Day 1060: An event for all time - Exodus 12 vs 21 - 29

21-22 Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and select lambs for yourselves according to your clans, and kill the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. 23 For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you.

24-27 You shall observe this rite as a statute for you and for your sons for ever. And when you come to the land that the Lord will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this service. And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’” And the people bowed their heads and worshipped. 28-29 Then the people of Israel went and did so; as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did. At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock. Exodus 12:21-29 English Standard Version

I wonder if any who read this post are like me, and shudder at the thought of personally killing a lamb! While only the elders are mentioned here, the start of the Chapter said that “every man was to take a lamb, according to their fathers' houses . . . and the whole assembly shall kill their lambs at twilight.” It makes me think of the line in a song by Stuart Townend about the Lamb God provided for sinners, which says: “It was my sin that held Him there until it was accomplished.” There's a sense in which, like those Israelites, our hands were involved in killing the Lamb. But what was the purpose of the blood of the lambs shed that evening which was applied to the homes of the Israelites? (vs 23)

It caused the Lord to pass over their homes - and the destroyer sent by Him in judgment on the Egyptians didn’t strike them down. This may seem strange to modern man, even outrageous to those who have no time for God, yet it goes all the way back to the days of Adam. After he and Eve had sinned and brought themselves under the condemnation of death, we read that “The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.” (Genesis 3:21) A death had taken place for their covering. We read also how, sometime later, Adam's son brought “an offering of fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock”, and “the Lord looked with favour on Abel and his offering.” (Genesis 4:4)

Now while the event of Israel in Egypt is not identical to our situation in the world today, there is an obvious link to what happened then, and to what happened when Christ was crucified, and His blood was shed. The apostle Peter wrote to Christians: “It wasn't with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.” (1 Peter 1:18-20) It is indeed through the blood of this Lamb that God's wrath can pass over us. So what did Moses urge the Israelites to do in the years that would follow, and what would you say is the similarity in that event, and the event of Calvary? (vs 24-27)

On the 14th day of the first month of their calender year, the Jews were to keep a feast in remembrance of the remarkable way God had delivered them out of Egypt, and they were to explain its meaning to their children so that they too would know of God's salvation, and would worship Him alone. Like that first passover, Calvary was also a singular event. And Christians are called to remember the foundation of our salvation through sharing in the bread and wine of 'the Lord's Supper'. Even though it was our sins 'that held Him there', our salvation has indeed been accomplished! It was an event for all time. May we seek to make it known to the next generation.