As you might expect, Exodus picks up where the Book of Genesis leaves off. Joseph (one of Jacob’s 12 sons) becomes “prime minister” in Egypt, and during the years of famine, Joseph’s family comes from Canaan to find food, and with Joseph’s protection and blessing, they settle in the land of Goshen. But after Joseph died, another pharaoh enslaved the Israelites and their slavery lasted for over 400 years. It is then that God raised up Moses to deliver His people, which was evidenced by the ten plagues and their “Exodus” from Egypt, culminating in the miraculous parting of the waters and crossing the sea on dry ground.

But once on the “other side,” the Israelites found themselves without food or water, which God, once again, provided for them. They eventually made their way to Mt. Sinai (Mt. Horeb) where God gave Moses the Law. And the rest of the Book of Exodus describes the various aspects of the Law, including the Moral Law (we know as the 10 Commandments), the Civil Law, and the Ceremonial Law that guided their worship in the tabernacle.

As we stand back and look at the Book as a whole, we see God’s plan of redemption in calling a slave people out of Egypt making them a nation to fulfill His purpose of redemption in the world. God revealed Himself as the “Lord of history” and the “Redeemer” of all those who call upon His name. Just as the Exodus is the central event of the Old Testament, the cross is the central event in the New Testament. Both point to God’s plan of redemption, that is, redemption from sin’s slavery, and deliverance through the blood of Christ.

As you might expect, there are so many important events in the Book that it is difficult to find just one passage that I feel is most significant. But I’ve chosen a passage for today that stays with us into the New Testament, and that passage has to do with the plagues of Egypt, namely the last plague when the so called “Angel of Death” swept over the land killing all of the first-born. Through Moses, the LORD told the people to take an unblemished lamb on the 10^th of the month, and at twilight on the 14^th day of the same month to kill it and spread its blood on the two doorposts and on the lentil of the doorway of their houses, and then to eat the Passover meal and be prepared to leave Egypt in haste. Here is what God said,

“I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the first-born in the land of Egypt… And 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” (Ex. 12:12-13).

And so, the “Feast of Passover” was instituted as the Israelites were commanded by God to remember that day each year. In fact, it is the First of Seven Feasts of Israel, and is celebrated in either March or April, depending on the Jewish Lunar Calendar. We should not be surprised that when John the Baptist was baptizing in the Jordan,  Jesus came to him for baptism and the Lord revealed to John who Jesus was and said,

“Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn. 1:29).

And on the night of the “Last Supper” which Jesus shared with His disciples in Jerusalem was actually Passover weekend in Israel, and just like the Passover Lamb in Egypt, Jesus became our Passover Lamb in Jerusalem on the day He was crucified. The Apostle Paul tells us that,

“Christ, our Passover Lamb, was sacrificed for us” (1 Cor. 5:7).

And now one of my favorite New Testament verses from the Apostle Peter,

“…knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:18-19).

 If we follow God’s redemptive story, it continues from the Book of Genesis and into the Book of Exodus. The blood of the first “Passover Lamb” which protected the Israelites from the “Angel of Death” was a picture of what would happen fifteen centuries later when Jesus would appear as our “unblemished and spotless lamb” and be sacrificed on the cross for the sins of the world. And while Exodus looked forward to another Lamb who would be slain, we look back to the cross where Christ was sacrificed, once and for all, for the sins of the world, and that includes our own sins.

The blood that was applied to the doorposts and lentil from the Passover Lamb in Egypt must now be applied to our own hearts for our sins to be forgiven and removed from us. How? Just ask the Lamb of God to apply His own blood to your life. It’s an act of faith when you believe this truth,

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness”   (1 Jn. 1:9).

Along with faith, it takes humility to kneel before God and confess our sins, but it will cleanse you from all sin and unrighteousness. If you haven’t done it, there’s no need to wait any longer. I pray that you will.