Focal Passage: Exodus 12:21-32
From early childhood I remember singing the old hymn, “When I See the Blood.” Taken directly from Exodus 12:23, the hymn reminds us that the Passover points directly to Jesus. As wonderful as the annual Passover celebration was, it would be fulfilled by the Lamb who shed His own blood not to celebrate a past physical deliverance but to provide spiritual deliverance for every generation of people whose sin was covered by His blood. Only the Lamb was worthy to open the scroll and reveal the conclusion of God’s plan of redemption (Rev 5)!
A popular Christian song declares, “I don’t want to leave a legacy. I don’t care if they remember me. Only Jesus.” I respectfully disagree. The song forces a choice between two God-honoring acts. Every believer should strive to combine both by leaving a legacy of faith that points to Jesus. Every generation needs faithful men and women to declare the power and majesty of God, because no one comes to Jesus in the abstract. Rather, believers in every generation place their faith in Christ because of the faithfulness (directly or indirectly) of other believers.
Rust
God told Moses that children of the next generation would need a faithful explanation of the annual Passover celebration. When this legacy of faith stopped, Israel fell into sin.
While God spared the children of Israel, He brought massive devastation to the Egyptians. A single stroke of His wrath killed the firstborn of people and livestock affecting everyone from the heights of the palace to the depths of the dungeon.
The Israelites were delivered for no other reason than God’s gracious promise made to Abram and His descendants, distinguishing them from all the other people on the earth. In preparation for the Passover, God told Moses that a great cry would rise in Egypt unlike anything they would ever know while the Israelites would not hear as much as the barking of a dog, “so that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel” (Exodus 11:7).
Exodus 12:30 tells us that every house experienced death. While the ravages of war and disease devastate countries, they are both surpassed by this chilling display of God’s wrath. No wonder the writer of Hebrews declared, “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31).
Like most mythological pantheons, Egypt’s gods supposedly ruled over various aspects of nature. Each of the 10 plagues had affected a specific part of creation and shown that the God of the Hebrews was greater in every way than their false Gods.
One might think that Pharaoh would bow in obedience to God and lead his people to do the same. Yet in his hardness of heart he took an entire nation down with him. Like the modern prosperity gospel, he only wanted to avoid suffering and receive whatever blessings God would give him. Repentance from sin and faith toward God were not on His radar.
True deliverance gives you more than these temporary reliefs; it gives you spiritual freedom that yields eternal praise to God. B&R
