Come To Save Us
Exodus 12:1-13
You’ve gotta love this passage. It’s the eve of the Israelite's miraculous escape from the hands of the Egyptians, and God prepares to send his judgement down on the people who have enslaved and oppressed His people. It tense, dramatic stuff: this is a matter of life and death and if the instructions are not carried out to the letter then death will come to the firstborn of the house.
The careful instructions that are given are not a magic spell. Instead, but are loaded with meaning. Like the fact that the lamb or kid was to be a perfect year old male - much more expensive than a female. Or the fact that the blood loss that caused its death was to be a token of the sacrifice, one that God would recognise. The way that it was to be completely consumed showed that the whole animal was to be considered part of the sacrifice; this price was so great that it would cost everything.
And here’s the heart of the matter. God's judgement was due on a whole bunch of people who had done wrong. For others - for His own people - these instructions were the way to avoid that judgement. They were to become a clear reminder of the fact that only something that was costly could pay price. What's more, only someone who obeyed his instructions would know how to prepare themselves.
Of course God told them to remember this Passover every year from then on. These lessons were so important they needed to be reinforced again and again.
And there’s something else besides: this wasn’t going to be the last time we’d need to be saved from judgement.
Again and again and again, He has come to save us.