The gospel is ultimately utterly God-centered: the Father gives His Son to accomplish a perfect salvation, the Son obtains a perfect salvation, and the Holy Spirit applies the perfection salvation. From first to last, it is God.
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.
Exodus 12:13
From the very beginning, God has taught us the devastation of sin and His gracious salvation. In Genesis we read: “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Gen. 2:17). Death—separation from God—is the result of sin.
However, God also demonstrated His love after Adam and Eve rebelled: “And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them” (Gen. 3:21). An animal had to give His life in order for them to be clothed. That truth runs through the Bible.
When God was about to deliver His people out of Egypt, He told them to take an unblemished lamb, kill it, and apply its blood “on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses” (Ex. 12:5-7). That was vital because God was about to “pass through the land of Egypt that night,” striking “all the firstborn” (v. 12). When God comes in judgment, no one can stand before Him. The only difference between the Israelites and the Egyptians was the blood. Otherwise, God’s people would’ve also suffered the loss of their firstborn.
They had to apply the blood to their doorposts and lintel. That was an act of obedient faith. God had stated it and they believed Him, acting accordingly. It wasn’t even necessary to have great faith; even microscopic faith would’ve been sufficient. Once they had applied it and stayed in their houses, they were safe.
Notice that it states: “And when I see the blood, I will pass over you . . .” It’s not so much our grasp of the infinite value of Christ’s blood, but God’s understanding of it. It’s not so much our seeing the blood with a perfect eye of faith, but God seeing it.
When preaching on this verse, Charles Spurgeon had some wonderful comments: “Your eyes of faith may be so dim that you cannot see the blood of Christ. Yes, but God’s eyes are not dim . . . And this is the only condition of the sinner’s Salvation—God’s seeing the blood. Not your seeing it.” (Sermon #228). Isn’t that amazing?
Lastly, there is a perfect correlation between, “when I see the blood,” and, “I will pass over you.” The Father will act in full accordance with all that Jesus’ blood has accomplished and obtained for His people. That’s our only ground and hope, even when we’re not aware of it.
Jan Blonk
The Devotional Writer
www.amazon.com/author/janblonk
P.S. Here’s one of the easiest fundraisers for your church, ministry, Christian school, college, university, or non-profit. Anyone can do so … go to www.thecauseofchrist.com to find out!