Passed Over
“And it shall be, when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ that you shall say, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice of the Lord, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households’ ” (Exodus 12:26-27).
The Story
Jacob and his sons moved to Egypt when famine swept the region. Joseph, one of Jacob’s sons, had become second in command to Pharaoh. And God used Joseph to bring His people to live in Egypt for a time and a purpose.
The Israelites lived in the land of Goshen raising livestock. And the Egyptians paid them no mind, until the Pharaoh who appreciated Joseph died.
With Joseph gone along with those who knew how he blessed the country by taking them through a time of famine, new leaders arose who didn’t care for the Israelites.
The children of Israel increased greatly in number over the years, and the new Pharaoh feared they might join forces with an enemy to fight against them. Rather than allow the Israelites to become a threat to Egypt or freedom to leave the country, Pharaoh forced the people of Goshen into slavery.
Weary of the heavy labor and harsh conditions of slavery, the Israelites cried out for deliverance. For freedom.
And God heard their cry.
Freedom
The story in the Bible reads like a major motion picture. Heroes and villains, plagues and miracles, love and hate. If you wish, read the story again to refresh your remembrance of God’s amazing story of freedom granted (Exodus 1-12).
God chose one man, Moses, to lead His people out of Egypt. Out of slavery. Away from the land of darkness to the Land of Promise.
The story in detail is a story of God’s miraculous power at work to save a people from a desperate condition. The efforts He made to pry loose Pharaoh’s hands from the necks of the children of Israel were many. Plagues of frogs and lice and darkness and hail only irritated the Egyptians. God showed His hand over and over, but Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let God’s people go.
Until he did.
Passed Over
Following nine irritating plagues, God’s one final act twisted Pharaoh’s arm enough he told Moses to leave. Take the people and go.
But this act involved God’s people following His instructions in order to be saved.
According to Scripture, God instructed Moses to have each family take an unblemished lamb. On a set day that lamb was to be slaughtered and the blood of the lamb painted on the doorposts and the lintel of the house. That night, YHWH passed over the houses with the covering of blood, but killed the firstborn of every man and beast in the land of Egypt where there was no blood covering (Exodus 12).
We often think of being passed over as something bad. But here, being passed over meant life. Safety and hope were found in the homes where people obeyed their Creator.
YHWH, God of Israel, passed over the homes of the Israelites who obeyed their God. And He preserved them alive. Pharaoh demanded they leave, while anguish of heart was heard in the land from Egyptian families who did not have the blood of a lamb covering them.
Passover and the Lamb of God
This season, Jews around the world celebrate Passover, the remembrance held ever since that first night in Egypt when God passed over homes of families who obeyed Him. Children will ask, “Why is this night different from every other night?” And elders will reply with the story of God’s salvation all those years ago.
God doesn’t waste anything. The Passover story wasn’t a one-and-done event. God commanded His people to remember this miracle every year, not just because it’s a great story. But because He foreshadowed an event which would save not just the Israelites from bondage, but all of mankind, if they were willing to obey.
Jesus, “the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), came to earth fourteen hundred years after Moses led the people of Israel out of Egypt. The purpose of God’s Son on earth was to be greater than Moses and lead all people out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light.
In order for us not to be slain when YHWH passes over, we need the blood of the Lamb of God painted on the doorposts of our hearts. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was sufficient payment for our sin. But accepting God’s provision is our responsibility.
The perfect Lamb of God gave His life for us. But just like the people of Israel had to trust God and put blood from a lamb on the doorposts and the lintels of their homes, we have to believe God when He says the shed blood of His Son covers our sins.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).
God gave the Lamb. It’s our job to believe.
The Final Story
This season, while Jews celebrate Passover, Christians celebrate the resurrection of our Lord.
Easter isn’t about eggs and bunnies. It’s celebrating the fact our Leader not only gave His blood to cover us, but He conquered death and reigns as King forever. According to Scripture, Jesus rose on the third day and ascended to Heaven, leading us into life everlasting with Him (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
For those who acknowledge the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as the living Creator of the universe, and trust He provided for us when He sent His Son to die and to lead us from bondage into the Promised Land, we have the blood of Christ covering the door of our heart and soul. When the Avenger comes, He will pass over us, knowing we belong to the King.
Freedom is granted. Life and salvation belong to us. Eternity with our Lord and Savior Jesus Messiah is ours. Because we have been passed over!
NOTE: Recently I created a new page for this website entitled, Israel. Basic information about the nation and the land is there, along with links to several ministries I’ve encountered in my trips to the Holy Land over the last ten years. I hope you have a chance to check it out. God bless you this Passover season. And Happy Resurrection Sunday!
(Scripture: New King James Version; Photo: Taken by Carolyn Thigpen, Tucker, GA, April 4, 2022)
