Chapter 16: The Final Plague
Exodus 12:29-51
Q1 - Why did the Israelites eat unleavened bread the night the death angel passed over? Compare their eating of the bread the last night before they were set free with Jesus's eating of the bread the last night before His crucifixion.
A1 - The Israelites ate bread without yeast or leavening on the night the death angel passed over their homes because they had to eat in haste without taking time for the dough to rise. They would also continue to eat unleavened bread as they fled Egypt (see Exodus 12:39).
In their subsequent celebrations of the Passover and the Feast of the Unleavened Bread which followed, they were to eat bread without yeast or leavening for seven days. These celebrations were a way for them to commemorate the time of their deliverance from death and their escape to freedom.
Just as the Israelites ate unleavened bread on their last night before being set free, so Jesus would also eat unleavened bread on His last night before His crucifixion. The Israelites escaped the death angel and left Egypt a free people. Jesus, with His physical death on the cross, actually conquered death. The grave could not hold Him, and He arose on the third day. Not only did He free Himself from death, but He conquered death and set free all who would believe in Him and follow His teachings. As He told Martha in John 11:25–26 (NIV), “‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.’”
Q2 - What was the significance of the way the Passover lamb was to be prepared? Why were they to eat all of the Passover lamb in one house, not taking any outside, and not breaking any of its bones? See Exodus 12:8–11, 46; Numbers 9:12.
A2 - The blood from the lamb (or goat) was used to paint on the doorframe of the home. The lamb was then to be roasted whole over a fire. This was probably the simplest way of cooking and would not require it to be cut up. To boil it in a large pot would be cumbersome, plus a whole lamb might not fit in a pot. It was to be eaten with bitter herbs. Perhaps the herbs signified the bitterness of their slavery. Jesus, as our sacrificial lamb, was given sour wine or vinegar to drink right before He gave up His life, so he tasted bitterness before His death as well (John 19:28–30).
The lamb was to be eaten whole, without any of its bones being broken. That meant that all who partook of a given lamb had to eat it in one house, gathered around the lamb, and eat it as a group, perhaps signifying unity. None of the lamb was to be taken outside, and certainly the people would want to stay inside the house where they would be safe from the angel of death.
Anything left of the lamb had to be burned by morning. This meant that nothing would be left to be desecrated, perhaps by the Egyptians who might come along later or animals who might devour the scraps. In like manner, Jesus did not leave a corpse behind. He arose from the dead, and His body did not see decay (Acts 2:27; 13:37).
Q3 - After commanding Moses to leave and threatening him with death in Exodus 10:28, why do you suppose Pharaoh later asked Moses to bless him in Exodus 12:32?
A3- Pharaoh, as well as his officials, knew that he was dealing with a force much greater than himself or his gods. Up to this point, his pride had prevented him from conceding to Moses’s demands to free the Israelites. Now, with death striking his own household (Exodus 12:29), he had been humbled. He knew that the God who had the power to send the angel of death and the rest of the plagues also had the power to bless him. For the moment, his pride had been pierced, and he allowed himself to call out to Yahweh. His humility would not last long, however, and soon he and his army would be chasing the Israelites through the wilderness and into the sea.