Bible Story of the Day: By Blood

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Bible Story of the Day

Scripture is the story of Jesus, from Genesis to Revelation. There are over 400 prophecies and representations of Jesus in the Old Testament alone. The Old Testament pointed forward to the coming Christ, and the New Testament points back to Jesus. The Bible is a record of redemption through Jesus Christ who conquered sin and death when He died on the cross and resurrected three days later. The New Testament was written almost 2000 years ago. Some of the Old Testament was written over 4000 years ago. The Bible Story of the Day not only shows Jesus throughout scripture but shows how scripture is relevant to our lives today. Seeing Jesus in scripture is a major step into understanding who our God is, and how He impacts and affects our lives in every moment. I pray that the Holy Spirit opens your mind to understanding the verses and how they affect your life and gives you a better understanding of our Lord Jesus Christ. I will post a link to the chapter that each passage is from, so that you can read further on your own.

By Blood

Exodus 12:12-13

For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—I am the Lord. ¹³ The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. (NASB).

Where is Jesus and What Does This Mean to Us?

Today is the Eve of Memorial Day. As I think about the sacrifice of the men and women we celebrate on Memorial Day, I also think about the blood that was shed by Jesus. Exodus 12 is not a “feel good” story. It is brutal, violent, and sad. People suffered. People died. This passage tells us about the beginnings of the ceremony and feast of Passover. This is when the Angel of God (Jesus) enters Egypt and kills all the first-born children of those that have not been chosen to be spared. The Jews were told to splatter blood on their door frames and the Angel would pass over their house and spare their son. We later learn that not all spared were Jews and not all Jews were spared. The Angel of the Lord knew who to spare and who to slay. The splattering of the blood was a test of obedience. The test of obedience would prove the Lord is who He says he is and would demonstrate His power and authority.

Passover is symbolic to the shedding of Jesus Christ’s blood for us. God’s wrath will pass-over those who believe in the shedding of the blood of Christ in the days of judgement. Jesus is the lamb that was slain to spare our lives. Our obedience and faith determine if we are sparred during judgement when the Angel of the Lord destroys those that do not believe. I look at Jesus as a selfless sacrifice. We did not deserve what He did for us, but He did it anyway. There are some of us that do not appreciate it, but He did it anyway. We will never understand, fully, His sacrifice in this life. Rom 5:8, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (NASB).

I look at the soldiers and the martyrs throughout history that have defended our way of life. They defended our faith. They died for what they believe in to ensure we were able to continue to believe and express what we believe in. Their blood was spilled much like Jesus. We will never understand their sacrifice in this life. They died for us and our way of life even though we did not deserve it. Many say our country is a mess today. We still have soldiers dying to maintain our way of life, even though this country is moving the wrong direction. My point is not to elevate those that sacrificed their lives for us to the level of Jesus. My point is in asking you as well as myself, if we take their sacrifice for granted.

Do we fully appreciate the freedom we have? Do we appreciate the sacrifices made to ensure that our country has not been overthrown or attacked more than it has? What are we doing with this gift of freedom? What are we doing with the gift of not being persecuted as they were in the Roman Empire? What are we doing to honor the men and women that put everything on the line so that we could have religious freedom and proclaim the name of Jesus aloud? What are we doing with this gift of salvation Jesus gave us? Do we even care that the Angel of the Lord will pass us over in judgement and spare our eternal death? Are we thankful? Are we glad? Are we humbled? I am spending this Memorial Day weekend humbly thankful that I can share the Gospel with you without fear of death, and thankful for the freedom to believe and express myself as I choose. Jesus set the example as the ultimate sacrifice. Countless men and women have followed in His footsteps in defending our way of life. This Memorial Day I challenge each one of you to consider how thankful you are for what you have and to ask yourself if you show your thanks in a way that honors Jesus.

Resource

• Exodus 12 NASB – The Passover Lamb
  The Passover Lamb – Now the LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the