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| 1 And Jehovah spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, |
In the land of Egypt – Satan's dominion of sin and death. R5643:1, R5273:1; F458
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| 2 This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. |
The beginning of months – The Passover was the first feature of the Law given Israel as a typical people. R839:1
The new year always began with the appearance of the first new moon after the spring equinox. R1289:3
The new moon which came closest to the spring equinox was reckoned as the beginning of the ecclesiastical year, the first day of the month Nisan. R5642:2, R3961:2
The nearest new moon about or after the equinox, but not much before, was chosen as the commencement of the year. R4127:2, R5191:2, R2270:3
Knowing when to expect the equinox, the Elders of Israel accepted the appearance of the new moon whose full would be about the harvest time, and after the equinox. R2429:5
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| 3 Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household: |
In the tenth day – The choosing of the lamb on the tenth day foreshadowed our Lord Jesus' presenting himself to Israel at the close of his ministry as their king. R2918:2, R5191:4, R1289:4, R839:2, R465:5
Showing that if Israel would be recognized as the Church of the first-born in the antitypical passover, they must accept Jesus then, five days before that Passover feast and four days before his crucifixion. R5191:4
A lamb – Each lamb represented the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. (John 1:29) F460
"Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us." (1 Cor. 5:7) F463
For an house – Each house of Israel represented the household of faith, the Lord's new household. In celebrating the last Passover supper, which was to be kept by each family apart, the Lord met with his 12 apostles as a separate family--separate from all of their connections and his. F460, F589
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| 4 and if the household be too little for a lamb, then shall he and his neighbor next unto his house take one according to the number of the souls; according to every man's eating ye shall make your count for the lamb. |
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| 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old: ye shall take it from the sheep, or from the goats: |
Lamb – Paul tells us that Christ is our Passover lamb, slain for us. (1 Cor. 5:7) R4966:6
Jesus, the Lamb of God-spotless, pure, holy, harmless, undefiled. R5273:5
The man Christ Jesus was the antitype of the Passover lamb slain by the Israelites. R5847:1
Without blemish – Showing the perfection and purity of Christ, our lamb. R211:5*, R1186:6
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| 6 and ye shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month; and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it between the two evenings. |
The fourteenth day – The day in which the Paschal lamb was to be killed and eaten. R5191:4
Foreshadowing the fact that, in God's plan, Jesus was to die at that time. R465:3
The moon was at its full at the time of Christ's crucifixion. R2270:6, R5191:3
The moon is the symbol of the Law covenant and of the people who were under it. Christ's crucifixion at the full of the moon, and the fact that the moon immediately began to wane, foreshadowed Israel's national decline. F481; R1289:3
The 12, and sometimes 13, lunations symbolize the tribes of Israel. After the crucifixion it immediately began to wane, and waned for as long as it had previously increased. So Christ's death was the turning point between the two equal parts of Israel's history. R2270:6, R5191:3, R1289:3
Shall kill it – The eating of the supper on the night preceding our Lord's death, and yet the same day, was made possible by the Jewish custom that began each day in the evening. F462
In the evening – See marginal reading. On the fourteenth day, between the evenings, between six p.m., where the day began, and the next six p.m., where it ended. R2918:2, R5191:3, R1289:4, R839:2, R465:3, R2115:5
The Jews had two evenings, one from noon to 3 o'clock, and the other from 3 o'clock until sunset. It was between these two evenings that the Paschal lamb was to be slain, and so was Jesus, the antitype. R2953:5*
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| 7 And they shall take of the blood, and put it on the two side-posts and on the lintel, upon the houses wherein they shall eat it. |
Take of the blood – A striking figure of giving "life for life" – the requirement of divine justice before the condemned could be justified. R1321:6*
Not the eating of the unleavened wafers and roasted lamb, but because of the blood, they were passed over. R3454:2*
Strike it on the – The striking was a symbol, commanded at the beginning. Q524:4
The sprinkling of the lamb's blood symbolizes the imputation of the merit of the death of Jesus to the entire household of faith. R5640:5, R3959:5
The sprinkling of the blood indicated that all of the household of faith must believe in the precious blood of Christ. SM561:1; PD33/44
The sprinkling of the blood on the door-posts in the type implied public confession of the precious blood of the Lamb of God. SM561:2
The sprinkling of the door-posts of the heart with his blood: "Having their hearts sprinkled from a consciousness of evil." (Heb. 10:22) F463
Of the houses – Not merely upon the first-borns, but upon the house, indicating the household of faith. R5273:5
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| 8 And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; with bitter herbs they shall eat it. |
They shall eat the flesh – Jesus' sacrifice, the merit of his earthly perfection, was to be eaten, or appropriated, in the mind. R4703:4
We each have appropriated his flesh, his human nature, which is sacrificed on our behalf. We are hoping to be passed over on account of the blood without and the lamb within, as members of the Church of the first-born. R4966:6
As in the antitype, the Passover lamb was for their deliverance from Egypt, so our Lord delivers his people from Satan's yoke of bondage to sin. R5847:1
The shedding of the blood gives life, but we need more--strength for the journey of life, through heavenly food. R1321:6*
The eating of the lamb typified our appropriating justification from sin. SM562:2
In that night – This entire Gospel age is the antitype of that night. R3996:3, R4875:3, R4996:6, R5273:1, R17:4; SM559:3; Q693:8; CR471:2; PD33/44
The 6000 years in which sin and death have held sway are a night time. R5273:1
Unleavened bread – Truth, in its purity. R208:1
It symbolized the precious promises which come to us from the Heavenly Father through Christ. R2918:3, R4703:4
Leaven is a type of sin, and the symbol declares that our Lord Jesus was free from sin. R5192:4; T98
Symbolically, without the corruption (leaven) of human theory, blight, ambitions, selfishness, etc. F464; T98
With bitter herbs – Bitter experiences and trials which the Lord prepares for us, and which help wean our affections from earthly things and give us increased appetite to feed upon the Lamb and the unleavened bread of truth. R5870:4, R4703:4, R2116:1, R208:1, R17:4; F460
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| 9 Eat not of it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roast with fire; its head with its legs and with the inwards thereof. |
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| 10 And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; but that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. |
Nothing of it remain – Signifying that the privilege of participation in the Lord's sacrifice is confined to the Gospel age. R2116:4, R212:5*
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| 11 And thus shall ye eat it: with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is Jehovah's passover. |
With your loins girded – Loins girt about with truth. (Eph. 6:14) R212:2*
Shoes on your feet – Your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. (Eph. 6:15) R212:2*
Staff in your hand – As pilgrims and strangers. F461; R4703:2, R208:1
Ready for the journey, with full expectancy that the Lord would make the Egyptians willing to let them go and that they would share in this calamity were it not for the blood upon the door-posts and lintels. R5640:3
Passover – The term Passover signifies to pass by, or spare from an affliction. R1657:2
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| 12 For I will go through the land of Egypt in that 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 judgments: I am Jehovah. |
This night – Symbolizing this Gospel age, a time of darkness on the earth. R4875:3, R4966:6, R5273:1, R3996:3; SM559:3; Q693:8; CR471:2; PD33/44
Firstborn – The first-born of Israel typified spirit begotten ones now saved from sin and death as the Church of the firstborn. R4966:6
The gods of Egypt – The princes of Egypt, elohim. R1410:3
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| 13 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 there shall no plague be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. |
See the blood – The blood of Christ must be ever recognized in our hearts and confessed, manifested, and declared outwardly to others. R3996:6
I will pass over you – Faith in the precious blood is the only ground of acceptance with God. R3996:1
The Passover lamb and its blood preserved, "passed over," the first-born ones only, typical of the Church of the first-borns. R4384:3
To destroy you – Only the first-born were in danger, typifying that in the present time only the Church of the first-born has sufficient knowledge to be in danger of the Second Death. R3995:5
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| 14 And this day shall be unto you for a memorial, and ye shall keep it a feast to Jehovah: throughout your generations ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. |
For a memorial – The followers of Jesus are to celebrate the antitype yearly, as the Israelites had done, but now in remembrance of the reality and not of the type. R1657:5
Keep it a feast – What Jesus commemorated was the killing of the Passover lamb and not the "Feast of the Passover" which followed it for seven days. R208:2
It was not the intention of our Lord to commemorate the Feast of the Passover, which began the 15th of Nisan, but merely his death on the 14th. R1942:6
Typical of both the deliverance of spiritual Israel from the bondage of sin and the ultimate deliverance of all who love righteousness from Satan's bondage by his complete overthrow during the Millennium. R2379:6
An ordinance for ever - An event so widely observed for so long a time (more than 3300 years) must have a foundation in fact. R3959:2
To be observed yearly as a memorial of God's goodness and because it typed a still greater blessing to come. R4703:2
The Lord's Supper takes the place of the Passover supper as a Memorial of the antitype, a remembrance of the fulfillment of the antitypical Passover. F463
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| 15 Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. |
Ye shall put away – Anything containing leaven or putrefaction-bones, crusts, everything. So we must " put away the old leaven" of anger, malice, hatred, strife. R5193:3
Leaven – Symbol of corruption, sin. R5192:4, R2399:6; F464; T98
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| 16 And in the first day there shall be to you a holy convocation, and in the seventh day a holy convocation; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every soul must eat, that only may be done by you. |
First day ... seventh day – On the 15th day the Passover Feast began, lasting seven days, the first and seventh days observed as specially holy, as Sabbath days or "high" days. R2270:5, R5191:3
Holy convocation – Some claim that the Jews had an abrupt beginning of weeks with the beginning of the Passover which was always counted a sabbath and the new start of a cycle. R2115:5
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| 17 And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day throughout your generations by an ordinance for ever. |
Observe the feast – By rejoicing in, and partaking of, the good things of God. R1800:3
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| 18 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at even. |
The fourteenth day – A picture of the passing over of the Church of the first-born. Q525:1
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| 19 Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a sojourner, or one that is born in the land. |
No leaven – A reminder (1) of the haste with which they fled, not having time to wait for the bread to rise; and (2) of their sufferings in Egypt, hence called "the bread of affliction" (Deut. 16:3); but (3) primarily to sign R1800:2, R5390:2
Although no command to fast 40 days of " lenten season," those who voluntarily fast and pray will be blest according to their faith. R2116:4
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| 20 Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread. |
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| 21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out, and take you lambs according to your families, and kill the passover. |
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| 22 And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two side-posts with the blood that is in the basin; and none of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. |
Bunch of hyssop – Symbol of purging, cleansing. R1872:5; T109
None of you shall go out – If any abide not under the covering of the blood of Christ he must surely perish. R1657:2, R131:5
None of the nominal first-born shall be passed over and become members of the Church in glory except those who, during this night, abide under the blood. R2272:5
Until the morning – And so the deliverance of spiritual Israel comes in the Millennial morning. "God shall help her, early in the morning." (Psa. 46:5, Margin) R2918:3
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| 23 For Jehovah will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side-posts, Jehovah will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you. |
The blood – Symbolizing the application of the merit of the death of Jesus to the entire household of faith. R3959:5, R5640:5
By faith the merit of Jesus' sacrifice, his blood, is to be sprinkled on the door-posts of our hearts. R4703:4
The blood sprinkled on the door-posts typed faith in the blood of Christ. PD33/44; SM561:1
Pass over the door – The Passover night typified this Gospel age, during which the Church of the first-borns are to be specially saved. PD33/44; R4966:6
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| 24 And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever. |
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| 25 And it shall come to pass, when ye are come to the land which Jehovah will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service. |
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| 26 And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? |
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| 27 that ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of Jehovah's passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped. |
The LORD'S passover – The first feature of the Law. OV74:T, B47
Represented the death of Jesus and the passing over of his people during this age. Q525:3
The passing over will be the resurrection. CR471:3
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| 28 And the children of Israel went and did so; as Jehovah had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they. |
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| 29 And it came to pass at midnight, that Jehovah smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, 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. |
The firstborn – Only the first-borns, the Church of Christ, are now being passed over; only these are in danger of the destroying angel. R5870:2
The special object in confining the plague to the first-born was to show that only the first-born of the Hebrews were spared or passed over. R3995:5
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| 30 And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead. |
Pharaoh – Typifies Satan. R5273:2, R5419:5; F458
In the night – The Gospel age is the antitype of that night. R3996:3, R4875:3, R4966:6, R5273:1; SM559:3; Q693:8; CR471:2; PD33/44
The Egyptians – Typifying Satan's servants who have oppressed God's people during the night of sin and death. R5273:2, R5643:1, F458
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| 31 And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve Jehovah, as ye have said. |
Get you forth – As in the first exodus, so in the next exodus, apparently some pressure will suddenly be brought to bear upon the nations which will result favorably to Israel. D554[D553]
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| 32 Take both your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also. |
And bless me also – Doubtless representing a changed attitude at the close of the time of trouble of some who now oppress the poor. A336
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| 33 And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, to send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We shall all be dead men. |
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| 34 And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading-troughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders. |
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| 35 And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they asked of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: |
Borrowed – Misleading translation of the Hebrew word shaal. The Israelites did not borrow, but asked for (as in R.V.), as just payment for past services. R1657:6, R2911:5, R3996:3
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| 36 and Jehovah gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. And they despoiled the Egyptians. |
So that they lent – Gave. R2911:5
Spoiled the Egyptians – This was quite proper anyway, as the equivalent of back pay due the Israelites. R2911:6
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| 37 And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Sukkoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, besides children. |
About 600,000 on foot – Possibly 600 groups, families or tents. (This idea rebutted in a letter on R5355:4*.) R5277:2
In a somewhat similar case, 400,000 Tartars left Russia under cover of a single night. R3997:1
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| 38 And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle. |
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| 39 And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt; for it was not leavened, because they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any victuals. |
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| 40 Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred thirty years. |
Now the sojourning – From the covenant with Abraham to the exodus. B46
Who dwelt In Egypt – For a portion of the period, and who previous to that time sojourned in the loins of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, even as Levi paid tithes to Melchizedec while yet in Abraham's loins. B47
Not that they sojourned in Egypt 430 years, but the sojourning of the people who dwelt in Egypt was that many years. HG104:3
Was 430 years – One-half of 430 years. R2482:2*
The statements of Moses and Paul (Gal. 3:17) refer to precisely the sahe Law. B47; R2482:3*, R1980:2; HG44:2
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| 41 And it came to pass at the end of four hundred thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of Jehovah went out from the land of Egypt. |
The selfsame day – Illustrating the accuracy of Bible chronology. B48
All the hosts of the LORD – During the night the Israelites were still in bondage, waiting for the deliverance which could come only after the passing over of the first-borns. SM560:T
Went out – Typifying the ultimate deliverance of the world. CR471:3
Egypt – Satan's dominion of sin and death. R5643:1, R5273:1; F458
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| 42 It is a night to be much observed unto Jehovah for bringing them out from the land of Egypt: this is that night of Jehovah, to be much observed of all the children of Israel throughout their generations. |
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| 43 And Jehovah said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the passover: there shall no foreigner eat thereof; |
This is the ordinance – The beginning of the Law. B47; OV74:T
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| 44 but every man's servant that is bought for money, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof. |
When thou hast circumcised – The Passover stood in a certain relation to circumcision, as the second sacrament of the Hebrew church. F484*
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| 45 A sojourner and a hired servant shall not eat thereof. |
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| 46 In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry forth aught of the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall ye break a bone thereof. |
In one house – In other sacrifices, the body was cut into various pieces, showing Christ and the Church. Thus this represented Christ alone in his sacrifice. SM559:2
Break a bone thereof – "A bone of him shall not be broken." (John 19:36) R198:2
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| 47 All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. |
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| 48 And when a stranger shall sojourn with you, and will keep the passover to Jehovah, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: but no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof. |
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| 49 One law shall be to him that is home-born, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you. |
Unto the stranger – The Mosaic Law was 32 centuries ahead of its time. A50
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| 50 Thus did all the children of Israel; as Jehovah commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they. |
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| 51 And it came to pass the selfsame day, that Jehovah did bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts. |
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