Exo 12:3 | KingComments | STEP | Moses must speak to “all the congregation of Israel”, an expression that is being used here for the first time. It indicates the unity of God’s people. On the tenth day, the beginning of the three-day darkness, every household must take a lamb into their house. God’s redemption of His people as a whole is known and seen in the households. The world does not see what the church does when it meets, but it does see what happens in the households of the believers. The lamb must have the central place in the household. For three days the whole family can observe the lamb. The significance of the household is highlighted in this chapter in a special way. The lamb must be there for three days. On the fourteenth day it must be killed. The Lord Jesus, the true Passover ( ), we also can observe during the three years of His walk on earth. We see this when we read the Gospels. Then we always have to remember that He is on His way to the cross to be slaughtered there. We can think of His death especially on Sunday when we celebrate the Lord’s Supper. If a household is too small, it can share a lamb with its neighbors. The lamb is the standard. We must comply with the Lamb, not the other way around. Each household enjoys the Lord Jesus to different degrees. If there is much enjoyed, one can let others share in it. The lamb must be taken from the sheep or from the goats. The sheep is usually used as a burnt offering, the goat as a sin offering. It has to be “unblemished”, there may be no defect on it. The Lord Jesus is the true burnt offering and the true sin offering. He is “a lamb unblemished and spotless” ( ). He is the One “who committed no sin” ( ), “who knew no sin” ( ), and of Whom is true: “In Him there is no sin” ( ). All this can only be said of Him. Therefore John the baptist could point at Him and say: “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” ( ). It must be a male lamb, a year old. This relates to the manly power with which the Lord Jesus accomplished the work on the cross. We also see in the word “a year old” an indication of tenderness, sweetness. So the Lord Jesus was as well. Will the children in a household not have observed the lamb like this?

‏ Exodus 12:3

A Lamb

Moses must speak to “all the congregation of Israel”, an expression that is being used here for the first time. It indicates the unity of God’s people. On the tenth day, the beginning of the three-day darkness, every household must take a lamb into their house. God’s redemption of His people as a whole is known and seen in the households.

The world does not see what the church does when it meets, but it does see what happens in the households of the believers. The lamb must have the central place in the household. For three days the whole family can observe the lamb. The significance of the household is highlighted in this chapter in a special way.

The lamb must be there for three days. On the fourteenth day it must be killed. The Lord Jesus, the true Passover (1Cor 5:7b), we also can observe during the three years of His walk on earth. We see this when we read the Gospels. Then we always have to remember that He is on His way to the cross to be slaughtered there. We can think of His death especially on Sunday when we celebrate the Lord’s Supper.

If a household is too small, it can share a lamb with its neighbors. The lamb is the standard. We must comply with the Lamb, not the other way around. Each household enjoys the Lord Jesus to different degrees. If there is much enjoyed, one can let others share in it.

The lamb must be taken from the sheep or from the goats. The sheep is usually used as a burnt offering, the goat as a sin offering. It has to be “unblemished”, there may be no defect on it. The Lord Jesus is the true burnt offering and the true sin offering. He is “a lamb unblemished and spotless” (1Pet 1:19). He is the One “who committed no sin” (1Pet 2:22), “who knew no sin” (2Cor 5:21), and of Whom is true: “In Him there is no sin” (1Jn 3:5). All this can only be said of Him. Therefore John the baptist could point at Him and say: “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (Jn 1:29).

It must be a male lamb, a year old. This relates to the manly power with which the Lord Jesus accomplished the work on the cross. We also see in the word “a year old” an indication of tenderness, sweetness. So the Lord Jesus was as well. Will the children in a household not have observed the lamb like this?