forsake the rule and dominion of sin, shake off Pharaoh's yoke; and we must sit loose to the world, and every thing in it, forsake all for Christ, and reckon it no bad bargain, Heb 13:13, Heb 13:14.
4.The feast of unleavened bread was typical of the Christian life, Co1 5:7, Co1 5:8. Having received Christ Jesus the Lord, (1.) We must keep a feast in holy joy, continually delighting ourselves in Christ Jesus; no manner of work must be done (Exo 12:16), no care admitted or indulged, inconsistent with, or prejudicial to, this holy joy: if true believers have not a continual feast, it is their own fault. (2.) It must be a feast of unleavened bread, kept in charity, without the leaven of malice, and in sincerity, without the leaven of hypocrisy. The law was very strict as to the passover, and the Jews were so in their usages, that no leaven should be found in their houses, Exo 12:19. All the old leaven of sin must be put far from us, with the utmost caution and abhorrence, if we would keep the feast of a holy life to the honour of Christ. (3.) It was by an ordinance for ever (Exo 12:17); as long as we live, we must continue feeding upon Christ and rejoicing in him, always making thankful mention of the great things he has done for us.
Unleavened bread: By this it appears, that our Saviour made use of unleavened bread, in the institution of the blessed sacrament, which was on the evening of the paschal solemnity, at which time there was no leavened bread to be found in Israel.
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SUMMARY
Exodus 12:18 meticulously establishes the precise duration for the observance of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, an essential component of the Passover celebration. This divine command mandates that the Israelites consume unleavened bread for seven consecutive days, commencing from the evening of the fourteenth day and concluding on the evening of the twenty-first day of the first month. This perpetual ordinance served not only as a tangible memorial of Israel's swift and divinely orchestrated exodus from Egyptian bondage but also as a profound spiritual discipline, calling the newly liberated nation to a life of purity, separation from sin, and consecrated living before God.
CONTEXT
Literary Context: Exodus 12:18 is situated within God's foundational instructions to Moses and Aaron regarding the institution of the Passover and the subsequent Feast of Unleavened Bread, given just prior to the tenth and final plague upon Egypt. The preceding verses, specifically Exodus 12:1-13, detail the selection, sacrifice, and application of the Passover lamb's blood, which would ensure the sparing of Israelite firstborns. Following this, Exodus 12:14-17 formally introduces the Feast of Unleavened Bread as a permanent ordinance, a memorial for all future generations. Our verse, Exodus 12:18, then provides the exact calendrical parameters for this seven-day observance, emphasizing its immediate and lasting significance. The broader narrative of Exodus 12 culminates in the actual departure from Egypt, underscoring the urgency and divine precision of these commands.
Historical & Cultural Context: The command to eat unleavened bread for seven days is deeply rooted in the historical reality of Israel's hasty departure from Egypt. The Israelites left in such urgency that their dough had no time to ferment and rise, as explicitly stated in Exodus 12:39. This historical event was to be perpetually re-enacted through the consumption of matzah, ensuring a constant, tactile reminder of God's swift and powerful deliverance. Culturally, the designation of "the first month" (Abib, later Nisan) as the starting point for this observance was revolutionary. It marked a new beginning for Israel, shifting their national and religious calendar to commemorate their liberation as the foundational event of their identity, rather than solely following agricultural cycles. Furthermore, leaven in ancient Near Eastern thought, and particularly in biblical symbolism, often represented corruption, decay, or impurity due to its fermenting action. The meticulous removal of leaven, therefore, signified a period of spiritual cleansing, a putting away of the old life of slavery and idolatry in Egypt, pointing towards a new, pure beginning in covenant with God.
Key Themes: Exodus 12:18 contributes significantly to several overarching themes within the book of Exodus and the Pentateuch. It powerfully illustrates God's sovereignty and meticulous provision, as He not only delivers His people but also provides detailed instructions for their worship and communal life. The verse underscores the theme of remembrance and memorial, ensuring that the foundational event of the Exodus would be perpetually recalled through ritual observance, linking past deliverance to future generations. Furthermore, the command to eat unleavened bread for seven days highlights the theme of holiness and purity, emphasizing God's call for His covenant people to be set apart from the defilements of the surrounding nations and from the "leaven" of sin. This theme is echoed throughout the Mosaic Law, such as in the dietary laws of Leviticus 11 and the broader call to be holy as God is holy, found in Leviticus 19:2. The establishment of a new calendar also signifies the theme of new beginnings and the birth of Israel as a distinct nation under God's covenant.
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Exodus 12:18 is a precise legal and cultic stipulation that anchors the Feast of Unleavened Bread within Israel's sacred calendar, immediately following the Passover. It defines the temporal boundaries and the central dietary requirement of this critical observance.
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
The language of Exodus 12:18 is characterized by Precision and Legal Formulation, typical of cultic instructions in the Pentateuch. The meticulous detailing of dates and times underscores the divine authority behind the command and the importance of exact adherence. The contrast between leavened and unleavened bread serves as a powerful and enduring Symbolism, where the physical absence of leaven represents spiritual purity and the putting away of corruption or sin. This symbolic action transforms a simple dietary requirement into a profound theological statement about Israel's identity and their relationship with a holy God. The repetition of "at even" also serves as a Literary Marker, emphasizing the precise beginning and end points of the sacred observance.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Exodus 12:18 encapsulates several profound theological truths that extend beyond its immediate historical context. It vividly portrays God's meticulous care for His covenant people, providing not only miraculous deliverance but also precise instructions for their spiritual formation and communal identity. This verse underscores God's absolute sovereignty over time and history, as He redefines Israel's calendar around His saving acts, establishing the Exodus as the pivotal event of their national existence. The command to eat unleavened bread for seven days also profoundly emphasizes God's unwavering demand for holiness and purity from His people. This sustained act of consuming unleavened bread signifies a deliberate separation from the defilements of their past in Egypt and a commitment to a new, consecrated life in covenant with the Holy One of Israel. This feast is thus foundational to Israel's identity, perpetually linking them to the Exodus as the defining moment of their birth as a nation, demonstrating God's faithfulness in deliverance and His enduring commitment to His covenant.
This theme of remembrance, purity, and new life connects deeply with the broader biblical narrative:
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
While the literal observance of eating unleavened bread is specific to the Jewish Passover and its historical context, the spiritual principles embedded in Exodus 12:18 remain profoundly relevant and transformative for believers today. Just as ancient Israel was called to perpetually remember God's mighty act of deliverance from Egyptian bondage, we are called to remember and celebrate God's saving acts in our own lives, most supremely the ultimate deliverance from the bondage of sin through the sacrificial work of Jesus Christ. The powerful symbolism of removing leaven from the household encourages us to diligently examine our hearts and lives, actively putting away "the old leaven" of sin, malice, hypocrisy, and anything that contaminates our walk with God. This calls us to a continuous pursuit of spiritual purity and sincerity in our thoughts, words, and deeds. Furthermore, this verse reminds us to live with a sense of readiness and urgency in our faith, always prepared to follow God's call and purposes, decisively leaving behind the "Egypt" of our former lives and embracing the new life in Christ with wholehearted devotion.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why seven days for unleavened bread?
Answer: The duration of seven days for the Feast of Unleavened Bread is highly symbolic. In biblical numerology, the number seven often represents completeness, perfection, or divine fullness. Therefore, the seven days signify a complete, thorough, and sustained period of remembrance and spiritual cleansing. It was not merely a fleeting moment or a single meal, but a week-long immersion in the profound symbolism of the Exodus and the call to purity. This extended period ensured that the lessons of God's swift deliverance and the imperative for a holy, set-apart life were deeply ingrained in the national consciousness and individual practices of the Israelites, fostering a comprehensive commitment to their covenant with God.
Is this command still relevant for Christians today?
Answer: While Christians are not under the ceremonial law to literally observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, its spiritual principles are profoundly relevant and find their fulfillment in Christ. The New Testament reinterprets these Old Testament shadows in light of the person and work of Jesus. As the Apostle Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 5:7-8, "Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed." Therefore, believers are called to live a life free from the "leaven of malice and evil" and instead live with "the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." The physical observance of removing leaven points to a spiritual reality for Christians: a continuous call to live a life set apart for God, free from the defilement of sin and characterized by genuine holiness and integrity, reflecting the purity of Christ.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
The Feast of Unleavened Bread, as commanded in Exodus 12:18, finds its ultimate fulfillment and profound reinterpretation in the person and redemptive work of Jesus Christ. The Passover lamb, whose blood brought deliverance from the angel of death, is explicitly identified by John the Baptist as Jesus, "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29). Just as the Israelites were delivered from physical slavery in Egypt through the blood of the lamb, believers are delivered from the spiritual slavery of sin and death through the precious, atoning blood of Christ (1 Peter 1:18-19). The unleavened bread itself, symbolizing purity and the absence of corruption, points directly to Christ's sinless life and perfect sacrifice. He is the true "bread of life" who came down from heaven, offering spiritual sustenance for eternal life to all who believe (John 6:35). The Apostle Paul makes this connection explicit, urging believers to "cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (1 Corinthians 5:7-8). This means that the Christian life, inaugurated by the "Passover" of Christ's sacrifice, is to be characterized by the "unleavened bread of sincerity and truth," free from the "leaven of malice and evil." The haste of the Exodus, which necessitated unleavened bread, also powerfully foreshadows the urgency of salvation and the decisive break from the old life of sin to embrace the new, resurrected life in Christ (Romans 6:4). Thus, Exodus 12:18 transcends a mere literal dietary command, transforming into a perpetual spiritual call for believers to live lives of holiness, sincerity, and truth, reflecting the purity and saving power of their Savior, Jesus Christ.