The great Nile flows calmly and peacefully through Egypt. It is night. The bright moon sends its silver light across the land and reflects itself in the waters of the river. Everything is quiet. The hustle and bustle of the day has ended. People and livestock rest from their toil and work.
Suddenly, a mysterious figure with a sword in its hand moves like the wind through the land of Goshen. It is the angel of death, sent by God, to kill all firstborn in Egypt because Pharaoh did not let the Israelites go.
Approaching a hut, he inspects the sides and tops of the doorframes and finds blood on them, and he passes by. One life in this house was spared. Through the window, we see a family gathered. Before them lies the Passover lamb.
Now the angel stops in front of a big, grand building. It is the king’s palace. Here too, the angel inspects the doorframes, but he doesn’t find any traces of blood. The icy hand of death touches the firstborn, and Pharaoh’s son lies dead on his bed. Why? Because the doorframes of this house were not painted with blood.
The angel continues along throughout Egypt. No house is spared by him. Everywhere, he leaves behind someone dead. The firstborn of humans and livestock are slain if blood is not seen.
A terrible cry echoes throughout Egypt. The people are in great mourning. Fear and horror have seized them. Pharaoh now gives the command to let Israel go. God’s judgment has taken place; God’s people are freed.
It is the blood, and nothing else, through which we become reconciled to God. If the children of Israel had relied on their prayers, good works, or morally upright lifestyle but had neglected to paint the doorposts with blood, then the angel of death would have entered their houses and killed all their firstborn, as he did with the Egyptians.
The Passover in Egypt means more than the deliverance of the children of Israel. It was a wonderful foreshadowing of the deliverance of all nations. It was a foreshadowing of the blood of Christ, the Lamb of God, who came to spill His blood on Golgotha for the sins of the world, in order to reconcile men to God.
When John the Baptist saw Jesus, he cried out: “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29) The Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, gave Himself as a sacrifice. He was nailed onto a tree on Golgotha and spilled His precious blood there for us. What the prophet Isaiah spoke in chapter 53, verse 5 was fulfilled here: “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” – Yes, through His blood on the cross, Christ reconciled us to God.
No soul can be saved by good works or through tears, fasting, and prayer. None of these are wrong, but we cannot buy ourselves salvation through them, nor become reconciled to God. Only the blood of Christ can do this.
If all sins of all the people of the world passed by in front of you, you would be horrified. What would you answer God if you had to account for your own sins before Him? What ransom money could you pay for them?
You must fall silent before the holy God. There is no other way to reconciliation than the blood of His Son. But you can come to the cross with all of your sins, no matter how big or small they are. Throw your own self-righteousness away. As far as the east is from the west, so far will God remove your sins from you. In place of sadness, He will give you joy; in place of a restless conscience, He will give you peace and rest. Oh, let the blood of Christ be your only righteousness!
If you earnestly strive to lead a life of victory but are challenged by the enemy of our souls and blamed or plagued with doubts, be courageous! The blood of Jesus, His sacrificial death, will break all chains and shackles that bind you. His blood will remove all mountains of impossibilities, all fear and doubt, and give you power to overcome Satan and his whole army. Jesus’ blood will give you victory, rest, and peace for your soul. “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony” (Revelation 12:11).
There is a fountain filled with blood,
Drawn from Emmanuel’s veins;
And sinners, plunged beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains.
E’er since by faith I saw the stream
Thy flowing wounds supply,
Redeeming love has been my theme,
And shall be till I die.
Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood
Shall never lose its power,
Till all the ransomed church of God
Be saved, to sin no more.
E.P.
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