The Mark of Covering

The Mark of Covering
Words of Faith 10-21-2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2022
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Exodus 12
[21] Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. [22] Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. Not one of you shall go out the door of his house until morning. [23] When the Lord goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.
[24] "Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants. [25] When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. [26] And when your children ask you, 'What does this ceremony mean to you?' [27] then tell them, 'It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.' " Then the people bowed down and worshiped. [28] The Israelites did just what the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron.

The direction given by God through Moses was solemn and precise. An animal was to be selected. A sacrifice was to be made. Blood from the sacrifice was to be smeared (literally "slapped") onto the top and each side of every doorframe using a bunch of hyssop. This was the mark of covering.
When the destroyer came, it would strike each family in Egypt, taking away the firstborn, the hope of the future. The Lord would not permit the destroyer to enter any household where this mark was in place. This mark of covering was a sign of ownership, a sign that a price had been paid and that this household belonged to the Lord.
This destroyer is sometimes understood as an enemy of God or plague of death permitted or allowed by God. But from the language of the text, the "destroyer" seems much more directed by God and could be an angel of the Lord who expedited his will. Psalm 78:49 speaks of the wrath of God as "a band of destroying angels". Whatever the case, the Lord Himself did not permit this destroyer into the homes marked by the blood.
Three points are critical in this passage. First, the sacrifice had to be made. Second, the blood had to be applied. Third, the families had to remain under the covering of that sacrifice. The Hebrews had to trust this instruction and obey it by faith. The provision had been made, but if they had failed to mark their homes or failed to stay under the covering, they too would have lost their firstborn.
The book of Hebrews describes the faith of Moses in all of this. "By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than enjoy sin's pleasures for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel" (11:24-28).
The powerful image of Christ on the cross is undeniable. The cross is the doorway to everlasting life. The sacrifice is Jesus, offered as our Passover lamb. A "bunch of hyssop" was raised at the cross as blood marked the top of the door and each side (John 19:29). The mark of His blood is His sign of ownership upon us. The covering of His blood denies entrance to the destroyer. All of this is by faith.
The sacrifice for you has been made. The question is: Have you been marked by the blood of Jesus as belonging to Him? Have you trusted by faith the covering provided for you by faith by the Lamb of God who takes away the world's sin? Have you remained under the covering of Jesus and His blood, or have you strayed into the night, perhaps trusting in other things to give you some sense of life?

Father God, apply Your mark to me. Place me under the provision of the Lamb of God. Mark me and the doorway of my life as a sign that I am Your possession. I choose, by faith, to be under the covering of the blood of Jesus. In Jesus' name, Amen.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2022 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.