What is the meaning of Exodus 12:2? This month God pinpoints a specific moment—“this month”—as He speaks to Moses and Aaron on the eve of the Exodus (Exodus 12:1-3). • The month is Abib, later called Nisan (Exodus 13:4; Deuteronomy 16:1). • By mentioning “this month,” the Lord ties His redemptive act to the calendar, showing that history and salvation intersect in real time. • The phrase signals immediacy and expectancy; what God is about to do will be remembered forever (Exodus 12:14). • Similar divine time-markers appear when God promises seasons in Genesis 8:22 and when He schedules feasts in Leviticus 23:4-5, underlining His sovereignty over time itself. is the beginning of months for you With these words, God resets Israel’s calendar around redemption. • The Exodus becomes Israel’s “day one,” much as creation’s first day set time in motion (Genesis 1:14-19). • For a people born into slavery, this declaration proclaims a fresh identity: no longer Pharaoh’s servants, but the Lord’s covenant community (Exodus 6:6-7). • Every future month would be counted from this saving event, ensuring that memory of deliverance shapes national life (Leviticus 23:42-43). • In personal terms, it foreshadows the believer’s new creation in Christ—“the old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). it shall be the first month of your year God elevates Passover month to permanent first-place status. • “It shall be” is a command, not a suggestion; Israel’s civil and religious rhythms must revolve around salvation (Numbers 9:1-5). • The lasting nature of this change is seen generations later when Ezra celebrates Passover “on the fourteenth day of the first month” (Ezra 6:19), and when Hezekiah restores worship “in the first month” (2 Chronicles 29:17). • Ultimately, the month points to Christ: “For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7). Just as Israel’s year begins with the lamb’s blood, the believer’s life begins with the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29; Luke 22:15-20). • Practically, the verse calls God’s people in every age to order goals, schedules, and priorities around the finished work of redemption rather than personal ambition or cultural expectation (Colossians 3:1-4). summary Exodus 12:2 reveals that God reorients Israel’s entire concept of time around the Passover. “This month” anchors redemption in real history; “is the beginning of months for you” signals a brand-new identity founded on deliverance; “it shall be the first month of your year” establishes an enduring pattern that keeps salvation front-and-center. Believers today likewise structure life around the greater Passover Lamb, Jesus Christ, letting His saving work define every moment that follows. |
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