The Real Battle Foreshadowed

Read Exodus 12:1-13.

God sent nine plagues upon the land of Egypt, and each time, Pharaoh refused to heed them, even in the face of God’s overwhelming power. So God sent a tenth plague—a final calamity that would loosen Pharaoh’s iron grip over the Israelites: the death of the firstborn.

There was mourning throughout all Egypt because everyone had lost someone they loved, including Pharaoh (see Exodus 12:30). His own son, the heir to the throne of Egypt, also died. But in Goshen, where the Israelites lived, it was a different story. God had instructed each Israelite household to kill a perfect, spotless, male lamb and then brush the blood on the doorframes of their homes. As a result, death passed over the houses marked by the blood. God had protected and saved His people.

For the next sixteen-hundred years, the Israelites commemorated this event with a Passover celebration, but what they didn’t know was that they were also looking ahead to something far greater. You see, the Passover lamb is a foreshadowing of the Son of God. He, too, is perfect and spotless—without sin—and He, too, died so that judgment would pass over those covered by His blood. That is why, when John the Baptist saw Jesus, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).

Prayer: Jesus, thank You for taking the judgment I deserve. Thank You for covering me with Your blood, that I might be in relationship with God the Father as His child. Your love is astounding. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.