The Passover Lamb

February 3

Exodus 11-12

Psalm 18:20-24

Proverbs 4:3-4

Matthew 22:1-22

The Passover Lamb

“Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, ‘Bring out and take for yourselves lambs according to your families and slaughter the Passover lamb.  And you shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and touch some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts; and none of you shall go outside the doorway of his house until morning.  And Yahweh will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and He will see the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, and Yahweh will pass over the doorway and will not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to smite you.’”  Exodus 12:21-23 LSB

Over the last several days, we have read about the 10 plagues God sent on Egypt in preparation for the Exodus.  In the first set of plagues—blood, frogs, lice—God was sending a very clear message, “By this you shall know that I am Yahweh!” (Exodus 7:17 LSB)  God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe and He can justly do whatever He chooses to whoever He pleases.  This was a message for the children of Israel as well as for the Egyptians.  These plagues affected everyone in the area.  The second set of plagues—flies, cattle, boils—showed His supremacy, but made it clear that He would distinguish between the Egyptians and His chosen people.  In each of these plagues God specifically said that He was going to inflict the Egyptians and spare the Israelites.  The third set of plagues—hail, locusts, darkness—showed the separation between the Israelites and the Egyptians, but they also demonstrated the extreme devastation God’s judgements could bring.  These plagues specifically stated that they did not affect the children of Israel.  God was giving Pharoah the opportunity to repent and humble himself while making it clear that worse judgments would come if he didn’t.  In each of these plagues the Israelites didn’t have to do anything to insure their protection.  God knew His children and He could easily distinguish them from the Egyptians so that they were protected. 

            The last plague was different.  God gave Moses very specific instructions for the Israelites to do to prepare for the last plague and the Exodus.  They were to take a one-year-old lamb on the tenth of the month and keep it for four days in their home.  On the fourteenth day they were to slaughter it at twilight.  Then they were to take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood from the lamb and spread it across the sides and top of the doorframes to their home.  Hyssop is a bushy plant that could be used for cooking, for medicinal purposes or for purification and spiritual cleansing.  Then they were to take the lamb, roast it over a fire and eat it that night with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.  They were not to leave their homes until morning.  And they were told to eat with their loins girded, sandals on their feet and their staff in their hand.  God went through the land and struck down the firstborn of every man and animal in every home that did not have blood painted on the doorframe.  He “passed over” the homes where He saw the blood.  God did not need them to do this ritual to distinguish between His children and the Egyptians.  He had clearly demonstrated that He was able to tell them apart.  The ritual was for their benefit as a reminder for generations to come of how God had delivered them from bondage in Egypt.  Each year when they celebrate the Feast of Passover they are reminded of God’s faithfulness to deliver them. 

They did not understand at the time, but it was also foreshadowing the time when God would send His only Son to be the sacrificial lamb to deliver His people from the bondage of sin.   John the Baptist made the connection when he proclaimed, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”  (John 1:29 LSB)  I Peter I:19 describes Jesus as, “a lamb, unblemished and spotless.” (LSB) He was unblemished and spotless because He was “tempted in all things like we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15 LSB)   When we believe in Jesus, we symbolically place the sacrificial blood of Christ over our hearts protecting us from eternal death.  Just as the Passover lamb’s blood over the doorframe caused the angel of death to pass over their household, Christ’s blood over our hearts causes God’s judgment to pass over sinners who believe in Jesus.  We are not righteous on our own merit, but His blood covers us with His righteousness. Romans 8:2 explains, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.”  (LSB)  The first Passover released God’s children from Egyptian slavery, and Christ’s death, burial and resurrection releases those who believe in Him from the slavery of sin and death and gives them eternal life.