The Mosaic Covenant: The Passover
The Mosaic Covenant was established on Mt. Sinai after Israel’s climactic exodus from Egypt. It all started with Moses’ encounter with a burning bush in the desert, where he accepted God’s mission for him. He returned to Egypt with a message of hope for Israel and warnings for Pharaoh. What followed are known as the ten plagues. God was judging Egypt, her gods, and her treatment of Israel. However, God was also revealing His own might and sovereignty in the process. God clearly identified Israel as His people, and He was their God.
Through the plagues, Egypt was devastated in every way imaginable. The crops and livestock were destroyed. The gods they worshiped had become a mockery. Everything they had ever thought was true and secure in their world was called into question.
Then came the final plague–the death of the firstborn. At this point in the story, Pharaoh was more than fed up with Moses and Aaron. At the end of their final confrontation, Pharaoh told Moses that he never wanted to see his face again (Ex. 10:28). Prior to this (even though it comes in the next chapter), Moses warned Pharaoh what was to come. God had given Pharaoh every opportunity to humble himself and save Egypt, and now the final devastation was at hand. The firstborn of all of Egypt would die; this plague was no respecter of persons, since the firstborn of every family would die regardless of their class or position, even the firstborn of the livestock would die. The NIV Application Bible states, “Israel as God’s son (see 4:22) was redeemed (delivered from Egypt) by the death of Egypt’s firstborn sons” (114).
God told Moses what Israel would have to do to be spared this final judgement:
“‘I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night and strike every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, both people and animals. I am the LORD; I will execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt. The blood on the houses where you are staying will be a distinguishing mark for you; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will be among you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.’” (Ex. 12:12-13)
Israel would have to sacrifice an unblemished, year-old male lamb or goat. They would paint the doorposts and lintel of their houses with the sacrificial blood. They would then eat the meat after it was roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and roasted herbs (Ex. 12:5-8).
God commanded that this moment in Israel’s history be commemorated so that every future generation would come to know how God redeemed Israel and freed them from slavery in Egypt. Tied in with this feast is the redemption of the firstborn. Whether human or livestock, the firstborn were all consecrated to the Lord. They would never forget they owed their lives to God. The NIV Application Bible goes on to say, “The tenth plague is the implementation of a redemptive pattern, one that requires death as a means to fuller life. The consecration of the firstborn, therefore, is a foreshadowing of the once-for-all substitutionary death of the beloved firstborn Son who is to come” (114).
There are many elements to God’s covenant with Israel, and we have examined many of them–the Law, the Sabbath, the priesthood, and the tabernacle. Now, we come to the Passover, which is the first national festival for the newborn nation of Israel. It not only marks the beginning of their year, but it is also a permanent memorial to God’s love. The Wiersbe Bible Commentary remarks, “Israel’s exodus from Egypt is mentioned many places in Scripture as the greatest demonstration of Jehovah’s power in the history of Israel. The prophets point to the exodus as proof of God’s love for Israel” (165). And the Passover was Israel’s time to commemorate this nexus of the Old Testament.
Later on in the Old Testament, the Passover would also be the mark of the people renewing their commitment to the Mosaic Covenant. The Baker Illustrated Bible Commentary tells us, “When major reforms occur during the reigns of Hezekiah (2 Chron. 30) and Josiah (2 Chron. 35), central to each is the corporate celebration of Passover at the cleansed temple. God’s redemption means deliverance from sin followed by transformed lives” (62).
Finally, in the New Testament, we still see the Jews observing Passover. By this time in history, Israel had created a well-established ritual for this feast. You can read more about their traditions here. Therefore, Jesus also observed Passover. The most momentous of these observances was on the night before His crucifixion (Mt. 26; Lk 22). Jesus tells His disciples, “‘I have fervently desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God” (Lk. 22:15-16). The Jews had long believed that the Passover would also herald the coming of the Messiah, and it did.
Jesus was the Messiah who would become the Passover Lamb who could take away the sins of the world (Jn. 1:29). It is also at this Passover meal that Jesus institutes the new covenant. (I will not get into this too much now, as we will look at the Last Supper in more depth when we get to the New Covenant section of the series.) The NIV Application Bible comments:
“The Passover was a time when judgment came to the Egyptians in the death of their firstborn. Israel’s firstborn were spared the judgment because the blood of a lamb was placed on the doors of their homes (see Ex. 12). Jesus now becomes the symbol of such protection.” (1681)
It is through His sacrificial death that Jesus can open the way of salvation to all of humanity. God frees us from our slavery to sin. The Wiersbe Bible Commentary says, “It wasn’t the life of the lamb that saved the people from judgment but the death of the lamb” (163). And what was true for the Israelites in the Passover is still true for us today. When Paul wrote to the Romans, he described this as well: “But now, since you have been set free from sin and have become enslaved to God, you have your fruit, which results in sanctification–and the outcome is eternal life!” (6:22). It is only through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection that we, too, can have life–eternal and abundant–with God.
Housekeeping: This post wraps up our 6-post mini series focusing on the Mosaic Covenant. We will discover more about the Covenant with David in two weeks!
Author’s Note:
Please realize that the resource list is a work in progress, and not all the sources listed are ones that I necessarily used or heavily considered in the development of this series. A variety of schools of thought may be represented. I am not intentionally promoting one theological system over another. I also recognize that there are multiple approaches to studying covenants, and I am not here to promote one over another. My goal is to present a basic understanding of the various covenants and how they progressively reveal God's overarching plan of salvation for humanity.
