277
T h e K i n g ’ s B u s i n e s s
June 1932
land that night, there was no hope o f de liverance from death except to those upon the door posts of whose dwellings the blood had been sprinkled. It was for that reason that the blood was there. And for the same purpose was Christ “our pass- over sacrificed for us” (1 Cor. 5 :7 ). When sheltered under that blood, there is as much safety from judgment as God Him self can provide. Those who are under the blood o f Christ are as secure as it is pos sible to make them. Nothing can be added to enhance that safety, and nothing can be done to make it more secure. Those who trust it have the unfailing and unbreak able word of God that “when I see the blood, I will pass over you,” and “I will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.” III. T he P erpetuity of I t (24-27). The Passover was to be a perpetual or dinance, to be remembered when Israel should come into her promised land. God’s people were never to forget that they stood upon the soil of their own land solely be cause of the blood (c f. vs. 24, 25). Sim ilarly, the Christian’s privileges are his solely by virtue o f the blood, and through out eternity, as he gazes upon the Lamb upon His throne, he will be reminded of that stupendous fact. The children were to be taught why this ordinance was repeated year by year. They were to be instructed that it was by virtue o f the shed blood that their fathers had been redeemed. There is a growing ten dency among Christians today to permit children to grow up with the idea that sal vation comes because o f the good lives that Christians live. So little mention o f the blood of Christ is made in many homes that the children get the idea that their parents are saved, if saved at all, by the lives that they live. Christian parents should remember that for themselves, as well as for their children, there is no other hope of salvation than that which is found in the blood of Christ (cf. vs. 26, 27). IV. T he P erformance of I t (28). The children o f Israel obeyed the Lord’s command. Because they did, we are able to read that when the time came, and the judgment actually fell, not one o f the Is raelites was harmed. They simply obeyed the command concerning the blood, and God kept His word and passed over them. Even so today, God commands every one, everywhere, to believe in His Son who shed His precious blood on the cross of Calvary. God has a right to thus com mand, and it is every one’s duty to obey His command. God’s command is that all who hear shall “believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 3:23). This means to believe that Christ died for every one, and that He shed His blood for all. Until such belief comes, there is no protection from the coming judgment. The fact o f a coming judgment has passed out of mod ern theology, but not out o f the Bible. And the Bible declares there is only one way of safety, and that is by the blood of the Lamb o f God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Lesson Questions Vs. 21, 22. What piessage did Moses bring the children o f Israel when he re turned from Egypt (Ex. 6 :9 ) ? What was the origin and meaning o f the world “pass- over” ? Why must the lamb be without blemish? In what sense is Christ our Pass- over? V. 23. Has God ever allowed a judg-
JULY 17, 1932 THE PASSOVER E xodus 11:1 to 12:36
The lamb was to be killed by the people themselves. It is not until one sees that one’s own sin caused the death o f Christ that that death will mean what it should mean to that individual. It was not the spotless life or unblemished character of the lamb that saved, but the blood shed and sprinkled on the doors. However spotless his life, it could never protect against the judgment. Nothing but the blood o f Christ suffices for salvation. W e must specially guard our scholars against any idea that the life o f Christ is sufficient for salvation. The saint is saved by the risen life of Christ, but the sinner has no hope except in the blood shed Upon the cross o f Cal vary. 2. The blood must be sprinkled. The Lord had said, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you” (v. 13). The Lord’s protection from judgment is not given because He sees the good life that a man may lead, or the rectitude o f charac ter to which he may have attained, but He says plainly, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.” All endeavors to secure salvation apart from the blood are en deavors to prove God untrue to His word. The blood is the only protection. But it is a sufficient protection, needing nothing to enhance its value. 3. The people must remain inside their blood-sprinkled house. They were protected only while they were under the blood. Apart from that, judgment would fall upon them as upon the Egyptians. The Christian who has once trusted the blood of Christ can never trust anything else for his salvation. “The blood, the blood, is all my plea,” must be the Christian’s daily cry, whether he be a babe in Christ or an aged saint. “Until the morning” there is no other protection for the child o f God than the blood of Christ. II. T he P urpose of I t (23). The purpose o f the Passover was to give protection against the judgment about to fall on the land o f Egypt. God had de creed that all the first-born were to die, whether the first-born of the king upon his throne or the first-born of the maid be hind the mill (c f. Ex. 11:5). All were under the judgment. But God never brought a judgment upon this earth with out also providing a way o f escape. How ever, while He always makes a way of es cape, He offers only one way. The ark o f Noah, the serpent in the wilderness, the Passover—each was a God-appointed way o f escape, but in each case, there was no other way (cf. John 14:6; Acts 4:12). As the destroying angel passed over the BLACKBOARD LESSON THERE /J POWER. IN THEBLOOD S | | l l M o o d s p i 1 J - QLOO - /OUR ONLt\ ^ n i PLACE o r \ ' SAFETY \ ^ ° N w,r m m iris 7KfBLOOD THATMAHETHAN ATONEMENT
Lesson Text ': Exodus 12:21-28. Golden Text: “ Christ our passover is sacrificed for us” (1 Cor. 5:7 ). The Samaritan Passover O ne of the greatest privileges which we have ever enjoyed was to witness the Samaritan Passover which is held on the summit of historic old Mount Gerazim every year. It so closely resembles the Passover o f ancient times that it is
well worth recounting our experiences there, as an illustration of the procedure in the days o f Moses. On the tenth day o f the first month, which corresponds to o u r month of April, the Samaritans c h o o s e seven perfect lambs,
and move with them to the top of Mount Gerazim. There they remain until the four teenth day, when they have their Passover ceremony. Just at sunset, the lambs are brought into an enclosure where all the Samaritans have gathered. At the signal from the high priest, several young men cut the throats of the lambs, and let them bleed to death. Some o f the blood is caught in basins, and is taken immediately and sprinkled over the doors of the tents. The wool is then plucked off o f the skin o f the lambs, they are cleaned, and hung on wooden spits. All the refuse is burned in a fire. The lambs on the spits are put into a pit which is lined with heated stones. They are left for three hours. Then all the Samaritans, fully clothed, and with staffs in their hands, come into the enclosure. The lambs are taken from the pit, torn apart, and eaten in great haste. After this, the people retire to their tents and wait for the passing o f the angel o f death. The whole ceremony is a remarkable illustra tion o f the shedding o f blood for the re mission o f sins, and the protection which the blood affords for the child of God. Outline and Exposition The Passover marked a new beginning for Israel. It was the time when her cal endar was changed and she began anew as a redeemed people. Prior to that time (as for instance, during the days when the plagues were falling upon Egypt), the children of Israel had been sheltered by the hand o f God. Now they were to be brought out o f Egypt as a redeemed people, re deemed by blood. This is one o f the outsanding passages o f the Bible—the basis o f the teaching con cerning redemption in Christ. Therefore, it is important that we should be clear on the teaching of this lesson, lest we give the scholars incorrect ideas o f that Sacrifice which saves and keeps—the sacrifice of Christ, our Passover. I. T he P rovision of I t (21, 22). 1. The lamb must be without blemish. This speaks o f the sufficient sacrifice for sin made by the Lord Jesus Christ who was the Lamb, “without blemish and without spot” (1 Pet. 1:19). All the lambs sacri ficed in Jewish ceremonies but foreshad owed this Lamb o f God who “ taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1 :29).
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs