Good Morning.
And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man’s need you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. (Exodus 12:4-5)
Passover is regarded as a family affair, in fact, according to the text, those males who were not circumcised were not to participate. The point is that only those who were part of the covenant were to partake of this very special and very sacred meal. The Passover was not only focused on what God was doing for them at that time but looking ahead to what God would do for all through His Son, the Messiah.
Concerning the Passover lamb, it was to be “without blemish.” The Hebrew term is tammim and indicates something that is whole and complete — in other words, without spot or wrinkle. By the way, this was the standards for all animals that were to be presented unto God as a sacrifice (Leviticus 22:21). If this was the standard for the Passover lamb then it had to be the standard for the Lamb of God. As the writer of Hebrews says, Messiah “was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).
It is thus revealed that whatever or whoever is to be presented unto God should be tammim, which is to say, without spot or blemish. Messiah told the young rich man that if he were to “perfect” (the Hebrew equivalent being tammim) there were things he needed to do in order to be whole. He, nor anyone else who follows the Messiah, could not be half-hearted about it. Anything, such as riches, that has a hold on a person, no matter how small or great, keeps us from being tammim. In short, if we are going to followers of Messiah we must strive to be as He instructed the young rich man to be — lacking nothing.
It is understood that we cannot do this in our own power but we have been empowered by the Spirit of God to walk in this manner. It is our duty to continue to walk in humility and holiness as befits the prospective Bride of Messiah, for as we know, He is returning and expecting to be joined to a bride, “not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.”
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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