Exodus 12:11 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

Thus shall ye eat it— The reason of these peculiar ceremonies is abundantly evident: and they were to be kept in perpetual commemoration of the departure of the Israelites from Egypt, and of their redemption, when the Lord passed through the land: and, in a moral and spiritual view, they serve well to signify to us, that readiness of soul, wherewith we, as strangers and pilgrims, should eat of the true passover, and await the Lord's command to leave the land of our bondage, and go out towards the spiritual Canaan. The girded loins, refers to the loose kind of garments which were worn in the Eastern countries, and which it was necessary to gird about their loins when they travelled. The shoes and staff equally refer to their preparation for a journey. In Egypt, and in the Eastern countries, the people did not commonly wear shoes. See Matthew 10:10. Mark 6:9.