2023_03_20 Insight Post- Kim Feld

In our reading in Exodus this week, I spent time thinking, praying, and studying about something that caught my attention. In Exodus chapter 12, verse 6 (NLT), it says the following:

 “Take special care of this chosen animal until the evening of the fourteenth day of this first month. Then the whole assembly of the community of Israel must slaughter their lamb or young goat at twilight.”

If you look back to the beginning of the chapter, you will see in verse 3 that the people were to select their lamb or young goat on the 10^th day of the month. Why keep the animal for four days? I found a few theories for why that was the case. One idea was that the Egyptians would be upset about killing male lambs because the fully grown male sheep, or ram, was seen as a symbol of fertility and associated with some Egyptian gods. The Egyptians were already pretty stirred up after going through nine of the ten plagues. I believe there was more to this.

Another option is outlined in the book The Feasts of the Lord, written by Kevin Howard and Marvin Rosenthal (1997). According to Howard, the purpose of the animal being kept by the family for four days was two-fold: to allow time to confirm the animal was without blemish and to enable the family to become attached to the animal. He continues that from verse three to verse five, the animal moves from being “a” lamb to being “their” lamb, reinforcing that a substitutionary sacrifice was being made in their place.  What a beautiful picture of what was to come with Jesus’ death on the cross, taking our place.

Another connecting point between the Passover lamb and Jesus is found later in Exodus chapter 12. Let’s look at verse 46:

^“Each Passover lamb must be eaten in one house. Do not carry any of its meat outside, and do not break any of its bones” (NLT).

Does this sound familiar to you? Let’s look at John 19:33 and 36: 

³³ But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead, so they didn’t break his legs.

³⁶ These things happened in fulfillment of the Scriptures that say, “Not one of his bones will be broken,

In tonight’s Bible Study and Prayer Night, we will discuss the incredible connections found within the Bible. This is one of them, and it is recorded in other places to underscore the connection:

^“They must not leave any of the lamb until the next morning, and they must not break any of its bones. They must follow all the normal regulations concerning the Passover” (Numbers 9:12, NLT).

“…he protects all his bones,
not one of them will be broken” (Psalm 34:20, NIV).

 Jesus is our perfect Passover lamb. He has rescued us from death to life. As we get closer to Easter, what a beautiful time to dwell on this.