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every house and its blood sprinkled upon the lintel and side posts of the door. This was a
gospel message which Moses brought from God to Israel, "When He seeth the blood
upon the lintel and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not
suffer the destroyer to come into your houses to smite you" (Exod. 12: 23).
Note well that the blood was not sprinkled on the door step, for not even in type will
God allow what represents the precious blood of Christ to be trampled under foot.
Hebrews 10: 29 warns us of those who had "trodden under foot the Son of God" and we
live in a day that is ignorant of "the first principles of the oracles of God", the very ABC
of the divine revelation to mankind. Today, sin is regarded merely as a defect, inevitable
in the progress of the human race toward perfection which is man's natural destiny. Sir
Robert Anderson wrote nearly a hundred years ago:
"We have come to such a pass that the most elementary truths of Scripture need to be
re-stated--man's utter ruin and hopelessness, consequent upon the spiritual depravity that
is his heritage from the Fall; and his need of "redemption by blood"--salvation through
the death of Christ" (For us Men, pp. 25-27).
Let us consider further the story of Israel's redemption as typified by the Passover.
There was a time when practically everyone knew this, because the Bible was better
known and regarded as the Word of God. Not so today, and even those who do regard it
as such would probably sum it up by saying that God passed through the land of Egypt in
judgment, and when He came to the blood sprinkled door of the Israelite, He passed over
it instead of entering in to slay the firstborn.
But what if we should find that this is not what the record teaches? The word
"passover" is pasach and occurs 3 times in Exod. 12: (13, 23, 27). In I Kings 18: 21
it occurs in Elijah's address to Israel, "How long halt ye between two opinions?". They
were hesitating to take the decisive step to one side or the other. It is also used of the
prophets of Baal who leaped up and down about their altar (I Kings 18: 26). They did
not "pass away" from it. The action of a bird fluttering over its nest to protect it
illustrates the meaning of pasach (Isa. 31: 5). The Lord preserves His people from
harm and danger. He hides them under the shadow of His wings (Psa. 17: 8), and it was
in this way He preserved the Israelites on that awful night when the destroying angel was
abroad in the land of Egypt.
The words were He "will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite
you" (Exod. 12: 23). The Lord stood on guard at every blood-sprinkled door. He
became their Saviour. This is the real meaning of the Passover. No wonder they sang
later on "the Lord Jehovah is my strength and song: He also has become my salvation"
(Exod. 15: 2).
The divine religion of Israel was marked by festivals based on sacrifice, and joy based
on atonement for sin. Paul, centuries later, emphasized the same fact when he wrote to
the Corinthians, "For our Passover also hath been sacrificed, even Christ: wherefore let
us keep the festival" (I Cor. 5: 7, 8, R.V. margin). This is joy based firmly on eternal