“For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.”
The night of the Passover was unlike any other.
For generations, the people of Israel had lived as slaves in Egypt. Then, God had sent plague after plague, calling Pharaoh to let His people go. But now the final plague was coming.
Every household faced the same question:
Would they trust God’s promise?
The instructions were simple. A lamb was to be sacrificed. Its blood was to be placed on the doorposts of the house. Then the family was to remain inside, trusting God’s word that when He saw the blood, judgment would pass over them.
Imagine that night.
Families gathered behind closed doors. Outside, they could not see what was happening. They had only God’s promise to cling to. And they weren’t wondering whether God would bring this final plague. They had already seen God turn the Nile into blood, send swarms of locusts, cover Egypt in darkness while the people of Israel had light, and much more. God would surely bring the plague, but would they be safe?
The safety of the household did not depend on how strong their faith felt. Nor, did not depend on how brave they were or how well they understood everything God was doing.
It depended on the blood of the lamb.
A frightened family behind a blood-stained door was just as safe as a confident family behind a blood-stained door. The protection was not found in them. It was found in what God had provided.
That truth still speaks powerfully today.
There are many things we are tempted to trust in.
But when it comes to standing before God, none of those things can shield us.
Only the sacrifice He provides will save us.
Notice that God didn’t have the people of Israel do anything for any other plague and He shielded Israel for several of them. He didn’t need to have them put the blood of a lamb on their doorposts, but He did.
The Passover was always pointing beyond itself. Every lamb sacrificed in Egypt pointed forward to the true Lamb who would come. When John the Baptist saw Jesus centuries later, he declared,
“Behold, the Lamb of God.”
Jesus is the greater Passover Lamb.
His blood was not painted on wooden doorposts but shed upon a wooden cross. Through His sacrifice, God’s judgment against sin is satisfied, and His people are rescued.
Notice something else about the Passover. The Israelites were not told to admire the blood from a distance. They were told to shelter beneath it.
Faith does the same thing. It does not merely acknowledge what Christ has done. It takes refuge in Him.
So when guilt troubles your conscience, when your failures seem overwhelming, when you wonder whether you are enough, remember the Passover.
Your hope is not in yourself.
It is in the Lamb God has provided.
Let’s pray…
Lord Jesus,
Thank You for being the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Help me to trust not in my own goodness or efforts, but in Your sacrifice alone. When guilt and fear arise, remind me that I am sheltered by Your grace and saved by Your blood.
Amen.
As part of your devotion time, I encourage you to also pray for at least some of the following:
After praying for these people, you may want to finish your devotion time with the Lord’s Prayer…
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. They will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and every. Amen.
In Christ’s Service,
Pastor Kurt
