Arthur Pink quotes an old commentator who said, “The institution of the Passover was an act of faith, similar to that of Noah’s preparation of the ark.” It was similar in that it required Moses to do some things that would, to human reason, look utterly ridiculous. To tell the people to do the heretofore unheard of action of slaying thousands of lambs and applying the blood of the lambs on the door posts, plus give them other orders about leaven and the care of the food from the slain lambs would try their faith to the limit. Everything seemed contrary to human reason. Furthermore, Moses had not yet been successful in freeing the Israelites from the Egyptians. So, he could reason, why would the people pay any attention to these “strange” orders? Not only would the Egyptians think the people were acting strangely, but the Israelites could think the same thing and totally reject Moses’ orders. Moses’ faith was under great pressure here, but it prevailed and he gave the orders anyway.

Faith is often put under great pressure by requiring it to act when human reasoning opposes it and when circumstances are not favorable. But if faith is to be faith, it must believe the Word of God regardless of other influences and situations. Noah had to build a boat which would cause people to think he was insane. Moses had to give orders for the Passover observance that would not make sense to human reasoning either. But faith “kept the Passover.” And only faith could do it.

By instituting the Passover and by sprinkling the blood, he emphatically separated himself from Egyptian idolatry forever. He flung down the gauntlet in defiance of the religious establishment. For him, salvation was through the blood of the lamb, not through the waters of the Nile. As a result, the firstborn of Israel were spared while the firstborn of Egypt were slain by the destroyer.