In the thirteenth chapter of Exodus, immediately after the account of the Passover in the previous chapter, we read of immunity and protection that was given even before there was any awareness of the need for it.
We do not know what we will face in the future, and therefore we do not know what we should claim from God, but I pray that we can claim in advance the immunity and protection we will need.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Sanctify unto me all the first-born, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine. And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten. This day ye go forth in the month of Abib.
And it shall be, when the Lord shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee, a land flowing with milk and honey, that thou shalt keep this service in this month. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the Lord. Unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days; and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee, in all thy borders. And thou shalt tell thy son in that day, saying, It is because of that which the Lord did for me when I came forth out of Egypt. Exodus 13:1–8.
This thirteenth chapter is dedicated to the firstborn, and we will see its relationship to the account of the Passover in the previous chapter. Why did the Lord speak about it?
The twelfth chapter tells of God bringing judgment on the firstborn of Egypt, and in the thirteenth chapter we read that He demanded of Israel the firstborn of man and beast.
That thou shalt set apart unto the Lord all that openeth the womb, and every firstling which thou hast that cometh of a beast; the males shall be the Lord’s And every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break its neck: and all the first-born of man among thy sons shalt thou redeem.
And it shall be, when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this? that thou shalt say unto him, By strength of hand the Lord brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage: and it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that the Lord slew all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both the first-born of man, and the first-born of beast: therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all that openeth the womb, being males; but all the first-born of my sons I redeem. And it shall be for a sign upon thy hand, and for frontlets between thine eyes: for by strength of hand the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt. Exodus 13:12–16.
The Lord delivered them, but in turn He made a claim. If He was going to destroy the firstborn of Egypt, He was also going to possess the firstborn of Israel. Have you ever thought of it that way? There is a certain immunity and protection that comes through the Passover and the observance of it.
You are not being redeemed just to go out and do your own little thing and please yourself. The Lord is bringing judgment upon Egypt and will destroy it, but at the same time He is making a claim upon your life. The firstborn of Egypt perished, but the firstborn of Israel had to be redeemed.
When the firstborn colt of an ass was brought to the priest, a little lamb was also brought to die in its place, so the ass could be kept to pull the plow and serve as a beast of burden. If the lamb was not sacrificed in its stead, the priest would break the neck of the ass.
That dumb ass did not have much sense, and he stood there not knowing whether he would be redeemed or have his neck broken. He could not care less because he could not comprehend either concept. But if the little lamb died, then the ass would be led off to become a beast of service.
That is a picture of what the Lord has done for us. He redeemed us when we were completely unaware of what it meant. Many do not yet know the score. They are not aware of what the Lord has done for them. All they know is that the Lord is beginning to use them, but they do not realize what has gone before it, how much the Lord has done to turn them loose and to give them immunity. An immunity and a protection is coming to us of which we are unaware.
When you take the Holy Communion, you are not aware of what is happening. You are not even aware of the price that was paid. But to a great extent you just believe, and so the Lord is redeeming a few asses here, to bear the load in the Kingdom. Someone should write a poem, “I am an ass, Lord, a redeemed ass—redeemed to serve You, redeemed to bear the load, redeemed to come into a new awareness of the Lord.” I am so glad the Lord does things for us before we even know anything about it.
Think about an Israelite mother, fearfully nursing her little firstborn son in Egypt. The blood was on the doorpost, and she was hastily eating of the lamb. The mother had faith, but that little baby could not know anything that was going on. A lamb had died and paid a price, and others who were responsible for that baby had taken the initiative to minister for it in its state of unawareness by placing the blood over the door. That little baby was being redeemed. It was receiving an immunity and a protection from the death angel that was scheduled to go through the land that night. We can do the same thing and minister to our little ones. When God ministers to us, we are like His babes. He has redeemed us and we perish not. He loves us very much. The Israelites loved their little children very much, too. So they put the blood over the door, and by faith they partook of the lamb for them.
A little baby could not even eat the lamb because he would choke on it, but as the mother ate the lamb, the strength and the nourishment flowed through her breasts to her baby. Sometimes the only way the blessing of the Lord can be ministered is for someone else to partake of it and bring it down to simple milk for others to partake of.
There is an immunity and a protection for you when you do not even realize it. There is an immunity and a protection that you can minister to others when they do not even realize it. You bring them a protection that they are not even aware of. One day in the horse-and-buggy days when I was a baby in my mother’s arms, the team ran away. My mother jumped out of the buggy and injured her knee very badly, but she managed to fall so that I was not injured. I could have been destroyed, but I was not even aware of it. Years later she told me about the runaway, an incident I had been totally unaware of. That is what the Lord is doing for us in the Body all the time.
Many of you sometimes come close to jeopardy, but others see it, and they bless you to keep you from losing out with the Lord completely. They come and apply the blood of the Lamb for you. When we minister Christ, when we partake of Him at the Communion Table, we partake of Him not only for ourselves, but for many people who are completely unaware of their need of the Lord. This is a fantastic Body. It is a tremendous thing that God is doing in our lives.
God has a claim on your life; and you will either appropriate Christ for your need or you will stand in the presence of the Lord, and He will break your neck for you. Sometimes people stand in the presence of the Lord unaware of their need, and you will have to believe for them. You have to save them.
Sometimes I see in the spirit what God has for people’s lives, and I know what God wants to do. As I watch them going on in their folly, I do everything I can to prevent them from destroying themselves, but they are unaware of their need. If there were only some way that we could open their eyes so that they could see what God has for them, they would be so careful to make the right decisions and do the right thing. Instead of becoming a victim of their own inner needs, they would open their heart to the Lord and begin to live the life for Him that really should be lived.