"By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them." (Hebrews 11:28)
The Final Plague
Plague after plague rained down on Egypt. God made it obvious; He was the God of the Hebrews. His judgment released upon the Egyptian gods and their worshipers, and the Israelite people were saved. Still, Pharaoh would not soften his stance, and instead hardened his heart. God respected his decision, hardening his heart for him. Like an immovable stone, Pharaoh's mind was made. He would not let the people go.
So one final plague was planned. The angel of death would pass through Egypt. Every home without the blood of a spotless lamb on its door would lose the firstborn of man and beast. Death would reign, jolting Egypt into ejecting Israel.
So Moses taught the people to take a young lamb and keep it as a pet for fourteen days. Then, kill it, cook it, eat it, and place its blood on your door. Be dressed for a journey. We are leaving right away.
And Moses did all this by faith: "By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood." He believed God's plan and trusted the blood on the door sufficient to cause the death angel to pass over their homes.
Faith in the Blood
Faith, it seems, enables us to trust the blood of the Lamb to deliver. We believe the blood of Jesus Christ salvific. God's wrath was poured out on Him, and by faith, Jesus' blood is applied to us, so judgment passes over us. We are saved!
It would not have taken faith to believe another plague was coming. After nine of them, anyone on the street could've predicted another. But it did take faith to believe the blood of a spotless lamb could protect someone from the next plague. Moses, Israel, and each believer today believe just such a thing. We think the blood of Jesus is sufficient.
...knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot." (1 Peter 1:18–19, ESV).
Faith clings to the blood of Jesus for victory over the world, flesh, and devil. We hear Isaiah's voice: "We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment" (Isaiah 64:6). We agree, and stand convinced the blood of Jesus gives us new garments, pure and clean. All of us were born under sin (Romans 3:9). Depravity was our reality. But Jesus "loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father" (Revelation 1:5-6). It all happens by his blood.
A Better Blood
The way the Passover pointed to Jesus' blood is helpful here, for Christ brought something much more significant than Moses' faith. We've thought about Moses the lawgiver for a few posts now, but Jesus is better. Moses trusted the blood of the Passover Lamb, but Jesus' own blood is our Passover. Moses endured as seeing Him who is invisible, but Jesus endured with fuller knowledge of his Father in heaven. Moses left his position in a falling empire to join with the suffering Hebrews, but Jesus left the glory of heaven to connect to us. Moses was born into danger, but Jesus chose to be born into danger. His will was involved.
And why did Jesus do all this? Because of his mysterious love for you. He said, "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy, he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field." Then he said, "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it" (Matthew 13:44-46). What did He mean?
He meant that when He looked upon the earth, He saw a treasure inside it, a people for Himself. He saw one pearl of great value, men and women who would form His eternal family. So Jesus abandoned it all, incarnated, in an attempt to purchase us for Himself by His blood. By faith in His blood, we overcome.
