The Passover Lamb | Bending a Stubborn Heart
Welcome to Real Life. I can be pretty stubborn. Some days, I’m even proud of it. Could that stubbornness end up hurting me … and others?
Egypt has been pounded by supernatural plagues: water turned to blood, frogs, gnats, flies, livestock perish, nasty boils, hail, and locusts. Then, the land is encompassed by a darkness so deep it can be felt. Only the Children of Israel are spared from the devastation.
Still, Pharaoh stubbornly refuses to let God’s people go. After the plague of darkness, he warns Moses, “Don’t come before me again or you’ll die.”
Moses replies, “Just as you say.”[1]
From Pharaoh’s own words, God sends one last plague – a plague of death. It will touch each Egyptian family deeply and personally. All the king’s wealth and power will not insulate him from feeling the pain of this plague. At midnight, every firstborn son will die.
God’s people are told to get ready. Pack their bags. Prepare one final meal in this land of pyramids: the Passover lamb. They are to slaughter a perfect lamb and apply its blood to the doorposts of their homes. The plague of death will pass-over every home marked by this blood. They are to eat quickly, dressed for travel. By morning, they’ll be gone.
That night the death angel comes. The mothers’ wails are deafening. Pharaoh immediately sends word to Moses, “Go, worship the LORD. Take your flocks and herds with you. And also bless me.”
Israel is free. But, what did it take to bend Pharaoh’s stubborn heart? What depth of suffering would finally break his iron grip over a people suffering in slavery? It took the loss of his own son.
The blood of a spotless lamb shielded the Children of Israel from death. The blood of Jesus, spotless Lamb of God, shields the children of God from spiritual death.
When I bowed at the cross, I was marked by Jesus’ blood. The death angel passed over me. I received eternal life.[2]
When the apostle John saw Jesus, he exclaimed,
“Here he is, God’s Passover Lamb! He forgives the sins of the world!”[3]
Dearest Lamb of God, thank you for shedding your blood for me.
Taking it further …
- How stubborn is your heart? What will it take for you to bend? You can choose to willingly bow at the cross. Jesus, Lamb of God, shed his blood for you. Take the “Steps to Peace with God.”
[1] Exodus 10:29 NIV
[2] “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23 NIV 1984).
[3] John 1:29 The Message
