Drash
Exodus 12:21-23
Blaine Robison, M.A.
Delivered 16 April 2022
Home
Safety in the House
21
And Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Go and take
lambs for yourselves, according to your clans, and slaughter the Pesach
lamb. 22 And you shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the
blood that is in the basin, and apply it on the lintel and the two doorposts
with the blood that is in the basin and none of you shall go out of the door
of his house until morning. 23 For ADONAI
will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the
lintel and on the two doorposts, ADONAI
will pass over the door and will not allow the Destroyer to enter your
houses to strike you." (BR)
For a complete
exegesis of this passage see my notes
here.
The passage for today is
taken from Parashah Bo, which tells of the last three plagues on Egypt, the
institution of the first and most important of the appointed festivals for
the covenant people, the departure of the Israelites from Goshen and the
consecration of the firstborn of Israel.
In verse 21
Moses goes to the tribal leaders of Israel and repeats and summarizes the
instruction he was given by ADONAI
concerning the observance of Passover. Lambs were to be selected on the
tenth of the month and then slaughtered on the fourteenth of the month. The
lamb served two purposes.
First, the lamb was one of
the three foods designated for the Passover meal. As Barney Kasdan said,
"Partaking of a memorial meal with special ingredients illustrates that from
the Hebrew perspective "theology is not only taught, it is also eaten."
Second, the blood of the lamb would provide deliverance from death.
Important is the fact that the blood did not provide atonement or
forgiveness of sins. As the Lamb of God Yeshua's death provided for both
atonement and deliverance from eternal death.
The instruction in verse 22
not to leave their houses before morning would clarify the common
translation of verse 11 that the Passover meal was to be eaten in a hasty
manner. We should not assume the meal that took hours to prepare was gulped
down in a few minutes. The noun that Bible versions translate as "haste" or
"hurriedly" (Heb. chippazon) also means "in trepidation," and is
derived from a verb that means "to tremble, to be alarmed." This meaning is
emphasized by the last clause of that verse "it is the Passover of ADONAI."
In other words, this is not an ordinary meal, because it is eaten in honor
of the Holy One revealed in the burning bush.
The requirement of being
girded, wearing sandals in the house, and a staff in the hand, were marks of
readiness to obey, not indicators of leaving in the middle of the night.
Indeed, in verse 10 any lamb that remained uneaten by morning was to be
burned. Sha'ul emphasizes this point of reverence in his instruction about
observing the Lord's Table. He pointed out that many in the congregation of
Corinth had become sick, and some died because they treated the bread and
the cup in a disrespectful manner. For those attending the Seder tomorrow or
conducting one at home, think on this.
In verse 23 you will note
that ADONAI
Himself would pass through the land and inspect all the houses of His
covenant people. He would be accompanied by a special angel designated "the
Destroyer," whose sole mission is to kill the enemies of God. Once the
destroyer is given permission to kill, he would not discriminate, but kill
every firstborn son. In this night of judgment there would be no safety
anywhere except behind the blood-stained doors in Goshen.
The death of the firstborn
was the last of ten plagues that were imposed on Egypt as an inducement to
convince Pharaoh to release the Israelites, but also mocked Egypt's pantheon
of deities to demonstrate their powerlessness and ultimately their
non-existence. The plague of the death of the firstborn was against Pharaoh
himself, who was considered to be the son of Ra and the ultimate power of
Egypt. This Pharaoh was apparently not a firstborn son.
Killing all the firstborn
males seems a shocking action. Indeed, modern people recoil at the biblical
revelation that God separates humanity into two groups of people, those He
saves and those He condemns. Yet, God's decision was doing justice for His
covenant people that suffered death and oppression at the hands of the
Egyptians. Pharaoh had been publicly warned for nine straight plagues.
Judgment could have been avoided if Pharaoh had not hardened his heart
against releasing the Israelites. As Scripture affirms God takes no pleasure
in the death of the wicked. Rather, He wants them to repent and live (Ezek
18:23; 33:11).
Moses assures the
Israelites that God would control the mission of the Destroying Angel. Thus,
staying in the house was an acted out parable of remaining with the covenant
people, the house of Jacob, rather than joining those opposed to the
covenant people. One final note. In the Passover instruction God provided
for the participation of non-Israelite people. According to Sha'ul Gentile
believers are "sons of Abraham" (Rom 4:16; Gal 3:7-9), who have been
"grafted into" the Olive Tree of Jacob (Rom 11:11-24) and made citizens in
the Commonwealth of Jacob (Eph 2:12-13). As one grafted-in to the covenant
community I am supremely grateful for salvation through the blood of the
Passover Lamb.
Barukh Hashem!
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Blaine Robison. All rights reserved. |