Good Morning.
Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. (Exodus 12:6)
The Hebrew word that is translated as “keep” is shamar which in reality means, “to guard.” The idea is that the people were to keep the lamb segregated for four days in order to inspect it, making sure there were no blemishes. During that time they were to feed and water it and basically take care of it in preparation for its slaughter — all the time checking to see if there were any imperfections.
If you study the New Testament story carefully, you will discover that after entering Jerusalem on what most of us call Palm Sunday, Messiah spent most every day in the Temple area teaching right up until the time He was arrested and led away to be crucified. While He was teaching, He was also being tested. On one particular day, the Pharisees gathered in an attempt to catch Him in some sort of doctrinal mistake; that is when He started quizzing them about the Messiah and whose son He is. Unable to answer Him, the Bible records that “From that day no one dared to ask him any more questions” (Matthew 22:46). In other words, they weren’t able to discover any defects or faults. Neither could Pilate who declared, “I find no fault in Him” (John 18:38).
As the Lamb of God, He too had to be inspected and found to be without blemish. Once this was determined and the day to slaughter the lambs for Passover arrived, He was led away to be crucified as the spotless Lamb who takes away the sins of the world. I am grateful that He did this because, if you were to inspect me closely you would indeed find defects and imperfections. Thankfully, Messiah has provided recourse for all of us — our sins are forgiven because He committed no sin. We must be of a mind and heart, now, to go and sin no more.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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