Marked Doorposts

Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, ‘Go, select lambs for your families, and slaughter the passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood in the basin. None of you shall go outside the door of your house until morning. For the Lord will pass through to strike down the Egyptians; when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over that door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you down. You shall observe this rite as a perpetual ordinance for you and your children. When you come to the land that the Lord will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this observance. And when your children ask you, “What do you mean by this observance?” you shall say, “It is the passover sacrifice to the Lord, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt, when he struck down the Egyptians but spared our houses.” And the people bowed down and worshipped.

The Israelites went and did just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.

Exodus 12:21-28 (NRSV)

For many Christians, the Passover narrative in Exodus is simply a relic of Jewish history. However, in our hasty glance over the story, we miss a great deal. We miss our first salvation story.

The book of Exodus records the story of the Israelites escaping the bondage of slavery and eventually finding their way through the desert to the land chosen for them by God. The book, and our focal passage, has clearly been pieced together by various editors throughout history. Exodus 12:21-28 reflects influence from a variety of sources. Prior to the events of the narrative found in our passage, Moses had been unsuccessfully working to have Pharaoh release the Israelites from their slavery. Chapters 11 and 12 of Exodus detail the events surrounding the final plague, the death of the first born sons and cattle of Egypt. Exodus 12:21-28 recounts Moses passing on the instructions he received from the Lord (found in Exodus 12:1-20) that would prevent the destroyer from killing the Israelite firstborns.

Verses 21-22 require believers to kill a lamb and spread its blood on the frame of the door of their houses. The elders are told to use hyssop, a plant commonly found in religious rituals, to spread the blood. It is interesting that the elders have no direct contact with the blood because the law later explained that touching blood would render one “unclean.”
An important and mysterious character, “the destroyer” enters the story in verse 23. There is no mention of the destroyer, or angel of death, when God explains what is going to happen to Moses in 12:12. The same word is used in 2 Samuel 24:15-17 and 2 Kings 19:32-37, both examples of punishment.

Moses details to the elders Passover will be commemorated in future years in verses 24-27. Interestingly, after the first Passover, the holy day was probably never observed the same way again. Modern Jews, with the exception of Samaritan Jews, do not use blood in their service at all. Instead, they hold a symbolic meal with specific food and prayers to remember the first Passover.

Verse 28 concludes Moses’ instructions to the elders. This small piece of narration confirms that the people did indeed follow through on the commands given them. It also segues into the next section which continues narrating the events of the final plague of Egypt, where all of the first born sons of humans and cattle are indeed killed.

We have an important lesson to learn from our Jewish friends. The memory of those people extends far beyond even their own lifetime. Jonathan Safron Foer, a popular Jewish author, explains that Jews have a sixth sense of memory.[1] They ask themselves, “What does it remember like?”[2] Christians, however, have largely forgotten their salvation event. Not only do we lose the beautiful significance of our individual salvation stories, but we also have misplaced the stories of our salvation as a people, before Jesus came. Walter Brueggemann writes “Christians, like Jews, are children of these marked door posts…children of this hurried bread…”[3]

We must remember that God has been active throughout history saving humanity, saving us, for this time. As you brush the dust off the story of your first salvation, take a deep breath, and remember.

[1] Jonathan Safran Foer, Everything is Illuminated (New York: Perennial, 2003), 198.
[2] Ibid., 199.
[3] Walter Brueggemann, “Exodus,” The New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary: Vol. 1, (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1994), 779.

I would like to hear your salvation story. Share with us in the comments please.

"If this is the worst thing that happens...

...we'll make it through." I feel like that has become the catchphrase of my life. I've said it countless times recently, to friends, family, myself. In this fallen world in which we live, there is no avoiding the pain and suffering that will eventually come. Our lives just explode.

Sometimes we feel more like Esau than Jacob.

I am learning an important lesson though. It's one of those things I can't quite wrap my brain around, but I know it is true. The good or bad things in our lives do not mean that God does or does not love us.

Thus far, 2009 has probably been one of the most difficult years of my life. Yet despite all of the small explosions in my life, I am more confident in God's love and care than ever. It isn't because everything has magically worked out or because I'm seeing rainbows. It is because I am not alone.

Faith breeds faith. There doesn't have to be a light at the end of the tunnel. If this is the worst thing that happens, we'll make it through.

Strings

Relationships are funny, aren't they? We're all very aware of the strings that bind us to one another and also bind us to doing the things we think are right in a given situation. For instance, my friend got engaged yesterday. As soon as she told me, I automatically knew the questions I had to ask. (When? How? What does your ring look like?)

We know what we're supposed to say or do to cultivate relationships.

The funny thing is though, sometimes these rules hold us back, and we're not cultivating relationships. We cultivate facades of relationships. There are questions we want to ask or things we need to say, that we don't because we're afraid of causing tension or awkwardness or anger in our relationship. When was the last time you asked someone if he/she is truly happy? Or if she is healthy (physically, emotionally, spiritually)? When was the last time you asked how he is with God?

There is this level of detachment and politeness that we think we owe to one another. But we're wrong. Romans 13:8-10 says, "Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments 'You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet"; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law."

Love means being honest and open. Love means asking difficult questions and wrestling with difficult answers. Love is walking with someone through the valley of the shadow of death. And being able to talk about it.