Exodus 12:13 Now the blood shall be a sign (Hebrew word – OHT) for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
As we discussed, the word for “sign” in ancient Hebrew is “oht”. It was used in Genesis to designate God’s covenant sign with Noah, (the rainbow). And we see now the same word again, in Exodus, identified with the deliverance of the Jewish people from the tenth plague, when the angel of death passed through all Egypt to strike the firstborn. Anyone under the “sign” of the blood was spared.
This “sign” of deliverance for the ancient Israelites, spelled “aleph”-“vav”-“tav” in ancient Hebrew letters, explicitly, the sign of blood on doorposts and lintel, also clearly spells out, “leader”, “nail”, and “cross”. Just as blood on the doorposts was the only sign of deliverance for Israel, the cross of the Messiah Yeshua (Jesus, the Christ), is the only sign of deliverance from eternal death for all mankind. [Acts 4:12]
The mystery of salvation was originally revealed in the very letters God used to unfold its story. In the ancient Hebrew He speaks to us from the beginning of time, that the sign of the covenant would be “the leader who was nailed to the cross”. Be in awe of the Father’s love for us!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]The Lord gave us His promise to send us a helper -- the Holy Spirit. The word for "helper" in the NT Greek is "paraclete". This word has more meaning then simply "helper" -- it was also an ancient term used in warfare. When Greek warriors went onto the battle field, they went out in pairs, so when the enemy attacked they could stand back-to-back, covering each other's blind side. The battle partner in Greek was called a "paraclete" -- he was there to watch your back!
When I was younger I used to take an ax and cut up firewood from the woods behind our house. The one thing I always did was sharpen my axe! A dull axe meant harder work chopping through fallen trees. The sharper the ax the less effort and energy required for the task. So I learned early on to sharpen my ax before venturing into the woods, and I saved myself a lot of time and energy. (Besides I was a small kid, growing up, so I needed all the help I could get! 😉 )
One of His greatest promises to us is that nothing can separate us from the love of God. No tribulation or distress we might ever suffer can obliterate the power of His love to carry us through!
In Israel, the Ministry of the Interior is called Misrad Ha-Pnim, translated literally, "Office of the Faces". Those in charge of immigration and citizenship are looking into the faces of those who seek citizenship or residency within the land. Some have observed that the officials there carefully scrutinize each applicant...