" . . . take a lamb.
. . . And ye . . . shall kill it.
And they shall take of the blood.
. . . strike the lintel and the two side posts."
Exodus 12:3,6,7,22
What a flurry of sudden activity among the slaves of Egypt! Nine plagues or judgments had fallen upon the Egyptians. Water into blood, frogs, lice swarms of flies, pestilence among cattle, boils on men and beasts, hail and fire, locusts, and three days darkness. In all this Israel was safe, though they did nothing to prevent the judgment from touching them. They just sat still - God did it all for them. It was not because they were better than the Egyptians, but it was all God's sovereign grace. It was simply because God had chosen them and put a difference between the Egyptians and the children of Israel.
Now notice the change in the last and final judgment - the death of the firstborn! Here it was not a matter of sitting still and letting God do it all. Now they must do something. Take a lamb - kill it - take the blood - sprinkle it on the doorposts - stay inside - eat the lamb - and be ready to go. The first nine judgments speak of sovereign grace. The last one emphasizes Israel's part - faith. It all comes down to a matter of faith. If they did not believe Moses, they would not act, but just sit still as before. God's grace was their protection, but it must be received by faith. You can go to Hell by hiding behind the sovereignty of God. You must believe and act. We often hear it said, you do nothing to be saved. The truth is you do nothing to be lost! You are already lost - you do nothing to be lost. But you must do something about it to be saved. Not work, but believe. Listen to Paul in answer to the question: What must I do to be saved? "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ!"
"Bread For Each Day"
No comments:
Post a Comment