Exodus 12:42

42 God kept watch all night, watching over the Israelites as he brought them out of Egypt. Because God kept watch, all Israel for all generations will honor God by keeping watch this night - a watchnight.

Exodus 12:42 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 12:42

It is a night to be much observed unto the Lord
Or "a night of observations" F20, in which many things are to be observed to the honour and glory of God, as done by him, wherein his power, wisdom, goodness, truth and faithfulness, are displayed; partly by the destruction of the Egyptian firstborn, and particularly for bringing them,
the children of Israel, out from the land of Egypt:
with the leave, and even pressing importunity of the Egyptians, and with so much wealth and riches, having found great favour in their sight, which was from the Lord: this is that night of the Lord to be much observed of all the children
of Israel in their generations
in successive ages unto the coming of the Messiah, for the reasons before given; and the selfsame night is worthy the remembrance of all the spiritual Israel of God, of all true believers in Christ; for that very night after Christ had ate the passover with his disciples, he was betrayed by one of them; and to perpetuate the memory of this, and of his sufferings and death, an ordinance is appointed to be observed until his second coming, see ( 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 ) , and the ancient Jews themselves have had some notion of the appearance of the Messiah at this time; for they not only expect his coming at the time of the passover, and speak of their redemption by him in the month of Nisan, as before observed on ( Exodus 12:14 ) , but of this very night, among the four observable things in it, the fourth they say is, Moses shall go out of the midst of the wilderness, and the King Messiah out of Rome; so it is said in the Jerusalem Targum on the place.


FOOTNOTES:

F20 (Myrmv lyl) "nox observantiarum", Munster, Fagius, Vatablus, so Drusius, Piscator, Cartwright, Ainsworth.

Exodus 12:42 In-Context

40 The Israelites had lived in Egypt 430 years.
41 At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, God's entire army left Egypt.
42 God kept watch all night, watching over the Israelites as he brought them out of Egypt. Because God kept watch, all Israel for all generations will honor God by keeping watch this night - a watchnight.
43 God said to Moses and Aaron, "These are the rules for the Passover: No foreigners are to eat it.
44 Any slave, if he's paid for and circumcised, can eat it.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.