The Lamb was Chosen, Examined, and Killed (Ex. 12:1-7)

4/18/2008 9:15 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time           Focus:  The lamb was chosen and examined, and killed

Bible Reading & Meditation               Reference:  Exodus 12:1-7

            Message of the verses:  “1 ¶  Now the LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2  "This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you.  3  "Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers’ households, a lamb for each household.  4  ‘Now if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according to the number of persons in them; according to what each man should eat, you are to divide the lamb.  5  ‘Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats.  6  ‘You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight.  7  ‘Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.”

            Dr. MacArthur writes in his notes on this section that these instructions may have been given to Moses whenever there was darkness over the land of Egypt, for the children of Israel were to take this lamb and bring it into their houses for four days before they were to kill it.  I am sure that this was very hard especially on the children for this would become like a pet to them in this short time and then they would have to see the lamb die, for it was the death of the lamb that was important to their redemption. 

            The lamb had to be inspected to make sure it fulfilled all of the qualities that God has made for the lamb.  In the same way when the Lord Jesus Christ was on planet earth His Father said of Him in Matthew 3:17, “and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.’”

            This feast would mark the beginning of the religious calendar of the nation of Israel and there would be other feasts celebrated throughout the year.

            I have stated in another SD that Jesus Christ was the Passover Lamb, and it was through His death that the sins of the world were paid for, yet just as the children of Israel had to apply the blood of the lamb to the doorposts and to the lintel of the house that they were living in so a person has to do the same to their heart with the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Now I realize that Christ’s blood in the natural state is not here, yet a person can apply this blood to their heart by faith and God will hear this and save that person from their sins, God will Passover their sins just as He did on that first Passover celebration when He passed over the children of Israel and killed the Egyptians who did not have the blood on their houses.  How strong does our faith have to be?  It can be symbolized with the hyssop plants that were used to apply the blood, for these plants were very flimsy and so is our faith when we trust the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, yet our faith is not in our faith, but in the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ to save us.

            Here are some verses that show it was the death of Jesus Christ on the cross that paid for our redemption: 

1. Matthew 20:28 “Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
2. Matthew 26:28 “For this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.”
3. John 3:14-17  “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.  "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.  "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”
4. John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”
5. Ephesians 1:7 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.”
6. 1 Timothy 2:5-6 “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.”
7. Hebrews 9:28 “so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.”
8. Revelations 5:9 “And they *sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.”

Jesus Christ was our substitute; He died our death for us and suffered the judgment of our sin:

1.       Isaiah 53:4-6 “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.”

2.       1 Peter 2:24 “And He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.”

A verse to show the need to appropriate the sacrifice of Christ to ourselves:  Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”

So how can all of this happen to a person?  Paul gives the answer in Romans 10:17 “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I want to rejoice in the fact that God has given me the faith to understand the truth of His Word, to apply it to my life, and to be saved through the blood of Christ.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  First of all I want to thank the Lord for answering our prayers that have been lifted up to Him recently for a smooth move for Sandy’s mom and dad.  The work went well and for this we are thankful.  Sandy’s mom and dad will still need much prayer so to further adjust to their new situation in the nursing home to which we will continue to pray.

            I want to, by faith yoke up with my Lord this morning as He spoke of in Matthew 11:28-30, “28  "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.  29  "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.  30  "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.’”

Memory verses for the week:                      Philippians 3:7-8

7. But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
8. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ.