What is the meaning of Exodus 12:47? The whole congregation - Every household and individual was included—no exceptions (Exodus 12:3–4). - God did not intend the Passover to be an optional ritual for the devout few but a national act of worship (Deuteronomy 16:1–8). - The emphasis on unity prefigures the oneness Christ prays for in John 17:20–23 and that Paul urges in 1 Corinthians 10:16–17. of Israel - The command is addressed to those in covenant with the LORD through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Genesis 17:7–8). - Outsiders could join, but only by full identification with God’s people (Exodus 12:48–49). - This anticipates the future gathering of believing Gentiles into the “Israel of God” through faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:11–19). must celebrate - “Must” shows divine mandate, not human preference (Numbers 9:13). - To celebrate is to remember God’s salvation with joy, a pattern carried into the Lord’s Supper (Luke 22:14–20; 1 Corinthians 11:23–26). - Neglecting the feast equaled rebellion; observing it affirmed trust in the blood of the lamb (Hebrews 11:28). it. - “It” points back to the Passover, the night God spared Israel through the substitutionary lamb (Exodus 12:13). - The singular pronoun keeps focus on God’s redemptive act, not on Israel’s performance. - Christ fulfills “it” as our Passover Lamb, sacrificed once for all (1 Corinthians 5:7; John 1:29). summary Exodus 12:47 mandates that every covenant member participate in the Passover. God called the entire nation—no one left out—to commemorate His saving work. The verse highlights community, covenant identity, obedience, and the central role of substitutionary sacrifice, all of which find their ultimate fulfillment in Jesus, the Lamb who secures eternal redemption for all who believe. |