The Mixed Multitude, And Those Who Will, Can Enter God's Covenant and Share the Passover (Exodus 12:42-50).
The extra instructions that follow were partly necessary because of the mixed multitude that had joined up with them, and they are thus introduced at this point. But they are also important as indicating the make up of ‘the children of Israel'. They are seen as including genuine descendants of Jacob and his sons, descendants of all family servants in their households who had been circumcised and their descendants, and all resident aliens who sought to enter the covenant through circumcision. It was in fact open to almost anyone to become one of the ‘children of Israel' as long as they were willing to be committed to Yahweh.
a The ordinance of the Passover is now spoken of so that instructions can be given concerning it (Exodus 12:43 a)
b No resident alien is to eat of it, but a man's servant bought with money may eat of it once he has been circumcised and thus brought within the covenant (Exodus 12:43-44)
c A foreign settler or foreign hired worker shall not eat of it (Exodus 12:45).
d It must be eaten within the one house. No part of the flesh may be take out of the house, and no bone of it may be broken (Exodus 12:46).
e All the congregation of Israel shall keep it (Exodus 12:47)
d A foreigner who resides with them permanently and wishes, with his family, to keep the Passover must first be circumcised with all the males of the family, and then they may then eat of it. He will then be as one born in the land (Exodus 12:48 a).
c No uncircumcised person may eat of it (Exodus 12:48 b).
b There will be one law for the homeborn and for the resident alien who dwells among them (Exodus 12:49).
a Thus did all the children of Israel as Yahweh commanded Moses, and so it came about that that selfsame day Yahweh brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts (Exodus 12:50).
With regard to ‘a', the ordinance of the Passover was the ordinance of deliverance, thus in the parallel to keep it was to celebrate the bringing of the children of Israel out of Egypt by their hosts. In ‘b' a resident alien who had not committed himself by being circumcised may not eat of it while a circumcised bought-in servant may, the parallel indicating that all will receive complete fairness of treatment, all will be treated the same according to these regulations, whether homeborn or foreign. The whole question of acceptability rests on whether they are willing to be circumcised into the covenant. In ‘c' no foreigner may eat of it, nor in the parallel may any uncircumcised person. In ‘d' it may not be taken outside the house nor may any bone of it be broken. It is a holy meal. It must be eaten entire within the household so that its holiness may be maintained. And in the parallel a household of foreigners may, as long as all the males are circumcised, partake of the holy meal, for then they will be as the homeborn and the holiness of the meal will be protected. Both ordinance are concerned to protect the holiness of the meal. And finally and centrally all the congregation of Israel must keep the Passover.
‘And Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the ordinance of the Passover. No alien shall eat of it. But every man's servant who is bought for money, once you have circumcised him, then shall he eat of it. A foreign settler and a hired servant shall not eat of it.” '
When the Passover was kept those who partook could only be those who had entered the covenant community of ‘the children of Israel'. Thus a purchased man, once he was circumcised, could enter the covenant, and then belonged and could partake, because he was permanently among them. But those who were just passing through, such as a hired man who would one day leave, or a sojourner who was temporary (compare Exodus 12:48), could not eat of the Passover because they were not members of the covenant. They were not committed to Yahweh. But in verse 48 provision is made for them to enter the covenant if they were willing to become permanently committed by being circumcised.
“No alien shall eat of it.” That is, one who is outside the covenant (see Exodus 12:48). He will be a worshipper of other gods and belongs to another community.
“A foreign settler.” Someone who settles among them on a temporary basis. (The one who wishes to become permanent and enter the covenant can do so (Exodus 12:48)).
“It shall be eaten in one house. You shall not carry out any of the flesh outside from the house, nor shall you break a bone of it. All the congregation of Israel shall do it.”
Stress is laid on the fact that nothing of the Passover lamb may be taken out of the house in which it was killed. It must be burned inside (Exodus 12:10). Furthermore no bone of it must be broken. This was because the flesh and body were seen as holy and perfect, and as belonging to Yahweh, and must be kept perfect. These sacrificial animals were His gift to His people but they remained His. They may eat of them in the place commanded but they were not to be seen as just ordinary food. They were sacrificial food in a way that other sacrifices eaten by the people, which did not all have to be eaten on the same day, were not, demonstrating that the people who partook were set apart for Him and unified with Him. That this is stressed again (compare Exodus 12:10) with the new addition of the preservation of the bones demonstrates how important it was seen to be. There must be no blemish even after death. (Compare John 19:6 where John applies this same idea to the death of Jesus. He was offered up in His perfection as God's Passover Lamb and not a bone of Him was broken). The purpose in mentioning this here is to indicate why only those within the covenant may eat of it. It is especially holy, and it belongs to God.
“All the congregation of Israel shall do it.” There were to be no exemptions for the children of Israel. All of them must partake wherever possible. Like circumcision into the covenant the Passover was the sign of those who were His. ‘The congregation'. That is, all those who gather to worship Him because they are circumcised into the covenant and have submitted to Yahweh.
“And when a stranger sojourns with you and wants to keep the Passover to Yahweh, let all his males be circumcised and then let him come near and keep it. And he shall be as one born in the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. One law shall be to him that is homeborn and to him that sojourns among you.”
But anyone who wished to enter into the privileges of Yahweh's covenant with the fathers and eat the Passover might do so by commitment and circumcision. By this they would be declaring their intent to become ‘children of Israel', and must be welcomed on equal terms. They could now partake of the holy meal because they had been made a part of the holy people, and were thus themselves holy to Yahweh. This is why the ‘mixed multitude' (verse 38) could join the covenant, become members of the children of Israel, and keep the Passover. But in order to do so they must be committed to being circumcised.
“As one born in the land.” God is looking forward to that time when they have reached the land He has promised them (Exodus 3:8 compare Exodus 13:5). It is then that strangers will regularly come among them and be faced with the choice described.
The importance of these words for our understanding of how the church fits in with Israel cannot be overemphasised. Jesus' Apostles and the all Jewish church went out to call men to follow Jesus and join the community of the true Israel, ‘the true vine' (John 15:1-6), and soon learned that Gentiles too could be welcomed into ‘the church of Christ' (Matthew 16:18), which was built on the Apostles of Jerusalem not on the church of Rome. Indeed Rome could not have been in mind for the idea was to build a new ‘congregation (ekklesia) of Israel', and this had to be founded on believing Jews. Believing Gentiles were thus grafted into the olive tree and became part of the Israel of God (Romans 11:17; Galatians 6:16; Ephesians 2:12-22), while unbelieving Jews were ‘cut off'. The church was seen as the renewed Israel, the genuine continuation of the Israel of God confirmed at Sinai. When Paul argued that they did not need to be circumcised it was not on the grounds that they were not entering Israel, it was on the grounds that they were already circumcised with the circumcision of Christ (Colossians 2:11; Colossians 2:13).
‘Thus did all the children of Israel. As Yahweh commanded Moses and Aaron so they did.'
Most probably this is a comment on the whole chapter stressing the obedience of Israel to God's commandments through Moses, as verse 50 might be seen as confirming. Alternately, but less likely, it may connect only with the last section confirming that Israel later carried out Yahweh's requirements concerning the Passover.
In the latter case it might be seen as confirming that the mixed multitude, who were now recognised as being potential children of Israel, did agree to fulfil God's requirement and gave their commitment to be circumcised under the aegis of the ‘homeborn'. In the event it would have to await a suitable occasion when they could have time to recover, but the intention would be there and would be accepted. The impression given elsewhere is in fact that circumcision was not carried out in the wilderness, even for the children of the ‘homeborn', something which had to be remedied when they arrived in the land (Joshua 5:2-9). But it would certainly seem that the mixed multitude were included at the covenant ceremony at Sinai. There is no suggestion anywhere that they were not.
‘And it came about the selfsame day that Yahweh brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts.'
This relates back to ‘the self same day' in Exodus 12:41 confirming that the words of Yahweh to Moses and Aaron in Exodus 12:43-49 were given that day, and to Exodus 12:14 where it is the day of the Passover, and stressing that the deliverance began on the day that Yahweh had chosen. It is a triumphant declaration that Yahweh did what He had promised with none to thwart Him. This was what the celebration of the Passover was all about, the deliverance of their firstborn through the shedding of blood, and their own deliverance from Pharaoh through the power of Yahweh.
Note for Christians.
We can imagine the joy of the Israelites as they streamed from the places where they had lived for so long, and had found themselves in bondage, to a new life. They knew little of what lay before them. All they knew was that because of the power of Yahweh Pharaoh had had to let them go, and they were free. Every true Christian has experienced that deliverance, although in our case the Passover was of Christ the Passover lamb sacrificed for us (John 1:29; 1 Corinthians 5:7), and the freedom was from the bondage of the guilt of sin. And we too have commenced our pilgrim journey (1 Peter 2:11). But the difference between us and them is that their trek leader was Moses, and while he was a great man of God, he was a man of like passions as they were, while our Trek Leader is the Lord Jesus Christ, made into a perfect Trek Leader through His own sufferings (Hebrews 2:10), and able to save to the uttermost those who come to God by Him because of His continual heavenly intercession for us. Do you sometimes begin to feel alone? Never forget that there is One Who always sees you, and continually makes intercession for you without ceasing (Hebrews 7:25).
End of note.