The first sacrifice God required of the Israelites was the Passover. God had told Abraham that his descendants would live in another land for 400 years as slaves. “Then the Lord said to Abram, ‘You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 years. But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end, they will come away with great wealth. Gen. 15:13-14 (NLT). God promised He would punish the nation that enslaved them, and they would come out.
At the end of the 400 years, God sent Moses to Pharaoh to demand the release of the Israelites. Pharaoh said no 10 times, and God sent 10 demonstrations of His power on Egypt. The last demonstration involved the death of the first born male child in each household; the prevention for this plague was the Passover sacrifice. God, through Moses, told the people of Israel to kill, roast, and eat a year old male lamb on a certain night and be dressed and prepared to leave Egypt the next morning. To prevent the death of their oldest child, each family was to take the blood of the lamb and sprinkle it on the door’s post and lintel so the death Angel would pass over their dwelling. “Announce to the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each family must choose a lamb or a young goat for a sacrifice, one animal for each household. If a family is too small to eat a whole animal, let them share with another family in the neighborhood. Divide the animal according to the size of each family and how much they can eat. The animal you select must be a one-year-old male, either a sheep or a goat, with no defects. Take special care of this chosen animal until the evening of the fourteenth day of this first month. Then the whole assembly of the community of Israel must slaughter their lamb or young goat at twilight. They are to take some of the blood and smear it on the sides and top of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the animal. That same night they must roast the meat over a fire and eat it along with bitter salad greens and bread made without yeast. Do not eat any of the meat raw or boiled in water. The whole animal-including the head, legs and internal organs must be roasted over the fire. Do not leave any of it until the next morning. Burn whatever is not eaten before morning.” Ex 12:3-10 (NLT).
If the Egyptians knew of the plan, they could have done the same thing and been protected. But what if they only knew that all the Israelites were eating lamb that night? They could have roasted lambs and eaten them, but, if that is all they had done, they would not have been protected because it was not only the lamb nor the sacrifice but the application of the blood that would have protected them.
God was showing the Israelites a spiritual lesson. While they were slaves of the Egyptians, they (and we) were slaves of sin as Paul describes in Romans chapters 1-8. Not only did a sacrifice have to be made for sin (God’s part through Christ), but the Atonement must be made by the application of blood to sins (man’s part). That is how the sacrifice is universal, but the atonement is limited because we must apply by faith the blood of Christ to our sins.
“He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet He never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, He did not open His mouth.” Isaiah 53:7 (NLT).
“John told them, ‘I baptize with water, but right here in the crowd is someone you do not recognize. Though His ministry follows mine, I’m not even worthy to be His slave and untie the straps of His sandal.’ This encounter took place in Bethany, an area east of the Jordan River, where John was baptizing. The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look! The Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world! He is the one I was talking about when I said, A man is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for He existed long before me. I did not recognize His as the Messiah, but I have been baptizing with water so that He might be revealed to Israel.’ Then John testified, I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon Him. I didn’t know He was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, He told me, The one on whom you see the Spirit descent and rest is the one who will baptize with the holy Spirit. I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that He is the Chosen One of God’.” John 1:26-34 (NLT).
“My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one Who is truly righteous. He Himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins-and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.” 1 John 2:1-2 (NLT).
“When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, He will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of His Son while we were still His enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of His Son. Romans 5:6-10 (NLT).
See also pages on the Sin Offering & Atonement Offering.