Divine Deliverance

Passover

And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD'S passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. Exodus:12.1-14

Significance of the Lamb

God ordered the Jews to sacrifice a perfect lamb to escape the Angel of Death visitation taking lives of firstborns throughout Egypt. Jewish firstborns electing to obey God’s command (rather than take matters into their own hands and fight or flee Egypt) were demonstrating obedience to God characteristic of His family and sons. A child was the focus, rather than parent, as the former epitomized vital, uncorrupted, gentle humanity closer to the heavenly model originally purposed by God. Such a key sacrifice would sway the Almighty to save. His lethal vengeance was kindled against the Pharaoh’s relentless stream of wicked offspring, not even Moses in the midst could divert.

Significance of the Meal

It is often said we are what we eat. In the case of the Passover meal, the elder son was indeed demonstrating willingness to become like the obedient, gentle, perfect lamb being sacrificed for the very meal he was consuming. Having best potential to become what God desired in a man, he was most suitably at God’s Table as a living sacrifice to render service to the Most High. Give God the best, and He will return the best to the giver. One Heavenly son with promise was enough to save a whole God-obedient but slavery-broken family according to God’s faultless accounting. Counting God’s Chosen People as a Family of God found nowhere else on Earth, they were showing they could rebirth the corporate Jewish family from the collective seed of re-directed, well-prepared first-born sons. The Passover also taught that faithful generation-by-generation dedication of first-borns would sustain God’s presence and people on Earth.

Significance of Door Post Blood

In God’s Kingdom, the home is a sacred place. It is to be a place of life, accorded privacy and protection from trespass (Genesis:19; Deuteronomy:11.18-21). Such guarantees allow the harmless Lambs of God to dwell safely as they live to the glory of God anywhere on Earth. Persistently sinful Pharaoh ways were bringing death to God’s people, even as any sin carries a death sentence (Romans:6.23). Wrathful God was judging Egypt’s homes with the Angel of Death visitation. Pharaoh-enculturated families of Egypt were going to lose first-born sons to end propagation of Pharaoh wickedness. Jews were under Pharaoh influence, but soon to leave such bondage. They had a different destiny, one under God, one rich in life.

Lamb’s blood on the door post signified Lamb of God presence inside. Even more, three dabs of blood over and around the door signified the Holy Trinity of God. God made clear that the son inside was His “blood,” His “family,” divinely protected from death. Through that new Lamb generation, God’s People and presence on Earth would find continuance outside of Egypt and outside of Africa. It was by faith life was preserved through the night, and by faith that the seed protected would bear fruit in a land of milk and honey later. Such becomes certainty by sovereign God, who extinguishes evil with its harshness, and preserves good with its characteristic gentleness.

#Deliverance #Moses