GET UNDER THE BLOOD
I love survival stories! There is something captivating about the stories of people who were in a bind, difficult situations, dangers but lived to tell it. I’ve talked with so many people who have shared with me their survival stories. In the church, we call this a testimony. I remember Friday night, Sunday morning, and Sunday night hearing the saints tell how the Lord brought them through and brought then out. Things were bad and challenging, but the Lord moved and brought them out. They were not looking for trouble but trouble found them! You were not looking for trouble, but trouble found you! However, the good news is you survived. You have a survival story. You have a testimony. It is your survival story that tells us how you made it. The Bible is full of survival stories. One of the best known is the slavery and exodus of the children of Israel. Their survival story and testimony simply answer the question; how did they make it? That is, they made it or escaped because they got under the blood. Read the following passage.
Exodus 12:13, 26-28 (ESV)
13 The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.[1]
26 And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ 27 you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’ ” And the people bowed their heads and worshiped.
28 Then the people of Israel went and did so; as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did. [2]
The Children of Israel needed to make it, survive, and be delivered. We need the same thing today. The need for us to make has not disappeared. It is still here today. For years, the children of Israel had been slaves in Egypt, living oppressed, burdened, and suffering. This is what sin does to us. It puts us in bondage. Notice what the Bible says Galatians 5:1.
Galatians 5:1
5 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.[3]
The warning here is to not allow ourselves to be held, become submitted, subject to, or control by sin. We are not to become slaves to sin again. Sin wants to enslave us. For the children of Israel, the bondage was so bad they cried to the Lord. The good news is the Lord heard their cry and He hears our cries. The Lord begins to take actions for Israel’s deliverance. They are going to move from test to testimony. Do you have the faith that will allow you to anticipate this kind of move in your life, going from test to testimony?
Despite the adversary’s attempts to hinder their deliverance, the Lord’s plan prevailed and the day of deliverance and change finally arrived. The Lord instructs His people to get a lamb and kill it. Exodus 12:22 tells us what they were to do with the lamb’s blood.
Exodus 12:22
22 And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.[4]
Did you notice the term strike? It means to make contact. We want to hear about the blood, talk about the blood, sing about the blood, read about the blood, but the call is to make contact with the blood, allow the blood to be applied, allow the blood to touch your life, so that it can work. “Beyond the protection of the blood of the lamb, there was no assurance of safety.”[5]
There are four clear reasons for the Lord’s people to get under the blood. First, the blood marks. The marking of the blood is in Exodus 12:13a, “The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. . .” The term sign means symbol or marking which has meaning. In short, the people are known by the blood. The blood said they trusted, believed, and depended on the Lord. The blood also said they belong to God. If you belong to God, it is because you are under the blood of Jesus.
The second reason to the Lord’s people had to get under the blood is because the Lord used the blood spare them. We are spared by the blood. The sparing power of the blood is in Exodus 12:27b, “. . he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.”[6] Spare means to deliver, rescue, bring our of danger, snatched, saved, or pull out. The potential for destruction was real. But the blood spared them. Remember, not matter how bad it is, it could always be worse. The blood is holding back somethings. He is sparing us from dangers seen and unseen.
The third reason the Lord’s people had to get under the blood is because of the safety the blood provided. The safe keeping of the blood is in Exodus 12:27, “you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’ ” And the people bowed their heads and worshiped. [7] The phrase “pass over” means to leave untouched or unharmed. The blood shields and covers. Certain things cannot touch you because you are under the blood.
The fourth and final reason the Lord’s people had to get under the blood is not because a direct impact of the blood, but because of what the blood allowed them to do. That is, their being under the blood positioned them to worship, as we see in Exodus 12:27c, “. . .And the people bowed their heads and worshiped. [8] In this verse, worship means to prostrate, blowing low in an act of respect, honor, homage, and allegiance. The worship says, Lord, I am under your authority. If you really want to worship, you have to get under the blood.
Because the children of Israel got under the blood, they survived, came out, and escaped. When asked how did they make it, their answer is, we made it because we were under the blood. If the blood of a natural lamb identified, spared, protected, and positioned them to worship, without a doubt, the blood of Jesus will do the same and more for us today. Thank God we can still get under the blood, the blood of Jesus. Perhaps you are asking how does one get under the blood of Jesus? Well, to get under the blood of Jesus you simply put your faith in Him and what He did on Calvary, trusting Him alone to pardon and deliver from the penalty and power of sin. One of the hymns of the church ask the question, “what can wash away my sin?” The answer is, “nothing but the blood of Jesus.” I encourage you to get under the blood of Jesus. It is essential to your survival story.
By: Bishop Arthur F. Mosley
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