Exodus 3:7,9, “And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; and I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians… behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.”

Read also Genesis 50:24-25; Exodus 4:31; Deuteronomy 26:6-9; Nehemiah 9:9; Psalm 106:43-45; Isaiah 63:9; Acts 7:34.

“I know your sorrows!” There could not be any more comforting words that you could hear from your loving Heavenly Father.

Are you going through a time of sorrow in your life? Dear one, God says to you, “I know your sorrows.” He feels touched with the feeling of our infirmities.” He sympathises with your weaknesses. Your heartache. He has not forgotten you. Hebrews 4:15 reminds us that we have a High Priest who is "able to sympathize with our weaknesses."

Have you been crying out with anguish and grief? God says to you, “I hear your cry. I see your tears.” His ears are open to you. Psalm 56:8 TLB says, “You have seen me tossing and turning through the night. You have collected all my tears and preserved them in your bottle! You have recorded every one in your book.” Read also Psalm 116:8, 126:5-6 and Isaiah 25:8.

Are you in a situation where you feel under servitude? Do you feel like you are in a prison from which you can’t escape? Are you groaning under hard bondage as the children of Israel? God says to you, “I see your oppression.”  The eyes of the Lord run to and fro over the whole earth. He sees what is going on in your life and in your home.

“But”, you answer, “If God sees my heartache and hears my cry to Him, why doesn’t He do something about it?” I’m still suffering.

God had not forgotten His people in Egypt. He knew their sorrows. He watched over their afflictions year after year. Although they lived in Egypt for 430 years, historians believe that their persecution began about a hundred years before their deliverance. They could have lived under persecution for a whole century, although it intensified in the latter years. But God was not deaf to their cries of anguish as they endured their bitter slavery. He had His perfect timing. In fact, He was already working! He was preparing a leader and it couldn’t be done in a moment. He spent 40 years preparing Moses out in the desert, and at the right moment, He brings His deliverer upon the scene.

Dear mother, do not despair as you wait for God to answer your cry. God is already working, although you may not see it yet. He will bring His deliverance in His perfect timing. Wait for God’s moment for then it will be a true deliverance. God does not always do His work in haste. He does a thorough work and it often takes time. It takes time for Him to complete His work in us. It takes time for Him to perform His work of grace in those who affect our lives.

I pray that you will be comforted and encouraged by these beautiful promises:

Psalm 22:24 NLT, “For He has not ignored the suffering of the needy. He has not turned and walked away. He has listened to their cries for help.”

Psalm 31:7 NLT, “For you have seen my troubles, and you care about the anguish of my soul.”

Psalm 34:18 NLT, “The Lord is close to the broken-hearted, he rescues those who are crushed in spirit.”

Psalm 40:21-2 MLB, “I waited and waited for the Lord; then He bent over to me (Oh how tender! Oh how personal! Oh how wonderful!) and heard my cry. He brought me up from a destructive pit, from the miry clay, and set my feet on a rock, steadying my steps.”

Trust Him, dear one. He knows and understands your sorrows.

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

“Thank you, dear Lord, that you know and understand the grief and heartache I am going through. I thank you that you are my faithful High Priest and you feel my oppression. I thank you that you are working on my behalf right now. I trust you, Lord. I submit my life to you, knowing that you understand my sorrow, and that you will work out your perfect will in my life. Amen.”

QUOTE:

“God hears thy sighs and counts thy tears;

   God shall lift up thy head.

   Through waves and clouds and storms

    He gently clears thy way;

Wait thou His time, so shall this night

   Soon end in joyous day.”

From a hymn by Paul Gerhardt, translated by John Wesley.

Exodus 12:13, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.”

It is imperative that we live under the covering of the blood of Jesus. The word for ‘atonement’ in the Hebrew is ‘kaphar’ and it means ‘to cover.’ It is only blood that can cover sins. Under the old covenant, they shed the blood of animals. Now, it is the blood of Jesus Christ, the spotless Son of God that covers our sins.

In the old covenant, not only was the blood sprinkled on the people, but also the tabernacle, and their homes. The writer of Hebrews reminds of this in Hebrews 9:18-22, “Moses… took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, saying, This is the blood of the testament which God has enjoined unto you. Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry.” Do you notice? He sprinkled the people, and the tabernacle, which was God’s house, the place where God dwelt between the cherubims in the Holy of holies!

God gives us another picture in Exodus 26:14 where he told Moses to “make a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red…” They were commanded to die sheepskins red, which is a picture of the blood, and cover the tabernacle with them. Over this they had to place another covering of badgers’ skins, which protected the red sheepskins from being bleached by the sun.

If God wanted His dwelling sprinkled with blood, shouldn’t we need it over our dwellings? If God wanted a covering of red sheepskins, which was a type of the blood, over His tabernacle, shouldn’t it also be important for us?

We no longer sprinkle literal blood, but by faith, we can sprinkle the blood of Jesus Christ (which continually avails for us today) over our homes. The blood of Jesus delivers us and protects us.  We all know the story of Passover where they had to kill a lamb and apply the blood to the two doorposts and the lintel above the door. God said, “The blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you… and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.” (Exodus 12:13, 22-23)

The blood was a sign to the Destroyer that the home was protected by the power of God. The Avenger could not get through the power of the blood. The enemy hates the blood. He cannot break through the power of the blood of Jesus.  It is our weapon against Satan in our personal lives. It is our protection over our homes. 

Do you remember the story of Rahab? What protected her home from being destroyed when every other house was desecrated? It was the token of the blood! The spies told Rahab to bind a line of scarlet thread in the window and she and all that were in her home would be spared.  God miraculously caused the walls of Jericho to crumble, including all the homes that were built into the wall. But not Rahab’s. Rahab’s home was left standing and she and all her family were rescued. Read the story in Joshua chapters 2 and 6.

Live under the protection of the blood. By faith, daily sprinkle the blood of Jesus over your own life, the lives of each member of your family and your home.

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

“Lord, I come to you again today, in the precious name of Jesus. I thank you for the precious blood of Jesus Christ that was poured forth on the cross for me. I thank you that the blood of Jesus is now sprinkled on the mercy seat in the heavenly tabernacle and is miraculously available for me today. By faith, I sprinkle the blood of Jesus Christ over our home, my husband, and each one of our children. I pray that you will keep us from accident, harm, sickness, danger and all evil. Thank you for the covering of your precious blood. Amen.”

QUOTE:

There is a fountain filled with blood

Drawn from Emmanuel’s veins;

And sinners, plunged beneath that flood,

Lose all their guilty stains.

William Cowper

1 John 1:7,9, “The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin… If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Are you tormented with guilt? Is there some sin in your life you feel God can’t forgive you? Or perhaps you can’t even forgive yourself? Dear friend, I want to remind you that there is no sin that God cannot forgive. Jesus shed His powerful, precious, pure blood to atone for all sin. He is the Scapegoat who bore all your iniquities so you could go free. (Leviticus 16:22) Not some sins, but all of them. There is nothing that is too bad for the blood of Jesus. His life-giving blood has power to wash away all sin.

I think God must have known that we would have trouble believing this truth. Therefore, He gives us different pictures in the Bible (not just one, but many) to show us how the blood of Jesus completely eradicates our sins when we repent and confess it to Him. Shall we look at what happens to them? They are…

WASHED CLEAN!

Revelation 1:5b, “Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.” (1 Corinthians 6:11, Titus 3:5)

AS WHITE AS SNOW!

Isaiah 1:18, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

Psalm 51:7, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be whiter than snow.” Although this Scripture does not mention the blood, it refers to it because it was the hyssop that was used to sprinkle the blood.  (Revelation 7:13-14)

CLEANSED!

1 John 1:7, “The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin.” (Jeremiah 33:8; Hebrews 9:14) In the New Testament, the Greek word for ‘cleansed’ and ‘purged’ is the same. It means ‘to purify from the pollution and guilt of sin’.

PARDONED!

Micah 7:18, “Who is a God like unto thee, who pardons iniquity, and passes by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? He retains not his anger forever, because he delights in mercy.” (Jeremiah 33:8)

FORGIVEN!

Ephesians 1:7, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.” (Colossians 1:14)

TAKEN AWAY!

When John the Baptist saw Jesus, He called out, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29) God not only forgives, but He takes our sins away out of sight.

We looked at two pictures of this last week – the bird that flew away into the open fields, and the scapegoat that was taken into an uninhabited wilderness.  Other translations of the Bible use different descriptions such as “a land of separation”, “a desolate region”, “a land where no one lives”, “a solitary land”, “a barren waste” and “an isolated place”. They are taken away where we can’t see them any more – into oblivion. The Hebrew word for scapegoat is ‘azazel’ which means ‘an entire and utter removal. It is derived from a root word, which means ‘wholly to go away’.  (Leviticus 16:22)

Dear one, don’t keep looking at your sin and groveling over it. God has taken it out of sight, so why try to retrieve it back again? It is out of sight, beyond the track of man, unseen and forgotten.  Because Jesus paid your price, you are now as free as a bird! (Romans 11:27)

AS FAR AS THE EAST IS FROM THE WEST!

Psalm 103:12 “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” As we move closer and closer to the west, the horizon keeps shifting. We never come to the end. It’s the same if we go east. Our sins have been taken so far away that we cannot find the end.

BEHIND GOD’S BACK!

Isaiah 38:17, “You have cast all my sins behind your back.” God can’t see them when they are behind His back.

REMEMBERED NO MORE!

Jeremiah 31:34, “I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (Isaiah 43:25) God remembers everything, except our sins. One writer says, Faith transfers them; Christ removes them; God forgets them.”

BLOTTED OUT!

Isaiah 44:22, “I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, and like a cloud, your sins.” (Isaiah 43:25)

LOST! CAN’T BE FOUND!

Jeremiah 50:20, “In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found…” Once they are under the blood of Jesus, there is no way of finding them again. No matter who looks for them, or how long they look, they will never find them. They are lost forever!

BURIED IN THE DEPTHS OF THE SEA!

Micah 7:19, “You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” They have been buried too deep to recover.

Oh the power of the blood of Jesus. It is too wonderful. By faith, live in the blessings of His precious blood that was shed for you.

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

“Dear Lord, I thank you so much for your precious blood that was shed for my sins. I thank you for the power of your blood that totally cleanses me from all sin and all guilt. Help me to have a repentant heart and to daily confess the spots that tarnish my heart. I want to keep washed clean, pure and white, by the power of your blood. Thank you in Jesus name, Amen."

QUOTE:

“I hear the accuser roar

Of ills that I have done,

I know them well and thousands more –

Jehovah findeth none!”

Leviticus 14:51-52, “And he shall take the cedar wood, and the hyssop, and the scarlet, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird, and in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times; and he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, and with the running water…"

Last week we learned the principles of how to eradicate infectious plagues from our homes. Once we have destroyed these creeping molds, we must then receive by faith the cleansing of the blood of Jesus. Our homes must be cleansed by the power of the blood of Jesus and the “running water” of the living Word of God. These are the two most powerful cleansing agents in the world. We need them in our hearts. We need them in our homes. They bring salvation, healing, protection and deliverance. Through them we conquer the enemy! Revelations 12:11 says, “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.”

If you have been going through a purging in your home, make sure you plead the precious blood of Jesus over member and every room in your home. Honor the blood of Jesus in your home. Sing songs and hymns about the blood of Jesus. The blood of Jesus is your only access into the presence of God.

And don’t forget the cleansing water of the Word of God. Speak it out loud in your home. Read it personally. Read it together as a family when you sit at your family meal table. Memorize Scriptures and confess them in every situation. The blood and the Word of God will keep your home washed clean. (John 15:3; 2 Corinthians 7:1; Ephesians 5:26) They will deter all future contaminating molds that would try to take over your home again.

However, you cannot use the precious blood of Jesus flippantly. It is holy. It will not cover unconfessed sin. It will not cover unrepentant anger, maliciousness, uncleanness, adultery and such contamination that continue in the home. Leviticus 14:33-53 tells us that the house could not be cleansed until the leprosy was totally scraped out. But once we have confessed, repented, and dealt with the sin, we can receive total healing through the blood of Christ.

After the home was healed, the priest had to take two birds. The first one he killed and the blood was shed. He then dipped the living bird, plus the cedar wood, the hyssop branch and scarlet in the blood of the slain bird and sprinkled the house seven times.  After this, he took the living bird (that had been dipped in the blood) outside the city and let it go into the open fields. Was this just for fun? No, everything that God ordained in the old covenant has a type for us today. It was written for our learning and admonition.

Letting the bird fly away is similar to what happened on the Day of Atonement, which you can read about in Leviticus chapter 16. On that day, God commanded them to bring two goats to the door of the tabernacle and cast lots. One received the Lord’s lot and the other the lot of the scapegoat. The Lord’s goat was slain and Aaron took the blood of this goat into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled it seven times upon the mercy seat to atone for the sins of the people.

By the way, do you know how many times the High Priest went into the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement? It was three times. First of all, he went in wearing his linen clothes (speaking of the righteousness of Christ) and carrying a censer of burning coals in his right hand and fragrant incense in his left. The incense filled the Most Holy Place and covered the Mercy Seat to protect Aaron in the holy presence of God. He then returned for the blood from the bullock, which he sprinkled on the Mercy Seat to atone for his own sins and the sins of his own household. He then entered the third time with the blood of the goat to atone for the sins of the nation.

After this he came forth, laid both his hands upon the scapegoat, confessed over it all the sins of the children of Israel, and then like the bird that was let go, the goat was sent away. God commanded in Leviticus 16:21-22 to “send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness… unto a land not inhabited, and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.”

This goat represents the efficacy of the blood of Jesus in taking our sins away. This goat was taken into an uninhabited wilderness and lost – never to be seen or heard of again! This is what the power of Jesus does with our sins – they are taken out of sight! Because Jesus bore our sin upon His own body, we go free – like the bird that flew into the open fields. Isn’t that amazing?

I wonder why the cedar, hyssop and scarlet were also used in the cleansing? I wish I had the deeper understanding that Solomon had. When talking about Solomon’s wisdom it says, “He spoke of trees, from the cedar tree of Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall…”

Scarlet represents the blood of Jesus. The hyssop was used to sprinkle blood on the home (as they also did at the time of Passover, Exodus 12:22). What about the cedar? The cedars of Lebanon are strong, firmly rooted, evergreen trees. The wood is reddish color and they are fragrant. Most interesting of all, insects will not attack them! When you are cleansed by the blood of Jesus, and live by faith under the covering of His blood, the insects of evil will not be able to eat into your home. You will emanate the sweet fragrance of Jesus into your home and to your husband and children.

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

“Oh Lord, I thank you for the power of the blood of Jesus and the power of your living Word to cleanse my heart and cleanse my home. I thank you that your blood that avails for me in every circumstance. It avails for me today as much as 2000 years ago. I thank you in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

QUOTE:

Precious blood, by this we conquer

   In the fiercest fight,

Sin and Satan overcoming

   By its might.

Frances Ridley Havergal