God gave Moses very careful instructions for the people. When the great judgment came on Egypt, God made a way in which all who believed and obeyed could be kept safe. Every family was to choose a lamb. They were to keep it for four days, and then they were to kill it. The lamb’s blood was to be painted onto the door frames of their houses. God said, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you” (Exodus 12:13).
Can you imagine the pressure on Moses to communicate this message? He had been in the presence of the living God at the burning bush. He had seen the fire and heard his voice. He had seen the plagues and he knew that God would strike Egypt with judgment.
He knew that God had provided one way in which families could be kept safe. The way of deliverance was by blood. Only blood would save them from death.
I can imagine Moses going around to the people asking, “Are you covered by the blood of the lamb? Have you shed that blood yet? Is it over your door? The day of judgment is coming. God said, ‘When I see the blood, I will pass over you.’ Now, get it on your house. Why haven’t you done it yet?”
God’s pattern from the beginning
“The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.” Genesis 3:21
This theme of shedding blood goes right back to the beginning of the Bible. Remember when Adam and Eve first sinned in the garden, and they knew that they were naked and they covered themselves with fig leaves? God made garments of skin for Adam. That means that God killed an animal on the very day the first sin was committed.
Adam did not die that day, though he was excluded from the presence of God. But just as the curse did not fall on him directly, death did not come to him immediately. God was creating room for restoration.
We find the same pattern in the story of Abraham and Isaac. God told Abraham to take his son up the mountain, and God provided an animal which was killed in Isaac’s place. The animal’s blood was shed and Isaac’s life was spared.
God is telling the people the same thing. The way in which you will be saved from judgment is through the death of another. It will involve the shedding of blood. It was like that for Adam, and like that for Abraham, and it will be like that for you.
What the blood will do
“When I see the blood, I will pass over you.” Exodus 12:13
Notice that God never says, “If you offer a certain number of prayers, I will pass over you.” He did not say, “If you are sincere, I will pass over you.” He said only, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.”
I have no doubt that some of the people were shaking with fear as they stood by their tables eating the Passover meal. Some of them were looking up at the blood on their doors, wondering if it would make any difference when the storm of God’s judgment came. What would you have done ?
All they had to go on was the Word of God. Two million people believed and obeyed, and every one of them was kept safe through the judgment of God. What the blood of the lamb did on that day of God’s judgment then, the blood of the Lamb of God will do on the last day, when God will judge all men and the secrets of every heart will be known.
This week's Scripture: When I see the blood, I will pass over you. Exodus 12:13
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This LifeKey is based on the message “Blood,” by Pastor Colin S. Smith, delivered on January 30, 2000, from the series “Unlocking the Bible.” Colin currently serves as Senior Pastor of the The Orchard Evangelical Free Church in Arlington Heights, Illinois. He is committed to preaching the Bible in a way that nourishes the soul by directing attention to Jesus Christ.
