The Sufficiency of Our Passover Lamb

The following is an excerpt from a booklet I'm working on entitled, "Ezekiel: The Glory of the Lord."

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            Ezekiel received his final vision of glory on the 10^th day of the first month (Ezek. 40:1).  This was a significant day because it was the day faithful Israelites would select a lamb for Passover (Ex. 12:2, 3).  For four days they would feed and care for the lamb, then sacrifice it, apply its blood to their houses, and eat its roasted flesh with bitter herbs (Ex. 12:6-8).           

As we have said, the Lord called Ezekiel to minister to the captives in Babylon.  By giving Ezekiel this third vision at the beginning of Passover, the Lord wasn’t promising a new exodus from Babylon.  Instead, He was pledging that the first exodus from Egypt was sufficient.  Their deliverance, their setting apart as a peculiar nation, their covenantal joining to Him—none of it had changed in God’s mind.  The Passover Lamb was still the only salvation Israel would ever need, as complete and efficacious as the day they left Egypt.  Because of the lamb, and not Israel’s faithfulness, they would be restored to the temple, the city, and the land from which they were exiled. 

            For us, the death of our Passover Lamb, Jesus, is the only deliverance we will ever need (1 Cor. 5:7, 8).  His death joined us to God through a new covenant in His blood.  If we find that we have wandered from God, if we find ourselves in some sort of captivity because we have followed the self-preferring of the fallen nature, we don’t need a new deliverance.  We need only remember that the deliverance wrought through the cross is as effective and sufficient today as it ever was.  Because of Christ, none of God’s thoughts toward us have changed.  His love is constant. “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Heb. 5:16).