Drash
Exodus 12:21-23

Blaine Robison, M.A.

Delivered 16 April 2022

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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!

Copyright © 2022 by Blaine Robison. All rights reserved.