Exodus 12:22-23
“You shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts; and none of you shall go outside the door of his house until morning. “For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come in to your houses…”
Yesterday, my precious mother-in-law painted our front door at my request. She and my father-in-law like home improvement projects which is a blessing! I had studied door colors in my neighborhood and decided that I just didn’t want any of them. My visits to the home improvement store during the past year have given me many color choices. In the end, I loved the color “Poppy”, a refreshing yet subtle blue. The door makes me smile as I glimpse it when leaving or arriving home. My husband had encouraged me to look for satin nickel door handles to replace the old ones which were showing signs of age. Our old door handle and door knocker was brass so the update to satin nickel has been a nice contrast to the “Poppy” blue on the door.
I had a hard time choosing the color for the door and a difficult time in selecting the perfect door handle. I purchased and returned four different door handles until finally settling on the last one! I learned during this process that companies which make metal door handles don’t have a standard measure for how far apart the top and bottom of the long handle should be. Having a standard way to measure would help homeowners who wish to change their door handles without drilling new holes and having to fill in old holes where the previous door handle had gone. Making a change to how your house looks is a big deal to me so I decided to go with the color that soothed my soul and the satin nickel handle which fit nicely into pre-existing holes in the front door. Our house is our place to unwind, be together and build a home inside of those walls. The front door is now redone and ready to greet us!
When I returned home yesterday after returning the third door handle, I had hope that I had selected the handle that would finally fit. Sure enough, it worked. As I thought of the many trips and decisions that I had made about the door, it felt really good to know that the work was over. During my morning devotion, I couldn’t stop thinking about doors. I thought about the special preparations that the Israelites had to make around their doors to their homes in Egypt so I did a little bit of research.
In the book of Exodus, we learn that the Israelites had built homes with doors. Before their exile to Egypt, they had been nomadic people living in tents, but had learned to build houses in Egypt. God taught them to trust Him during their season of plagues but the final test came when God required them to put a lamb’s blood on their door posts and lentils of their homes. The lentil is the rectangular beam above the door which can be for structural purposes or for looks. Their houses were constructed from brick but their lentil was made from stone because stone would last longer than man made brick. The practice of etching the house owner’s name into the lentil has been discovered at Egyptian archaeological sites. I can imagine the Israelite houses having the lamb’s blood painted across the home owner’s name on the lentil and on the door posts beside of the doors to follow God’s requirement. This was the standard and even now, God has a standard in order to be known as His. 1
I find it interesting that God gave the precious Israelite families a visual in this lesson on faith. Just having their names on their house was not enough. They had to apply the blood of a lamb to escape God’s judgement when He came through their neighborhoods on that special night. They had to offer the animal sacrifice and use its blood to cover their name. In the New Testament, Jesus became the eternal sacrifice for our sin. His blood covers us and protects us.
We have to believe on Jesus and have faith that when we call out to Him, the Lamb of God, He hears and applies His blood to us. Our sins are removed because of His gift to us. I can see what a difference a coat of paint made and how new hardware that my father-in-law installed on our door looks. What does our Heavenly Father see when He looks at me? Because of my faith in Jesus, I know that I am covered and am secure. I am held and protected.
Last week when I was a camp counselor at church camp, I felt like asking my own children, one of whom was a junior counselor and the other a camper, to share their stories of how they came to faith in Jesus during a cabin devotion with 23 rising fifth grade girls. I also encouraged the girls to accept Jesus whenever they felt Him calling. The next night after hearing teaching from our children’s pastor, one of the girls in our cabin told one of my co-counselors that she wasn’t sure if she was saved from her sins. She finally realized that even though she went to church regularly, sang praises to God and listened to the Pastor speak, she had to make a decision for herself. She now has a faith story! My co-counselor, Alesha, prayed with her and the girl accepted Jeus as her Savior. She is covered by the blood of Jesus and is assured of her salvation. This sweet child shared her story with us back in the cabin later that night. We, like the angels in heaven, rejoiced with her.
My heart knows that only the Holy Spirit of God calls us. It is up to us to answer and accept the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus on the cross 2,000 years ago. Just like the door posts and lentils were covered by the blood in Exodus and the Israelites escaped God’s judgement, we too can accept Jesus by Faith and He will cover our sins. Once we accept Him by Faith, we have a blessed hope and His love to cover us daily. I go to Him and pray which allows fellowship and a relationship. I am covered by His Blood. My name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life!
Revelation 21:27 “Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”
1 My understanding of the door posts and lentils was given by an article I found here: https://www.ministrymagazine.org/archive/2009/09/covered-with-blood.html
