The blood placed on the posts of the door frame and the lintel was ‘for the Jews and not for God.’
In my naïve thinking, having heard this story from the time I was a small child until now, I was under the perception that that blood was placed there so God could see who was faithful to Him. But that turns out to be a joke when we realize God said it was a sign for the Jews and not for Himself. It was there to assure the Israelites that they will be spared in spite of the death that will be taking place all around them. As well as saving the Jews from destruction, God is a teacher to them. Remember all those things we all were forced to memorize in school?
Well, God has SIX things He told the Jews to remember or memorize, and they do it right up to this day.
The FIRST was the Sabbath, “Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.”
The SECOND was the Exodus. “You shall not eat anything leavened with it…so that you may remember the day of your departure from the land of Egypt as long as you live.”
Number THREE was Receiving the Law at Sinai, “So that you do not forget the things that you saw with your own eves…. and make them known to our children and your children’s children, the day you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb….”
The FOURTH was “Remember what Amalek did to you on your journey after you left Egypt, how, undeterred by fear of God he… cut down all the stragglers in your rear.”
FIVE was The Golden Calf and other incidents in which the Israelites angered God. “Remember, never forget, how you provoked the Lord your God to anger in the wilderness.”
And finally the SIXTH remembrance was, God’s punishment of Miriam for speaking ill of Moses. “Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam on the journey after you left Egypt.”
Not only would it be difficult for me to remember all these things, but I must admit I don’t recall ever hearing of some of them in the first place. How very much easier we have it as grace believers. Yes, there are verses we know by heart and concepts that we know even better, but basically it’s important to understand, and believe: “For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” And then added to that: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.”
After God tells the Israelites to remember the Passover, He adds; you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord throughout the ages; you shall celebrate it as an institution for all time. And the interesting part of that entire scenario is whether today’s Jews remember their God or not, they do remember to celebrate the Passover. Added to the remembrance through celebrating Passover the Jews were given another instruction. That instruction was to eat unleavened bread for seven full days. In fact the instruction was extended to include that they must remove all leaven from their houses.
Leaven is a substance, such as yeast, used to produce fermentation in dough or in a liquid. It includes anything that modifies or lightens, such as baking powder that is used to produce a gas that lightens the dough. It mingles with or permeates whatever it is introduced to. Fermentation is a form of decomposition and therefore represents decay and death. Not only were they to remove all leaven from their homes, but Scripture says, “Whoever eats leavened bread from the first day to the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.” Being cut off is one of the most severe punishments in the Torah. There is some confusion as to what being “cut off” means but the consensual thought is it would be to “cut off from God and His people.”
Some Jewish people still practice the prohibition of yeast for seven days, others may think of it as a quaint ritual or as simply pointless. But nonetheless the Torah says, “You shall celebrate a sacred occasion on the first day, and a sacred occasion on the seventh day.”
How much easier Christ’s death has made it for us. “For by grace are ye saved through faith… lest any man should boast.”
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