When I See the Blood

Exodus 12:13 - ...and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you...

In Exodus 12, we have the account of the Passover night in Egypt in which the tenth and dreadful plague was to finish the devastation of Egypt. On that frightful night, the Lord had given instruction to all on just how that plague could be escaped. Each household was to take a lamb, slay it and strike its blood with a hyssop branch on the 2 side posts and the upper lintel of the door. To all that believed this and made personal application of it, the promise was given, “…when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you…” (Exo. 12:13). What a remarkable statement this is! How dreadful is that plague that was coming, yet how simple is that solution which was proposed!

I cannot help but notice that the difference between life and death on that eerie night hinged upon what God saw when He came to inspect each man’s dwelling place. The LORD said, “…when I see the blood, I will pass over you….” How bizarre this seems to our natural reason! Of all the things that we might look for to spare a man of judgment, “the blood” is not one of them. However, this is precisely, and might I say, exclusively, what God was looking for when He came to the door.

In making the decision to judge or to spare, notice that the LORD did not look at the size or quality of the door, nor did He bother to acquaint Himself with the degree of ornaments in the house to which that door was fixed. He did not look to see what class of individual lived in that house, nor did He inspect to see how faithful such an one had been to His name. He did not look for a religious attendance roll nailed to the posts, nor for a listing of charitable contributions made to less his fortunate neighbors. The LORD was not looking at the sincerity of the individuals within the house, He did not inquire of the family’s reputation in the gates, nor did He come to see what they might offer Him for a bargain. When God came, He came looking for one thing, and one thing only: “the blood.”

Dear friend, such is the case today! The difference between eternal life and eternal death for you depends upon what God sees when He comes to your house. What will He see? Will He see you sincerely trying your best to make it? Judgement! Will He see you counting on your charity or church affiliation to get you in? Judgment! Will He see you offering your upstanding reputation among your peers in the local community? Judgment! Or after all, will He see “the blood” of His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ? “When I see the blood, I will pass over you!”

“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.” (Rom. 5:8-9).

“Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus” (Rom. 3:24-26).

“Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures” (I Cor. 15:3).

“In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” (Eph. 1:7).

“But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ” (Eph. 2:13).

“In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins…And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.” (Col. 1:14, 20).