This chapter is based on Exodus 11; 12:1-32.
When the demand for Israel’s release had been first presented to the king of Egypt, the warning of the most terrible of the plagues had been given. “Thus saith the Lord, Israel is My son, even My firstborn: And I say unto thee, Let My son go, that he may serve Me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.” Exodus 4:22, 23. {EP 189.1}
God has a tender care for the beings formed in His image. If the loss of their harvests and their flocks and herds had brought Egypt to repentance, the children would not have been smitten; but the nation had stubbornly resisted the divine command. Now the final blow was about to fall. {EP 189.2}
Moses had been forbidden, on pain of death, to appear again in Pharaoh’s presence; but again Moses came before him, with the terrible announcement: “Thus saith the Lord, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt: and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts. And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more. But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.” {EP 189.3}
Before the execution of this sentence the Lord through Moses gave direction to the children of Israel concerning their departure from Egypt and their preservation from the coming judgment. Each family, alone or in connection with others, was to slay a lamb or a kid “without blemish,” and with a bunch of hyssop sprinkle its blood on “the two sideposts and on the upper doorpost” of the house, that the destroying angel at midnight might not enter that dwelling. They were to eat the flesh roasted, with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, at night, as Moses said, “with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the Lord’s passover.” {EP 189.4}
The Lord declared: “I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you.” {EP 190.1}
In commemoration of this great deliverance, a feast was to be observed yearly by Israel in all future generations—“the sacrifice of the Lord’s passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses.” {EP 190.2}
The Passover Points to Christ
The Passover was to be both commemorative and typical, not only pointing back to the deliverance from Egypt, but forward to the greater deliverance which Christ was to accomplish in freeing His people from the bondage of sin. The sacrificial lamb represents “the Lamb of God,” in whom is our only hope of salvation. Says the apostle, “Christ our passover is sacrificed for us.” 1 Corinthians 5:7. It was not enough that the paschal lamb be slain; its blood must be sprinkled upon the doorposts; so the merits of Christ’s blood must be applied to the soul. We must believe, not only that He died for the world, but that He died for us individually. {EP 190.3}
The hyssop was the symbol of purification. “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” Psalm 51:7. {EP 191.1}
The lamb was to be prepared whole, not a bone being broken; so not a bone was to be broken of the Lamb of God, who was to die for us. See John 19:36. {EP 191.2}
The flesh was to be eaten. It is not enough that we believe on Christ for the forgiveness of sin; we must by faith be constantly receiving spiritual nourishment from Him through His Word. Said Christ, “Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, hath eternal life.” “The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” John 6:53, 54, 63. The followers of Christ must assimilate the Word of God so that it shall become the motive power of life and action. By the power of Christ they must be changed into His likeness and reflect the divine attributes. {EP 191.3}
The lamb was to be eaten with bitter herbs, as pointing back to the bitterness of the bondage in Egypt. So when we feed upon Christ, it should be with contrition of the heart, because of our sins. The use of unleavened bread also was significant. The leaven of sin must be put away from all who would receive life and nourishment from Christ. So Paul writes to the Corinthian church, “Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump. Let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” 1 Corinthians 5:7, 8. {EP 191.4}
Before obtaining freedom, the bondmen must show their faith in the great deliverance. The blood must be placed upon their houses, and they must separate themselves and their families from the Egyptians, and gather within their own dwellings. All who failed to heed the Lord’s directions would lose their firstborn by the hand of the destroyer. {EP 191.5}
How Faith Must Be Shown
By obedience the people were to give evidence of their faith. So all who hope to be saved by the blood of Christ should realize that they themselves have something to do in securing their salvation. We are to turn from sin to obedience. Man is to be saved by faith, not by works; yet his faith must be shown by his works. Man must appreciate and use the helps that God has provided; he must believe and obey all the divine requirements. {EP 192.1}
As Moses rehearsed to Israel the provisions of God for their deliverance, “the people bowed the head and worshiped.” Many of the Egyptians had been led to acknowledge the God of the Hebrews as the only true God, and these now begged to find shelter in the homes of Israel when the destroying angel should pass through the land. Gladly welcomed, they pledged to serve God and go forth from Egypt with His people. {EP 192.2}
The Israelites obeyed the directions God had given. Their families were gathered, the paschal lamb slain, the flesh roasted with fire, the unleavened bread and bitter herbs prepared. The father and priest of the household sprinkled the blood upon the doorpost. In haste and silence the paschal lamb was eaten. Fathers and mothers clasped in their arms their loved firstborn, as they thought of the fearful stroke that was to fall that night. The sign of blood—the sign of a Saviour’s protection—was on their doors, and the destroyer entered not. {EP 192.3}
At midnight “there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead.” All the firstborn in the land, “from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle” had been smitten. The pride of every household had been laid low. Shrieks and wails filled the air. King and courtiers, trembling, stood aghast at the overmastering horror. His heaven-daring pride humbled in the dust, Pharaoh “called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as ye have said. Be gone; and bless me also.” {EP 192.4}