February 11 | Exodus 12:1-13
- Beth Voltmann
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
DAILY READING
REFLECTION
The Blood of the Lamb
By Beth Voltmann
The blood will be a sign for you on the houses
where you are, and when I see the blood,
I will pass over you. (v.13)
Passover isn’t just a story from long before Jesus was born, nor is it simply a Jewish celebration, but it is the gospel of Jesus Christ proclaimed in the Old Testament. The Israelites were still in captivity in Egypt. God had sent plague after plague, but Pharaoh’s heart was hardened. It was time for God’s perfect plan. A lamb was needed. Blood would have to be shed. If the people would only trust in the promise, death would pass over each household marked by the blood.
“On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgement on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD.” (v.12)
Perhaps you, like me, are currently praying for the salvation of someone in your family. The heart-break can be immense, especially when crying out for a wayward or lost child.
I have been praying for our first-born for many years now, often asking the Lord to show me how to pray. The year he turned 28, I felt the Lord’s Spirit whispered that I should pray the 28th verse of a Bible passage over him. Not certain, I argued, “What book? What chapter?”
Again the impression came... “Why don’t you just open my Word to where you have been reading.”
Hebrews. Chapter Eleven. And, this is how the Lord encouraged me...
By faith he [Moses] kept the Passover
and the application of blood,
so that the destroyer of the firstborn
would not touch the firstborn of Israel. (Hebrews 11:28)
The blood of Jesus was shed for us on the wooden frame of the cross so that we might look to him and be saved. I wept as I realized this. I still weep as I continue to pray for my firstborn over a decade later, not from hopelessness, but because I know God is faithful.
God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
Behold the Lamb - Behold the blood
PRAYER
Lord God, thank you for the gift of Jesus – the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world. (Revelation 13:8)
Oh, the blood, crimson love
Price of life’s demand
Shameful sin placed on Him
The hope of every man
Oh, the blood of Jesus washes me
Oh, the blood of Jesus shed for me
What a sacrifice that saved my life
Yes, the blood, it is my victory
Savior Son, Holy One
Slain so I can live
Oh, see the Lamb, the Great I Am
Who takes away my sin
(excerpt from “O the Blood”– Kari Jobe)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
BETH VOLTMANN
After moving to Ohio in 1997 with my husband and four children, I developed a hunger for God’s Word through adult teaching and women’s Bible study at UALC. My passion is to help others understand Scripture so that they may grow in their desire for more of God and experience the new life offered to us through Christ Jesus.
Thanks, Beth! This is an encouragement to me as I continue to pray for my first born child.
God bless you!
You have struck an important cord in the reader's lives. As I attend my weekly Bible Study, often it comes us that a child, sometimes the firstborn, is not following the Lord. Many know the verse, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he grow old, he will not depart from it." You have given us another verse and reminded us of an important practice to pray for our wayward ones daily. Good job on the devotional, Beth.
God is love. As I WAIT for those who I pray to be saved. He lovingly as Mary sat at his feet is teaching me about the cross. Our God is good.
We too have the same prayer for our child. Thank you for sharing.
I have a sister I have been praying for. Thank you for this encouragement.