Exodus 12:43-51

Exodus 12:43-51

[43] And the LORD  said  unto Moses  and Aaron,  This is the ordinance  of the passover:  There shall no stranger  eat  thereof: [44] But every man's  servant  that is bought  for money,  when thou hast circumcised  him, then shall he eat  thereof. [45] A foreigner  and an hired servant  shall not eat  thereof. [46] In one  house  shall it be eaten;  thou shalt not carry forth  ought of the flesh  abroad  out of the house;  neither shall ye break  a bone  thereof. [47] All the congregation  of Israel  shall keep  [48] And when a stranger  shall sojourn  with thee, and will keep  the passover  to the LORD,  let all his males  be circumcised,  and then let him come near  and keep  it; and he shall be as one that is born  in the land:  for no uncircumcised person  shall eat  thereof. [49] One  law  shall be to him that is homeborn,  and unto the stranger  that sojourneth  among  [50] Thus did  all the children  of Israel;  as the LORD  commanded  Moses  and Aaron,  so did  they. [51] And it came to pass the selfsame  day,  that the LORD  did bring  the children  of Israel  out of the land  of Egypt  by their armies. 

What does Exodus 12:43-51 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Before any male could eat the Passover he had to undergo circumcision. Moses stressed this requirement strongly in this section. The rationale behind this rule was that before anyone could observe the memorial of redemption he first had to exercise faith in the promises God had given to Abraham. Furthermore he had to demonstrate that faith by submitting to the rite of circumcision, the sign of the Abrahamic Covenant. This requirement should have reminded the Israelites and all other believers who partook of the Passover that the Passover rite did not make a person acceptable to God. Faith in the promises of God did that. Foreigners who were non-Israelites could and did become members of the nation by faith in the Abrahamic Covenant promises and participation in the rite of circumcision. There were both circumcised and uncircumcised foreigners who lived among the Israelites during the wilderness march.
Here Moses revealed the requirement that the Passover host was not to break a bone of the paschal lamb ( Exodus 12:46; cf. Exodus 12:3-9). Not a bone of the Lamb of God was broken either ( John 19:36).