Are You Covered?

When I see the blood, I will pass over you.   Exodus 12:13

God gave Moses very careful instructions for the people. When the greatest and the last of God’s ten judgments came on Egypt, God made a way in which all who believed and obeyed could be kept safe. Every family was to choose a lamb. They were to keep it for four days, and then they were to kill it. The lamb’s blood was then to be painted onto the doorframes of their houses.

Can you imagine the pressure on Moses to communicate this message? He had been in the presence of the living God at the burning bush. He had seen the fire and heard God’s voice. He had seen the plagues, and he knew that God would strike Egypt with judgment. He knew that God had provided one way in which families could be kept safe through this night of terror. The way of deliverance was by blood. Only blood would save them from death.

I can imagine Moses going around to each house asking, “Are you covered by the blood of the lamb? Have you shed that blood yet? Is it over your door? The day of judgment is coming. God said, ‘When I see the blood, I will pass over you.’ Now, get it on your house! Why haven’t you done it yet?”

When night came, I have no doubt that some of the people were shaking with fear as they ate the Passover meal. They must have looked up at their doors and wondered if the blood would make any difference when God’s judgment broke. All they had to go on was the Word of God. About two million people believed and obeyed, and every one of them was kept safe through God’s judgment.

God never said, “If you offer a certain number of prayers, I will pass over you.” He did not say, “If you are sincere, I will pass over you.” He said only, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you” (Exodus 12:13). Likewise, our salvation does not depend on the quantity of our prayers or on our sincerity; it depends on whether we are covered by the blood of Jesus Christ through faith.

For further reading, see Exodus 12