ICS Daily Devotions
Blessed Beyond Measure

Exodus 12: 2,14 “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you… ‘So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance.

The Lord gave instruction to establish the Passover as a memorial and the start of a new beginning for them. They were in slavery and have never tasted freedom. It was also a new beginning for them to know God and His ways. It was supposed to be a memorial and a practice for them to teach their future generations. One part of the observation of the Passover was also having the expectation of the coming Messiah.

The Passover Lamb constituted a new start for them with God!! The shedding of the blood of the lamb and the covenant ritual started in Genesis 15 with Abraham as their forefather. In fact, it is an important milestone for the Israelites who have cried out to the Lord for deliverance and God responded to their cry in response to the covenant obligation.

The redemptive act of God is the distinctive work of the Passover. The Passover is a shadow of the suffering of Christ.

Exodus 12:5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats.

The Hebrew text uses the phrase “without defect.” That means the Jewish men would have to carefully inspect their lambs to make sure there were no open sores, no patches of bare skin, no infections, no diseases, no blotches or blemishes, no sickness of any kind. This prevented a man from offering a lame or inferior creature while keeping the best for himself. The lambs have to be perfect.

God was very consistent in His insistence regarding sacrificial animals that have to be without blemish. God would not accept the offering if it was imperfect, neither would He show favor nor mercy.

Malachi 1:8,13-14 (NKJV) And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, Is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, Is it not evil? Offer it then to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you favorably?” Says the Lord of hosts…. You also say, ‘Oh, what a weariness!’ And you sneer at it,” Says the Lord of hosts. “And you bring the stolen, the lame, and the sick; Thus you bring an offering! Should I accept this from your hand?” Says the Lord. “But cursed be the deceiver Who has in his flock a male, And takes a vow, But sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished— For I am a great King,” says the Lord of hosts, “And My name is to be feared among the nations.

God has instituted the way to approach Him through the sacrifice of an animal. It is consistent since Genesis—after Adam and Eve sinned—to the time at the Tabernacle and the temple! He doesn’t accept sacrifice from the field nor blemished animal as a form of sacrifice! He doesn’t accept self-effort or self-righteous acts, too! The corrupted priest was dishonoring God’s name when he offered blemished sacrifices. There was a recording when the fire of God came and destroyed those who offered blemished sacrifices. God’s anger arose against the corrupt priest during Malachi’s time and rebuked them for their rebelliousness. If we want to approach God, it has to be based on His terms and that is through a lamb without blemish! It is non-negotiable! He deserves the honor because He is a holy, just and righteous God.

it also needs to be added that the animal sacrifices were only temporal because the blood of animals can cover sins but it does not have the ability to completely remove the penalty from mankind.

Hebrews 10:5,14 (NKJV) Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me… For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified

God prepared a body for Jesus Christ so that He would be the ultimate sacrifice that would appease God’s wrath towards sin and completely deal with the sin issues of man. Jesus is our High Priest who has offered up the perfect sacrifice in the presence of God. His blood has redeemed us so that we have the forgiveness of God. No generations have ever been so blessed except the generations after the redemption of Jesus Christ. We are blessed with all the spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus!

Sermon series: Cell Group Campaign Session 4 – The Passover