There were specific instructions as to the lamb which the children of Israel were to take. It must be without blemish and a male of the first year. All this pointed on to Christ, our Passover Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7), the holy, sinless One who alone could bear the judgment of sin for us. Their lamb was to be kept from the tenth day to the fourteenth day. This would no doubt tell us of Christ walking down here in His path of perfect obedience to the glory of God His Father before He laid down His life at the cross. Notice that it says that the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel was to kill it in the evening. Although there were many lambs killed in the many homes, they are spoken of as one, for they typified the one sacrifice of Christ, whose shed blood is the only shelter from coming judgment.
The Blood Applied
The blood was to be caught in a basin. Then a bunch of hyssop was taken, dipped in it, and the blood was sprinkled on the lintel (the top) and on the two side posts of their home. The blood had no saving value to them while in the basin. It had to be sprinkled as God had said, and yet how many boys and girls know all about the blood of Christ but have never applied it to their own personal need. To them the blood is still “in the basin.”
After they had sprinkled the blood they were to go into their homes and remain there until the morning. Are you saved? Are you under the shelter of the blood of Christ? Do not go out into the world then. Shut your “door” and remain in separation until Christ comes for us as the bright and Morning Star. This was most important for the children of Israel, as it is for us, for there was danger in the streets of Egypt, and in the homes of the Egyptians who were not under the shelter of the blood.
Wonderful Work to Do
You may say then that there is nothing to do in this separated path. On the contrary, there is plenty to do! The Israelites were to be feeding on the roast lamb: and preparing for their journey. No doubt most of those homes were very busy places as they prepared to leave Egypt, never to return.
The lamb was to be cooked in a certain way. It was not to be eaten raw, nor sodden with water (boiled), but roasted in the fire. Knowing that this lamb speaks of Christ we can see that we are to think of Him as the One who bore the full storm of God’s judgment against sin (the fire). The Israelites could not eat of it raw for we cannot have part with Christ except through His death. Nor was the lamb to be boiled, for if it were cooked in that way it would not be exposed to the full heat of the fire. All these things teach us about Christ. The Lord Jesus bore the full storm of God’s judgment against sin, and therefore the Passover which pointed on to Him must be roasted with fire.
The roast lamb was to be eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, too. Leaven in the Bible always speaks of evil, and so the only way we can enjoy thinking of Christ in His sufferings and death is to walk in separation from evil. Then the bitter herbs would tell us of the fact that we should always remember what it cost God to put away our sins, for the bearing of our sins was indeed a bitter thing to the holy Lamb of God. These two things were to be eaten with the Passover lamb.
Further Meditation
1. Why was the Passover lamb supposed to be roasted and not boiled?
2. How many “types” (people, places, or things that teach truth) of Christ are there in the book of Exodus? If you seriously tackle this question you’re going to have a very long list.
3. If you really want to learn more on the subject, a book that covers many of the types in scripture that may be worth your consideration is Types and Symbols of Scripture by J. N. Darby, W. Kelly and others.