January 19, 2023 - Exodus 12-13
The beginning of months, i.e., the beginning of the year for Israel: the Passover. The Lord instructed Israel, “And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses’” (12:26-27). During that last Passover meal Jesus ate with his disciples, “Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is my body.’ And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins’” (Matthew 26:26-28). The blood protected the Israelites. The blood of Jesus covers us and delivers us from condemnation.
Judgment is coming, all will be there,
Each one receiving justly his due;
Hide in the saving sin-cleansing blood,
And I will pass, will pass over you.
When I see the blood,
When I see the blood,
When I see the blood,
I will pass, I will pass over you. -- John G. Foote & Elisha A. Hoffman (1892)