Exodus 12:21-36
The God I know creates.
The God I know gives life.
The God I know offers the world Jesus, the Lamb of God, who defeats death and shows us how to live abundantly forevermore.
So when followers of Christ read this particularly brutal passage in Exodus, we feel its pain on multiple levels. This is one of the most difficult passages in all of Scripture to take in. After a succession of plagues against Egypt, God sets down the final one that kills children. First-born sons, to be exact—the hope and pride of their families. The God in this story is quite different than the God I have come to know, the One so defined by love that the life of Jesus, God’s firstborn, sets the people free. What are we meant to make of this God of the plaques and these children’s deaths?
Without a doubt, there is symbolism in this story. God instructs the Israelites to slaughter a lamb, eat it, and cover their doorposts in its blood. When the Lord passes through, the blood will protect them. This lamb gives the Israelites physical life.
Scripture repeatedly refers to Jesus as the Lamb of God to remind us that, through Christ, we find our spiritual life. Christ is the One through whom we live, move, and have our being. As part of Christ’s body, the church, we embody Jesus’ life, words, and actions. We know the One who fills our spirit, who comes to take away pain, oppression, and death. We know the One who is good, who is gentle, who is the Lamb.
Consider
How have you experienced God?
Pray
Lamb of God, in you we live, move, and have our being. Fill us with your Spirit and life. Amen.