This was afterward a general law of sacrifices; at once preventing all possibility of profanity, and of superstitious abuse. The injunction is on both accounts justly applied by our Church to the eucharist.

Burn with fire - Not being consumed by man, it was thus offered, like other sacrifices Exodus 12:8, to God.

Ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning - Merely to prevent putrefaction; for it was not meet that a thing offered to God should be subjected to corruption, which in such hot countries it must speedily undergo. Thus the body of our blessed Lord saw no corruption, Psalm 16:10; Acts 2:27, because, like the paschal lamb, it was a sacrifice offered to God.

It appears that from the Jewish passover the heathens borrowed their sacrifice termed Propter Viam. It was their custom previously to their undertaking a journey, to offer a sacrifice to their gods, and to eat the whole if possible, but if any part was left they burned it with fire; and this was called propter viam, because it was made to procure a prosperous journey. It was in reference to this that Cato is said to have rallied a person called Q. Albidius, who, having eaten up all his goods, set fire to his house, his only remaining property. "He has offered his sacrifice propter viam," says Cato, "because he has burned what he could not eat." This account is given by Macrobius, Saturn., lib. ii., 2, edit. Bipont., vol. 1, p. 333; and is a remarkable instance how closely some of the religious observances of the people of God have been copied by the heathen nations.

And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning,.... It was to be all ate up; a whole Christ is to be received and fed upon by faith; Christ in both his natures, divine and human, united in his person, in all his offices of prophet, priest, and King, and with all the benefits and blessings of his grace, and which come by his blood, righteousness, and sacrifice:

and that which remaineth of it until the morning, ye shall burn with fire: what of the flesh which remaineth not ate, and what of it that could not be eaten, as the bones, which were not broken, and the nerves and sinews, which might not be eaten; and so runs the Jewish canon (d),"the bones, and the sinews, and what remains, they shall burn on the sixteenth day; and if the sixteenth happens on the sabbath, they shall burn on the seventeenth.''The reason of this law was, that what was left might not be converted to common or superstitious uses, as also that the Israelites might not be burdened with it in their journey, nor the Egyptians have an opportunity of treating it with contempt.

(d) Misn. ut supra, (Persch. c. 7.) sect. 10.

The lamb was to be all eaten wherever this was possible; but if any was left, it was to be burned with fire the following day, - a rule afterwards laid down for all the sacrificial meals, with one solitary exception (vid., Leviticus 7:15). They were to eat it בּחפּזון, "in anxious flight" (from חפז trepidare, Psalm 31:23; to flee in terror, Deuteronomy 20:3; 2 Kings 7:15); in travelling costume therefore, - with "the loins girded," that they might not be impeded in their walking by the long flowing dress (2 Kings 4:29), - with "shoes (Sandals) on their feet," that they might be ready to walk on hard, rough roads, instead of barefooted, as they generally went (cf. Joshua 9:5, Joshua 9:13; Bynaeus de calceis ii. 1, 7; and Bochart, Hieroz. i. pp. 686ff.), and "staff in hand" (Genesis 32:11). The directions in Exodus 12:11 had reference to the paschal meal in Egypt only, and had no other signification than to prepare the Israelites for their approaching departure. But though "this preparation was intended to give the paschal meal the appearance of a support for the journey, which the Israelites were about to tale," this by no means exhausts its signification. The divine instructions close with the words, "it is פּסח to Jehovah;" i.e., what is prescribed is a pesach appointed by Jehovah, and to be kept for Him (cf. Exodus 20:10, "Sabbath to Jehovah;" Exodus 32:5, "feast to Jehovah"). The word פּסח, Aram. פסחא, Gr. πάσχα, is derived from פּסח, lit., to leap or hop, from which these two meanings arise: (1) to limp (1 Kings 18:21; 2 Samuel 4:4, etc.); and (2) to pass over, transire (hence Tiphsah, a passage over, 1 Kings 4:24). It is for the most part used figuratively for ὑπερβαίνειν, to pass by or spare; as in this case, where the destroying angel passed by the doors and houses of the Israelites that were smeared with blood. From this, pesach (ὑπέρβασις, Aquil. in Exodus 12:11; ὑπερβασία, Joseph. Ant. ii. 14, 6) came afterwards to be used for the lamb, through which, according to divine appointment, the passing by or sparing had been effected (Exodus 12:21, Exodus 12:27; 2 Chronicles 35:1, 2 Chronicles 35:13, etc.); then for the preparation of the lamb for a meal, in accordance with the divine instructions, or for the celebration of this meal (thus here, Exodus 12:11; Leviticus 23:5; Numbers 9:7, etc.); and then, lastly, it was transferred to the whole seven days' observance of the feast of unleavened bread, which began with this meal (Deuteronomy 16:1), and also to the sacrifices which were to be offered at that feast (Deuteronomy 16:2; 2 Chronicles 35:1, 2 Chronicles 35:7, etc.). The killing of the lamb appointed for the pesach was a זבח, i.e., a slain-offering, as Moses calls it when making known the command of God to the elders (Exodus 12:27); consequently the eating of it was a sacrificial feast ("the sacrifice of the feast of the Passover," Exodus 34:25). For זבח is never applied to slaying alone, as שׁחט is. Even in Proverbs 17:1 and 1 Samuel 28:24, which Hoffmann adduces in support of this meaning, it signifies "to sacrifice" only in a figurative or transferred sense. At the first Passover in Egypt, it is true, there was no presentation (הקריב), because Israel had not altar there. But the presentation took place at the very first repetition of the festival at Sinai (Numbers 9:7). The omission of this in Egypt, on account of the circumstances in which they were placed, constituted no essential difference between the first "sacrifice of the Passover" and the repetitions of it; for the choice of the lamb four days before it was slain, was a substitute for the presentation, and the sprinkling of the blood, which was essential to every sacrifice, was effected in the smearing of the door-posts and lintel. The other difference upon which Hofmann lays stress, viz., that at all subsequent Passovers the fat of the animal was burned upon the altar, is very questionable. For this custom cannot be proved from the Old Testament, though it is prescribed in the Mishnah.

(Note: In the elaborate account of the Passover under Josiah, in 2 Chronicles 35, we have, it is true, an allusion to the presentation of the burnt-offering and fat (2 Chronicles 35:14); but the boiling of the offerings in pots, caldrons, and pans is also mentioned, along with the roasting of the Passover (2 Chronicles 35:13); from which it is very obvious, that in this account the offering of burnt and slain-offerings is associated with the preparation of the paschal lamb, and the paschal meal is not specially separated from the sacrificial meals of the seven days' feast; just as we find that the king and the princes give the priests and Levites not only lambs and kids, but oxen also, for the sacrifices and sacrificial meals of this festival (see my Archologie, 81, 8).)

But even if the burning of the fat of the paschal lamb had taken place shortly after the giving of the law, on the ground of the general command in Leviticus 3:17; Leviticus 7:23. (for this is not taken for granted in Exodus 23:18, as we shall afterwards show), this difference could also be accounted for from the want of an altar in Egypt, and would not warrant us in refusing to admit the sacrificial character of the first Passover. For the appointment of the paschal meal by God does not preclude the idea that it was a religious service, nor the want of an altar the idea of sacrifice, as Hoffmann supposes. All the sacrifices of the Jewish nation were minutely prescribed by God, so that the presentation of them was the consequence of divine instructions. And even though the Israelites, when holding the first Passover according to the command of God, merely gave expression to their desire to participate in the deliverance from destruction and the redemption of Egypt, and also to their faith in the word and promise of God, we must neither measure the signification of this divine institution by that fact, nor restrict it to this alone, inasmuch as it is expressly described as a sacrificial meal.

And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire.

12:10 Ye shall burn with fire - To prevent the profane abuse of it.

10. let nothing of it remain until the morning-which might be applied in a superstitious manner, or allowed to putrefy, which in a hot climate would speedily have ensued; and which was not becoming in what had been offered to God.

12:1-20 The Lord makes all things new to those whom he delivers from the bondage of Satan, and takes to himself to be his people. The time when he does this is to them the beginning of a new life. God appointed that, on the night wherein they were to go out of Egypt, each family should kill a lamb, or that two or three families, if small, should kill one lamb. This lamb was to be eaten in the manner here directed, and the blood to be sprinkled on the door-posts, to mark the houses of the Israelites from those of the Egyptians. The angel of the Lord, when destroying the first-born of the Egyptians, would pass over the houses marked by the blood of the lamb: hence the name of this holy feast or ordinance. The passover was to be kept every year, both as a remembrance of Israel's preservation and deliverance out of Egypt, and as a remarkable type of Christ. Their safety and deliverance were not a reward of their own righteousness, but the gift of mercy. Of this they were reminded, and by this ordinance they were taught, that all blessings came to them through the shedding and sprinkling of blood. Observe, 1. The paschal lamb was typical. Christ is our passover, 1Co 5:7. Christ is the Lamb of God, Joh 1:29; often in the Revelation he is called the Lamb. It was to be in its prime; Christ offered up himself in the midst of his days, not when a babe at Bethlehem. It was to be without blemish; the Lord Jesus was a Lamb without spot: the judge who condemned Christ declared him innocent. It was to be set apart four days before, denoting the marking out of the Lord Jesus to be a Saviour, both in the purpose and in the promise. It was to be slain, and roasted with fire, denoting the painful sufferings of the Lord Jesus, even unto death, the death of the cross. The wrath of God is as fire, and Christ was made a curse for us. Not a bone of it must be broken, which was fulfilled in Christ, Joh 19:33, denoting the unbroken strength of the Lord Jesus. 2. The sprinkling of the blood was typical. The blood of the lamb must be sprinkled, denoting the applying of the merits of Christ's death to our souls; we must receive the atonement, Ro 5:11. Faith is the bunch of hyssop, by which we apply the promises, and the benefits of the blood of Christ laid up in them, to ourselves. It was to be sprinkled on the door-posts, denoting the open profession we are to make of faith in Christ. It was not to be sprinkled upon the threshold; which cautions us to take heed of trampling under foot the blood of the covenant. It is precious blood, and must be precious to us. The blood, thus sprinkled, was a means of preserving the Israelites from the destroying angel, who had nothing to do where the blood was. The blood of Christ is the believer's protection from the wrath of God, the curse of the law, and the damnation of hell, Ro 8:1. 3. The solemn eating of the lamb was typical of our gospel duty to Christ. The paschal lamb was not to be looked upon only, but to be fed upon. So we must by faith make Christ our own; and we must receive spiritual strength and nourishment from him, as from our food, see Joh 6:53,55. It was all to be eaten; those who by faith feed upon Christ, must feed upon a whole Christ; they must take Christ and his yoke, Christ and his cross, as well as Christ and his crown. It was to be eaten at once, not put by till morning. To-day Christ is offered, and is to be accepted while it is called to-day, before we sleep the sleep of death. It was to be eaten with bitter herbs, in remembrance of the bitterness of their bondage in Egypt; we must feed upon Christ with sorrow and brokenness of heart, in remembrance of sin. Christ will be sweet to us, if sin be bitter. It was to be eaten standing, with their staves in their hands, as being ready to depart. When we feed upon Christ by faith, we must forsake the rule and the dominion of sin; sit loose to the world, and every thing in it; forsake all for Christ, and reckon it no bad bargain, Heb 13:13,14. 4. The feast of unleavened bread was typical of the Christian life, 1Co 5:7,8. Having received Christ Jesus the Lord, we must continually delight ourselves in Christ Jesus. No manner of work must be done, that is, no care admitted and indulged, which does not agree with, or would lessen this holy joy. The Jews were very strict as to the passover, so that no leaven should be found in their houses. It must be a feast kept in charity, without the leaven of malice; and in sincerity, without the leaven of hypocrisy. It was by an ordinance for ever; so long as we live we must continue feeding upon Christ, rejoicing in him always, with thankful mention of the great things he has done for us.