Obedience is a Choice

"Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, 'Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families and kill the Passover Lamb. And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning...and the Lord will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your house to strike you.'"
(Exodus 12:21-23)

The story of the Passover Lamb. Familiar, right?

The Lord decreed that the firstborn of every Egyptian household would be killed because Pharaoh had refused to free the Israelites from their bondage of slavery. God gave Moses instructions for His people to sprinkle the blood from a sacrificial lamb - one which was perfect and without blemish - over the lintel (the crossbar of the door) and the doorposts. The angel of death would see the sacrificial blood and know that these were children of God, and would therefore "pass over" that home.

God gave one further set of instructions for His children.

At the end of verse 22 God says, "...And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning."

What would happen if they disobeyed God's instruction? The destroyer would strike them dead. They would not be covered by the blood of the sacrificial lamb. They would not be protected from the destroyer!

In fact, you might say that the child of God would be stepping out into the land of Egypt - the place of their bondage.

Hmmm...To a Christian, Egypt represents who we were before we were set free from the bondage of sin through the blood of the Passover Lamb - Jesus!

Obedience is vital to the life of a Christian. Obedience says, "Father, You are my Lord, my authority. My life belongs to You."

Disobedience takes us out of the will of God. It leads us out from under His shadow - His shelter and refuge.

Disobedience makes us very vulnerable to the destroyer of our soul.

Choose this day whom you will serve.

Father, I choose You! I choose Your love! I choose Your Son, Jesus. Oh, Jesus, I am so thankful for Your sacrifice. May I never take it for granted. Please, keep me under the shadow of Your wing, venturing out only when You have given me a task to complete. I know that, to You, an obedient heart is far better than any sacrifice. I pray that You will take pleasure in my choice to obey.