And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the Lord’s passover. 

Exodus 12:11 

It is significant as to how the Israelites were attired on the night of the Passover.  God instructed them to be prepared to leave the land of their imprisonment.  They had been in Egypt for 430 years.  The Egyptians had made them slaves.  Now, they were to go free.  It is interesting to note that the lamb played a vital role in the accomplishment of their liberation.  It was the lamb and most specifically, the blood of the lamb that would mean the difference between life and death.  In the homes where the blood appeared upon the lintel and posts, there was life.  In the homes where the blood was absent, there was certain death.  God showed His people the value of the lamb while they were still in bondage.  It is even so with us.  Herein lies the value of the preaching of the Gospel.  We preach it to all and sundry.  We make a full and free offer of the Gospel.  We set forth the virtue and value of Christ to those who are, as yet, ‘dead in trespasses and sins.’  It is up to the Holy Spirit to do the work of regeneration, to grant repentance, and to give faith to believe.  He can convince the natural unbeliever of the virtue and value of Christ the Lamb of God.  May the Holy Spirit show you Christ today, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved.’ 

Our Wise and Wonderful Savior, 
we rejoice that Your Blood makes the difference 
between life and death for us. 
We praise You that You daily show us Yourself, 
in the Word, and draw us out,  
evermore thoroughly after You and unto freedom. 

And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 

Exodus 12:8 

As God continued His instruction to His people to begin their year with the lamb, He moved on from their sacrifice of the lamb, and the application of the blood, to their consumption of the whole of it.  We perhaps find this strange, because the instructions of the ninth and tenth verses are very precise, even to the discussion of how to cook it and what to do with the leftovers.  The Israelites were to consume the lamb in its’ entirety.  If we consider the way in which this applies to us, we realize our great privilege.  God gives us a whole Christ.  We have tasted and seen that the Lord is good.  We have taken the Lamb, observed the Lamb, witnessed the sacrifice of the Lamb, and experienced the application of the Blood of the Lamb.  He is the Altogether Satisfying Savior.  We cannot get enough of Him.  When we read the Word, we are looking for Christ.  When we pray, we want to meet with Christ.  When we worship, we want the preacher to show us Christ.  All of our spiritual experience converges in this one Person and expands from Him.  Therefore we consume Him by all the means of grace He has afforded us.  Today dwell upon the Whole Christ that the Scripture presents to you.  Feed upon Christ and be forever satisfied.  

Our Wise and Generous God, 
we rejoice that You present unto us a Whole Christ. 
We praise You that as we feast upon Him,  
You satisfy us in every way. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.  And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. 

Exodus 12: 6 & 7 

As God detailed the process whereby His people would begin their year with the lamb, He arrived at the moment of sacrifice. He declared that ‘the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight.’  This produced bloodshed.  They would cut the throat of the lamb and catch the blood in a basin.  They would then take a sprig of hyssop, dip it in the blood and sprinkle it upon the lintel and doorposts.  They did not apply it to the threshold, because they would not tread upon the blood.  The sacrifice was indispensable, as was the blood.  God declared, ‘And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.’  It was not the blood in the basin that saved.  It was the blood applied that saved.  Herein lies the value of the Saving Blood of Christ.  Hebrews tells us that, ‘without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.’  Hebrews goes on to say, ‘But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.’  We stand upon the merits of Christ and rest for our redemption in the power of His atoning Blood.  His Sacrifice is the once-for-all sacrifice for sin.  His Blood, applied by the Holy Spirit unto all for whom it is intended is the guarantee of eternal life as opposed to eternal death.  Look today to ‘the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world.’  Rest by faith in the Saving Blood of Christ. 

‘Dear Dying Lamb, Your Precious Blood, 
shall never lose its power, 
and all the ransomed church of God, 
be saved to sin no more.’  

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. 

Exodus 12:6 

When God gave His people instructions regarding the Passover lamb, with which they were to begin their year, He stipulated that they were to ‘keep’ the lamb until the fourteenth day of the month.  What possible value would there have been in this penning of the animal which was already ‘without blemish?’  This extended period gave opportunity for a through observation of the lamb to establish, beyond shadow of doubt, his fitness to be the sacrifice.  This harmonizes with what we know of the life of Christ.  Christ grew up before the eyes of His people.  They had ample opportunity to observe Him as He came and went before them.  Their testimony was ‘He has done all things well.’  He could issue the challenge, ‘Which of you can prove me guilty of sin?’  Even after His accusers had arraigned Him before Pilate, the verdict of the governor was, ‘I find no fault in Him.’  In all of His dealings and doings over the course of His life and ministry, Christ proved Himself to be perfect in thought, word and deed.  This demonstrated Him to be completely qualified to be the Substitutionary Sacrifice.  As we dwell upon Christ today, let us spend some time considering His perfect life, as the antecedent to His atoning death. 

Our Perfect, Holy Savior, 
we rejoice in Your sinless life. 
We praise You that You have done all that is necessary, 
to satisfy the law in precept, 
and You have done so on our behalf. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats…. 

Exodus 12:5 

As God taught His people to begin their year with the lamb, He specified that not only was the lamb to be personal, but also that the lamb must be perfect.  To that end, He remarks in our text, ‘Your lamb shall be without blemish.’  What was to be, for the Israelites, the lamb who would deliver them from death by the shedding of his blood, must be perfect.  This lamb could have no deformity, defect, or disability in order to fulfill the God-satisfying requirement.  It is even so with Christ.  Christ is ‘the Lamb without blemish and without spot.’  He is the Lamb without deformity, defect, or disability.  It is for this reason, among others, that Christ is qualified to be ‘the Only Redeemer of God’s elect.’  No one else has this qualification in combination with all the others.  Not even the Father or the Spirit, have these qualifications as does Christ, the Lamb of God.  All of God’s intention is that we should fix our attention upon Christ, Who is the ‘Lamb…without blemish.’  As we meditate upon Christ today, let us fix our thoughts upon Him as the sinless, spotless Lamb of God, Who is perfect in every way, and therefore our Redeemer. 

 
O, sinless, spotless, Lamb of God, 
we rejoice that You are utterly perfect. 
We praise You that You occupy the place, 
that no one else can, to accomplish our redemption. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning