By Exodus 12:12-13 For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.
I am a fan of Sylvester Stallone movies. I have been ever since Rocky 1 came out. We had such an odd evening last night. My wife and I were going to double date with my eldest daughter and her fiancé. We had reservations at a restaurant in Minneapolis, and then tickets to Riverdance. I woke yesterday morning with a fever. My eldest daughter towards early afternoon became sick. We could not sell the tickets and both my wife and daughters fiancé still wanted to go. So off they went together on a date night. They sent plenty of cute pictures and had a great time. I am so glad they were able to enjoy the evening despite the odd change of events. …Now, back to Stallone; last night I ended up watching the latest Rambo movie called “Last Blood”. I don’t recommend it for non-fans, nor those sensitive to blood and personal revenge as there is plenty of it in the movie. My point in bringing that up is that ever since Cain first murdered Abel, and his blood cried to the Lord; blood is always a sign of something either moving from life to death, or something being cleansed. Ever since someone drew First Blood on John Rambo, he has been taking revenge till the Last Blood. The Lord is not like John Rambo. Yet the Lord does bring justice through the shedding of blood. For without it there is no forgiveness of sin.
The last plague on Egypt was a nightmare of all nightmares. The Egyptians were not given the inside knowledge that there was a way to have death pass over them. They could not pray enough, repent enough, sing enough, have faith enough, nor go to the local church enough. They didn’t know they needed the blood of a lamb to cover those inside the house by faith.
The Israelites on the other hand were given the remedy and they all acted in faith and did as they were told. I can imagine there were some on the inside of the some houses (probably mommas) who stayed awake all night fretting their first born would not see the light of day. Then there were those who rested peacefully with full trust that death would pass over the house. In either case, the one of great faith or the one of little faith, death passed over because of the blood of the lamb.
The gospel is a message that now transcends all racial, cultural, economical, and whatever other lines might be drawn or established. The gospel tells us that Jesus Christ, the son of God, was born to the virgin Mary, lived a sinless life, was crucified for crimes he did not commit, died, was buried, and three days later rose from the grave conquering death. He ascended up to heaven where he now sits at the right hand of the Father. This message is no longer an inside message given to the Israelites enslaved in Egypt. It is a message for all people today. Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin. Jesus is the only mediator between God and man. There is salvation in no other name. Won’t you trust him today?
Leading Family Devotions 