The Lamb of God

Passover is the most important annual festival in the Jewish faith. This feast was to change forever the way in which Jews worshiped their God. The tenth plague to hit Egypt and God’s subsequent plan of salvation was so important that God changed the month in which it took place to be the first month of the Jewish year.  This annual festival has been performed faithfully and continually for the past 3446 years. It is one of three annual festivals that require all male Jews to present themselves at the Temple in Jerusalem. Passover is a high point on which the Jewish faith rests and, as we will discover, is related to what Christians call “The Last Supper”.

The tenth plague on Egypt hit at the very heart of the Egyptian family unit. Firstborn males of both man and beast were going to die that night as the Lord passed through Egypt. The memorial of Passover was to become a fore shadow of God’s promised Messiah. In fact, the gravity of this event would one day even change Egypt from a polytheistic culture to a nation that would one day worship only one god. 

In Exodus chapter 12 God spoke to Moses and told him to tell the congregation of Israel that the month that the Passover took place was to become the first month of the year. Each family was to take one lamb on the 10^th day of the month of Nisan. They were to keep it close by (in their home) until the fourteenth day of that same month. The lamb was to be without blemish, a male of the first year. The whole assembly was to kill their lamb at twilight on 14th day of that month. They were to take some of the blood and put it on their home’s doorframe. Then the family was to stay inside and feast on roasted lamb, unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Anything left over was to be burned with fire. In Exodus 12:46, we read that not one of the lamb’s bones should be broken.

As God passed through Egypt, He struck down every firstborn male of both man and beast that were not protected by the blood. Remember, the nine other plagues were directed at a specific Egyptian god. This last plague was to be no different.  The key was the blood; the life is in the blood. All of Israel who was obedient to the Lord, who killed a lamb and put its blood on their doorposts, would be passed over. The plague of death would not be upon them but God would see the blood as a sign and Passover them and go to the next house.

What a beautiful picture God was painting for us of the coming future Messiah. Jesus Christ would one day present Himself in Jerusalem to become the final Passover Lamb.  In the gospel of John 1:29 John says of Jesus “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” The Israelites were not saved because they were children of Abraham, performed great works or had immoveable faith but only because they were obedient to receive the free gift of salvation God offered them through the provision of the Passover lamb.

Consider the similarities of the Passover lamb and Jesus Christ. First, He was God’s firstborn male child who did not escape being sacrificed.  Jesus came to the earth (our home) and lived a sinless life. He was without spot or blemish. That means He was without acquired and inherited sin. Not a bone was to be broken in the Passover lamb and, if you remember back to when Jesus hung on the cross, He died before the Roman soldiers could break a single bone in His body. Jesus presented Himself by riding into Jerusalem on the 10^th of Nisan and then was executed on the 14^th day of that month. Jesus became the final Passover Lamb. And the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD made it impossible for all Jewish males to continue the Passover memorial.

On the night before Jesus would die on the cross, He and the twelve apostles gathered in the upper room to recline and eat the Passover meal together. This feast was the same memorial that all faithful Jews had been observing for the past 1478 years.  However on this night it would become “The Last Passover”. And while they were all together Jesus blessed and broke the bread saying “Take and eat; this is My body.” which has been broken for you. Then He raised the cup of wine and proclaimed “Drink from it all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”

 Jesus Christ fulfilled the Passover that night once and for all by redeeming us with His precious blood. God had to come to earth and redeem us Himself. His blood was the only instrument powerful enough to take away sin and set us free from our bondage to it. All you have to do to be saved is to apply the blood of Jesus to the doorposts of your heart.

Plague

The Webster’s dictionary defines “plague” as “that which smites or troubles; any afflictive evil; scourge; infestation.” Have you ever gone out to your car in the morning, turned the key and…nothing happens? Or maybe there was a time when you had to wait days for the results to come back from an MRI or blood test? For me it’s waking in the morning to strong easterly Santa Ana winds blowing with a very large dark black plume of smoke billowing up to the east of me and the smell of a brushfire that gets my immediate and complete attention.

As chapters 7-12 of Exodus unfold we watch as God allows Pharaoh the opportunity to do the right thing and free the future nation of Israel from captivity. He sends Moses and Aaron first to reason with Pharaoh but to no avail. So then God unleashes the first of ten plagues on the nation of Egypt to try and get the Pharaoh’s attention. It’s interesting to note that the order and the type of plagues that were poured out on the Egyptians were not random at all. They were not like a shotgun blast thrown out into a wide area but more pinpointed, like the skill reflected in the hand of a heart surgeon ready to make his first cut.

At this time in history, the Egyptians worshipped many gods. To the Egyptian people, the Nile River was the source of life in Egypt. It provided water to drink, water to cook with, water to bathe in and water to sustain food crops for both themselves and their livestock. By turning the water to blood God was attacking at least two of the Egyptian gods; Hapi, the spirit of the Nile and Khnum, guardian of the Nile.  He was showing the Egyptians who was actually in charge. And even Pharaoh’s magicians, while they could make water look like blood, they could not change it back into clean water. God was pointing out to them His “Omnipotence” or infinite power, strength and control over all matter.

As the second plague begins, we watch as frogs come out of the Nile in great numbers and inundate the entire nation. They were everywhere, even to the point where people were squishing them underfoot. They were filling up their bath tubs and bread kneading troughs. And while Pharaoh’s magicians could make frogs come out of the Nile too, they could not get rid of them. This second plague focused on the Egyptian deity Heqt; who was fashioned in the form of a frog. Just imagine the horror as all these Egyptians were literally stepping on one of their gods!

The next plague was gnats followed by a plague of flies. If you have ever been camping down by a river during the summer, you know how annoying these insects can be as they buzz around your eyes, in your ears and nose. Pharaoh’s magicians, using their magical arts, could not reproduce these next plagues.   In Exodus chapter 8:19 we read, “The magicians said to Pharaoh, ‘This is the finger of God’ But Pharaoh’s heart was hard and he would not listen, just as the Lord had said.” The finger of God; what a great truth for Pharaoh’s magicians to discover.

One characteristic that defines God is His Omniscience or His ability to see the past, present and future all at the same time. God knew beforehand what decision Pharaoh would make and that it would take all ten plagues to get him to let God’s people go. The text says both that Pharaoh hardened his own heart and that God hardened his heart too. Through the original language we can understand the text’s true meaning.  God hardening Pharaoh’s heart is more aligned with the picture of someone twisting a rope or wet towel squeezing out what was already stored inside of it.

After the flies buzz off, Pharaoh appears to be relenting a bit. He tells Moses that he will allow the Israelites to offer a bull sacrifice but only if they stay in Egypt.  Moses is quick to point out that option is not what God had commanded. Given that the Egyptians had a bull type god named Apis, the slaughter of a bull might not go over so well with the general Egyptian population.

God is the mighty surgeon and He planned these ten plagues to cut at the spiritual center of Egyptian life. He is the cosmic choreographer or conductor and is preparing for the final crescendo. It would take the death of all firstborn in Egypt to break Pharaoh and get him to submit to the Lord’s command. Next week, we will look at the tenth plague and God’s solution for the Israelites, which upon closer examination, will reveal God’s plan for salvation; Jesus Christ.

But...God?

The English language at times can be very insipid when it comes to colorful descriptions. When describing something in writing we usually try to find the perfect verb or adjective that communicates a clear meaning and intent. Although sometimes we only have a word or two to choose from therefore our meaning becomes thinned out a bit. In other languages this is not the case. Take for example the word “love”. While the English language only has one word for “love” the Greek language has four very distinct words to describe four very different aspects of love. First is “storge” refers to the tender feelings that parents naturally have for their children. Next is “eros” is an unreasoning passion and desire for something. Followed by “phileo” which simply put is a connection of friendship where there is reciprocity of affection. Last but not least is “agapao” and it’s kind of love that God has for us. It is a selfless love where someone is willing to lay their own life down for another. 

If you open up a dictionary and begin to thumb through it you will find many words that rarely get used. Then there are many others that get overused and a few words that make no grammatical sense at all. There is one three letter word that when it is inserted at the end of a long and lengthy declaration negates the entire pronouncement. It happens to be the word “but” and works like verbal acid melting away any meaning attached to the preceding sentence. But… wait there’s more.

 After God introduces Himself to Moses on Mount Horeb, He begins to reassure Moses that He has indeed seen the oppression of His people. God has heard the cries of Israel as their burdens becomes too much to carry. Because of the severe cruelty of the Egyptian taskmasters, 400 years of bondage and arduous working conditions God is ready to intervene. He explains to Moses that He is sending him to tell pharaoh to let His people go. Moses replies with his first of four “buts”. In Exodus 3:11 Moses says “But Moses said to God ‘Who I’m I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt.’”

God reassures Moses that He will surely be with him as he goes into Pharaoh’s court and that he would not be alone. So Moses throws out another “but” and replies “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice;” Once again God answers Moses with a solution; a rod that will turn back and forth from a rod to a snake. Then another sign of a hand made leprous then miraculously healed.  Moses gets one more sign that of river water turning to blood when it is poured out on dry land.  Moses informs God that he doesn’t speak well, that he is slow of speech and slow of tongue. Here we have the pot telling the Potter he doesn’t like the way that he was made; that he is physically marred and God made a mistake in creating him in the first place. 

Up to this point God was being extremely tolerant of Moses but now is getting a bit frustrated. He once again reassures him that He will be with his mouth and teach him what to say. Moses blurts out his last “but” in Exodus 4:13 “But he said, ‘Oh my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send’”. God’s angry now and begins to talk to the eighty year old Moses like a father talking to his rebellious teenage son. His final answer, Ok I’ll send your brother Aaron with you.

Moses and Aaron go before the Pharaoh and said “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.’”  Here is the Pharaoh’s reply found in Exodus 5:2 “And Pharaoh said, ‘Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go.’” As we read Pharaoh’s response to Moses you can’t help but hear familiar echoes from family and friends who are saying pretty much saying the exact same thing; But God, I don’t believe in You! Countless people in ages past and present have articulated basically the same thought…”Who is the Lord? So if you are reading this column and feel the same way as this Pharaoh, please ask God to reveal Himself to you personally. He does exist. While it might not take a rod turning into a snake, a leprous hand being healed or water turning into blood God will reveal Himself to you personally through the power of the Holy Spirit. All you have to do is ask!