It’s in the Blood

 It’s in the Blood
I’ve been reading the book of Second Chronicles from the Bible in my morning devotions and it suddenly hit me with the amount of blood that was actually spilt to cover the sins of Israel and Judah especially at Passover time. At the first Passover there were approximately 600,000 Jews in Egypt and if one lamb or kid goat were to be sacrificed per family, a rough estimate would be about 50,000 animals were slaughtered. The blood was sprinkled on the header and the side posts of the door.The lamb or kid was to be roasted and eaten entirely by the family. If the family members were too small to eat the entire lamb, they were to share the sacrifice with another family.
The reason for the Passover was to avoid having the first born males of the Jewish families from being visited by the death angel. The killing of the firstborn male was the final plague imposed on Egypt because the Pharaoh hardened his heart and refused to let the Jews leave Egypt. At all homes from the slave’s hovel to the palace of the Pharaoh when the death angel did not see blood on the doorposts, he would slay the first born males.
In Chronicles chapter 29 king Hezekiah brought seven bullocks, seven rams, seven, lambs, and seven goats for a sin offering and the congregation brought seventy bullocks, one hundred rams, and two hundred lambs for a burnt offering as well as six hundred oxen and three thoousand sheep. The numbers were so large that the priests were too few and the Levites had to help with the sin sacrifices.
In chapter 35 of Chronicles, king Josiah gave flocks of lambs and goat kids and gave thirty-three thousand bullocks. His princes gave seven thousasnd small cattle and eight hundred oxen. It is hard for me to imagine the amount of blood that was shed just to cover their sins.
The Passover and the Passover Lamb pointed ahead to the death and ressurection of Jesus God’s one and only Begotten Son. The atonement for sin was found in the blood of Christ shed on the cross at Calvary. Jesus suffered and died to free mankind from torment in the eternal fires of Hell. Jesus bore the punishment for the world’s sins and left it hanging on the cross.
The gallons of animal blood only covered sins. The coverage was only temporary, but the blood shed by Jesus cleanses and washes away each man and woman’s sins for an eternity. Once for all for those who believe in Jesus and will accept God’s free gift of salvation.