The Blood is still There...the Wayfarer 6/23/16

The Blood is still There
6/23/16

Exodus 12:23

King James Version (KJV)

²³ For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.

Every child attending Sunday school, Vacation Bible School, and various church services has heard, or will hear at some point the history of the Jewish Exodus from Egypt.

It is the account of the calling out from among the heathen practices, and worship of heathen gods by the slave-masters who ruled for so long over those who knew and practiced the TRUTH, worshipping only the CREATOR, despite the oppression and continual pressure to accept teachings that promoted the superiority of those slave-masters, who in fact proclaimed their earthly kings to be both the progeny and incarnation of those heathen gods.

It is a history culminating in the release of God’s people, only after the full power of God was recognized, albeit too briefly, by both that people enslaving them, and their “god” whose hardheadedness and hardheartedness resulted  in plague after plague, misery after misery until death remained the only option available for them.

God’s plan for His people, His intent for their inheritance, His intent for their separation, His intent for their blessing, could not be stymied by the most powerful nation in existence at that time, the most powerful, and undoubtedly most knowledgeable people by the standards of mankind, with all the accoutrements of that power to include the might of an army equipped with the best weaponry in that world, at that time.

Even the death of the firstborn of each household was inadequate to allow the concession of the greater power held by God, as that brief concession to his power was thrown aside in full and positive trust in the ability and power thought to be held by their “god”, resulting only in more and greater death and destruction for that nation and that people denying God, and attempting to deny His will for His people.

Today’s title comes from a song, in part based on that Exodus, but based fully on the salvation granted that people by that Exodus, also granted individuals who choose to relinquish the same hardheadedness and hardheartedness displayed by that long ago Pharaoh and his people.

It is not in my hymn book, and not well remembered from the praises given by past generations in assemblages, as are so many others I have used, but is one that got my attention immediately upon first hearing, in one of those assemblages, as sung by a brother, and a friend whose rendering of it made me look for other renderings as well.

The power contained within the original rendering offset any lack of musical perfection, and remains by far the best rendition I have since heard.

The Blood Is Still There

Writer: Gary Duty  

Verse 1 One dark night in Egypt a fearful time had come For one little Hebrew boy, who was his father’s first-born son With the Angel of Death passing low it was hard to fall asleep But one little lamb stood in his mind as he lay there counting sheep 

Verse 2 He thought of why the young lamb had to die, why his blood was on the door Through the wind and rain it had still remained But he wanted to be sure So he called out to his earthly father with a trembling voice so scared Crying, “Father, will you please look and see if the blood is still there?” 

Chorus He said son now don’t you worry For the blood is there to stay The wind may blow and the rain may fall But it won’t just wash away The blood will stand the raging storm It’s been applied with loving care Safe, secure you can rest assured That the blood is still there 

Verse 3 Looking over all the damage, Satan’s storm will leave you behind The flood of endless questions, sometimes doubt had filled my mind The fear that gripped my troubled soul brought me back to my knees in prayer Crying, “Father, will You please look and see if the blood is still there?” 

Chorus 

 Safe, secure you can rest assured That the blood is still there

The blood on the lintel posts was evidence to the angel of death that those within the confines of each house marked were God’s children, that they recognized Him and His power above that of the earthly power held by those they sojourned among, first in freedom and with equality, later enslaved because of the difference not only of genetics or nationality, but difference in FAITH and where that FAITH was to be placed.

That faith was never surrendered, and could not be relegated to myth and mere story, overcome by the pagan beliefs of the majority that surrounded them.

That blood, placed on the lintel post was adequate to the purpose it served, but inadequate for the forgiveness of either nation or individual as, over time, both that nation and its individual people CHOSE to forget their faith in God and began to place it once more in themselves.

That required a new covenant, a perfect sacrifice, a blood that could not be washed off by the rain, despite a raging storm that tries so desperately to remove what was done by the shedding of that blood.

That blood was shed by Jesus.

The liberty given through that blood cannot be removed by any power or principality that may attempt to do so.

We need no hyssop branches to dip in that blood, it already covers the lintel posts of the heart and souls of those choosing to commit to the faith in that blood and the power contained by it.

Let the storm continue to rage about us. Let the seasons of vexation and trial continue.

Let each choose for himself the shelter sought from those storms, but let them choose in full comprehension of what that choice entails.

I may only choose for myself, and have done so, my prayer is that others too may state:

¹² For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

2 Timothy 1:12 King James Version (KJV)

Amen and Amen

The Wayfarer