Exodus 12 — Concerning the Blood of the Lamb

Exodus 12 — Concerning the Blood of the Lamb

Before bringing the people of Israel out of Egypt, God sent ten plagues upon Egypt. Among them, from the first to the ninth plague, God distinguished the land of Goshen, where the people of Israel lived, and did not send the plagues there, but only upon the regions where the Egyptians lived (Exodus 7-11). However, the final tenth plague recorded in Exodus 12 was different. The tenth plague, the plague of death that struck the firstborn, did not distinguish between the Egyptians and the people of Israel; the destroyer was sent to all. There is a clear message in what God did in this way. It teaches us that God’s judgment will come not only upon those who do not believe in God, but also equally upon those who believe in God. For this reason, the word of Exodus 12 becomes a very important lesson for us who are living in these last days before judgment.

God said that when the destroyer saw the blood applied to the lintel and the two side posts, he would not destroy that house (Exodus 12:23). In other words, whoever was inside the house was not the standard; the people inside the house were not what mattered. Rather, whether the blood had been applied to the lintel and the two side posts of that house became the standard that divided life and death. This word can be a lesson to all of us. For those who believe in God, we can learn that merely having the title of being God’s people is not what matters, but that those who obey the word of God can live. And for those who do not believe in God, we can learn that even if they are Gentiles like the Egyptians, if they turn back and obey the word of God, they can live. Thus, whoever obeys the word of God and applies the blood can live through that obedience (Matthew 7:21). The importance of obedience is emphasized from the very beginning of Exodus 12.

Exodus 12:1-4 "1And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. 3Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: 4And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb."

The word given to Moses and Aaron, whom God sent to the people of Israel to speak to them, was that each household should take a lamb. In other words, Moses and Aaron were not the ones who saved the people of Israel from the destroyer; they were only instruments who delivered the word of God. Whether the people of Israel obeyed that word of God was what determined whether their firstborn would live or die. Therefore, we must keep in mind that God’s salvation does not come to us merely because we are together with a person like Moses, as though we too are saved through him. Rather, each person must obey the word of God in order to be saved (Ezekiel 14:12-20, Hebrews 3:16-18).

Hebrews 3:16-18 "16For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses? 17But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? 18And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?"

Therefore, God desires to see obedience from us. God caused even His Son to obey to the point of death on the cross (Hebrews 5:7-9), because the sin of mankind began with disobedience to the word of God (Romans 5:19). God could have sent the tenth plague, the plague that struck the firstborn, only upon the Egyptians, just as He had done with the previous nine plagues. But He did not do so with the tenth plague because He desired to see the obedience of the people of Israel. Through this event, in which even the people of Israel would inevitably suffer the plague if they did not apply the blood, we can understand the importance of the blood. What, then, is the blood of the lamb, that it determines life and death in this way?

Exodus 12:5-7 "5Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: 6And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. 7And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it."

In the passage above, the command to take a male lamb without blemish and of the first year points to "Jesus," who would be crucified in the distant future (1 Corinthians 5:7). And God commanded them to apply its blood to the two side posts and the upper door post of the house where they would eat the lamb. The meaning of that blood is "atonement."

Leviticus 17:11 "For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul."

As the passage above says, blood has the power to make atonement for sin. Therefore, whenever the people of Israel came before God according to the feasts, God had the blood of the sacrifices they offered sprinkled in order to make atonement for their sins on their behalf. This was because of the word of God, as written in Leviticus 17:11 above and Hebrews 9:19-22: "...and almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission." In the end, even the people of Israel were sinners, and therefore the blood of atonement was necessary for their salvation. Just as each of them had to apply the blood of the lamb to the two side posts and the upper door post of his own house in order to live, we today must also put the blood of Jesus at the forefront in order to live. Whether I am an Israelite or an Egyptian — in other words, who I am — is not what matters. What matters now is whether or not the blood is at the forefront. Whoever puts the holy blood of Jesus at the forefront will receive forgiveness of sins, have his sins covered, and live. This is also like the meaning of the plate that God commanded to be placed on the forehead of Aaron the high priest, which said, "HOLINESS TO THE LORD" (Exodus 28:36-39). Although Aaron was the high priest, he too was a sinner as a man. Therefore, in order to enter the Most Holy Place where the holy ark of the covenant of God was, there had to be something that sanctified him. So God had the plate reading "HOLINESS TO THE LORD" placed on the front of his mitre, thereby cleansing him so that he could enter the Most Holy Place and live without dying.

Then what is the blood of Jesus, and what does it mean to put the blood of Jesus at the forefront? The blood of Jesus means the name of Jesus. This is because, just as the blood of Jesus makes atonement for sin, the name of Jesus is said to make atonement for our sins.

1 John 1:7 "...the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."

1 John 2:12 "I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake."

Acts 10:43 "To him (Jesus) give all the prophets witness, that through his name (the name of Jesus) whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins."

Luke 24:47 "And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name (in the name of Jesus) among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem."

As the passages above testify, in the end, the blood of Jesus testifies to the name of Jesus. Therefore, to put the blood of Jesus at the forefront means to live in the name of Jesus. To live in the name of Jesus means to forsake this world and self-centered things, and whatever we do, whether in word or deed, to do all in the name of the Lord Jesus (Colossians 3:17). Just as the people of Israel at the time of the Exodus were saved by relying not on themselves, but on the blood applied to the lintel and the two side posts, we also must live by relying on and depending upon the name of Jesus in all things. For those who live in the name of Jesus, just as it was said in Exodus 12:13, "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..." the name of Jesus will become the sign of our salvation [see The Mark of Salvation] and will save us from the destroyer, that is, from the judgment of God. It is our blessedness that, because of the name of Jesus, we can receive forgiveness of sins and have our sins covered.

Romans 4:6-8 "6Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, 7Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. 8Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin..."

Lastly, the fact that the people of Israel would serve as slaves for 400 years, and that they would come out of Egypt with great possessions, was already recorded in Genesis 15:13-14. At that time, however, although God told Abraham that his descendants would serve as slaves for 400 years and would come out with great possessions after 400 years, He did not specifically tell Abraham by what method He would save them. But when the time came, He revealed that method to Moses, the man of that time. And the people of Israel who heard the words of Moses received salvation by obeying what they had never done before: killing a lamb and applying its blood to the lintel and the two side posts.

Jesus also said to His disciples at the Last Supper, "Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask" (John 16:24-25). To the disciples, this was an unfamiliar word they had heard for the first time. Until then, the disciples had never asked "Jesus in the name of Jesus." But when the time had come, Jesus delivered to His disciples this word of mystery: "Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and ye shall receive." After hearing this word, the disciples later obeyed it and relied on the name of Jesus in all things (Acts 3-4). The apostle Paul, who was chosen later, was also chosen for the name of Jesus and lived for the name of Jesus (Acts 9:15-16, Acts 21:13)... The same is true for us today. As mentioned earlier in this chapter, now is the time for us, according to the word of Exodus 12, to put the name of Jesus at the forefront again for our salvation, and to do all things "in the name of Jesus" according to the method Jesus has taught us.

Colossians 3:17 "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus..."