Monday-July 28, 2025
The Passover - The Preparation (Exodus 12:1-16)
Exodus 12:1-20.
“Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household” (Exodus 12:3)
🔰 HISTORICAL BACKDROP: THE PREPARATION FOR DELIVERANCE
In the night of Egypt's final plague, God commanded a specific preparation:
A spotless lamb was to be selected on the tenth day.
It would be kept until the fourteenth day, then killed at twilight.
Its blood was to be placed on the doorposts and lintel, and the entire lamb eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
📝 This event marks the birth of Israel as a nation, a new calendar, and a new identity: a people redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.
🔎 SPIRITUAL MEANING – FROM TYPE TO ANTITYPE
1. The Lamb – A Type of Christ
“Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.” – 1 Cor. 5:7
The lamb must be without blemish (Ex. 12:5), representing the sinless life of Christ.
The blood saved the Israelites from the destroying angel (Ex. 12:13).
The eating of the lamb symbolizes internalizing Christ – not just His righteousness imputed (blood) but also imparted (flesh).
2. The Preparation Time – A Period of Judgment and Sealing
Tenth to fourteenth day represents a time of decision and examination.
It typifies the antitypical Day of Atonement, when God’s people prepare for the final judgment (Rev. 7; Ezek. 9).
In the time of trouble, just before the coming of Christ, the righteous will be preserved through the ministration of heavenly angels.
By obedience the people were to give evidence of their faith. So all who hope to be saved by the merits of the blood of Christ should realize that they themselves have something to do in securing their salvation. While it is Christ only that can redeem us from the penalty of transgression, we are to turn from sin to obedience. Man is to be saved by faith, not by works; yet his faith must be shown by his works. God has given His Son to die as a propitiation for sin, He has manifested the light of truth, the way of life, He has given facilities, ordinances, and privileges; and now man must co-operate with these saving agencies; he must appreciate and use the helps that God has provided--believe and obey all the divine requirements. {PP 279.1} – Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 278
🌾 THE PASSOVER PREPARATION AS A TYPE OF PURIFICATION
The inspiration presents the Passover preparation as a type of the purification of the church, especially portrayed in Ezekiel 9 and Isaiah 66:15-20.
🔹 The Lamb for a Household:
The taking of a lamb for each household shows that there must be individual and family preparation… The church is made up of households. Each must be under the blood.
🔹 The Blood on the Doorpost – A Symbol of Sealing:
The placing of the blood on the doorpost typifies the mark or seal placed upon the foreheads of the 144,000 (Ezekiel 9:4; Revelation 7:3).
🔹 Eating All the Lamb – A Complete Reception of Christ:
The eating of the lamb with bitter herbs and unleavened bread signifies a full acceptance of Christ, including His sufferings, and complete rejection of sin.
This message teaches that professing Christians must go beyond mere belief, into a full experience of Christ, preparing them for the final separation (Matt. 13:47–50).
✨ THE CHARACTER TEST – LEAVEN AND BITTER HERBS
Leaven (Ex. 12:15) symbolizes sin, pride, and false doctrine (Matt. 16:6, 1 Cor. 5:6-8).
The bitter herbs represent sorrow for sin and the trials that come with turning from the world.
“Unleavened bread was to be eaten… The leaven of sin must be put away.”
They were to eat the flesh roasted, with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, at night, as Moses said, "with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the Lord's Passover." {PP 274.1} – Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 274
“God calls for a thorough purification. The preparation is solemn. A moment’s delay may be fatal.”
The angel is to place a mark upon the forehead of all who are separated from sin and sinners, and the destroying angel will follow, to slay utterly both old and young. {5T 505.2}
God is not pleased with our inattention and trifling with His blessings placed within our reach. Neither is He pleased to have us place our children in worldly society, because this best suits their tastes and inclinations. – Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 506
🔥 PROPHETIC APPLICATION – OUR PREPARATION TODAY
As the ancient Israelites were to prepare for midnight deliverance, so must spiritual Israel prepare for the antitypical Passover – the purification of the church.
The Passover in Egypt is a type. The sealing of the 144,000 and the destruction of the unfaithful in the church is the antitype.
When the Saviour yielded up His life on Calvary, the significance of the Passover ceased, and the ordinance of the Lord's Supper was instituted as a memorial of the same event of which the Passover had been a type. {PP 539.3}
The Passover was followed by the seven day's feast of unleavened bread. The first and the seventh day were days of holy convocation, when no servile work was to be performed. On the second day of the feast, the first fruits of the year's harvest were presented before God. Barley was the earliest grain in Palestine, and at the opening of the feast it was beginning to ripen. A sheaf of this grain was waved by the priest before the altar of God, as an acknowledgment that all was His. Not until this ceremony had been performed was the harvest to be gathered. {PP 539.4}
Just as they were to be found under the blood, today we must be under the righteousness of Christ, cleansed of sin, and eating the truth of present truth messages.
Symbol
Meaning
Lamb (without blemish)
Christ – our righteousness (1 Pet. 1:19)
Blood on doorposts
Imputed righteousness; sealing of the faithful (Ezek. 9:4)
Eating the lamb
Partaking of Christ’s character; unity in truth
Bitter herbs
Sorrow for sin; purification trials
Unleavened bread
Sincerity, truth; putting away all sin (1 Cor. 5:7-8)
Tenth–Fourteenth Day
Time of probation and final preparation
Consider the Following
The Preparation (Exodus 12:1-16)
❖ God explained in detail what they had to do so that the Destroyer would “pass over”. (Pesach, Passover), and the firstborn would not die:
— On the 10th they were to set aside a lamb without defect for each family, or for several families. (Ex. 12:3-5).
— On the 14th, at dusk, they were to sacrifice it (Ex. 12:6)
— They were to anoint the doorposts and lintel with the blood (Ex. 12:7)
— They were to eat the meat completely roasted, with unleavened bread and bitter herbs (Ex. 12:8-10)
— While they were eating it hastily, they were to be dressed and ready to go (Ex. 12:11)
— When they left Egypt, they were to continue eating unleavened bread for seven days (Ex. 12:15)
❖ God prepared His people to understand His grace, and to worship Him (Ex. 12:27b).
📌 CONCLUDING PROPHETIC INSIGHT
God is calling His people today to prepare for the final crisis just as He called Israel to prepare for deliverance from Egypt.
The antitypical Passover is near:
The blood (justification) must be applied.
The lamb (truth of Christ) must be eaten entirely.
The household (church) must be found in unity, separated from sin and worldliness.
“Let everyone examine himself… The mark of deliverance will be placed only upon those who sigh and cry for the abominations done in the church.”
– Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 211
“On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb… a lamb for a household.”
– Exodus 12:3
