What the Bible says about Night of Solemn Observance

Exodus 12:40-42

The account of Israel's exodus from Egypt provides a clue to the significance of the afternoon of the 14^th—the time when the Messiah was crucified.

The Israelites had killed the lambs after sunset as the 14^th began, smearing the blood on the doorposts of their houses. They then roasted and ate the lambs, burning the remains. At midnight the Death Angel passed over, slaying the firstborn of those not under the blood. The Israelites remained in their houses until daybreak, after which they finished spoiling the Egyptians, then all 2-3 million of them traveled to Goshen. Numbers 33:3 records that they departed Rameses on the 15^th day—“the day after the Passover”—and Deuteronomy 16:1 verifies that they left at night.

The Exodus, then, began at night, as Abib/Nisan 15 began. This “night of solemn observance” is the “very same day” or the “self-same day” (King James Version [KJV]) as an event that happened 430 years before—to the exact day. That prior event is the initial covenant God made with Abraham:

Then He said to him, “I amthe LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.” And he said, “Lord GOD, how shall I know that I will inherit it?” So He said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. . . .

Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror andgreat darkness fell upon him. Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land thatisnot theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. . . .

And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces. On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram. . . . (Genesis 15:7-10, 12-14, 17-18)

In verse 13, God's states that Abraham's descendants would be afflicted, yet finally delivered. This is that “very same day” to which Exodus 12:41-42 refers—the beginning of the 15^th day, just after sunset.

David C. Grabbe
Why Was Jesus Not Crucified as Passover Began? (Part Two)

Joshua 5:10

Remember the instructions in Exodus 12. The Israelites were to kill the Passover lambs in the twilight just after the sun went down. This takes place at the very beginning of the Abib/Nisan 14, but light remained. All of those Israelites age 40-59, plus Joshua and Caleb and their families, had kept Passover while they were still in Egypt. They knew what to do by experience. Besides, they had Moses' writings to fall back on. Therefore, after the sun went down, they followed through by burning any of the lambs that remained after the Passover meal, and as Exodus 12 instructs, they stayed in their homes until morning.

What did they do in the morning, the daylight portion of Abib/Nisan 14? They did what we do on the daylight portion of the 14^th. They prepared for the activities of Abib/Nisan 15. Like us, they undoubtedly prepared for the Night To Be Much Observed and the keeping of the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. They made final preparations for observing it, as the Passover, Abib/Nisan 14, is a preparation day.

Because it was not a Sabbath, manna fell on that day. Notice the instructions regarding manna in Exodus 16:25-30:

Then Moses said, "Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to the LORD; today you will not find it in the field. Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there shall be none." Now it came happened that some of the people went out on the seventh day for to gather, but they found none. And the LORD said to Moses, "How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws? See! For the LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days. Let every man remain in his place; let no man go out of his place [for manna] on the seventh day." So the people rested on the seventh day.

This presents us with a choice about what happened in Joshua 5. Did manna fall on an annual festival—on Abib/Nisan 15? The annual festivals are Sabbaths. It is not specifically mentioned in Exodus 16, but they are Sabbaths and also holy convocations. Exodus 16 contains a principle by which we can understand that God did not provide manna on any Sabbath. He sent double portions on the preparation day, and the manna did not spoil over any Sabbath day, whether weekly or annual.

God would have been concerned about witnessing to His people about all His holy convocations, just as He was about the weekly Sabbath, so that they would have no excuse about not knowing they were Sabbaths. Thus, He would have provided a double portion of manna on Abib/Nisan 14. When that day ends at sunset, the first day of Unleavened Bread, Abib/Nisan 15, begins with that same sunset. That sunset also begins The Night To Be Much Observed.

Time-wise, this is the same time mentioned in Genesis 15:17 and Exodus 12:40-42. Those two, separated exactly to the day by 430 years, and in Joshua 5, exactly 40 years after the Israelites left Egypt. To the day, Abraham's descendants in Joshua 5 are in the Promised Land keeping The Night To Be Much Observed.

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Wavesheaf and the Selfsame Day