Page 19 - Living Light Autumn 23

Monday September 18 - Sacrificial lambs
“Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household.” Exodus 12:3
The night before Israel’s liberation from Pharaoh’s oppression each family was to offer a lamb, trusting that God would save them. Our 21st century minds find it hard to understand, but in ancient times all religions required animal sacrifices to appease the angry, volatile pagan false gods. Unlike the greed and violence of these, Jehovah our loving Creator desired to rescue his people from the fatal consequences of their disobedience of his righteous laws. A holy God of justice could not overlook evil, but in his mercy accepted lambs and other animals and birds as substitutes to cover the human guilt that affects us all. Hebrews 9:22 says that ‘the law requires that nearly everything be made “clean” with blood. Without the spilling of blood, no one can be forgiven.’
A lamb’s death paid the penalty for sin, as its lifeblood was poured out to symbolically wash away human wrongdoing. These sacrifices were repeated year after year because people kept sinning, but when Jesus Christ, God’s Son, laid down his life once and for all, shedding his blood to save us, all that finished. The Lamb of God died to take away the sins of the entire world, and everyone who trusts in him is forgiven and adopted into God’s family to have eternal life. This eternal truth lies at the very heart of our faith!
Holy Spirit, please help me to trust and understand more of what it means to be made clean through the pure lifeblood Jesus poured out in love. Amen.
Tuesday September 19 - Twilight sacrifice
“The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect... Israel must slaughter them at twilight.” Exodus 12:5-6
There are significant parallels between the sacrifice of the unblemished, innocent Passover lamb and the crucifixion of Christ. Jesus of course was male and without sin. On the appointed day he gave himself up to the authorities who killed him. As he suffered for those final hours on the cross darkness fell.
Throughout the Old Testament, we can trace the message of the Messiah who would come to rescue his people. I recommend Tim Keller’s ‘YouTube’ series in which he expounds this – that within the stories, history, poetry, prophecy and law, from Genesis through to Malachi, Christ is revealed! The death and resurrection of God’s beloved only Son was planned from before the very beginning of creation! Our all-knowing God knew everything that was going to happen: Adam and Eve disobeying and breaking the relationship they had with him; Abraham, also asked to offer up his son Isaac, becoming the Father of Israel; and the many other twists and turns of history that led to the birth of Jesus. The Passover story is one of the most important. The justice of a holy God, who cannot ignore how sin destroys all that is good, was satisfied by the offering of a perfect Lamb to take away our sin.
Does it comfort you to know that God went to such lengths to demonstrate his mercy and save us?
Lord, your ways are often hard to understand, but please reveal to me more about why Jesus died in our place. Amen.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
PRAYER FOR TODAY
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