June 3 - Day 8 - Exodus 12:3-7

³ Tell the whole congregation

of Israel ... to take a lamb ... 

⁵ without blemish ... ⁶ [and on] 

the fourteenth day of this month ...

slaughter it at twilight. ⁷ [Then]

they shall take some of the blood

and put it on the two doorposts

and the lintel of the houses ...

Exodus 12:3-7

Israel was once in bondage in Egypt. In an act of mercy, God sent to them a deliverer -- Moses. 

 

But Moses was a mortal man. He lived. He died. Thus, you and I obviously can't rely on some dead historical figure – like Moses – for our freedom.

 

Nevertheless, was God still doing something on that journey out of Egypt that pointed to the kinds of freedom that you and I could enjoy? Absolutely. Moses was a deliverer … but he was prefiguring THE DELIVERER! Here’s the pattern …

 

Freedom began for Israel after they heeded God's command and slathered their doorposts with the blood of a lamb. 

Victory comes for you and me when we "paint" the doorposts of our hearts with The Blood of The Lamb.

 

Wait. What does that mean? Well, Jesus, as you probably know, is The Lamb – "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).

 

On our journey to freedom, Jesus is the third of four major steps. As we walk away from whatever enslaves us, we must 1) REALIZE that we are in bondage;

2) CRY OUT to God; and 3) trust that God does hear our cry and will provide deliverance – indeed, he has provided us with THE DELIVERER -- Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. 

"For freedom Christ has set us free," says Galatians 5:1, "Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery."

 

The yoke of slavery comes from sin and deception. True freedom comes from the true God. We must cling to God-the-Father, God-the-Son (Jesus), and God-the-Holy-Spirit.

 

What comes from our Triune Deliverer? Forgiveness of sins. The hope of heaven.

 

From our deliverer we receive the gifts of "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control" … and, likewise, we are delivered from slavery to its opposites -- "hatred, discouragement, anxiety, rashness, abrasiveness, greed, doubt, courseness, and impulsive behaviors."

 

Our Triune Deliverer provides us with purpose rather than meaninglessness … peace rather than guilt … light rather than sadness … and courage rather than fear. Yes, our Triune Deliverer provides.

 

If you’re enslaved, perhaps what you need most is to trust more fully in The Deliverer and paint your doorposts with The Blood of The Lamb.

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who needs to

buy some blood red paint

(It’s the only color that will cover

hatred, discouragement, anxiety,

rashness, abrasiveness, greed,

doubt, courseness, and

impulsive behaviors.)