Exodus 12:48-49

Let us chase this out. An Israelite was not a part of Israel—the whole community—merely by being born. What had to be done? The baby boy had to be circumcised on the eighth day, then he became a part of Israel. Now a stranger (in this case a non-Israelite, and Israel always had non-Israelites living within their tribes even as we do today), as long as he was not circumcised, was expressly forbidden to take the Passover, which symbolizes the acceptance of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the subsequent eating of Him. Why? Because he is not holy. He is strange. He is profane. He is not recognized. He is not qualified. He is not acceptable to partake.

However, when a stranger became circumcised, things dramatically changed. Circumcision represents, it symbolizes, belief in the blood of Jesus Christ and repentance. In other words, it represents conversion. Now the stranger is holy. Now he meets the qualifications. God recognizes him as authentic, and free to participate fully in Israel's community life; but at the same time he is still a stranger in terms of being a non-Israelite by birth.

Exodus 12:43-51

Verse 51, where it says "and it came to pass the selfsame day that the LORD did bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies," is positioned at the end of this paragraph that begins in verse 43. That does not mean that they were circumcised "the selfsame day," but rather that verse is a reference back to verse 41: "And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years."

At this point (verse 51) in the story of the events that took place in Egypt, the males had already taken the Passover, and therefore the men were already circumcised. They couldn't have taken the Passover, which occurred at the beginning of chapter 12, unless they had been circumcised. So this section then, from verse 43 through 51, is a reminder of a command given earlier. They didn't get circumcised after Passover and then immediately get up and leave Egypt within the same few hours period.

Exodus 12:49

You see, they extrapolated on that principle and got themselves into trouble in their zeal. God's Word makes it very clear that there is one law for the home-born Israelite and for the stranger. You can see that stated in Exodus 12:49. All are judged against the same standard, by the same law. It is against the righteousness of God that we are judged, and so we can come to understand, that in one sense, there is only one class of people on earth—sinners; sinners in need of deliverance from bondage to Satan and to sin.

Exodus 12:48-49

That law in Leviticus 22 is nullified if the person, the stranger, becomes circumcised, because then he has made the covenant with God, and he is then known of God. He is no longer a stranger, and as long as the rest of his offering meets the qualification or requirements, then he can make an offering just like any Israelite. There is one law then. As long as that person, the stranger, has not made the covenant with God, he does not qualify to make an offering, because his corruption is in him.