Day 36 · Year 1 · The Story of Scripture
A lamb in your place
The whole gospel is already pictured in Exodus 12.
Today's passage
Exodus 12:12-14
12On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn male, both man and beast, and I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD.
13The blood on the houses where you are staying will be a sign; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will fall on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
14And this day will be a memorial for you, and you are to celebrate it as a feast to the LORD, as a permanent statute for the generations to come.
Berean Standard Bible · public domain
Reflection
The night Israel left Egypt, judgment passed over every house marked by the blood of a lamb. The household was not safer than its neighbors because it was better — it was safer because something had died in its place. Centuries later John the Baptist would look at Jesus and say, 'Behold, the Lamb of God.' If you grew up thinking Christianity is mostly about trying harder, Exodus 12 will reorient you. The thing that keeps you safe is not your record but a substitute, given by God.
From the great tradition · paraphrased
Martin Luther · Reformers · 16th c. · Germany
Martin Luther preached this picture relentlessly: Christ as the Passover Lamb whose blood is enough, so that the believer can stop trying to be his own protection and rest in what God himself has provided.
Paraphrase only. Scripture, not any teacher, is the authority.
Think it through
- What does God promise to do in verse 12, and what makes the difference for Israel?
- Why does God want this night remembered every year afterward?
- Where are you still trying to protect yourself instead of trusting the Lamb?
A prayer to pray
Thank God that the Lamb has already been provided, and ask him to free you from trying to be your own protection.