Lessons from Passover - The Passover Lamb
How do mothers protect their children, from danger?
Protecting one's children from harm is a natural part of parenting. That is even true in the animal kingdom. For example, hens spread their wings to protect their chicks. Jesus used that illustration once to make a point. We all have been protected by a parent's loving arms at one time or another. There we feel peaceful and secure.
The tenth plague meant death for all the firstborn in the land of Egypt. But God the heavenly Father protected his own children. He told his people to take an unblemished lamb, sacrifice it, and place its blood outside their homes on the doorframe. Then God promised. "When I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt" (Exodus 12:13).
The word God used for passover is not the common Hebrew word for "stepping over" or "leaping over." It is more like the Egyptian word "pesh," which means to "spread wings over" like a mother hen. God himself protected the firstborn from the angel of death.
Tne blood smeared on the doorframes of Hebrew homes was a signal of the faith the people inside had in their God. They believed that God would spread his personal protection over each house and all those gathered inside.
As we look back on this event, we can also see that the Passover lamb and its blood symbolized Jesus. John the Baptist called Jesus the "Lamb of God. who takes away the sin of the world." And Saint Paul tells us. "Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed" (1 Corinthians 5:7). Jesus' blood places God's continuing watchful protection and forgiveness over us. His blood was shed on the cross so that we could be free of sin's curse. Because of Jesus, we will live forever in heaven.
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT: God knows his children, but how can the world tell who is a Christian today?
PRAYER SUGGESTION: Ask God to keep all his children in his safekeeping.
Jesus, Lamb of God, thank you for laying down your life to pay for our sins. Amen.