Exodus 12:2-10

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 12:3-6

The Passover lamb a prophetic picture of Christ and his salvation. I. FOR WHOM THE SACRIFICE AVAILS . 1 . The families of Israel, the household of faith. There is no other bulwark against the visitation of the angel of death, and it shields these only. 2 . Those who feed upon him. Saving faith must be a real, appropriating faith. Mere assent to a form of words avails nothing, neither can a mere intellectual Conviction of the truth of Christianity or apprehension of the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 12:3-11

If one died for all then all died. Pharaoh's heart still hardened. The crowning judgment needs no intermediary; Jehovah will reveal His own right arm. Exodus 11:4 . "Who shall live when God doeth this?" He who obeying His word shelters himself beneath His shadow. See:— I. THE PREPARATION . 1 . A carefully selected victim. Exodus 11:5 , deliberately set apart four days beforehand. Pure within; innocence typified by inexperience, "the first year." Pure without, "no... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 12:3-20

The Passover Proper. The Passover may be viewed:— I. AS A COMMEMORATIVE RITE . Instituted with reference to the tenth plague, and as a means by which the first-born of the Israelites might be saved from destruction, but accompanied by ceremonies which were connected with the prospective departure of the whole nation out of Egypt, the Passover feast, as established " by an ordinance for ever," commemorated two distinct and different things. II. AS A FEAST OF ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 12:4

If the household be too little for the lamb — i.e ; "too few to consume it at a sitting." Usage in course of time fixed the minimum number at ten. (Joseph. Bell . Jud. 6.9, § 3.) The whole family, men, women and children participated. The lamb was generally slain between the ninth hour (3 p.m.) and the eleventh (5 p.m.). Let him and his neighbour take it according to the number of the souls . If there were a household of only five, which could not possibly consume the lamb, any large... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 12:5

Your lamb shall be without blemish . Natural piety would teach that "the blind, the lame, and the sick" should not be selected for sacrifice ( Malachi 1:8 ). The Law afterwards expressly forbade any blemished animals—"blind, or broken, or maimed, or having a wen, or scurvy, or scabbed"—to be offered for any of the stated sacrifices, though they might be given as free-will offerings (Le Exodus 22:20-25 ). The absence of blemish was especially important in a victim which was to typify... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 12:6

Ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day . The interval of four days (see Exodus 12:3 ) was probably intended to give ample time for the thorough inspection of the lamb, and for obtaining another, if any defect was discovered. The precept is not observed by the modern Jews; and the later Targum (which belongs to the sixth century after Christ) teaches that it was only intended to apply to the first institution; but the text of Exodus is wholly against this. The whole assembly of the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 12:7

They shall take of the blood . The blood, which, according to Hebrew ideas, "is the life," and so the very essence of the sacrifice, was always regarded as the special symbol of that expiation and atonement, with a view to which sacrifice was instituted. As by the Paschal sacrifice atonement was made for the house , which was therefore to escape unscathed, the sign of atonement was to be conspicuously placed upon it. And strike . The "striking" was to be by means of a bunch of hyssop... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 12:7-13

Christ his people's salvation and strength. I. THE MEANS OF SAFETY , Exodus 12:7-13 ). 1 . They took the blood and struck it on the door posts and the lintel. We must appropriate Christ's atonement. We must say by faith, "he died for me." 2 . They passed within the blood-stained portals. Christ's blood must stand between us and condemnation, between us and sin. Our safety lies in setting that between oar soul and them. The realising of Christ's death for our sins is,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 12:8

Roast with firs . The meat of sacrificial meals was commonly boiled by the Hebrews ( 1 Samuel 2:14 , 1 Samuel 2:15 ). The command to roast the Paschal lamb is accounted for: 1 . By its being a simpler and quicker process than boiling; 2 . By a special sanctity being regarded as attaching to fire; 3 . By the difficulty of cooking the animal whole unless it were roasted. Justin Martyr's statement that for roasting two wooden spits were required, placed at right angles the one... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 12:9

Eat not of it raw . The injunction appears to moderns superfluous; but an ὠμοφαγία , or eating of the raw flesh of victims sacrificed, seems to have been practised by several heathen nations in ancient times, more especially in the worship of Dionysus or Bacchus. Its head with its legs . The lamb was to be roasted whole—according to some, as a symbol of the unity of Israel, and especially of the political unit which they were to become so soon as they quitted Egypt; but, as we learn... read more

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 12:3-6

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 12:3-11

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 12:3-20

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 12:4

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 12:5

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 12:6

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 12:7

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 12:7-13

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 12:8

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 12:9

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