Passover Bible Study

The Difference Between Exodus 12 and Deuteronomy 16

Fred R. Coulter—03-08-08

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I was given some interesting things from various websites; there's one here by Alan Knight who wrote Primitive Christianity in Crisis. He has put out another book called Spirit of Antichrist. He gave me a pre-copy of it and it's actually a pretty good book. The title is really the best part of it, Spirit of Antichrist. However, in his presentation of it, he goes around and around in circles trying to come to where he's making his point, and it's still kind of hard to understand it.

He wrote me and told me that he's gone to press with it, and they revised it considerably. I was happy to hear that they 'revised it considerably.' He had some odd interpretations of Rev. 17 and 13, because he takes that from the current history of the Roman Empires, which many of the Protestant commentators do today. But other than that he has a pretty good Spirit of Antichrist.

We're going to take questions concerning Passover today, but before I get there, I was given a magazine by John Hagee. It's very interesting, and I saw just a clip of his stance concerning Israel, and he just published a book: In Defense of Israel. It's typical of evangelical Protestantism that supports the Jews in Palestine. That's the proper way to express it.

It is not the 'Holy' Land, because it's anything but Holy today. It's not Israel, because Israel is not there today. He said that 'the Palestinians don't own the land. God gave it to them by covenant and all the boundaries are listed in the Bible, and it's for the Jews.' He says nothing about the other eleven tribes!

If you want to give to Judah what they had around Palestine, that's a different story. Let's understand the enigma of what's going on in Jerusalem. When you look at the problems that they are having today between the Jews and the Palestinians—it's not between Israelites and Palestinians, because there were 12 tribes of Israel, of which the Jews are only one tribe.

Here John Hagee stands up and says that it all belongs to the Jews. There's another great error that comes with it, they say that 'everything in the Old Testament is Judaism'; and Judaism was nothing what the Old Testament is, but just a skeletal framework of the Old Testament. All the oral traditions that the Jews have replaced the Scriptures with. This is the difficulty. Most people do not understand that. John Hagee doesn't understand that.

It's not Israel in the Holy Land; it's the Jews in Palestine. What we find in Zep. 2 has been true all the time since the expulsion of the Jews and the destruction of the temple in 70A.D.

Zephaniah 2:6: "And the seacoast will be pastures, meadows of shepherds, and folds for flocks. And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah…" (vs 6-7)—the Jews, part of Benjamin and a majority of what were the Levites and later the priests. That's the house Judah!

For the House of Israel, you have to go back to the days of Jeroboam and Rehoboam and you see where the kingdoms split. Then in order to find out where modern-day Israel is today, you have to have Judah's Scepter and Joseph's Birthright by J.H. Allen, which is out of copyright and it might serve somewhere down the road to use that, add more material and bring it up to date.

Verse 7: "And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah…" that's near Tel Aviv, where the greatest number of Jews, which are along the seacoast. Tel Aviv is near where Jabneh was. After the temple was destroyed, the Levites—and I don't think any priest escaped, or very few, unless they went ahead of time—went up to Tiberias and over to Jabneh, the center for the Jews and Levites. That's where they wrote the Talmud and the Mishnah, and that where they preserved as much knowledge as they could about the temple after it had been destroyed.

It's interesting that that's where the Jews have the most freedom from terrorism. Once in a while they have a suicide bomber go up there. But in Jerusalem and around the area—which God did not say that they would have all the West Bank—the Jews took it upon themselves to take all of the West Bank, which was not theirs to take.

Just like with the area where the Mosque of Omar is, they say that's a temple area, but that's not the temple area. If you really want to put the world in a destructive mode, try building the temple there by scraping the top of that off to put the temple on it. Never happen!

That's why they have so much trouble there. Every time they say they're going to have 'peace talks,' what happens? War breaks out! So, it's going to be a difficult process to bring that to a time of peace. With elections coming up and everything we have facing us today, it's going to be a tough 'row to hoe'!

Hagee says that the Jews have the right to all the land from the Nile to the border of Syria, over to the Euphrates River, down south of that and coming straight across back over to where Elate is, and that's supposed to be all for the Jews.

Well, not quite so fast! That was the original area defined for all the 12 tribes! What they are trying to do is take credit for being all the 12 tribes of Israel. That can never work! But Hagee is a stanch defender of the Jews in Palestine. I think that his stance is also exacerbating the situation over there, as well.

What I want cover today is the difference between Exo. 12 and Deut. 16. Let's look at that, because in Exo. 12 we have it defined quite clearly. Exo.12—God told them to take a lamb for every house, and if the house was too small, share it with his neighbor next door.

Exodus 12:5: "Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male…" We're going to see types of Christ in this, but the timing of the killing of the lamb in Exo. 12 was not the timing of the death of Jesus Christ. I direct you attention to The Christian Passover book, which shows that the timing of the death of Jesus Christ followed the timing of the sacrifices of the covenant made between God and Abraham (Gen. 15). That follows the timing much more closely.

Also, as we come here, we are going to see that this is not a covenant sacrifice. Very important to understand! This is a specific thing that they were to do.

Verse 24: "And you shall observe this thing as a law to you and to your children forever"—until the time that God may decided to change it. Remember that whenever God gives a command, only God can change it! Men cannot come along and change it. That's why this becomes a very important thing when we get to the New Covenant Passover, because it becomes different.

This was specifically a sacrifice so that when they put the blood on the side-post and the upper lentil, that the destroyer would not come and destroy the firstborn of the children of Israel. That was specifically for that.

Verse 24: "And you shall observe this thing as a law to you and to your children forever. And it shall be when you have come to the land, which the LORD will give you, according as He has promised that you shall keep this service. And it will be, when your children shall say to you, 'What does this service mean to you?' Then you shall say, 'It is the sacrifice of the LORD'S Passover…'" (vs 24-27).

Very important. It is not the Jews' Passover, it's the Lord's Passover. Today there is a Jew's Passover that is kept on the beginning of the Night to be Remembered, which is not the Passover. That's where the confusion comes, and most people don't know why the Jews today don't keep a fourteenth!

The meaning is: "…'It is the sacrifice of the LORD'S Passover Who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our houses."' And the people bowed their heads and worshiped. And the children of Israel went away and did as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron; so they did" (vs 27-28).

Everything that they did was exactly as God had commanded. One of the most important features of it, in explaining it to other people, is that they were to stay in their houses until morning, which is sunrise.

Later, the Jews interpreted morning to be after midnight, because the destroyer came through and destroyed the firstborn and it was safe to leave the house. Well, if the children of Israel did as Moses commanded, they stayed in their houses until sunrise! Besides, they had to stay there, and after the meal they had to burn everything that was left over.

Verse 6: "And you shall keep it up until the beginning of the fourteenth day of the same month. And the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it between the two evenings."

As you will see in The Holy Bible in Its Original Order, A Faithful Version a footnote showing that between the two evenings means from sunset—'ba erev'—to dark/night—'ben ha arbayim' applying to that twilight time, the beginning of the 14th and not the end of it.

Verse 7: "And they shall take of the blood and strike it on the two side posts and upon the upper doorpost of the houses in which they shall eat it."

Verse 8: "…[with] unleavened bread…. [v 9]: Do not eat of it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted with fire, its head with its legs… [the weren't to cut it] …and with its inward parts… [the heart, liver and kidneys] …And you shall not let any of it remain until the morning…. [not midnight, because that's when the plague came] …And that which remains of it until the morning you shall burn with fire" (vs 9-10).

In answering all of these questions, and this is why with the Passover book we wanted to know how long it took to kill a lamb. We found out that it took about 20 minutes to get it all ready. That's about it for a little lamb.

We actually had a man in the Church at that time who was an expert in slaughtering animals. I watched him do it; it was very easy to do. Just slit the throat, hang it upside down and let bleed; cut it down the middle and the whole sack of the innards comes out. Take out the heart, the kidneys and liver and set that aside. I was astonished how easy it was to skin it. You just start right along where you cut the belly, and you separate the skin on each side and then you 'karate chop' with the side of the hand and then put both hands where he cut away and pulled them apart and it just immediately stripped off all the skin. We timed it and in 20 minutes the lamb was ready to go.

Another thing we wanted find out was how long it would take for the bones to burn, because they weren't leave anything of it left. It was to be completely burned!

People are superstitious; remember Rebekah? She wanted to take a little household idol. She did take it and successfully hid it from Laban. But nevertheless, God did not want anyone taking a hoof, part of an ear or bone and then commit idolatry with it.

So, He had them burn it! So, we wanted to know how long it would take to burn those bones. If you have a young lamb that less than a year old, the bones are not hard. They burn very quickly. So, we wanted to test how long it would be. I took a shank bone of a leg of lamb, which would be the biggest and hardest part to burn. It took three hours to completely burn it to ashes. The rest of it would be burned very quickly.

This means that they burned the hide and burned the bones. I don't know what they did with the guts, I don't know if they burned that or not, but whatever was left from eating they had to burn.

So, the sacrifice here of this lamb was a household domestic one, and it was eaten in the house that night. They were to stay in their houses and be ready to go the next morning.

Verse 11: And this is the way you shall eat it: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in trepidation…." Different than in haste; trepidation is in fear and trembling! You may eat it a little quicker than normally.

A lot of those who try to readjust for a 15th Passover, say that they ate it in haste so they could leave at midnight. Well, you can't change the timing all around because the timing is clear here.

"…It is the LORD'S Passover… [there we have it twice] …for I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast. And I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD" (vs 11-12).

They now, and have had it for quite a while, have Egyptian records that coincide with all the plagues that took place in Egypt. It actually has a picture where they have this all written out.

Verse 13: "And the blood shall be a sign to you upon the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you. And the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you when I smite the land of Egypt. And this day… [Passover Day] …shall be a memorial to you…." (vs 13-14).

This does not refer to the Feast of Unleavened Bread. If it did, it would have said, 'These days…' But it says, "…this day…"

 "…And you shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations. You shall keep it a feast as a law forever" (v 14).

Concerning the killing of the firstborn: Does that mean just the males? or Does that include females? It is both! Not every firstborn is a male, so what do you do with the female?

Exodus 13:1: "Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 'Sanctify all the firstborn to Me, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, of man and of beast. It is Mine'" (vs 1-2). It doesn't say males here. "…all the firstborn…" would have to include male and female!

Verse 11: "And it shall be, when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as He swore to you and to your fathers, and shall give it to you, you shall set apart to the LORD all that opens the womb, and every firstborn that comes of any animal, which you have; the males shall be the LORD'S. And every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb. And if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. And all the firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem" (vs 11-13). What about the females?

Deut. 14 is where we need to apply the lesson: a little here, a little there; line upon line, precept upon precept. Remember that in understanding the Bible the principle of addition. The world uses the principle of subtraction: if they don't agree with it, they take it away. Or if there's a conflict with one or the other, they try and eliminate it. What you do, you actually add it together.

Deuteronomy 14:22[transcriber's correction]: "You shall truly tithe all the increase of your seed that the field brings forth year by year."

Note Num. 18—where God gave the tithe to the Levites, and the Levites were to tithe to the priesthood. God says that 'all the tenth of Israel is Mine and I give it to the Levites.'

Num. 27 shows what would happen if you wanted to take of the tithe, which belonged to God. What would have to happen? Either the tithe or a special animal, If you wanted to redeem it, what did it cost you? Twenty percent, one-fifth thereof! So, that tithe that belongs to God was God's!

• you didn't tough it
• you didn't eat it
• you didn't take it to yourself

Because it was Holy, to give to the Levites, and the Levites were scattered throughout all of Israel. The children of Israel would bring their tithe to the Levites, and the Levites would then send everything up, which was called a tenth of a tenth, and also referred to a 'heave offering' and that would go to the priesthood, wherever the priesthood was. First it was a Shiloh, then it was a Geba, and then in Jerusalem.

Deuteronomy 14:22: "You shall truly tithe all the increase of your seed that the field brings forth year by year. And you shall eat before the LORD your God in the place, which He shall choose to place His name there, the tithe of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, and the firstborn of your herds and of your flocks so that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always" (vs 22-23).

• Is God giving permission to them to eat His tithe?

or

• Is this what to do with the tithe for keeping the Feasts?

They could eat the firstlings of the herds and of the flocks. If all the males belonged to God, that went to the Levites and the priests, they couldn't eat it. If they ate it, they would be sinning. So, what does this tell us? If we know back there it's talking about the males, this tells that the firstling here has got to be the females, which is used for the Feasts!

Otherwise you would have to be a total contradiction in God saying that 'you shall truly tithe' and if you take any part thereof, add a fifth, which is 20%!

What does it mean by figuring this out in using the principle of addition.

• we have the males already described belonging to God; that went to the priesthood
• here they could eat the firstlings of the flock and the herd

So, this would have to be—because you can't separate one from the other—the females. So, all the females were to be used for the offerings and sacrifices that they would eat at the Feast.

Verse 24: "And if the way is too long for you so that you are not able to carry it, or if the place is too far from you, which the LORD your God shall choose to set His name there, when the LORD your God has blessed you, then you shall turn it into money…" You couldn't do that with the first tithe; you would have to add 20% to it.

Do you come from a family where the firstborn was female? It happens with animals, too! What do you do with that? Here now is a different category, because it goes to the Feasts! Now you can do something with this that you can't do with that which belonged to the Lord, the males and the tithe to God. "…then you shall turn it into money…" Num. 27 says that you don't dare turn it into money. And there's no penalty here saying to add a fifth part to it.

"…and bind up the money in your hand, and shall go to the place which the LORD your God shall choose. And you shall spend the money for whatever your soul desires, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatever your soul desires. And you shall eat there before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household" (vs 25-26).

That answers the question what happens to the female. In other words, it follows right along with the same thing beginning with Adam being created first and then Eve. The males belong to God, the females God expects you to use in Holy service to Him.

This will help answer some questions when we get to Deut. 16, and why the difference between Exo. 12 and Deut. 16. We will see that it is not a change from a domestic Passover to a temple Passover, but something having to do with the firstborn.

This day should be a memorial, and is not the Passover a memorial?

• Old Covenant with Israel coming out of Egypt
• covenant with Abraham, the promise of the seed, spiritual and physical

But the covenant with Israel, though the Passover lamb was sacrificed for the 14th of the 1st month, it was not a covenant sacrifice. The Passover lamb was a male and was dedicated to God. Could not use a female for that. That would take away from the typology of Christ.

If you want an interesting book, it's The Law of Offerings by Andrew Jukes. That's a tremendous book and can be found at amazon.com

The female could be used for the seven days of Unleavened Bread, however, not their first Feast of Unleavened Bread, because all they had was unleavened bread. If you think you sacrifice and you think that you have a hard time, think about having only unleavened bread for the first seven days. When you read the things in the Old Testament, put yourself into it and think about how difficult this was, and think about how God had to be with them to strengthen them to go on the trip.

Exodus 12:15: "You shall eat unleavened bread seven days…" The 14th is called the first of the unleaveneds, meaning the Passover Day itself was an unleavened bread day, but not included with the seven days of unleavened bread.

Someone told me a very interesting way of remembering v 14 and v 15, and there weren't verse numbers in the original. Verse 14 refers to the 14th day of the month and v 15 refers the 15th day of the month. I thought that was very clever.

"…even the first day you shall have put away leaven…: (v 15).

I'll tell you another little secret that is true. There was no leaven available anywhere in Israel for them to eat leavened bread on the day portion of the 14th. When you have unleaven a whole country, that's a big deal. To unleaven your home is pretty simple. Some people have said that since it doesn't say that you shouldn't eat leavened bread on the day portion of the 14th some eat leavened bread on the day portion of the 14th, after having had the Passover the night before. You lose all the symbology of the sinlessness of Christ and His sacrifice! Some have done that.

Only in today's world, scattered where we are now, are those kinds of things a possibility. Back then, they had to have everything in their whole country cleaned out! So, I'm sure they were starting like on the 10th to get things cleaned out.

What do you do if you have a bakery? I had a man who had a bakery in Long Beach, California, years and years ago. He asked, 'What do I do?' I said 'Why don't you clean it all out and become a center for providing unleavened bread!' He never thought of that. That's what they would have to do. Talk about a big problem; unleavening a bakery!

"…out of your houses; for whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. And in the first day there shall be a Holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be a Holy convocation for you. No manner of work shall be done in them, except that which every man must eat, that only may be done by you. And you shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for in this very same day I have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore, you shall keep this day in your generations as a law forever" (vs 15-17). So, you have two days: 14th and 15th.

Verse 18: "In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at sunset…" Here's where the English translation really makes it difficult. I remember when I had my very fist Passover in 1961 in Sacramento. I could not understand evening in v 6, and 'even' in v 18. It was never explained except to say that v 6 means at the beginning of the day, and v 18 means at the end of the day.

How do you know that? That why we have the Passover book! 'ba erev' is sunset, ending the day!

Lev. 23 tells us very clearly, having to do with the Day of Atonement. This helps unlock the mystery as to why the two evenings are different. The first evening is:

• 'ben ha arbayim'—between the two evenings
• 'ba erev' (Exo. 12:18)—at sunset

Leviticus 23:32—concerning the Day of Atonement: "It shall be to you a Sabbath…" Every Holy Day is called a Sabbath, and every weekly Sabbath is called the Sabbath—'ha Shabbat'

When Michael Heiss was going to the University of Judaica in Los Angeles, he asked his professor, 'Why do the Pharisees call it 'the First Day of Unleavened Bread,' which is a Sabbath when Lev. 23 for the count for Pentecost is the Sabbath. The professor couldn't answer it except to say, tradition!

(go to the next track)

Lev. 23 is the key to understand that 'ba erev' means sunset. It has to do with the Day of Atonement, which is a Sabbath. Why is it very important to precisely define the Day of Atonement, which you can apply to other Sabbaths.

Because of the severity of the day being the Day of Atonement, that if you weren't fasting you were cutoff from the Lord. Or if you were still working when you shouldn't be working, then you are subject to other penalties that would come from God. So, He wanted everyone to know exactly when the Day of Atonement would begin and would end, and there would be no dispute, and they don't need clocks. That is sundown.

Can everybody, regardless of education and age, understand when sundown takes place? Yes!

Verse 32: "It shall be to you a Sabbath of rest, and you shall afflict yourselves. In the ninth day of the month at sunset, from sunset to sunset, you shall keep your Sabbath." That's as clear as it can be! "…In the ninth day of the month at sunset…" which ends the day!

So, here we have a basis on which to judge every day. The 9th day of the month at sunset ended the day. The 10th day of the 7th month is defined from the 9th day of the month at sunset until sunset. This is important to understand, because when we come back to Exo. 12 it will help us define 'ba erev' and sunset and the 14th, showing it is the end of the 14th.

Exodus 12:18: "In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at sunset, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at sunset"—each sunset ending the day.

What takes place right after sunset on the 14th? The beginning of the 15th! Sunset on the 21st ends the day, and this defines it very clearly.

Deut. 16 is very difficult to understand. This has been one of the most confusing, especially when you try to follow along where you establish the 14th (Exo. 12) and then you hear about a traditional 15th Passover, then they come here and it looks like a temple authorized Passover on the afternoon of the 14th leading into the 15th.

In trying to solve the problem in 1974 when this really came to a head, I had the hardest time figuring it out.

Deuteronomy 16:1: "Keep the month of Abib, and observe the Passover to the LORD your God. For in the month of Abib, the LORD your God brought you forth out of Egypt by night. And you shall, therefore, sacrifice the Passover offering to the LORD your God, of the flock and the herd, in the place, which the LORD shall choose to place His name there. You shall eat no leavened bread with it. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread with it, the bread of affliction, for you came forth out of the land of Egypt in haste, so that you may remember the day that you came forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life. And there shall be no leaven seen with you in all your borders for seven days. Nor shall any of the flesh, which you sacrificed in the first day at sunset remain all night until the morning" (vs 1-4).

Verse 5: "You may not sacrifice the Passover Offering within any of your gates, which the LORD your God gives you, but at the place which the LORD your God shall choose to place His name in, there you shall sacrifice the Passover offering at sunset, at the going down of the sun, at the time that you came out of Egypt. And you shall boil and eat it in the place which the LORD your God shall choose. And in the morning you shall turn and go to your tents. Six days you shall eat unleavened bread. And on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly to the LORD your God. You shall do no work." (vs 5-8).

Whoa! How do you handle that? Let's go back and analyze it.

• Observe the month of Abib and keep the Passover: the Passover is separate.
• The Lord God brought you out: When? Beginning on the 15th!

Also, as we read this, we're going to see that this is preparing for the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread at the temple! Passover was kept either at home, or in various houses around Jerusalem. Then the Night to be Observed was when this was to take place.

How do we know that? Because it says, v 1: "…the LORD your God brought you forth out of Egypt by night."

Exodus 12:40: "Now, the sojourning of the children of Israel in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years, and it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, it was even on that very same day, all the armies of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt. It is a night to be much observed to the LORD for bringing them out from the land of Egypt. This is that night of the LORD to be observed by all the children of Israel in their generations" (vs 40-42).

Did He bring them out on the 14th? or the 15th? If it were on the 14th, they would have to leave before sunrise, and they couldn't leave before midnight, so this has to be the next day, the 15th!

Deuteronomy 16:2: "And you shall, therefore, sacrifice the Passover Offering…" This is differently worded then in Exo. 12 where they were to kill the Passover lamb. What does Passover Offering mean?

"…to the LORD your God, of the flock and the herd…" (v 2).

Exodus 12:5: "Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You shall take it from the sheep or from the goats." It doesn't say calf!

I remember when I was going through this and trying to sort this out in 1974-5, when I read this "…of the flock and the herd…" I said to myself, 'Whoever herd of a Passover calf?' So, this could not be talking about the Passover lamb, but:

• What is it talking about?
• Why would the herd be involved?
• Why does it say Passover offering instead of sacrifice?
• What were they doing late in the day on the 14th at the temple?

It says here, Deuteronomy 16:6: "…at the going down of the sun…"; so it's just a little bit before sunset. What were they doing?

Exodus 13:2: 'Sanctify all the firstborn… [male and female; cows, sheep, goats, camel or the donkey had to be redeemed] …to Me, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, of man and of beast. It is Mine.' And Moses said to the people, 'Remember this day in which you came out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for the LORD brought you out from this place by the strength of His hand. There shall be no leavened bread eaten. On this day you are going out, in the month Abib'" (vs 2-4).

• What are we talking about?
• What is going on here in Deut. 16?

Deuteronomy 16:2: "And you shall, therefore, sacrifice the Passover Offering to the LORD your God, of the flock and the herd, in the place, which the LORD shall choose to place His name there."

What offerings were they to do during Unleavened Bread in addition to the Passover that they took on the 14th.

• What were they to do at the temple?
• If you had a firstborn, what were you to do?
• You were to bring it to God!

That was to go to the Levites and priests if it's a male. If it's a female, whether of the flock or the herd, you could bring it and you dedicate it to God, but you eat part of it as your feast. So, during the Passover Day, the day portion of it, they probably had a lot of preparation to do leading up to the redemption of the firstborn, because a lot of the Jews would come on a pilgrimage and be there. So, the day portion of the 14th, which was still the Passover Day, they would begin to dedicate the offering for the redemption of the firstborn of the male!

For the sacrifice of the female, for participating in the Feast. They would also redeem the unclean animal, redeemed with either a clean animal or money. That's what was going on in the late portion of the 14th leading up to the Night to be Remembered.

All of this was done during the day portion. That's why there is the confusion. But the confusion ends when you read of the flock and the herd, because that had to be separate from the Passover ceremony itself. The question between the male and female is:

• you offer the male to God, and the wholly goes to the priesthood and the Levites
• you redeem the unclean animal with money, and that goes to the priesthood
• the female of the clean animal you could offer for your eating at the temple like a peace offering

We'll read about the peace offering in just a minute, because a lot of people don't understand about the peace offering.

Verse 3: "You shall eat no leavened bread with it…." The Passover Offering, not the Passover sacrifice.

"…Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread with it…" (v 3)—because they ate those offerings all during Unleavened Bread. So, the majority of them would take place where they would:

• bring the animals to the temple
• get them ready to sacrifice
• put in the money for the redemption of the unclean animals
• take the clean males for the priesthood
• redeem all their children, either with the sacrifice of an animal or with money
• redeem all the males

and I would suppose of the children

• redeem the firstborn females

would have to be

That would probably go into what would be classified as the festival tithe so they could use on whatever they would need. Or if they sacrifice a firstling—a female—then they could have it for the Night to be Remembered and give a portion to the priest.

I just might mention that if you have never been through the 'Passover wars,' this may sound a little complicated to you. But if you've been through the 'Passover wars' through the years, this is like turning on a flood light; it helps understand it.

"…for you came forth out of the land of Egypt in haste, so that you may remember the day that you came forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life" (v 3).

• What is the day that they were to remember that they came out of Egypt? The Night to be Much Observed, and the whole of the 15th!
• What was to be remembered with the Passover in their homes? God's passing over the firstborn!

So, on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, you had:

• the redemption of the firstborn, the offering of the firstborn males
• the redemption of your firstborn males
• the redemption of your firstborn females
• the special sacrifices

Verse 4: "And there shall be no leaven seen with you in all your borders for seven days…." The Feast of Unleavened Bread, not the Passover.

"…Nor shall any of the flesh, which you sacrificed in the first day at sunset remain all night until the morning. You may not sacrifice the Passover Offering within any of your gates, which the LORD your God gives you" (vs 4-5). So, this could not be the Passover ceremony lamb. This has to refer to the Feast of Unleavened Bread now called Passover.

Verse 6: "But at the place which the LORD your God shall choose to place His name in, there you shall sacrifice the Passover offering at sunset, at the going down of the sun, at the time that you came out of Egypt. And you shall boil…" (vs 6-7).

Exo. 12 said you shall not boil! So, this has to be a peace offering that they could boil.

Verse 7: "And you shall boil and eat it in the place which the LORD your God shall choose…." Whereas, the Passover lamb—differentiated from the Passover offering, which could be of the herd or the flock—had to be roasted with fire, specifically not boiled!

The Jews were so fastidious with this that even if the Jews ran out of the animal when they were roasting it on the spigot, and it landed on the shaft or whatever, and there was juice there, they would cut that meat off because you couldn't boil it in water or in its own juice. This is all Unleavened Bread.

"…And in the morning you shall turn and go to your tents" (v 7). What does this tell us? That the Night to be Much Observed they stayed up all night!

After you have kept one day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, how many more days are left? Six!

Verse 8: "Six days you shall eat unleavened bread…." That's to finish off the Feast. The only place in the Bible that says this. Without knowing the difference between the two, it becomes very confusing.

"…And on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly to the LORD your God. You shall do no work" (v 8).

It's interesting, because the King James Version translates it roast, but every Hebrew version is boil. The Arabic says boil. Another point that was brought out is that Exo. 12 says the lamb was to be no older than one year, everything up to a year. In Deut. 16 it can be more than a year.

Sidebar: Remember that years ago it was said that the Jews found the red heifer and the temple was going to be built real soon. By time it was three years old they found white hair on it. Do you think God cares if there are a few white hairs on it? Depends on your definition of 'blemish.' Is a white hair a blemish? I don't know if you can count that as a blemish or not!

Another point to understand is that when it says that you shall not leave any of it until morning. What is the difference between that instruction in Deut. 16 and Exo. 12? It doesn't say that you shall burn what's left over! It just says that you shall not leave anything left over and eat it.

Lev. 7:15 is the thank offering and the peace offering, which is what redemption sacrifice would be.

Leviticus 7:15: "And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day that it is offered. He shall not leave any of it until the morning."

So, the peace offering has the same reference here as it does to the Passover Sacrifice with the exception that it doesn't say that you're to burn the remainder. In other words, you're to eat it and then you get rid of it.

Verse 16: "But if the sacrifice of his offering is a vow, or a voluntary offering, it shall be eaten the same day that he offers his sacrifice. And on the next day also the rest of it shall be eaten." There's a little difference with the sacrifice of offering a vow.

Verse 17: "But the rest of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burned with fire."

That's the basic difference between Exo. 12 and Deut. 16.

The 400 & 430 Years:

How long were the children of Israel in Egypt? When you read Exo. 12 it gives the appearance that it was 430 years. But that's not correct.

Gen. 15 is where God made the covenant with Abraham, and there's a special maledictory sacrifice that is there; you can read it in the Passover book.

Genesis 15:13—this was in vision: "And He said to Abram, 'You must surely know that your seed shall be sojourners in a land that is not theirs (and shall serve them and they shall afflict them)…" That does not say Egypt. Did Abraham, Isaac and Jacob dwell in a land that was not theirs when in Canaan? Yes! Did Abraham go into Egypt and come out of Egypt? Yes!

Isaac didn't go into Egypt; he was told not to, but he was still dwelling in a land that was not his, the land of Canaan. How about Jacob? Was he dwelling in a land that was not his? Yes, he was dwelling in Canaan, and then he went to Mesopotamia! He hired out to Laban and he ended up with two wives.

Laban was an inquisitive guy, he wanted everything, but God worked it out. "…(and shall serve them…)" (v 13). is a parenthetical statement and should be. It does not take place until the first part of the book of Exodus after Joseph died and there arose another Pharaoh who didn't know Joseph.

"(…and they shall afflict them)…" (v 13). The rest of the parenthetical statement.

"…four hundred years" (v 13). They were not in the land of Egypt 430 years or 400 years. What is the difference between the 430 and the 400? The 430 was from the time that this was given to Abraham! The 400 was after the covenant was confirmed to Isaac! That's the difference.

Verse 14: "And also I will judge that nation whom they shall serve. And afterward they shall come out with great substance. And you shall go to your fathers in peace. You shall be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation… [after they were serving the Egyptians] …they shall come here again, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full" (vs 14-16).

When we come to the difference between the 400 and the 430 years it is this: When the covenant was confirmed to Isaac (Gen. 22) we are dealing with the 400 years. The difference is 30 years.

So, when we come to Exo. 12 on the 'self same night' or 'the very same day' they came out 430 years later. That refers clear back to Abraham.

Passover, Unleavened Bread and Pentecost:

What is the most important day? The Passover Day! Satan the devil wants to keep people from the knowledge of God and the true forgiveness of their sins.

• What days would he confuse most?
• Which day in particular would he bring the most confusion and other ideas?
• The 14th Passover!
• Why do the Jews today not keep a 14th Passover? Because the Passover was to be kept in the land of Israel!

When they were not in the land they couldn't keep a 14th Passover, but they could keep Unleavened Bread. So therefore, when the Jews renamed Unleavened Bread 'Passover' it totally confused everything for someone who wants to follow God. That's why you have:

• the confusion concerning the Lord's Supper
• the confusion concerning the Christian Passover
• the confusion concerning the timing in the Old Testament
• the confusion concerning the timing in the New Testament
• the confusion concerning the sacrifice of the Mass or Eucharist that the Catholics have
• the confusion among the Protestants
• the Seventh Day Adventists take their communion four times a year
• the Mormons take it with bread and water

Satan has confused it so much so that people cannot have their sins forgiven and cannot be in covenant with God! The only ones who kept it was probably Moses and the priests, some of the Levites, and probably a few like Joshua and Caleb.

The difference was that all the children who were born during the wandering were not circumcised, so they couldn't keep the Passover. Those who were circumcised would have kept it. But their children could not because they were not circumcised.

There was no Wave Sheaf Offering during the wandering. They couldn't eat any bread, all they had was manna, so in keeping the Passover they had manna for their bread for the Passover. It had to be, they couldn't eat any grain. When you read Lev. 23 it says that 'until the day you come into the land you're not to eat any grain or parched corn.'

Since they weren't in the land of Israel, how did they keep the Passover in the wilderness? They were in the presence of God!

After they got into the land, then God specifically said that if you're on a journey or if someone is unclean and can't keep it in the first month, then they're to keep it in the second month. That would be when they came back to the land. If they weren't in the land they couldn't keep it. Now the Jews are in the Diaspora and therefore, they don't keep the 14th at all.

As a matter of fact, they even get hostile if you bring up about the 14th, because they know you're not to keep the 14th if you are a Jew and not in the land. But when you come to the New Testament:

• What did Jesus say? He kept it on the 14th!
• What did He tell the disciples? Go into all the world and make disciples, teaching them everything I have commanded you!

All things includes keeping the Passover. We find that's true, because in 1-Cor. 5 Paul said that they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread because 'Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us.' So, they kept the Passover, uncircumcised Gentiles. You see how it all changed with the circumcision of the heart. They kept it in a foreign land, not in the land of Israel.

So, the Passover becomes the fulcrum of which all of these things come. You cannot approach God without a sacrifice. That sacrifice today must be Christ. You can't be in covenant with God unless you keep the New Testament Christian Passover!

Why were they able to take the Passover in Egypt and later they had to be in the land? They were in the presence of God, because God was dealing with them! Also, in the wilderness they were totally separated from Egypt with the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night!

Numbers 9:1: "And the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, 'Let the children of Israel also keep the Passover at its appointed time. In the fourteenth day of this month, between the two evenings, you shall keep it in its appointed time. You shall keep it according to all its statutes, and according to all the ceremonies of it.' And Moses spoke to the children of Israel to keep the Passover. And they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month between the two evenings in the wilderness of Sinai. According to all that the LORD commanded Moses, the children of Israel did" (vs 1-5).

Verse 6: "And there were certain men who were defiled by the dead body of a man… [apparently they had to move him out of his tent, he died and they buried him] …so that they could not keep the Passover on that day. And they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day. And those men said to him, 'We are defiled by the dead body of a man. Why are we kept back that we may not offer an offering of the LORD in its appointed time among the children of Israel?' And Moses said to them, 'You wait here, and I will hear what the LORD will command about you.' And the LORD spoke to Moses saying, 'Speak to the children of Israel, saying, "If any man of you or of your generations shall be unclean because of a dead body… [later on there are other causes of uncleanness] …or in a journey afar off…"'" (vs 6-10).

That's why they said they had to be in the land to keep the Passover, or in the presence of God while they were in the wilderness.

"…he shall still keep the Passover to the LORD. They shall keep it the fourteenth day of the second month between the two evenings, eating it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs" (vs 10-11). The rest of it is the same as the passage on Passover.

It's not telling us that he can't keep in the first month because he's on a journey, but if he's still on a journey in the second month he can keep it. This implies that he has to come back to the land.

I go into detail in The Christian Passover book about why they kept the Passover the 14th day of the 2nd month.

How many were keeping the Passover the rest of the way in the wilderness?

Joshua 5 is another example of it would have been helpful if we would have had something in the book of Exodus to explain something to us. We don't have it, so we have to take it on its face value here.

Joshua 5:2—after they came into Gilgal: "At that time the LORD said to Joshua, 'Make sharp knives for yourselves and circumcise the children of Israel again, the second time.'"

This tells us that there must have been a time in Egypt before the Passover that they had a big circumcision party like this, as well.
Verse 3: "And Joshua made sharp knives and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins." He didn't do it himself, but the other men did.

All Scriptures from The Holy Bible in Its Original Order, A Faithful Version

Scriptural References:

• Zephaniah 2:6-7
• Exodus 12:5, 24-28, 6-14
• Exodus 13:1-2, 11-13
• Deuteronomy 14:22-26
• Exodus 12:15-18
• Leviticus 23:32
• Exodus 12:18
• Deuteronomy 16:1-8, 1
• Exodus 12:40-42
• Deuteronomy 16:2
• Exodus 12:5
• Deuteronomy 16:6
• Exodus 13:2-4
• Deuteronomy 16:2-8
• Leviticus 7:15-17
• Genesis 15:13-16
• Numbers 9:1-11
• Joshua 5:2-3

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• Revelation 17, 13
• Numbers 18; 27
• Genesis 22
• 1 Corinthians 5

Also referenced: Books:

• Primitive Christianity in Crisis by Alan Knight
• Spirit of Antichrist by Alan Knight
• In Defense of Israel by John Hagee
• Judah's Scepter and Joseph's Birthright by J.H. Allen
• The Christian Passover by Fred R. Coulter
• The Law of Offerings by Andrew Jukes

FRC: bo
Transcribed: 4/1/18