Maybe you have heard of a girl drawing a picture with a pen in her mouth or of a man painting a picture with a paint brush in his mouth. They are certainly very clever, and it is truly wonderful what such artists can do. However, today’s story is far more wonderful than that. Just listen!
This is the story of a sword coming out of God’s mouth! It is a powerful sword too, not just a toy sword or a picture of one. This sword is not made of steel - it is far more powerful than even steel. And the One who uses it is the very same One who “[upholds] all things by the word of His power” (Hebrews 1:3). The sword is the word that comes out of God’s mouth, and it can be used as He pleases. Now that’s a powerful sword, isn’t it?
Here is a story of one time when this great sword was used.
The people of Egypt were evil. They made slaves out of God’s people Israel and made them work hard, gathering clay and straw and making bricks for the king’s building projects. And because the Egyptians were afraid that their slaves might become powerful enough to rebel, the king ordered that all baby boys should be thrown into the river. The Egyptians gave no respect or honor at all to the God of heaven. They worshipped the gods of the sun and the river and the fields, and they included all the evil deeds that are a part of this sort of worship.
God let it continue for a while, but He saw what was going on and He cared, just as He cares today. God sent the Egyptians many warnings, which everybody felt and understood, but the king’s heart was hard. He said, “No,” he would not allow his slaves to go free with all their families and their possessions.
But there came a night when God would not allow this wickedness to go on any longer. “Go,” He said to His people Israel. And that night, the sword of God’s judgment was used against Egypt. There was no fighting and bloodshed. God’s word is the sword that comes out of His mouth, and there is no striking back or escaping. The Lord struck dead all the firstborn in the land of Egypt that night, from the oldest child of the king on his throne right to the oldest child of the prisoner in the dungeon, including all the firstborn of cattle.
Our God still has the sword in His mouth, and there is no answering back or arguing with Him. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), and this sentence cannot be changed.
But God’s people Israel were protected that night - not one was struck dead. How could they be protected, since they were sinners too? God had a most wonderful answer to that question. The lamb, the little first-year lamb with nothing wrong with it, was killed instead, and its blood was sprinkled on the upper and side posts of the doors of their houses. This blood is what God saw on that awful night, and this is why the firstborn of every Israelite family was alive and could march out of Egypt with the rest of the family and their cattle and their possessions.
And for the same reason, the sword of the Lord has no terrors for me. A woolly lamb didn’t die for me, but Jesus, the precious Lamb of God, has died for me, and the God who promised safety for Israel has promised that “the blood of Jesus Christ His Son [cleanses] us from all sin” (1 John 1:7)!
This provision is not for just one special nation or skin color; this is for you. Which will it be? The sword of God’s judgment? or the Saviour who died for sinners? There is no other choice.
You may read this story in the Bible, in Exodus chapter 12. Watch for another story about the sword out of God’s mouth.
ML-09/07/2003