2007-07-05 00:56:09 · 17 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
For those who don't know:
In the Old Testament of the Bible, Egypt suffered ten plagues because they would not allow Moses and the Jews to leave. The final plague was that the Angel of Death would kill the firstborn of Egypt. Jews were told to paint their doors with lamb's blood to show the Angel they believed and that he should pass them over.
2007-07-05 01:01:28 · answer #1 · answered by Cate Rice 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
As you say- it was a sign for the angel to pass over their homes. But the question should be- why was it the blood of a lamb, an animal holy to the eyptians, that they were commanded to kill, eat and then blatantly smear its blood on their doorpost?
It served two purposes
1) It is taught that the Jews had sunk to a level not far above the Egyptians in depravity, that the customs of the nation around them were being absorbed by them. By this act- they publicly repudiated idoltary and showed their faith in God. They dissasociated themselves from the surrounding Egyptians and associated themselves with God and the Jewish people. It also showed their faith and trust in God, relying on his protection to spare them from the wrath of the Egyptians when they saw the Jews killing, eating and then smearing the blood of the Egyptian god on the doorpost.
2) It showed the Egyptians that there gods were powerless, that only God had any power, that what they worshipped was nothingness. After all- God was publicly working miracles, doing things no one could deny, yet the Egyptian gods were powerless to strike out at those who killed and ate their sacred animals!
2007-07-05 21:53:15 · answer #2 · answered by allonyoav 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Why bother? So the angel WOULD pass over the homes of the Jews. The blood was the way that the Jews identified their homes...not only as Jews, but as "religious law abiding" Jews. It was a gesture of obedience.
2007-07-05 00:59:20 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Blood has long since been a symbol for cleansing and purifying, especially where sin is concerned. The blood on the doorposts showed the Death Angel that this was a home of a believing people and he had no business there! It was the children of Israel's signature of protection from that plague.
2007-07-05 05:21:01 · answer #4 · answered by bigvol662004 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Shed blood is a symbol of atonement for sins. The Israelites would sacrifice a lamb to cover their sins until their redeemer came. Jesus shed His blood to totally wash away the sins of the world, not just cover them.
The lamb's blood on the doorways of the Israelites was a sign for God's angels to spare the inhabitants of that house from God's wrath aimed a the Egyptians who held the Israelites in captivity.
2007-07-05 01:03:39 · answer #5 · answered by High Flyer 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The lamb was the symbol of Jesus and the blood was a symbol of the blood which he shed on the cross to pay for our sins. Everything written in the Old Testament was for a reason you just have to try and figure it out . Oh and the act of puting the blood above the doors was an act of faith so by our faith God sees the blood of Jesus shed for our sins and we are saved.
2007-07-05 01:11:49 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
The blood on the door protects the Jews from God's judgment on the first-born in Egypt. This is a foreshadow of the protection of Jesus' blood on the cross for believers from judgment of God for all their sins. God see the blood of Jesus covering believers and pass over without imposing judgment on them for their sins.
2007-07-05 01:20:09 · answer #7 · answered by seekfind 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Blood was in Jewish tradition a symbol of sacrifice. It was also a symbol of forgiveness. And later, when Jesus was crucified on the cross, His blood was a symbol of His sacrifice for our sins. The blood on the door post signified a true believer. Surely God knew who was and who wasn't. He did not need the blood on the door post to indicate His followers. The people had to do this to make an outward expression of their loyalty to God.
2007-07-05 01:03:39 · answer #8 · answered by loufedalis 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
To spare their firstborn from death, and to prove to the Egyptians that they were Gods people and their firstborn were spared. After the Angel of Death "Passed them over", Pharaoh ordered them out of Egypt where they wanted to go anyway.
2007-07-05 01:02:35 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
God commanded that. If they didn't then their first born would have died. I believe where they put it on top and sides, would have made the sign of the cross. This was an act of obedience for the Jews to God, and He kept His word.
2007-07-05 01:01:36 · answer #10 · answered by RB 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋