Exodus 12:21-27, “Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover. And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning. For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you. And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever. And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the LORD will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service. And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORD'S passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped.”
The institution of the Passover Celebration is found in Exodus chapter 12. Interestingly, the Israelites were instructed to take a bunch of hyssop, a plant used for various purposes, dip it in the blood of the sacrificed lamb and sprinkle it on the lintel (overhang or upper door post), and upon the side posts. They were further instructed to quarantine themselves in their homes for the night until morning as the last and final plague was going to come through Egypt and cause Pharaoh to finally let Israel go.
As the death angel made its way through the land on this dark night in Egypt’s history, one thing and one thing only averted death from the houses of the Israelites. The blood of the sacrifice that was sprinkled in obedience to God! That night as death struck every single Egyptian home, the children of Israel were spared. The Egyptian’s cries could be heard by all, as the protection of the blood was non-existent upon their homes.
Pharaoh finally succumbed to Moses’ command to “Let my people go” that they may worship the one true God. Israel would no longer be ruled by the cruel taskmasters as they were set free to follow Moses out of Egypt, away from bondage, and onto the path towards the Promised Land.
Many years later, God manifested himself in flesh and became the Lamb for sinners slain. The blood of bulls and of goats could not produce for man what man needed as pertaining to his conscience. Without the shedding of blood, the bible declares, there is no remission of sins. Just as the blood had to be applied to the houses of the Israelites in order for them to be saved from the death angel for their exodus, we must have the blood applied to our lives to be saved from sins penalty of eternal death.
We need the protection of the blood of Jesus Christ in our lives. We obtain it through repentance of our sins and being baptized in Jesus name for the remission of those sins (Acts 2:38). Just like the children of Israel went through the Red Sea, a type of the blood of Jesus, we have the blood applied in water baptism.
Once our sins have been washed away, if we sin there is still power in the blood of Jesus Christ to wash our sins away, if we are willing to repent. Prayers of repentance and turning away from habitual sin puts the protection of the blood between us and the judgment of sins committed. We can have a clean conscience before God and we do not have to live in fear of judgment.
While we are in the process of putting every protection we can in place to give us the greatest chance of preventing the spread of the coronavirus, to save as many lives as is possible, let’s not forget that we need to spiritually make sure that we have the blood of Jesus applied to our life. While we are waiting for the medical professionals who are working very hard to provide treatment and an antidote for the coronavirus, thankfully our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, provided the antidote, remedy, and protection we need to overcome the plague of sin that begin in the garden with Adam and Eve.
Thank God for the blood!
Pastor Ken Winkler