Chapter 4, The "Passover Lamb" from Exodus, a book by Deoram Bolan

We read in Exodus 10:24-29:

"And Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said, Go ye, serve the Lord; only let your flocks and your herds be stayed: let your little ones also go with you. And. Moses said, Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the Lord our God. Our cattle shall also go with us; there shall not an hoof be left behind; for thereof must we take to serve the Lord our God; and we know not with what we must serve the Lord, until we come thither. But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them go. And Pharaoh said unto him, Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in that day thou seest my face thou shalt die. And Moses said, Thou hast spoken well, I will see thy face again no more."

When Moses said, "...not an hoof shall be left behind," he meant that everything that he had must be given over to God. Have we come to that point yet? It is one thing to say, "All to Jesus, I surrender; all to Him I freely give," but another thing to do it. Many have sung it but not always meant it. The Lord will hold us to that vow. For us to see the full blessings of God, we have to make a full surrender to God. God is not forcing us to give all to Him; but in order to see His greater blessings we must present our whole being to God, a living sacrifice. Our wives, husbands, children, and possessions speak of the entire human personality. A man speaks of the spirit, his wife the soul, and his children the virtues of this union that God wants brought unto his life. The cattle speak of possessions. God intends for man to surrender all to Him. Jesus said that a disciple is one who forsakes all that he has.

"So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, cannot be My disciple." Luke 14:33

You can be a believer but not a disciple: there is a world of difference between the two! A disciple is one who is disciplined or taught into the ways of God. A believer simply believes, but he has to be instructed. If you are going to see the full deliverance of God in this day, God v/ill say, "You must put all on the altar of sacrifice."

"I therefore beseech you, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." Romans 12:1

Let us not compromise with this world system, but become fully committed to the Lord. That is the kind of people God is looking for in this day.

When Israel left Egypt, they were to leave with some possessions, God instructed Moses:

"And Moses said, Thus saith the Lord, about midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt; and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill: and all the firstborn of beasts. And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it anymore." Exodus 11:4-6

There are similar words of Jesus in Matthew 24. This speaks of tribulation conditions that are to come on the face of the earth. God said He would go into Egypt at midnight and slay the firstborn. Notice that Exodus 11:5 states that all of the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die. It doesn't say "of the land of Egypt," but "in the land of Egypt." There is a difference there, and this difference is seen in verse 7:

"... but against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast; that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel."

God is the One Who put the difference between the firstborn in the land of Egypt and those of the land of Israel. The Israelites had their firstborn also, but God made a difference between His people and the Egyptians.

What was that difference? You may say, "Isn't God unfair? Why allow the Egyptian's firstborn to be slain and not the Israelites'?" It is simply because God's Holy Law must be satisfied. His justice must be satisfied; and God made provision for Israel to escape that judgment through the Passover lamb. The principle of the innocent dying for the guilty is seen in the feast of the Passover lamb, which symbolizes Jesus' sacrifice for guilty mankind. And it is only because they came under the shelter of the blood of the lamb that they were spared. So we see the grace of God unto the Israelites.

Read now the full chapter 12 of Exodus. God said to Moses and Aaron in verse 2

'This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you."

God gave Israel seven feasts to observe, and the very first feast was the Feast of the Passover. God has a reason for doing the things that He does. This feast was in the first month, the "beginning of months." Therefore, Passover speaks of that which has a new inception. The first month for the Israelites was to be in March or April according to our present solar calendar. How important this month was going to be!

"In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house." Verse 3

In the garden of Eden, it was a lamb for an individual when God clothed Adam and Eve. No doubt that involved the shedding of blood, most likely that of a lamb. Here we see a lamb for a house. Later we will see a lamb for a nation. Then when John the Baptist announced Jesus Christ, he said, "the Lamb that taketh away the sins of the world" (Jn. 1:29). Jesus is for the individual, family, nation, and all nations. But here it was for a house; the houses made up the nation. This lamb was to be set apart from the tenth day.

"And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats." Exodus 12:4-5

Look at three words: a lamb, the lamb, and your lamb. When you don't know the Lord, you think He was a good man and you look upon Him as a man among men. You may even think of Him as A SAVIOUR of man. But then the Holy spirit moves upon you, and you see that He is more than a man or Saviour of man, but THE SAVIOUR , the only Saviour. Then your eyes are spiritually opened, and you come to the place where you see Him not only as the hope of man, but you acknowledge Him as YOUR LAMB, YOUR SAVIOUR, and YOUR LORD. Behold the gems God has given us in His Word! Only the Holy Spirit can reveal these to us. We need to be filled with the Spirit day by day.

[This book and CD teachings by Deoram Bolan are available at http://www.thechange.org/new/store/index1.html ]