The Life of Moses (8)

The Lord had spoken loudly to the king of Egypt, but the severe plagues had not brought him on his knees. The hail, the locusts, and the thick darkness that came upon the land had not caused him to surrender unto the Lord. Yes, it seemed for a little while, after the plague of the locusts, that Pharaoh repented. “Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against you. Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and intreat the LORD your God, that He may take away from me this death only” (Exodus 10:16&17).

After the ninth plague, Pharaoh “called unto Moses, and said, go ye, serve the LORD; only let your flocks and your herds be stayed: let your little ones also go with you.” However, this was not a solution. If the sheep and cows had to stay in Egypt, then the Israelites could not sacrifice unto the Lord. When Moses told Pharaoh this, Pharaoh became very angry and said, “Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in that day thou seest my face thou shalt die.” Moses answered that Pharaoh was right in what he said, “I will see thy face again no more.” The last plague was about to follow, the most terrible one of all these plagues. “And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts” (Exodus 11:5).

The lamb

The Lord also gave instructions to Israel. Each household had to take a lamb of one year old in its full strength. That speaks of Christ, the Mighty One upon whom is laid help. The lamb should be unblemished. Christ is the holy Son of God without spot or any blemish. The lamb should be roasted whole, not boiled; it had to be used as a whole. If the household were too small for the lamb, it had to be shared with the neighbor next to his house. We need a whole Saviour, a complete Saviour. He was burned in the fire of God’s wrath. The lamb had to be slaughtered on the twilight of the fourteenth of the month, and the blood was to be applied on the doorposts and lintel of the house. The blood had to be applied by hyssop, which is a token of purification as the poet says in Psalm 51:7a, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean.” Christ will be proclaimed as the Lamb of God, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29b). The prophet also spoke of Him in Isaiah 53:7b, “He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter.” John on Patmos saw a Lamb as if it had been slain. Without this Lamb, there will be no escape from the righteous wrath of God upon sinners.

We are not better than Pharaoh. We also often harden our heart against all the warnings and callings that come to us, also in the serious times in which we and our children are living. Have we learned to flee to this Lamb? Have we learned that His blood alone is sufficient to cover us from God’s righteous judgments?

The blood necessary

The blood of the lamb had to be applied to the doorposts of the houses of the Israelites.

1) It was not sufficient to be an Israelite and not belong to the Egyptian idolatrous people.

2) It was not enough to be circumcised as a token and sign of the covenant of grace, as Israel was, and to live under that covenant as a separate people.

3) It was not sufficient to have much distress and tribulation as Israel had endured in the house of bondage. No, we may have much distress and many convictions, but they will not shelter us against the storm of God’s wrath.

4) It was not enough that the people had been encouraged by Moses and by the signs he performed, even though the promises had come to them and the Word of God was spoken to these people. 5) It was not enough to have initial tokens of God’s

5) It was not enough to have initial tokens of God’s sparing hand, His gracious dealings in the plagues, the distinction with Egypt. It is a blessing if the Lord opens His Word for us and we may experience tokens of His mercy, but it will not give us escape from the wrath of God.

6) Even the slaughter of the lamb was not sufficient, though his blood had been shed. No, this blood must be on the doorposts of the houses of the Israelites. It also must be upon the doorposts of our heart if it is well. The blood spoke of sacrifice and pointed to the sacrifice that Christ brought on Golgotha. Therein was the only satisfaction of God’s justice. There was a blessed substitution, I instead of you, whereas you should otherwise have suffered eternal death. In His blood we see the submission, the willingness of Christ to bear the wrath of God. In His blood is perfect salvation. Oh, the saving love was displayed in His blood, of which we read in Zechariah 9:11b, “By the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water.”

This blood had to be applied on the lintel, showing the covering under that blood. It had to be on the side posts so that the residents were surrounded by the blood and separated from the ungodly. The Israelites must be in the house, behind the blood, in order to be spared. The blood was not put on the threshold of the house because no one was allowed to trample or step upon that blood.

A wonderful deliverance

The Bible does not say “When you see the blood, I will pass over you.” It says, “When I see the blood.” God, the righteous Judge, will pass over those whom He sees covered by the blood. The eyes of faith can be so dim that one cannot see the blood of Christ, but the Father sees it. He was well pleased with it as He showed in the rending of the veil in the temple and in raising His Son from the grave on the third day.

Thus, the Passover Feast was instituted. In that terrible night in which there was crying and moaning in the houses of the Egyptians (even in the palace of Pharaoh), there was safety in the dwellings of the Israelites. That blood was to be a token unto them, a memorial, “And ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations.”

What a rich preaching is here for poor and needy sinners. It is necessary that we are called out of self-made hiding places of our tears and prayers, our earnest seeking of the Lord, our humbling ourselves in the dust, our confession of guilt. None of these will save us, but only the BLOOD of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, cleanseth from all sin. How important it is that this blood may come upon us and our children—not as Israel once cried in enmity against Christ before Pilate but in a saving way out of His eternal love.

(To be continued)

Deze tekst is geautomatiseerd gemaakt en kan nog fouten bevatten. Digibron werkt voortdurend aan correctie. Klik voor het origineel door naar de pdf. Voor opmerkingen, vragen, informatie: contact.

Op Digibron -en alle daarin opgenomen content- is het databankrecht van toepassing. Gebruiksvoorwaarden. Data protection law applies to Digibron and the content of this database. Terms of use.

Printen