Exodus 12:43-51 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Exodus 12:43-51. Let’s go!
Exodus 12:43-51 (NIV)
43 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “These are the regulations for the Passover: “No foreigner is to eat of it.
44 Any slave you have bought may eat of it after you have circumcised him,
45 but a temporary resident and a hired worker may not eat of it.
46 “It must be eaten inside one house; take none of the meat outside the house. Do not break any of the bones.
47 The whole community of Israel must celebrate it.
48 “An alien living among you who wants to celebrate the LORD’s Passover must have all the males in his household circumcised; then he may take part like one born in the land. No uncircumcised male may eat of it.
49 The same law applies to the native-born and to the alien living among you.”
50 All the Israelites did just what the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron.
51 And on that very day the LORD brought the Israelites out of Egypt by their divisions.
On verses 43-51: In these verses the LORD makes certain distinctions concerning who may eat the Passover meal and who may not. The distinction goes like this: if you have placed your faith in the LORD, as evidenced by circumcision (in the case of males) (v48), then you may, in fact you must, partake of the Passover meal. If your faith is not in Yahweh, you were not to eat the Passover meal; instead, eat something else. This principle applied regardless of your social status and whether the person was an Israelite by birth or a foreigner who became an Israelite later on in life.
We do something similar today with the Lord’s supper (communion), which is for those who have trusted Jesus as their Saviour and who, in the words of 1 Corinthians 11:29, “recognize the body and blood of the Lord”. Like Passover, communion is at its heart more than just a meal, but an expression of faith through a meal. It carries spiritual significance. To eat the Passover or to observe communion without faith would be meaningless for the person eating, and would take away from the meaning of that meal. Just as the Israelites were to never forget why they celebrate the Passover, may we never forget the purpose of doing communion.
Also, in verse 46 the LORD tells the Israelites that the bones of the Passover lamb were not to be broken. It’s fascinating that when Jesus was dying on the cross, the standard practice would have been to break a crucified man’s legs so as to accelerate his death. That’s what the Roman soldiers did to the men who were crucified to Jesus’ right and left. Yet when it came to Jesus, the soldiers did not break his legs because Jesus had already died. The significance of this was not lost on Jesus’ disciple John, who saw this as further confirmation that Jesus was God’s Passover lamb sacrificed for our sins (see John 19:31-36).
Lord Jesus, thank You for being the Passover Lamb who was sacrificed for my sins. Whether it’s through communion or through my daily activities, by myself or with others, may I remember Your sacrificial love poured out on the cross for me. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
