DEATH, the last plague, had come upon Egypt, and it had wrung a cry of terror from hearts all over the land. At midnight the destroyer had come upon them, and in every house a lifeless form was to be found. Pharaoh rose up in the night, and his servants rose up, and all the Egyptians, for how could they sleep when sudden death with all its sadness was there, and now hearts that had been hardened sent forth a wail of anguish. A wave of sorrow had swept over all, from the palace of the king to the dungeon of the poor captive.
And what kind of a night was it for the children of Israel who dwelt in the same land! You will remember that God put a difference between them and the Egyptians. The night was truly a momentous one for them, but in a very different way from what it was for Pharaoh and his people. The time had come when God was going to give deliverance to His suffering people, Israel. Through Moses, He gave instructions for each family to kill a lamb, and to sprinkle its blood upon the door posts and on the lintel over the door.
The lamb was to be roasted, and each family was to eat of it, but while eating they must be in readiness to go; they must eat in haste, as no delay could be allowed.
Why do you suppose the blood of the lamb must be sprinkled on the door-posts on the outside? Let me tell you. That blood spoke of death; death was already there, and when the angel of death passed through the land, those blood-sprinkled houses were passed by, and their inmates left unharmed. The blood on the outside was for God’s eye; He said, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you.” There could be no trembling hearts inside those blood-sprinkled doors, for God had given this assuring word, “I will pass over you.” “The destroyer” would not bring destruction to them. No; their hearts were full of glad expectancy; they were ready to go; their long night of sorrow was about to end.
Were they troubled because they could not see the sprinkled blood? Not at all; they knew it was there, and it was not a matter of consequence that their eyes should see it; it was there for God’s eye, How precious to them His words must have been,
Sheltered by that blood, they were secure; they had nothing to fear.
There is a deeply important lesson for us in this narrative and in the type which God here gives us. The lamb that was slain on that solemn night speaks to us of the Lamb of God who was slain for us. Under the shelter of His blood there is deliverance from the wrath which is to come. Death visited every house in Egypt which was not under the sheltering blood; and “the death that never dies” will visit every soul of man that is not under the sheltering blood of Christ. But for those who, recognizing their lost condition, have believed on Jesus as their Saviour, there is security, there is safety.
Our security does not depend upon the value we may put upon the precious blood, my dear young reader. Its value is infinite—God alone can measure it. And it is His eye that sees that blood in all its cleansing power. “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.”
The children of Israel knew they were under the blood-sprinkled doors, and, believing God’s word, they knew they were safe. When we have believed that the Lamb of God has suffered for our sins. and that through His blood we are made clean, we, too, are sheltered; we too, are safe.
ML 11/23/1902