If you can once more, with the
help of God, I would like you to turn to the chapter that we
read together, Exodus chapter 12. And the text you'll find,
a very well-known text in verse 13. And the blood shall be to
you for a token upon the houses where ye are. And when I see
the blood, I will pass over you and the plague shall not be upon
you to destroy you when I smite at the land of Egypt. This is one of the more remarkable
verses in the scripture that has the ability to span the beginning
right to the very end of scripture and can be applied both Old Testament
and New Testament as it speaks of the Old Covenant and then
brings about the New Covenant of the Lord Jesus Christ. We
know that it's Don the Baptist said, Behold the Lamb of God,
which takes away the sin of the world and it's then salvation
by atonement, salvation by blood, salvation by the death of another,
the substitutionary atonement and the deliverance of the people
of Israel out of Egypt and the substitutionary atonement of
the people of God, out of the ways of darkness, out of the
kingdom of this world and being ushered into the kingdom of light,
being brought into the kingdom of Christ. through that perfect
sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ and it was as in the days of
Moses that there was no other way for them to be delivered
other than to listen to what the Lord said and to obey the
Lord to the T, to obey the Lord to the letter and do exactly
what he commanded and it was only then that the people of
Israel would be spared from being judged underneath that curse
which was going to fall upon the land of Egypt. Verse 23 it says, and the Lord
will pass through to smite the Egyptians. And when he sears
the blood upon the lintel and upon the two side posts, the
Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer
to come in unto your houses to smite you. And so the only distinction
really that the angel was looking for was not house style but blood. He was to pass over the whole
of the land of Egypt and he was to look at the individual houses
and he was to look at the doors and what he saw would cause him
to pass over or cause him to enter in and to bring about that
judgment which God has said that he was going to pass through
the whole of the land of Egypt and that the death of the firstborn
both in people and in cattle was going to take place. And
the only way for safety, the only way to preserve themselves
was to listen to the way in which God says they were to be delivered. That they were to take a lamb. Not any lamb. It had to be a
particular lamb, a lamb of the first year, a lamb without spot
and without any blemish. It was to be a perfect lamb. It was to be a perfect lamb because
it was symbolically representing the perfect lamb of God, the
Lord Jesus Christ. book of Malachi. You see there how over time the
children of Israel began to despise the offerings of the Lord. The
Lord had specifically said what types of animals were to be offered,
what types of animals were to be used for sacrifices and they
were to be those without blemish, they were to be those that were
well And if they had any blemish or any sickness, they were not
to be offered to the Lord. But as people's hearts began
to get hard, as they began to distance themselves from God
and see no value in the sacrifice system, then they began to offer
up things which were not acceptable to God. They backslid. became lukewarm, they disrespected
God and his sacrifices and so they began to offer blind animals,
they began to offer lame animals, they began to offer those things
which were not pleasing to God and they polluted the Lord's
offerings and he says that he is weary he says would you even
offer these blind these lame animals to your governor would
you use these animals in a feast then why would you give them
to the Lord. And so it shows the hardness
of their hearts. It showed that they had really
despised God and were just going through the rituals of things,
not really having any thought or reason why they were doing
it. They thought, well, I'm not going to give the Lord that lamb.
He's too good. I'm not going to give that bullock. He's a good one. He's a strong
one. He's the best one. I'll give the Lord. Oh, this
one's got a bad leg or this one's unwell. This one's got some problems
with its eyes. This one's deaf. This one's old.
And so they began to give the worst things to the Lord instead
of the best things. And often it is with us, isn't
it? You know, as we distance ourselves
from the things of God. We become hard-hearted and we
don't give God the best time. We don't give God the first fruits. We don't give God the best of
our service. We put self first. other things
come first, other things become more important. Instead of seeking
first the kingdom of God and his righteousness we seek first
our kingdom and our enjoyment, our pleasure. And then we tag God onto the
end. We tag the Lord Jesus Christ
onto the end. We tag the worship of God onto
the end instead of putting it first. God demanded the best
lamb for the sacrifice. And as the people drifted away
from God so their sacrifices began to get more and more displeasing. The sacrifices represented the
Lord Jesus Christ. They represented God's perfect
Lamb, the Lamb of God, who was without sin, without spot, who
God was well pleased with his beloved Son. And this was the
only way for the people of Israel to escape the judgment of God
was to obey what God said to them. They could not alter the
Word of God. We read, don't we, we read in
the book of Revelation right at the very end of those who
alter the Word of God and change it and twist it to suit themselves. In Revelation 22 Verse 18, for
I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy
of this book, if any man shall add unto these things, God shall
add unto him the plagues that are written in this book. And
if any man shall take away from the words of this book, a book
of this prophecy God shall take away his part out of the book
of life and out of the holy city and from the things which are
written in this book and he which testifies these things says surely
I come quickly amen even so come at Lord Jesus and so the Word
of God must be followed precisely and exactly and the twisting
of it causes one to turn away from the Word of God itself.
If the people of Israel were to obey God to the very letter
regarding this sacrifice, if they deviated from it, then they
would be liable to judgment. If the angel came over and he
found some problem, then judgment would enter into that house and
those people, they would suffer the wrath of God. They would
not be spared just because they were Israelites. They were only
spared because they had slaughtered a lamb and put its blood upon
the lintels and upon the doorpost. That was the only way of safety. they had used some other blood,
maybe the blood of a pigeon, maybe the blood of something
else, it would not have been satisfactory. Maybe they could
have decided to use red paint, And the angel would pass over
and they think, well maybe I could deceive the angel. Maybe we could
deceive God by using red paint instead of blood. I don't want
to use my precious lamb. God cannot be deceived. We may be able to deceive people
by our outward appearances, but God looks upon the heart. God
specifically said the blood of a lamb or of a baby goat and
it would be without out blemish was to be specifically chosen
for that purpose. I think four or five days before
the lamb was to have been chosen was to have been chosen and set
aside and examined Does it have any fault? Is it unwell? Is it lame? Is it blind? Is it deaf? Had to be examined
and separated from the other, separated for a purpose. And
just like the Lord Jesus Christ, he was separated for a purpose,
chosen before the foundation of the world. It was not just
a haphazard thing that took place. It was a specific plan of God
to send his beloved son into the world. He was chosen before
the foundation of the world to bring about the salvation of
his people, to lay down his life for his people, just as the lamb
was isolated and placed to the side and waited for that specific
evening for when it was to be killed, it was to be chosen. I think also that shows us something
of the sovereignty of God. That man had to go into his herd
or into his flock and he had to examine and he had the ability
to choose and to say that that one Man has been given that authority
over the animal kingdom, over this world, to subdue it. And
he has that authority to enter into the herd, into the flock,
into the sea, and to haul up the fishes, and to haul up the
lambs and the cattle, and to eat them. It shows sovereignty. God is also sovereign. And he
has chosen this specific way of salvation to save people by
his son the Lord Jesus Christ. It is his sovereign choice. It is his sovereign way. There
is no other way to bring about the salvation of people. And
so God before the foundation of the world not only chose the
means to save But he also chose the people to whom the lamb would
save. So as the farmer entered into
his flock he was to choose a lamb, a perfect lamb, a lamb that would
symbolise a few thousand years later the perfect lamb of God,
the Lord Jesus Christ. And that lamb, it had to be killed. on the specific day that God
said that it should be killed. Verse six, and you shall keep
it up until the 14th day of the same month. And the whole assembly
of the congregation shall kill it in the evening. The lamb was to be killed. Remember
as Adam and Eve sinned against God, They brought about death. That
sin brought about death. Before that it was not in God's
plan for this world to suffer death but when man sinned the
curse of death fell upon this world and now we see death wherever
we go. And this lamb was to be killed.
It hadn't of itself done anything wrong. It was not worthy of death. would say was innocent, a spotless
lamb. But it was to be taken from the
flock and then it was to be killed. And its life was to be made as
a substitute for that family that would enter into that house
That lamb was to die on behalf of that family. All of those
that sheltered underneath the blood of that lamb, they would
be safe. They would be preserved from
judgment. That lamb felt the wrath of God. That lamb experienced death on
behalf of those people. And so they had to kill it in
the evening. Its life was shed, its blood
was poured out and kept into a bowl. And that bowl was to
be painted then, but with hyssop upon the lintel and upon the
doorpost. Remember what David says, cleanse
me with hyssop. That hyssop, that plant was that
which was used to place the blood sacrifice, the sacrificial blood
upon the altars and upon the doorposts and upon the lintels.
And it was used in the sacrificial ceremonies. And he says, cleanse me with
hyssop. Cleanse me with blood. That blood
was to be a token upon the houses where they were. It showed the angel that judgment
has already fallen upon this house. The blood showed him that
life had been shed. Life had been poured out already. the firstborn lamb had been slaughtered
instead of the firstborn son or the firstborn daughter or
the firstborn of that household. And they were preserved because
of the blood on the lintel and upon the doorposts. What brought
me to this text really is a hymn that we had been listening to
during our holiday. And it's written from the perspective,
I was meant to bring it but I forgot. It was written from the perspective
of a first born son laying in his bed. And he's laying in his
bed and he's thinking, why did the lamb have to die? Then he
can't sleep. So he asks his dad, is the blood
still on the doorposts? And the dad replies, don't worry son, no wind or waves
or storm can wash away this blood. And it sort of enables you to
think Now these things, this was real life. There were Israelites
sheltering in a home and the only thing that distinguished
them from the Egyptians was the blood upon the doorposts. And
they rested completely in that blood. They were trusting completely
in what God had said. As they heard the angel pass
over the other homes and the other places, as he passed over
the palace, as he passed over the land of Egypt, and the scripture
says there was that great cry that went up as there was not
a house where there was not one who was not killed. You imagine the cry that went
up. And then you think of those who were sheltering there in
those homes, trusting in that blood that what God had said,
it would work. They would have known. Those
children, those firstborn children, what's dad doing? Why is dad
killing the lamb? Why is he putting it on the doorposts?
It better work. Of course it did work. because
God had told them that the blood would be a token upon the houses,
that the lamb would be a substitute for them. But also it had to
be roasted with fire. It had to be roasted with fire. Some sacrifices, as we look through
the Levitical law, were boiled in a big cauldron and they were
sodden with water. But this one had to be roasted
with fire. I read that it speaks to us of
the judgment of God. The judgment of God in the scriptures
speaks of as it being burning. Like hell is a place of burning,
of torment, of the wrath of God spoken to us of the flames of
hell with the darkness there speaking to them of judgment.
And so that lamb as it was slaughtered and then roasted with fire was
that visual thing before them. This is what is going to take
place. God is bringing judgment and
that judgment is falling upon this lamb that is before us. And the symbol of that judgment
is the blood upon the doorpost. But then the lamb, it had to
be eaten. Had to be eaten. Consumed. And it speaks to us, or to them,
of fellowship. Had to sit together with their
loins girded and their staffs in their hands. Had to fellowship around this
lamb. This thing, this animal that
was going to be their substitute. This animal that was going to
keep them safe from the judgment of God. They had to sit around
and fellowship around it. And doesn't that speak to us
of the Lord's Supper? We are one bread, one body. We commune with one another around
the Lord's table. We feast on the emblems of the
body and the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Doesn't that speak
to us of fellowship? Knit together by the unity of
the Spirit, completely different from one another, men and women,
boys and girls, builders, tree surgeons and gardeners
and doctors and accountants and others. We're not housewives,
teachers, the list is endless. But they come and they sit around
the Lord's table, all the social barriers are removed and what
unites them is the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and they come
to sit together around the Lord's table just as they sat together
around the lamb and partake of the Passover lamb. They had fellowship
with man and with God and as we sit around the Lord's table
we have fellowship with one another and with the Lord Jesus Christ
who promises to be with his people as they feast upon him, as they
feast at the Lord's table that he has promised to be there and
the blood would be to them for a token, a sign upon the houses
where they are and when I see the blood I will pass over you. It was that only one way then
of escape and today there is still only one way of escape. This world is under the judgment
of God. death is all around us the angel
of death flies over and over and over this world all day every
day taking one and another with him entering into the eternal
state there is only one way to find safety And that safety is
to be found in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is that
Lamb of God, the Passover Lamb of God, who takes away the sin
of the world. And that, as with the children
of Israel, they had to listen to God. They had to act on what
God has said. They had to take the lamb. They
had to slaughter the lamb. They had to apply the lamb's
blood. They had to enter into the house
by faith. It's like Noah. Noah had to enter
into the ark and the Lord shut him in. And so it is with the
people of God. They see their need of this lamb. They hear of the judgment of
God. They hear of the way of salvation. The only way of salvation
is the Lord Jesus Christ. They shelter under the blood
of Christ. It's Jesus' blood, thine only
plea. That is it. That is what distinguished
the Egyptians from the Israelites, it was the blood. And today,
today, right here and right now, it is only the blood of the Lord
Jesus Christ that can cleanse from sin and that can cause someone
to avoid the judgment of God. Because the judgment of God has
fallen upon another. It's fallen upon. the Lord Jesus
Christ and that blood is a symbol, a token that judgment has come and the Lord will pass over.
Judgment has come not upon us but upon another. So as with the people of Israel
that blood had a real effect Not just a story. It had a real
effect. When the angel saw it, the only
thing that stopped him from entering in was that blood. And so it
caused him to pass over. And the only thing that stops
us from having the wrath of God fall upon us on that day of judgment
will be the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. God's judgment will pass over. Not that he ignores, but that that judgment has already
fallen upon the Lord Jesus Christ. All those who were in the house
were safe. They must enter in under the
blood, through the blood and wait and that they were safe. And it is only those who have
entered into Christ and been washed in the blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ that will be safe on that great and
that terrible day. They have been redeemed. The
payment for their redemption is the blood of the Lord Jesus. The payment for the redemption
of the children of Israel was the blood of the Lamb. The payment
for the people of God is the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is the only way that God's wrath will be satisfied, God's
law will be satisfied, that God himself will be satisfied, is the application of the blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ. upon our souls, upon our lives.
See, sin is real. Every day we add to our debt. And there's only one way for
that debt, that guilt, to be wiped out, to be cleansed. It's by the blood of the Lord
Jesus Christ. As in the hymn that the little
boy was singing, he was worried that that blood would be washed
away. That blood has been washed away.
The blood of the lamb that was slaughtered in Egypt 4,000 years
ago is gone. Those doors no doubt long rotted
away. After the children of Israel
left maybe those houses were occupied by others. But that
blood there at that time was for a specific moment for their
deliverance from Egypt. But the blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ can never be washed away. can never be forgotten. It was
a one-time event that dealt with the eternal salvation of millions
and millions of people. Because there was no ordinary
man. It was the God-man, the Lord
Jesus Christ. And as he was slaughtered upon
the cross, as he was crucified and made the substitute for his
people, the Lamb of God, that was heaven's gift to the human
race, to his people. It was God's gift that he so
loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. So as
Christ was crucified upon the cross, God the Father, yes, turned
away his face, but it was witnessed in heaven. And those sins which his people
had committed were dealt with. and they were justified before
the law of God. In Hebrews it tells us, Hebrews chapter nine, verse 24. For Christ is not entered into
the holy place made with hands, which are figures of the true,
but into heaven itself, and now appears in the presence of God
for us. Nor yet that he should offer
himself often, as the high priest entered into the holy place,
every year with the blood of others. For then must he often
have suffered since the foundation of the world. But now, once in
the end of the world, hath he appeared to put away sin by the
sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto men
once to die, but after this the judgment. So Christ was once
offered to bear the sins of many, and unto them that look for him
shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. And so it tells us there that
the sacrifice of Christ, yes done on earth, but it had an
effect in heaven. We read in Revelation that it
is, that John saw the vision of a lamb slain. a lamb as it
had been slain. And so Christ, he did not enter
into the temple that was made with hands, but he entered into
heaven itself. And there he is even today with
the wounds in his hands and his feet and the wounds in his side
as the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. And so he is that high priest
that was sacrificed for his people He was the shepherd who died
for his sheep. He was the husband who laid down
his life for the bride to bring about their salvation. It is the blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ that makes the difference. Sometimes we may be tempted,
like the little boy, to think that the blood has been washed
away from our life. That these storms that we're
passing through, it means that, you know, we've lost the favour
of God. And that blood that we thought
was there is not really there. Just like the little boy wanted
to go out of the door to check to see whether the blood was
there because he was so scared that he'd gone and that the angel
would come. And sometimes we can be filled
with such fear. The blood of the Lord Jesus Christ
is not the blood of just a lamb. that was just for a moment. No, the blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ, it was one sacrifice to take away the sin of the world,
to take away the sin of his people. And it is once applied never to be washed away. The advert that says, I think
it's Ron Sir, does what it says on the tin. And so the blood of the Lord
Jesus Christ, once applied, never, ever, disappears or gets washed
away. Those that are in Christ have
been justified, sanctified and made ready for heaven. Yes they
continue to sin, yes they are filled with doubts and fears,
yes they backslide but that does not cause the blood to diminish
in any way that covers their account. Once that stamp has
been stamped, paid in full, that is paid. Nothing changes God's
end. But it may change our end. We
may be filled with doubts and fears. That is the work of Satan. Where does he attack? What caused
these Israelites to listen to God, to slaughter the lamb, to
apply the blood, to roast the lamb? It was faith. They believed
God. And so where does Satan come?
He comes to attack your faith. He wants to break that chain,
that link which binds you to Christ, which binds you to his
word, stops you trusting in his word. And so he attacks there.
Oh, that sin that you did the other day, surely you're not
Christian. God will never have you back.
Why are you filled with doubts? Why don't you read your Bible
24 hours a day? Why don't you spend hours in
prayer like those other people? What about those thoughts? constantly attacking. He wants
to undermine your faith so that you believe the blood of Christ
has had no effect upon your life. You believe that the blood of
Christ has been washed away in the rain and the difficulties
of life. But it is impossible. The blood of the Passover lamb
has washed away but the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ shall
never wash away and when he sees the blood he will pass over and
the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you when I smite
the land of Egypt. This is what the blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ has delivered you from. not the judgment that
falls upon Egypt, but the judgment that will fall upon this world
when the Lord Jesus Christ comes again. When he separates the
sheep and the goats, the unbelievers and the believers, those that
love him and those that hate him, this is what his blood does. When he sees the blood, He will
pass over and the plague, that plague of eternal death will
not fall upon you because it fell upon the Lord Jesus Christ.
And when he comes to smite this world with judgment, one day
he will come as we read in the book of Revelation as John says,
even so come Lord Jesus. The believers want the Lord Jesus
Christ to come, because they want to be delivered from this
body of sin and in death. And the blood shall be to you
for a token upon the houses where you are. And when I see the blood,
I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you
to destroy you when I smite the land of Egypt. Friend, the blood
is still there. Amen. Let us sing in conclusion from
Gatsby's 516 to the tune 737. 516. The triune Jehovah we praise,
in essence eternally one, who has, by the word of his grace,
his counsels eternal made known, the Father, the Spirit, and Word,
as free in one God and no more. in Zion's salvation accord, then
let us this one God adore. 516. The Father, the Spirit, and Word,
as three in one. In Zion's salvation accord, Then
let us this one God adore. Though change can take place
in his mind, His counsels are certain, and to her his glory unfold. The men sin and devil to hide,
to drive the believer to hell. Jehovah will put them to flight,
? Jesus and Jesus alone ? ? The
transaction's forever complete ? ? And whilst he remains on
his throne ? ? He will not the weakest forget ? ? There is and
shall ever be ? ? I'm trying to move on ? Dear Heavenly Father, Almighty
God, we do thank Thee for the Lamb of God that takes away the
sin of the world. We thank Thee that the blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ can cleanse us from all sin. And
we thank Thee that once applied, that blood shall never waste
away, shall never disappear. We thank Thee that once we are
in Christ, we are in Christ forever. And we pray, Lord, that Thou
forgive our backslidings, our doubts and our fears. I do forgive
our distancing ourselves from Thee, and do enable us to draw
near to Thee, that Thou will also draw near unto us. Do dismiss
us with Thy blessing, and do meet with us, we pray, upon Thy
day, as we seek to worship Thee once again, as we seek to sit
around Thy table, we pray, Lord, that our hearts may be prepared
to feast with one another and with the Lord. Now may the grace
of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father with
the fellowship and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with us
each now and for evermore. Amen.