Covered and Passed Over

Moses has listed in Hebrews 11 several actions that resulted from his faith. Each is important and plays a part in God using him to lead the people of Israel out of the bondage of Egypt. Here in verse 28 we see the last great plague upon Egypt and Moses’ response in faith to what God was doing.

This was a terrifying night for Israel and Egypt, and Moses played a crucial role in the events that transpired. As God had been sending plagues upon Egypt to get their attention, to demonstrate His power for Israel, and to ultimately free the people, Pharoah resisted until this last plague.

Here at last before the Exodus God struck dead all the firstborn in every house in Egypt, killing both people and animals. Let us briefly look at the preparations for this event and look at the details of what Moses did in faith that was used by God to spare Israel from this plague.

This event, recorded for us first in Exodus chapter 12, was the prelude to the Exodus and the institution of the Feast of Passover for Israel. Each household was to take a spotless lamb into it on the tenth day of the month. The lamb was to be treated as a pet, cared for by the family in the house from the tenth to the fourteenth day. At twilight on the fourteenth day the lamb was to be killed, prepared as a meal, and eaten. Some of the blood from this spotless sacrificed lamb was to be put on the doorposts of the house. The lamb represents for us Christ of course and the whole feast points to salvation in Jesus.

There were other things to prepare with this meal, but the key is this spotless lamb that was loved by the family and sacrificed for them. The blood that covered the door was a sign to God of their faith and obedience and when He saw the blood of the sacrifice on the door He passed over that house and did not kill the firstborn. Every house without the blood saw the death of the firstborn that night.

Because he believed God Moses kept the Passover and instructed the nation of Israel as to how God wanted it to be observed so that they might be spared. Imagine if he had messed up part of the message or not told everyone. He was faithful to do what God asked, to tell all the people about the Passover as it was instituted for the whole nation as an everlasting ordinance.

What if he had not observed the Passover or had not told the rest of Israel about it? If he had neglected this call he as the firstborn in his family, and many, many others would have died that night with the Egyptians. The only safety came through being in a house under the blood of these spotless lambs.

Of course we see the obvious picture here of Christ and the church. Any of us who are not under the blood, those who have not placed their faith in Christ or had their sins forgiven – they will face the same fate of the uncovered firstborn. Death. But those under the shed blood of Jesus can rest assured that God has passed over their sins because of the life and death of Christ.

Moses shows us the importance of faithfully preaching the gospel to those who need to hear it, too. How many need to hear how to be spared? How many need to hear how to be saved? All have sinned so all need the Savior! We know what to tell them and the consequences of not telling them, yet too often for whatever poor reason we can come up with, we neglect to be a faithful witness for Christ. We neglect the gospel. We forget that God is able to save sinners. We forget that the results are up to Him. We forget what He requires of us.

We forget that lives depend upon us obeying the Great Commission. We must tell people the truth. We must witness. We must tell them of Jesus and the forgiveness we have through His crucifixion. If we do not, their lives and souls are at stake.