Our passage this week is long, but I hope you read through all of it. There are many golden nuggets of spiritual truths contained in it. I want to look at the main theme of the passage which is the wonder of God’s redemption.
The directions the Lord gives to Moses for the Israelites all point to the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Redeemer of God’s people. B.B. Warfield wrote long ago, “There is not one title of Christ more precious to a Christian than that of Redeemer. The cross is held before our eyes, and we are to know that not only has Jesus given us great salvation, but that he also paid a great price for us.”
In chapter 12, verses 43-49 we see the instructions for the Passover feast repeated with some new things added. We have already looked at how the Passover event pointed to the Lord Jesus Christ. The Israelites were directed to sacrifice an unblemished lamb and brush the blood of the lamb on the door of their homes. When the plague of the death of the first born came, the Lord saw the blood and death “passed over” that home.
John the Baptist identified Jesus as the “Lamb of God” who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus did this by shedding his own blood upon the cross that of an unblemished, perfect sacrifice for sinners, wholly acceptable to God. To be freed from death, we must place our faith in Christ, the only provision God has given for sinners.
In verse 46, the Israelites were directed not to break any of the bones of the Passover lamb. In John’s gospel (Chapter 19) we are told that the Roman soldiers were going to break the legs of Jesus, but he was already dead, so they did not. John tells us this is a fulfilment of Psalm 34 that none of his bones will be broken. He was the righteous servant of God but more than this he was the appointed sacrifice for men. God wants you to see this clear picture of Christ as the only salvation from death.
It also points to the body of Christ which is the church. No one who places his faith in Christ will be lost. The body of Christ will not be missing any pieces. You can rest comfortably in the knowledge that no one can snatch you out of the hand of God. God knows who are his. In Christ, all his people are preserved in this life and the life to come.
In chapter 13, verses 3-10 the Lord repeats his instructions for the feast of unleavened bread which commemorates the urgent departure of Israel from Egypt due to the strong hand of the Lord. The Israelites had no time to leaven their bread on that day. The instructions make clear no leaven is to be anywhere during the week of this feast. The point is they now wholly belong to God not Egypt.
The redemption of God’s people is complete deliverance from this world of sin, death, and the power of the devil (which Egypt symbolized). In the New Testament, baptism represents entrance into being part of the people of the Lord; complete washing away of sin by Christ’s blood, and the new life that lasts forever in him. Christians are to put to death the leaven of sin, and seek God’s glory in view of his mercies in Christ.
In verse 11-16 we see the institution of the Lord’s requirement that the first-born of Israel, both man and beast, be set apart for the Lord. For the animals, it meant they were to be sacrificed. For the male children, it meant a redemption price was paid. The first born of Israel were spared in the plague of death, so God says they belong to him. They are set apart unto the Lord.
In Hebrews 12, Christians are called the assembly of “the first born.” They are those who have been redeemed by God at a price. God paid the price for them, the death of Christ. They are spared from death only because of this price given by their Redeemer. They also are set apart unto the Lord.
When we see all these signs and symbols of Christ in the Old Testament, we are to remember God instituted these things and had them written down, so that we would learn Christ’s truths and acquaint ourselves to them by thinking and marveling over them. In learning them, they are not to be hanging loose in our understandings but become fastened and fixed in our hearts and minds (verse 16).
