Now why did God do that? Why 7’s? Simply this, it was because He planned that when Noah got off the boat and placed his feet on dry land he would build an altar and offer blood sacrifices. And that’s exactly what Noah did! I like this man Noah; he took his faith very seriously: Here’s a man who built an altar before he built his home.

But back to his sacrifice! Where did he get his sacrificial offerings? From the animals on the boat of course! He took animal number seven out of the various ranks of the clean animals. Pity the seventh lamb, being spared the horrors of the flood just to become a sacrifice for the sins of men. But that 7th lamb points us to the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, who was spotless, innocent, harmless and undefiled and was offered for our sin.

There is something wonderful about the number seven in scripture. It is the number of perfection. There were 7 days of creation, Joshua marched around Jericho 7 times, 7 priests with 7 trumpets also marched round Jericho and on the 7th day marched round 7 times, Naaman washed 7 times in the Jordan, Elijah prayed 7 times, every 7th day was a Sabbath, every 7th year was a Sabbath, every 7 times 7 years was a Jubilee. Three of the feasts of Israel lasted 7 days, between the first and second feasts there were 7 days, the term “First and the Last” is used 7 times, there are 7 seals in the Book of Revelation, 7 churches, 7 candlesticks, 7 stars, 7 spirits before the throne of God and the Lamb had 7 eyes. Before His crucifixion, Christ passed through 7 trials, there were 7 accusations against Him, there were 7 testimonies to the innocence of Christ, there were 7 questions from Pilate to Christ and there were 7 sayings from the cross.

Here, at Noah’s sacrifice, it was the seventh animal that was sacrificed….surely we must see the Lord Jesus Christ in His perfection pictured in this? Furthermore, as a result of this blood sacrifice The Lord promised blessing to mankind (Gen 8:21-9:17). Similarly, because of the Lord Jesus and His saving acts on our behalf, we are now blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ (EPH 1:3).

Picture 4

In this story we see an old man, a pilgrim if you like, journeying with a young boy on a certain breathtaking mission. The narrative is found in Genesis 22:2-8 where we encounter the drama of Abraham and Isaac. You can track the steps of Abraham through the land as, everywhere he went, he left behind a string of bloody altars. Abraham’s theme song could have been “Nothing but the Blood’. Then one day God said to him, Son it’s time! I want you rise up early and go to a place where you will offer your boy as a sacrifice unto me. That must have jarred the old Patriarch but he obeyed. So here in the narrative we see him climbing mount Moriah. Look at him strapping his well beloved son to a rock. There he is throwing back his arm, clenching his dagger ready to sever the jugular vein of the son of promise. What a desperate act! But you know the story, how that help came at just the right time. God provided a substitute for Isaac, a ram caught in the thicket, and through this blood sacrifice the boy was saved.

First Mention

It is of great interest to notice that in this passage we get the first mention of the word LOVE in the Bible (Gen 22:2). Love was not mentioned in the Garden of Eden where we would expect it but, rather, first mentioned in connection with Blood Sacrifice. In the rules of Biblical interpretation there is an important Law, ‘The Law of First Mention’. Basically this states, wherever a concept or topic is first introduced in Scripture the context lays down foundational principles which govern our understanding of that word or concept. Love is introduced to us in the context of blood sacrifice. Because of this, we are once again pointed towards Calvary for it is there we see the greatest proof of God’s love for us. God so loved us that He hung his Son upon a cross for our sins.

In this passage we also find the first mention of WORSHIP (Gen 22:4). This surely tells us that the only ground of worship is the blood of Christ. Worship is more than singing; it is a lifestyle that incorporates all that we do. In short, everything we do should be undertaken for the glory of God…..that’s true worship. The truth is, none of us have any right to life and had it not been for the cross the whole of the universe would have imploded and fallen in upon the heads of rebel man. I like the words of the old hymn when it says,

“All the worth I have before Thee.
Is the value of the blood.
I present when I adore Thee,
Christ the first-fruit unto God”.

Our only qualification for living is the blood of Christ and our only approach to the Father is through the blood. If we think that living a good life qualifies us to worship God then we’ve missed it. Our worship is accepted only on the basis of the blood shed by Christ Jesus. We can never bring our merit to the Throne of Grace. We can never approach that Throne on the basis of how righteous we are in ourselves. Our only access and qualification for worship is the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

“My faith has found a resting place,
Not in device or creed;
I trust the ever living One,
His wounds for me shall plead;
I need no other argument,
I need no other plea,
It is enough that Jesus died,
And that He died for me.”

Picture 5

In Exodus 12; 12-13 we encounter the bloodiest night in human history. It is estimated there were perhaps 5 million deaths on that first Passover. There was a death in every home. Either the firstborn of the house died or a substitute lamb. Take your pick, either your firstborn dies or offer an innocent lamb in his place. God told Moses what to do; “Take a lamb and slay it. Kill the lamb, a living lamb won’t do. Slay the lamb and apply the blood on the doorpost and when I see the blood I will pass over and all in the house will be safe.”

This was a fearful and terrible night but it points toward the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus. This is why we read in the New Testament, "Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us: therefore let us keep the feast" (1 Cor. 5:7, 8). Here then is our authority for our regarding the contents of Exodus 12 as emblematic of the Cross-work of our blessed Savior.

Christ, if ever we were to be forgiven, had to die. It was not enough for Him to live as our good example. Christ the “Good Example” could save no one just as a living lamb could have saved no one on that fateful night in Egypt. The lamb had to die; its blood had to be poured out. The Israelites were to kill the lamb then take Hyssop and apply the blood to the door posts and lintel. The great thing about Hyssop is that it grew everywhere and in abundance. That means, the Israelites didn’t have to journey 10 or 20 miles to get it. The chances were it was growing at the side of the house or in the garden or even out of the cracks in the wall. God, therefore, didn’t ask them to perform any huge feat…just apply the blood to the door posts and lintel and then stay in the house. This is a wonderful Gospel picture; everyone in the house was sheltered under the blood and was safe, even so, all who, by faith, are sheltered in Christ are secure. The faith level of the Israelites didn’t even have to be high nor did they have to be expert theologians. It wasn’t what they thought of the blood that counted, it was what God thought of the blood that mattered. And likewise, it’s not what God thinks about you or me that is important it’s what he thinks of our substitute which counts.

Arthur Pink is excellent on this point. He writes,

“Let us suppose a case. Here are two households on that Passover night. At the head of the one is an unbelieving father who has refused to heed the Divine warning and avail himself of the Divine provision. Early that evening his firstborn says, "Father I am very uneasy. Moses has declared that at midnight an Angel is to visit this land and slay all the firstborn, except in those houses which are protected by the blood of a lamb". To still the fears of his son, the father lies, and assures him that there is no cause for alarm seeing that he has killed the lamb and applied its blood to the door. Hearing this, the son is at rest, all fear is gone, and in its place he is filled with peace. But it is a false peace!

In the second home the situation is reversed. At the head of this house is a God-fearing man. He has heard Jehovah’s warning message through Moses, and hearing, has believed and acted accordingly; the lamb has been slain, its blood placed upon the lintel and posts of the door. That evening the firstborn says, "Father, I feel very uneasy. An Angel is to smite all the firstborn to-night and how shall I escape?" His father answers, "Son, your alarm is groundless; yea, it is dishonoring to God. The Lord has said, ‘when I see the blood, I will pass over you’". "But", continues the son, "while I know that you have killed the lamb and applied its blood, I cannot be but terrified. Even now I hear the cries of terror and anguish going up from the houses of the Egyptians. O that morning would come! I shall not feel safe ‘till then". But his fears were groundless.

Now observe. In the first case supposed above we have a man full of happy feelings, yet he perished. In the second case, we have one full of fears yet was he preserved. Examine the ground of each. The oldest son in the first house was happy because he made the word of man the ground of his peace. The oldest son in the second house was miserable because he failed to rest on the sure Word of God. Here, then, are two distinct things. Security is by the applied blood of the Lamb. Assurance and peace are to be found by resting on the Word of God. The ground of both is outside of ourselves. Feelings have nothing to do with either. Deliverance from judgment is by the Finished Work of Christ, and by that alone. Nothing else will avail. Religious experiences, ordinances, self-sacrifice, Church-membership, works of mercy, cultivation of character, avail nothing. The first thing for me, as a poor lost sinner, to make sure of is, Am I relying upon what Christ did for sinners? Am I personally trusting in His shed blood? If I am not, if instead. under the eloquence and moving appeals of some evangelist, I have decided to turn over a new leaf, and endeavor to live a better life, and I have "gone forward" and taken the preacher’s hand, and if he has told me that I am now saved and ready to "join the church," and doing so I feel happy and contented-my peace is a false one, and I shall end in the Lake of Fire, unless God in His grace disillusions me.

On the other hand, if the Holy Spirit has shown me my lost condition, my deep need of the Savior, and if I have cast myself upon Christ as a drowning man clutches at a floating spar; if I have really believed on the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31), and received Him as my own personal Savior (John 1:12), and yet, nevertheless, I am still lacking in assurance of my acceptance by God, and have no settled peace of heart; it is because I am failing to rest in simple faith on the written Word. GOD SAYS, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved". That is enough. That is the Word of Him who cannot lie. Nothing more is needed. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My Word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life" (John 5:24). Never mind about your feelings; do not stop to examine your repentance to see if it be deep enough. It is CHRIST that saves; not your tears, or prayers, or resolutions. If you have received Christ, then you are saved. Saved now, saved forever.-"For by one offering He hath perfected forever them that are set apart" (Heb. 10:14). How may you know that you are saved? In the same way that the firstborn Israelite could know that he was secure from the avenging Angel-by the Word of God. "When I see the blood I will pass over you". God is saying the same to-day. If you are under the blood, then you are eternally secure. Neither the Law, nor the Devil, can harm you. "It is God that justifieth, who is he that condemneth?" (Rom. 8:33, 34). Receive Christ for salvation. Rest on God’s Word for assurance and peace!
(Arthur Pink: Gleanings in Exodus)

Indeed what a Saviour we have! The lamb was slain and then roasted on the fire; even so Christ Jesus was roasted on the ovens of Golgotha for His people. The anger of God’s holy wrath which was stirred upon my sin was expended and spent on the person of His Son. Christ Jesus stood between me and the wrath of insulted Majesty as He intercepted the downpour of God’s curses upon my head. What a gospel we have! It is not based on good advice….good advice tells us to do something. It is based, rather, on Good News which tells us something has been already done.

Alas, time does not allow us to examine the many types and shadows in this passage….all of them pointing to Christ. We must now move on to

Picture 6

The Sixth picture is found in the Old Testament Tabernacle. There’s an instructive passage found in Hebrews 9:19-22 describing how that all the vessels for ministry in the Tabernacle were sprinkled with blood. It says,

“19: For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people,
20: Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.
21: Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry.
22: And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.”

In this passage we are told that the Old Covenant was ratified by the shedding of blood. All men were sinners before God and God in His mercy and grace set up a system of ritual sacrifices which pointed towards the Lord Jesus Christ. At the heart and center of it was the shedding of the blood of innocent animals. After speaking to the people about their duties in this covenant Moses took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, scarlet wool and hyssop and applied this blood by sprinkling it. Matthew Henry says,

“This blood and water signified the blood and water that came out of our Savior's pierced side, for justification and sanctification, and also foreshadowed baptism and the Lord's Supper. The scarlet wool, signified the righteousness of Christ with which we must be clothed, the hyssop signified that faith by which we must apply all.”(Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible)

Moses sprinkled the blood on the book of the law and covenant, the people, the Tabernacle and then Tabernacle furniture. Now in case you had forgotten, let me remind you there were six pieces of furniture in the Tabernacle and they were arranged in the shape of a cross. Blood was put on all six pieces.

“The people were hereby taught that, God could not be looked to for salvation, nor rightly worshipped, except faith in every case looked to an intervening blood. For the majesty of God is justly to be dreaded by us, and the way to His presence is nothing to us but a dangerous labyrinth, until we know that He is pacified towards us through the blood of Christ, and that this blood affords to us a free access. All kinds of worship are then faulty and impure until, Christ cleanses them by the sprinkling of His blood . . . If this thought only came to our mind, that what we read is not written so much with ink as with the blood of Christ, that when the Gospel is preached, His sacred blood distils together with the voice, there would be far greater attention as well as reverence on our part" (John Calvin Commentaries).