Exo 12:12-32  And When I see the Blood, I Will Pass Over You

[Study Aired May 30, 2022]

Exo 12:12  For 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: I am the LORD. 
Exo 12:13  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 the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. 
Exo 12:14  And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. 
Exo 12:15  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. 
Exo 12:16  And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you. 
Exo 12:17  And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever. 
Exo 12:18  In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even. 
Exo 12:19  Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land. 
Exo 12:20  Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread. 
Exo 12:21  Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover. 
Exo 12:22  And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning. 
Exo 12:23  For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you. 
Exo 12:24  And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever. 
Exo 12:25  And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the LORD will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service. 
Exo 12:26  And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? 
Exo 12:27  That ye shall say, It is 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. And the people bowed the head and worshipped. 
Exo 12:28  And the children of Israel went away, and did as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they. 
Exo 12:29  And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD 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. 
Exo 12:30  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. 
Exo 12:31  And he 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. 
Exo 12:32  Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also. 

Today’s study continues with the plague of the death of the firstborn and the Passover. The tenth plague, which is the death of the firstborn, completes the Lord’s judgment of Pharaoh which caused the release of the people of Israel. As we know, the number ten signifies the completeness of the flesh. It is when the sins of the flesh have reached their apex that we come to see clearly the old man or Pharaoh in our lives. That is when the Lord comes with His judgment (the plagues) to destroy Pharaoh (the old man) to set us free to worship the Lord in the wilderness (this world).

2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 

The ten plagues are the same as the seven plagues of the seven angels which we must fulfill to enter the temple to worship the Lord. The seven angels here represent the elect, or Moses and Aaron who administered the ten plagues.

Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

Exo 12:12  For 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: I am the LORD.

The plague of the death of the firstborn affected both man and beast. As we know, all mankind are like beasts before the Lord. This means that this judgment affects all humanity. However, in this age, it is only the elect who are being judged. The rest of humanity will be judged in the lake of fire age.

Ecc 3:18  I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.

Here in verse 1, we are given additional information that this plague also affects the gods of Egypt. The gods here refer to the works of our hands or simply, our works, as shown in the following scripture:

Hos 14:3  Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.

We know that our works relate to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. All these are destroyed during the plague of the firstborn.

1Jn 2:15  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 
1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 
1Jn 2:17  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. 

As indicated in the previous study, the firstborn signifies the might or strength and the source of power:

Gen 49:3  Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:

Deu 21:17  But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.

The plague of the death of the firstborn, therefore, signifies the destruction or the stripping of the power or the strength of the old man (Pharaoh) who dominates us. This is achieved by the coming of the Lord with His words (the spirit of His mouth) into our lives after we have come to see clearly the old man or the beast within us.

2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

Exo 12:13  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 the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. 

The blood of the lamb was supposed to be used to mark the doorposts of the houses where the Israelites were eating the lamb. The houses where we are feasting on the word of the Lord are our bodies. The significance of the application of the blood of Jesus to our bodies (houses) is to purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

Heb 9:11  But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; 
Heb 9:12  Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. 
Heb 9:13  For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 
Heb 9:14  How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 

Heb 9:22  And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. 
Heb 9:23  It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 
Heb 9:24  For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: 

In addition to purging our conscience from dead works, we are justified through the blood of Jesus, forgiven and spared from the wrath of God through Jesus.

Rom 5:9  Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 

Eph 1:7  In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

Exodus 12:13 says that when the Lord sees the blood, He shall pass over us and that the people of Israel shall not be destroyed by the plague of the firstborn. This is not to say that we are not to be judged, for we cannot enter the kingdom of God without persecution.

Jer 25:27  Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you. 
Jer 25:28  And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink.

However, verse 13 is another way of saying that in every temptation or judgment, the Lord will provide us with a way of escape so that we may be able to bear it.

1Co 10:13  There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

Exo 12:14  And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. 
Exo 12:15  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.
Exo 12:16 And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you.
Exo 12:17  And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever.

According to Strong’s Dictionary, the word “feast” can also mean ‘sacrifice’ as shown in the following scripture in which the Hebrew word for feast is translated as sacrifice:

Exo 23:18  Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning.

Once the source of our strength or power of the old man is dealt with by the Lord through judgments of the death of the firstborn, we are able to offer a sacrifice of unleavened bread throughout the rest of our lives, which is signified by the seven days of the feast of eating unleavened bread. The unleavened bread here signifies sincerity and truth. This means that through judgment, our understanding of the word of the Lord is deepened and is accompanied by a life of sincerity and truth. In other words, our life then reflects the righteousness of Christ.

Isa 26:8  Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. 
Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

1Co 5:7  Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: 
1Co 5:8  Therefore 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.

The seven days of unleavened bread refers to the complete period of our lives that we offer our bodies as a living sacrifice to the Lord by living a life of Christ’s righteousness.

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 
Rom 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

We are warned here in verse 15 that if we continue to eat leavened bread, we shall be cut off from Israel. In other words, if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, we shall be cast out into outer darkness.

Heb 10:26  For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, 
Heb 10:27  But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. 

Mat 8:12  But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Mat 25:30  And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Exo 12:18  In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even. 
Exo 12:19  Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land. 
Exo 12:20  Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread.

The number fourteen signifies spiritual progression. It is when we have progressed spiritually through the Lord’s judgment that we are able to eat for a period of seven days the unleavened bread of living a life of sincerity and truth. The seven days refer to the complete period of our walk with the Lord in sincerity and truth. Verse 18 says that the eating of unleavened bread ends on the twenty-first day. The number twenty-one is a multiple of seven and three (21=7×3). This means that the number twenty-one signifies the fact that this complete period of the eating of unleavened bread brings us to spiritual maturity through the Lord’s judgment.

Again, here we are warned of the consequence of continuing to eat leavened bread of malice and wickedness. Doing this will cause us to be cut off from the people of Israel which is another way of saying that we shall be cast into outer darkness.

Mat 8:12  But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Mat 25:30  And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Exo 12:21  Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover. 
Exo 12:22  And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning. 
Exo 12:23  For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you. 

Our whole life here on earth is one long night as we observe the Passover.

Psa 17:3  Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast visited me in the night; thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.

Rom 13:12  The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. 
Rom 13:13  Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.

We are instructed in verse 22 not to go out of the door of the house where we are eating the lamb until the morning. On another perspective, the house where we are eating the lamb, or our understanding being enlightened by the word of the Lord, is the church of the firstborn or the elect. This means that during our walk here on earth, while we are getting more understanding of the word of the Lord, we are not to dissociate from the fellowship of the saints. If we come out of the house, or the fellowship, the Lord will not pass over us. Not being passed over means that we do not have any regard for the blood of the lamb which we have sprinkled on our door post. This blood is the shed blood of Christ, and so we are basically trampling on the blood of Christ.

Heb 10:29  Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? 
Heb 10:30  For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. 
Heb 10:31  It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Exo 12:24  And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever.
Exo 12:25  And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the LORD will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service. 
Exo 12:26  And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service?
Exo 12:27  That ye shall say, It is 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. And the people bowed the head and worshipped.

Verses 24 and 25 stress the need to keep the Passover in every generation. This means that every elect of every generation is required to observe the Passover throughout our lives through faith. Every day of our walk with the Lord is the feast of the Passover.

Heb 11:28  Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.

The question is, “What does it mean to keep the passover?” First and foremost, we need to understand the sacrificial offering of the Lord on our behalf.

1Co 5:7  Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:

Secondly, we need to know that our lives were spared by the Lord from destruction. This has nothing to do with anything we have done. It was just the mercies of the Lord that He showered on us.

Rom 9:18  Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

Thirdly, we need to know that the blood of Christ purges our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. In spite of our wickedness and flaws, the Lord has chosen us and purged us of our sins so that we can worship him acceptably.

Heb 9:14  How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 

The Passover also commemorates our eating of the lamb. This lamb is Christ who is also the Word. This means that through the mercies of the Lord, our eyes are being enlightened to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.

Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 

Mat 13:16  But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. 
Mat 13:17  For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

The enlightening of our understanding is accompanied by the Lord’s judgment which destroys the power and influence of the old man or the flesh in our lives. This is signified by the roasting of the lamb eaten at the Passover.

Exo 12:8  And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.

Mat 13:21  Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

Observing the Passover also means that we are eating the lamb with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs. The unleavened bread here signifies sincerity and truth. This means that our understanding of the word of the Lord must be accompanied with a life of sincerity and truth. In other words, our life must reflect the righteousness of Christ. When our lives reflect the righteousness of Christ, then we are observing the Passover in our lives.

1Co 5:8  Therefore 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.

It is so exciting when the Lord reveals some aspects of the truth of the word of the Lord to us. In other words, it is sweet in our mouth. However, when it enters our belly, it is bitter. The bitter herb that must accompany the eating of the unleavened bread refers to the bitter experience we must go through to actualize the word we have received.

Rev 10:10  And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.

Exo 12:28  And the children of Israel went away, and did as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they. 
Exo 12:29  And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD 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. 
Exo 12:30  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.

The coming of the plague of the death of the firstborn took place at midnight. Midnight spiritually refers to the period of the coming of Christ into our lives with His judgment as shown in the following scriptures:

Job 34:20  In a moment shall they die, and the people shall be troubled at midnight, and pass away: and the mighty shall be taken away without hand.

Psa 119:62  At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee because of thy righteous judgments.

Mat 25:6  And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.

As we have said earlier, the death of the firstborn of the Egyptians and the death of the firstborn of cattle or beast represents the same thing. It refers to the death of the old man or the flesh within us. The fact that not one house was spared in Egypt means that the elect of every generation is destined to be judged. There is no exception. Another way of saying this is that we must pass through the flaming sword of the Cherubims which turns in every way such that no one can escape the flaming sword in accessing the tree of life.

Gen 3:24  So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

The agony we go through as the Lord judges us is represented here in verse 30 by the great cry in Egypt. This is also exemplified by David’s mourning of Saul’s death. Here David represents the elect, and Saul signifies the old man within us which must die.

2Sa 1:11  Then David took hold on his clothes, and rent them; and likewise all the men that were with him:
2Sa 1:12  And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the LORD, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword.

2Sa 1:17  And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son: 

2Sa 1:19  The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how are the mighty fallen! 
2Sa 1:20  Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.

Exo 12:31  And he 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.
Exo 12:32  Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also.

Without the death of the old man or the flesh signified by the death of the firstborn, we are not free to serve the Lord in the wilderness (in this world). This is what the Lord meant when He said that if the son sets you free, you shall be free indeed!! Our liberation from the power of the old man within us is the beginning of the period of our walk where sin has no dominion over us.

Joh 8:34  Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
Joh 8:35  And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. 
Joh 8:36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

Remember that in one of the previous studies, we discussed what it means to go into the wilderness to serve the Lord with our women, children and our flocks. Going into the wilderness to serve the Lord with the women means being part of the church of the firstborn or the New Jerusalem. The importance of the church in our spiritual development cannot be overemphasized. It is through what every joint supplies that we become mature in our relationship with the Lord. Without the church, we will be blown about by every wind of doctrine. We are perfected by the church.

Eph 4:11  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 
Eph 4:12  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 
Eph 4:13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: 

Going to the wilderness to serve the Lord with the children is also significant. Children are the result of the union between a husband and wife. Thus, children spiritually represent the righteousness of Christ which we attain through our union with Christ.

1Jn 3:10  In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

Rev 19:8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

Serving the Lord with our cattle means maintaining our livelihood as we serve the Lord.

Zec 13:5  But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am an husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.

Recognizing the need to work for a living while serving the Lord is one of Paul’s main messages to the churches He ministered.

Act 20:34  Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. 
Act 20:35  I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

Our prayer is that the Lord grants us the grace so we continue to keep the Passover!! Amen!!