In
preparing to exit Egypt, the Israelites had to trust that splattering the animal's blood would deliver them. Likewise, we need
to trust that acceptance of Christ's sacrifice can and will save us.
Picture
yourself back in Egypt when Moses was preparing the offspring of Jacob (Israel)
to leave. For the final plague, God (Jehovah) was going to kill every firstborn
of every household unless they demonstrated belief and trust in Jehovah's power
by putting blood on the doorpost of their home. Try to put yourself in the
mindset of the non-believing Egyptians. For instance, consider Pharaoh, the leader in Egypt, who arrogantly declared "Who is Jehovah that I should obey his voice...."
(Exodus 5:2)
So now, even
after suffering many plagues, would the Egyptians humbly demonstrate trust in
God's ability to put to death the firstborn of anyone not obeying the directive
to splatter blood on the doorpost? The record indicates they did not. What may
have been going through their minds? Likely something to the effect: “How can
so many people die in one evening? How could merely putting blood on a doorpost
keep people alive? This sounds ridiculous.” From that perspective it was
ridiculous. They neglected to appreciate that it was not the physical act that
saved them, it was the demonstration of faith that saved those obeying the
command.
Now that
we have insight into the real issues (obedience and faith), we are in a position to gain even
greater appreciation for the situation we are in today. While the majority of
mankind feels no real obligation to God, has no real commitment to learning
about him, we are not that way. We appreciate that, just as the Israelites very
lives was dependent on obeying, we likewise must accept that real faith and
trust in God comes down to obedience and accepting that, as creator, God has the right to indicate how to handle our relationship with him.
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