©2002 Arlen L. Chitwood, The Lamp Broadcast.
E-mail: alchitwood@icnet.net.
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By Arlen L. Chitwood
The Bible is a book of redemption; and basic, unchangeable teachings surrounding redemption are set forth different places in the opening books of Scripture.
Exodus chapters eleven and twelve record the death of the firstborn in Egypt during Moses' day, four hundred years beyond the birth of Isaac. God had decreed that the firstborn of both man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt must die. This included those in the household of every Israelite and Egyptian family alike -- from the most obscure Israelite family to the household of Pharaoh itself. No firstborn throughout Egypt (even in the animal kingdom) was excluded from this decree (Ex. 11:4-6).
However, the Lord made a distinction between the Israelites and the Egyptians by providing Israel with a substitute which could die in the place of, in the stead of, the firstborn in the family (Ex. 11:7; 12:3ff).
Each Israelite family was to take a lamb from the flock on the tenth day of the month, keep the lamb penned in a separate place until the fourteenth day, and then slay the lamb "in the evening." Following the death of the lamb, blood from the lamb, which had been caught in a basin, was to be taken and applied to "the two side posts" and "the upper doorpost" of the house in which the Israelite family dwelled (Ex. 12:3-7, 22).
A few hours later, "at midnight," the Lord was to pass through the land of Egypt and execute the previously decreed sentence. Death would befall the firstborn throughout all the land of Egypt at this time. No distinction would be made between those in the households of the Egyptians or the Israelites in this respect, for the firstborn in every household was under exactly the same sentence.
("Midnight" is used in Scripture referring to judgment. The first use of this word occurs in Ex. 11:4, relative to judgment befalling the firstborn, establishing an unchangeable pattern [cf. Ruth 3:2, 8; Matt. 3:11, 12; 25:6-12].)
The distinction which God established between the Israelites and the Egyptians lay, not in excluding the Israelites from the sentence decreed upon the firstborn, but in providing the Israelites with a means of substitutionary death. The paschal lamb in Exodus chapter twelve was given to Israel, and only those in Israel could slay this lamb. And for an Egyptian family to have had a part in the provided substitutionary atonement the night of the Passover, that family would have had to go to Israel (cf. John 4:22).
When the Lord passed through the land of Egypt at midnight, He looked for one thing. He looked for the BLOOD of a slain lamb on the doorposts and lintel of each house.
If the blood was there, He passed over that house simply because He knew that death had already occurred. The firstborn had already died in that household. A lamb from the flock had died in his place, and the Lord looked upon the matter just as if the firstborn in the family had himself died.
However, if there was no blood on the doorposts and lintel -- with no respect given as to whether it was an Egyptian or an Israelite household -- the firstborn himself died. The absence of blood showed that death had not occurred in that house, and the firstborn from every household must die.
It cannot be over emphasized that the Lord looked for one thing and one thing only when He passed through the land of Egypt at midnight. He looked for BLOOD on the doorposts and lintel.
The blood not only had to be shed but it also had to be properly applied. Once the Lord saw the blood, He looked no further. Insofar as the death of the firstborn was concerned, nothing else was of any moment. God was satisfied.
And it is the same today. The firstborn is under the sentence of death, and God has provided a Substitute -- "Christ our passover is sacrificed for us" (I Cor. 5:7). He has shed His blood; but the blood, as in the type, must be properly applied, which is accomplished through a simple act of faith:
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).
As in Egypt the night of the Passover, insofar as the death of the firstborn is concerned, nothing else is of any moment. Apart from believing, unredeemed man today can do nothing.
The Israelites during Moses' day could do nothing but apply the blood of lambs, slain on their behalf; and man today can do nothing but apply the blood of the Lamb which has already been slain on his behalf.
And, as during Moses' day, once this has been done, God recognizes a substitutionary death as having occurred, resulting in His satisfaction.
"It is appointed unto men once to die..." (Heb. 9:27).
A man can either keep this appointment in Christ or apart from Christ. That is, he can elect to either receive the One Who has kept the appointment on his behalf, or he can elect to keep the appointment himself.
For those who have believed, the blood has been properly applied to show that the firstborn has died; and that's the end of the matter.
For those though who have not believed, there is no proper application of the blood; and the end of the matter awaits.
"What must I do to be saved?" (Acts 16:30).
The answer is simple. You can't do anything. It has all been done on your behalf. Simply "believe [put your trust in, your reliance in]" the One Who paid it all at Calvary. Then, and only then, will there be a proper application of the blood in your life personally.
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:31).