The Passover is one of the primary feasts of Israel. It marked the beginning month of the year. On the tenth of the month, they would take a lamb without blemish, a male about a year old. The lamb would be killed at twilight on the 14th of the month, roasted in fire, and eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. They were to eat all of it, leaving nothing until morning. The remains would be burned in the fire. The interesting thing about this process is that each family would take some of the blood from the lamb and put it on the doorposts and lintel of the house where they eat it. Additionally, they were to eat with a belt on their waist, sandals on their feet, and a staff in their hand. They were to eat it in haste. This imagery of being ready to leave was important for their memorial to their deliverance from Egypt.
On this first passover, God would pass through the land of Egypt and kill the firstborn of man and beast. He would pass over every home where the blood was applied to the house. Further specific instructions were given for eating the passover in memorial in later years. However, specific instructions were also given for this first passover relating to using hyssop to apply the blood, and striking the door frame.
An important instruction relating to the children is that when the children ask questions about the service, that they would describe the Passover sacrifice and how God passed over the houses of the children of Israel. The Israelites did all that they were told.
Then the actual tenth plague hit: the firstborn of all the land of Egypt were struck, except for the homes where the blood had been applied, from the firstborn of Pharaoh to the firstborn of the prisoners in dungeons. Even the livestock lost their firstborn. “There was not a house where there was not one dead (v. 30).”
The blood of the sacrificial lamb made the difference for each home. Any home where the blood had been applied was spared the death of the firstborn. This entire ceremony, this pageant, was the foreshadowing of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. Just as the blood of the Passover lamb protected the homes of the faithful in Israel, the blood of Jesus Christ can protect the home of the Christian today. Plead the blood of Jesus over your home, your health, your job, and your finances. God cares about the faithful!
Devoted To You 