1176. The True Token

The True Token

"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" (Exo_12:13).

1. "The blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are." The children of Israel did not write up the history of their life and tack it upon the door.

The children of Israel did not secure a certificate of their Israelitish birth and tack it upon the door.

The children of Israel did not write up some noble deed they had wrought in behalf of God, and tack it upon the door.

The children of Israel merely took the hyssop, dipped it in the blood and sprinkled the two side posts and the upper door post, and then they stayed behind the blood. Thus, they were sheltered by a true token.

The harlot, Rahab, took the scarlet thread and threw it from her window. She was secured by a true token, and when the walls of Jericho fell down she perished not.

The children of Israel smitten and bitten by the serpents turned their eyes to the uplifted brazen serpent, and they were saved by a true token.

The believer to-day sits at the Lord's table and partakes of the bread and cup, and he is presenting a true token.

2. "When I see the blood." The safety of the children of Israel did not depend upon their placing a right value upon the blood. They knew well enough that they could not put the estimate on that blood that it deserved. It must have been wonderful to them that the blood on the door post had such virtue, and such power. They doubtless knew that it was a type of One Who was to die, but even at that they did not, and could not see in the sprinkled blood what God saw.

Where is he who sits at the Lord's table, eating the bread and drinking the cup with a full appreciation of its meaning? Who has not bemoaned his utter inability to comprehend the depth of Christ's suffering, the full sweep of the significance of His Cross? None of us see that Blood, as we wish we might see it.

The truth is this–our salvation does not depend upon our seeing the Blood. Our salvation demands our taking the Blood and sprinkling it on the door posts. We must believe in the Blood, we may not comprehend its workings.

God said, "When I see the blood;" and He saw in the blood of the Passover lamb, sprinkled upon the door, the whole story of the death of Christ; He, saw in that blood the anguish of His Son; He saw sin placed upon Him; He heard His cry; He saw the pierced side; He saw it all and understood it all, and said, "When I see the blood, I will pass over you."

3. "I will pass over you." We have here a transference of justice. In Egypt there was not a home in which there was not one dead; in Israel there was not a home in which there was not one dead–the only difference was, that in Egypt a son was dead, and in Israel a lamb was dead.

The wrath of God belonged to the children of Israel, as truly as to the Egyptians, for they were both alike, sinners. The difference lay in the fact that in the case of Israel the wrath was transferred from the Israelites to the slain lamb.

"A man shall be a covert from the storm." We read this passage once, and we thanked God that we were hid from the coming storm of judgment. We read it again and we saw that while we were sheltered, the storm fell in all of its fury upon the shelter that covered us.

O Christ, our sins are laid upon Thee! Thou didst suffer in our behalf! Thou didst bear the stripes which were due us, and we are free! Thank God, we are free!

Thou dost pass over us, but Christ the slain Lamb didst say: "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me!"

Autor: R.E. NEIGHBOUR