THE K I NG ' S BUS I NES S
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June, 1937
the Lord’s power as revealed in the great plagues which fell upon Egypt. They had seen how their God put a difference be tween them and the Egyptians. They had learned that the word of Moses was in truth the word of their God. And they were now ready to follow the instructions concerning the lamb, its death and the disposition of its blood. They had come to where they could look beyond Moses and discern the “ I AM ” ; they could hear Him speak through Moses, and they would do what He declared. God kept His word, and wherever He saw the blood, He passed over that dwelling and suffered not the destroy ing angel to smite those within the doors. The teacher of this lesson would do well, first, to draw attention to the fact that the blood of the Passover foreshadows the blood of Christ, the Lamb of G od; second, to show that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins, and finally, to realize that there must be direct and personal dealing with each member of the class concerning his or her attitude toward the atonement provided on Calvary’s cross. Points and Problems 1. "Moses called for all the elders of Israel” (Ex. 12:21). This statement should be compared with God’s command in 12:3: “Speak ye unto all the congregation of Is rael.” The complete service of the Pass- over in its every detail had been outlined to Moses and Aaron in verees 3 to 20, and doubtless these instructions nad been con veyed to “ all the congregation” well in ad vance of the night set for its observance. When the time arrived, it was only neces sary for Moses to give the word of com mand to the “ elders” to proceed with the killing of the lambs. All the people knew exactly what to do. This fact will account for the lack of detail in verses 21 to 28, where Moses only repeats the prominent features such as the killing of the animal, the sprinkling of the blood, the protection from the destroyer, and the perpetuation of the service. 2. “ It shall come to pass, when your chil dren shall say unto you, What mean ye by this servicef” (v. 26). There is nothing more important in the lesson than this de tail. Certainly there was little danger that those people who were behind doors sprink led with blood that night in Egypt could ever forget the meaning of the Passover. They knew what it meant. But as the cele bration passed down from generation to generation, it was possible for people to go on observing the rite even after they had utterly forgotten its meaning. And God commands them to guard against this dan ger. Yet they fell into this very thing. In the days of Isaiah, when Israel had lost the meaning of their great feasts, God de clared, ' “Your new moons and your ap pointed feasts my soul hateth” (Isa. 1:14). The very feasts appointed by 'God Himself became an abomination to Him when ob served merely as a ritual apart from their moral and spiritual significance. The same danger is anticipated in the New Testament by the Apostle Paul. He warns the early believers that to eat and drink of the bread and cup "not discerning the Lord’s body”
■will pass over you” (Ex.l2:13). Atonement was to be provided in God’s way, by the shedding of blood; acceptance was to be enjoyed through God’s way, in the ap propriation of the blood; and acknowledg ment was to be given to God’s way, by the display of the blood on the dwelling. Having placed the blood on the house, the occupants were not to “ go out at the door. . . until morning.” For them, the only place of safety was behind the blood, but there perfect safety was found. It was not their prayers, nor their understanding of the sufficiency of the blood, nor any superi ority over the Egyptians, nor any moral excellence that kept the Israelites safe. But it was the blood alone that made them safe. And by the same token, it is the blood of Christ alone that provides safety from judg ment against all sin. It is not what people see in it, or feel about it, but what God sees and feels about the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, that secures the safety of all who trust in Him. We cannot emphasize too strongly that it is the blood of Christ alone that forever satisfies God’s holiness, main tains His righteousness, vindicates His jus- ^ tice, and-establishes His truth. The safety of those who were sheltered behind the blood was full and complete. No doubt there was variety of age, char acter, and condition among these individ uals who trusted in the blood for protec tion. But whatever their particular state might be, all were perfectly safe, all could be sure they were safe, and all were equally safe. Among those who were sheltered by the blood, the enjoyment of a sense of safety might be greater in one person than in an other. But the possession of or lack of this satisfaction would not make one any more or any less secure than another. Each one could be absolutely sure of his safety by simple trust in the word of God which both required and accepted the shed blood as the means of atonement. It was the blood that made the believer safe; bis belief in the word of God would make him sure. II. T he O rdinance of the P assover (24-27) The Passover was to be remembered by the children of Israel throughout all their generations (v. 24). The initial visitation was never to be repeated, but always to be remembered. Likewise it is true that Christ will never die again and that His sac rifice cannot be repeated. But His death must ever be remembered as being the only means for the believer’s protection from judgment against sin, and the only ground upon which any man may approach God. When the children of Israel would come into their own land, they were to keep this ordinance (v. 25), and to pass on its mean ing to their children (vs. 26,27). The af ter record reveals that the Passover was neglected for a long time in the land and that one of the greatest revivals in Israel’s history came when this ordinance was re discovered and celebrated in a nation-wide observance (cf. 2 Ki. 23:21-23). III. T he O bedience to the P assover (28) The Israelites had seen the exhibitions of
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