2025 11/09 Numbers 9; Passover Accommodations ; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20251109_numbers-9_1-14.mp3

Passover and Exodus

The children of Israel sojourned in Egypt 430 years. They were enslaved, oppressed, and they cried out to the Lord for help.

Exodus 3:7 Then the LORD said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians…

God stretched out his arm and redeemed his people with might acts of judgment against Egypt and against their gods (Ex.12:12), the climax of which was striking down all the firstborn of Egypt. But God made provision for all who would follow his instruction to be protected. They were to select a male lamb, a yearling without blemish,

Exodus 12:21 …and kill the Passover lamb. 22 Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. 23 For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you.

That very night, at midnight, the pharaoh sent the people out of the land of Egypt. On that original Passover, in Exodus 12, the Lord gave instructions that this was to be an annual feast to remember God’s rescue out of their slavery.

Exodus 12:14 “This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast.

Remembering Salvation

Here in Numbers 9, at the foot of Mount Sinai, we are at the one year anniversary of the Exodus from Egypt.

Numbers 9:1 And the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, 2 “Let the people of Israel keep the Passover at its appointed time. 3 On the fourteenth day of this month, at twilight, you shall keep it at its appointed time; according to all its statutes and all its rules you shall keep it.” 4 So Moses told the people of Israel that they should keep the Passover. 5 And they kept the Passover in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, in the wilderness of Sinai; according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so the people of Israel did.

Keep the Passover. God commanded that his people regularly remember his salvation. A year later he reminded them; ‘keep the Passover at its appointed time.’ We are prone to forget. Here, on the one year anniversary of the exodus from Egypt, the people obeyed. They kept the Passover.

The only other times in the history of Israel that the Old Testament records specifically that the Passover was kept were under Joshua (Josh.5) just before entering the promised land; under king Solomon (2Chr.8) after dedicating the temple; under Hezekiah (2Chr.30); under Josiah (2Chr.35; 2Ki.23); and then the returned exiles under Ezra (Ezr.6) at the rebuilt temple. We are told of Hezekiah’s celebration:

2 Chronicles 30:5 …for they had not kept it as often as prescribed.

2 Kings 23 tells us of Josiah’s celebration:

2 Kings 23:21 And the king commanded all the people, “Keep the Passover to the LORD your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.” 22 For no such Passover had been kept since the days of the judges who judged Israel, or during all the days of the kings of Israel or of the kings of Judah. 23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah this Passover was kept to the LORD in Jerusalem.

Through most of her history it seems, Israel failed to keep the Passover as the Lord commanded, and their failure to remember their salvation was reflected in their persistent rebellion, wandering from the Lord. Failure to remember, neglecting to reflect has consequences. A rekindling of remembering the Lord’s mighty hand in deliverance brought revival. Still camped at Mt. Sinai, the people were obedient.

When Laws Conflict

But there was a problem, a dilemma.

Numbers 9:6 And there were certain men who were unclean through touching a dead body, so that they could not keep the Passover on that day, and they came before Moses and Aaron on that day. 7 And those men said to him, “We are unclean through touching a dead body. Why are we kept from bringing the LORD’s offering at its appointed time among the people of Israel?” 8 And Moses said to them, “Wait, that I may hear what the LORD will command concerning you.”

What do we do when in real life situations God’s laws conflict? In Numbers 5 God commanded specifically that everyone who was unclean through contact with the dead was to be put outside the camp, in order not to defile the camp in which YHWH himself had taken up residence. But here in Numbers 9, the command of the Lord is equally clear:

Numbers 9:2 “Let the people of Israel keep the Passover at its appointed time. 3 On the fourteenth day of this month, at twilight, you shall keep it at its appointed time; according to all its statutes and all its rules you shall keep it.”

It’s an honest question. By keeping one command we violate another. God commanded for the unclean to be put out of the camp until they had followed the procedure for ritual cleansing, which in this case meant that they would be unclean seven days (Num.18:11), and miss the celebration of Passover, which the Lord commanded to be kept at its appointed time. What do we do? This is not the hypothetical question of a critic, intended to trip up, implying that God’s word cannot be trusted, who would refuse to believe even if given a credible answer. Nor is this the question of a lazy unbeliever, who is looking for an excuse not to participate in remembering the Lord’s salvation. This is a legitimate question from a believing member of the community who wants to participate fully, but who also doesn’t want to bring shame into the community by participating while ceremonially unclean. We see this in how they frame their question; ‘Why are we kept from bringing the LORD’s offering at its appointed time among the people of Israel?’ They are not looking for a loophole, in God’s law, an excuse to do what they want; they want to remember together with the community, but they are prevented by their circumstances.

There is great wisdom in Moses’ response. He doesn’t give his own personal opinion. He claim to know the answer when he doesn’t, and make something up. He doesn’t choose one command over another. He doesn’t condone or make light of disobedience to any of God’s commands. He doesn’t say ‘go ahead, don’t worry about it, it’s not really a big deal’. He takes it to the Lord. He seeks wisdom from God. He’s willing to say ‘I don’t know, but I will ask; can you wait with me for an answer?’

God’s Grace

God is ok with questions. Fire doesn’t come out from the Lord to consume the questioners. The Lord doesn’t rebuke Moses for bringing their question to him. This question actually gives opportunity for further revelation, further clarification. God answered.

Numbers 9:9 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If any one of you or of your descendants is unclean through touching a dead body, or is on a long journey, he shall still keep the Passover to the LORD. 11 In the second month on the fourteenth day at twilight they shall keep it. They shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 12 They shall leave none of it until the morning, nor break any of its bones; according to all the statute for the Passover they shall keep it. 13 But if anyone who is clean and is not on a journey fails to keep the Passover, that person shall be cut off from his people because he did not bring the LORD’s offering at its appointed time; that man shall bear his sin. 14 And if a stranger sojourns among you and would keep the Passover to the LORD, according to the statute of the Passover and according to its rule, so shall he do. You shall have one statute, both for the sojourner and for the native.”

God meets us right where we are, right here, in real life with all its complexities. In response to this question, the Lord gives more that just an answer to the question; he gives grace. While still upholding the importance of remembering, he makes an accommodation to our weakness. We can’t control all our circumstances. Like he gave accommodation to the Nazirite in chapter 6 if one is defiled by someone who suddenly dies, he gives accommodation here. They are to keep the Passover to YHWH, but they must not keep it while unclean. In his grace, he allows a second opportunity to keep the Passover one month later, on the second month. Not only for these questioners, but for future generations. Not only for those in an unclean state, but also if someone is on a long journey. This concession would have nothing to do with their present circumstances, as the people were all journeying together through the wilderness, following the Lord’s guidance, taking along his portable sanctuary, where they were to make sacrifices. This concession makes more sense after they are settled in the promised land, with the one central place of worship established by God. In that context they may be on a journey where they are unable to make it to Jerusalem for the feast. We see this late Passover observed under Hezekiah in 2 Chronicles 30.

God’s Holiness

But God is also clear. This isn’t a license to do whatever you want whenever you please. His grace is not a license to do as you please or opt out of doing what he commands. They are given the option of a late date, but it is a specific date. And there are to keep it at the right time in the right way; ‘according to all the statute for the Passover they shall keep it.’

There were consequences for a casual attitude toward God’s commands. The person without legitimate inability to keep the proscribed date who simply chooses not to remember shall be cut off from his people and shall bear his sin. Failure to remember, careless neglect carried a severe consequence.

Welcome the Foreigner

There is also grace here toward the foreigner. God delivered his people, Israel out of Egypt. But the stranger is also welcomed to assimilate into the people of God. The sojourner is welcome to remember together with God’s people God’s salvation. The implications of this are that the stranger is identifying himself with God’s people, owning the God of Israel as his God, owning God’s rescue as his own rescue. The stranger was welcome to keep the Passover with God’s people, but he must keep it ‘according to the statute of the Passover and according to its rule.’ There was not to be two standards, one for the native Israelite and a different one for the foreigner. The foreigner was to be held to the same standard. At the origin of Passover, the Lord made it clear that no foreigner may eat of it, but if a stranger wanted to keep the Passover, he must be circumcised, and ‘Then he may come near and keep it; he shall be as a native of the land’ (Ex.12:48).

Jesus the Greater Passover Lamb

In Luke 22, Jesus

Luke 22:15 And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. …19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

Jesus took the Passover and made it all about himself. The original Passover was to remember YHWH’s salving his people out of slavery in Egypt. But Jesus said ‘Do this in remembrance of me.’ Jesus came to save his people from their sins, to seek and to save the lost. In the original a lamb was killed and its blood applied to protect the firstborn. Jesus, the only begotten of his Father, makes a new covenant with his own blood. Jesus gave his flesh as life for the world.

1 Corinthians 5 calls Christ ‘our Passover Lamb’ who ‘has been sacrificed.’ Peter (1Pet.1:9) likens Christ to a lamb without blemish or spot. John 19 says:

John 19:31 Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. 32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. 35 He who saw it has borne witness— his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth— that you also may believe. 36 For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken.”

Jesus is our greater Passover Lamb, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus extends his grace to every sinner who would come to him, but we must come on his terms. We must acknowledge Jesus for who he claims to be; the great I AM. But it is not ceremonial cleanness that he requires, not avoidance of everything that contaminates; he requires our death and resurrection. The old me must die. We must be made new in Christ, transformed by the Holy Spirit. Salvation is of the Lord; we simply take him at his word and trust that his blood is sufficient to satisfy his Father and secure my protection. All he asks in return is that we remember him, celebrate regularly the salvation we enjoy, and welcome others into this salvation we enjoy.

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Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org