The Doorposts, the Cord and the Cross

Well, a warm welcome to the evening service of worship here.

! I'm going to begin our time of worship by singing to God's praise in Psalm 49.

!

I will speak with understanding, wisdom from the heart I'll preach.

I will listen to a proverb, secrets with a harp I'll teach.

Why should I fear days of evil?

When the wicked hymn me in, those who boast of their possessions, by their trust in wealth they sin.

There is no one who is able to redeem a soul from death.

None can pay to God the ransom to prolong another's breath.

To redeem a life is costly.

None sufficient price can pay so that one should live immortal, free forever from decay.

To redeem a life is indeed costly and that is precisely what the sacrifice of our Lord and our Savior achieves for us.

So we'll sing those verses there, Psalm 49, verse 1-9.

Psalms 49:1–9

And we'll stand to sing to God's praise.

Psalm 49, verse 1-9.

Psalms 49:1–9

Psalm 49, verse 1-9.

Psalms 49:1–9

Psalm 49, verse 1-9.

Psalms 49:1–9

Psalm 49, verse 1-9.

Psalms 49:1–9

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to seek your face in prayer and to gather together like this in a time of worship on your day, a day

that is in itself a gift to us as fallen people. We are in need of that day, that day of rest, that

day in which we can find rest not only for the body and for the mind but also for the soul as we engage

in the very act of worship and as we gather around your word both as we gather publicly and also in

the privacy of our own homes and our own quiet time as well and we do pray that this day itself

would indeed be just that, a day of rest and may it nourish us, may it encourage us as we seek to

press on in that race that we spoke of earlier in the service today, that we might continue to press

forward and to push forward even into the coming days. We give thanks O Lord that the days that

lie ahead are days that we don't know what lies before us but we're encouraged to know that we

come before a God who does, a God who knows exactly what lies ahead of each one of us and we pray O Lord

that you would give us the strength, that you would give us that guidance, that wisdom, that help

from above no matter what it is that might lie in wait for us. We do pray that you would help us to

see the wonder of the atonement and even as we were singing of there as we thought of at least one of

the themes connected to the atonement and redemption itself and we do give thanks that we are a people

who are redeemed and that the death of our Lord and Saviour has achieved that for us, that we are a people

who have been bought and bought at a very high price, the highest price we can possibly imagine,

the price of the blood of the God-man and help us to meditate on that as we think about the cross

and as we think about who we are as sinners and as we think about who you are as the sinless God and

then to follow through the narrative of Scripture and to see that the Son of God himself

giving his life in that way, handing his life over for people such as we are. And that is a marvel to us

that you would redeem a people like us, that you would save a people like us, that our Lord and Saviour

would come down into this world for a people like us and that he came not just to live and not just to

endure hardship and hatred and rejection but specifically to endure the very pain, the very punishment of

of that hell on the cross, that judgment that was endured. There we see the one who is the sin-bearer

himself, bearing the sins of his people. Help us to reflect daily on the cross. We know that

such is the way our minds are, we can sometimes forget the magnitude of what was done for us there at

Calvary. Sometimes we can be slow to remember, slow to think on the sacrifice of our Lord, but help us to

do that daily, not just to wait for specific times and seasons like communions and other seasons such as

that. But help us daily to reflect on what our Lord has done. And may that then affect our own

hearts and spirit in this life as well. Because very often we can complain, very often we can fall into a

spiritual slumber as well and we can fall into all sorts of bad habits. And we see that even in

Scripture itself for the people of God, how often we see them falling into these sins and falling into

these traits, traits which we absolutely replicate ourselves as well. And help us to spot that, to see

that, and to seek your help for us to be lifted up out of that. And surely the answer in all these

errors that we fall into is to look to Christ, to look to our Lord. So help us to do that. Even in this

act of worship itself, help us to look to our Lord. Help us to look to the triune God himself,

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And help us to marvel at who you are, at who you reveal yourself

to be in the pages of Scripture. And as we come before you in prayer, we pray for our nation.

We pray for the governments in our land. We think especially over these recent days where we've

seen votes and discussions and debates taking place, which seek to pursue a path that will lead to

people being able to prematurely and in their control to end life. We ask, O Lord, that you would

fill us with a sense of burden for that bill as it continues through the various chambers of power. And

we ask, O Lord, that ultimately that bill would be defeated. It grieves us that it has even got us far.

We come before you and lament when we see and hear of some of the things that have been

said and the way in which so many have voted as well. But we pray that you would intervene.

You're the God who is able to do that, to intervene and to show those who will be taking these

votes, to show them the error of their way and the reality of what it is that they are opening the

door to. We give thanks that we come before a God who can answer in powerful ways like that. Sometimes

we feel unable to have any kind of influence, but we come before a God who is well able and well

powerful to put an end and a stop to these things. And we pray, O Lord, for those who are fighting

the corner from the perspective of your word and your law, we pray that you would encourage them.

We know that very often they come under attack themselves, but strengthen them and may they be

aware of the prayers of your people. Help us in every situation to do what we can, to speak up for

those who have no voice. And it is sad to see that we live in a society that seems to turn on the

vulnerable, from the very young to the sick and the elderly as well. But let us not fall into that

mindset ourselves as your people. Help us to do what we can to speak up and to ensure that these

things do not pass. And as we come praying for our civil courts and governments, we also come praying

for our spiritual court as well as the General Assembly of our own church and other churches as

well gather in the coming days. We pray, O Lord, that you would go before our own General Assembly and all

the discussions and all that will travel there as well. We pray that you would grant them traveling

mercies and that ultimately all the decisions, all the debates and perhaps any votes that are taken,

ultimately that all these things would be to the glory of your most holy name. And we pray for the

congregation here as well. Continue to strengthen them. During this time of vacancy, we ask, O Lord,

that you would encourage them because we know that very often when we look back, even in congregations

throughout our presbytery here, very often times of vacancies have been times of great blessing and

fruitfulness. And we ask that that would be the case here as well and that you would continue to

strengthen Calum Mordo and the additional duties and burden that he's under and his family too. Be with

him even now as he leads worship elsewhere. Go before us, cleanse us from sin, we ask. And we ask it all for

Jesus' sake. Amen. Amen. We're just going to do a reading at this point. We're going to read just a short

passage in Exodus chapter 12. In Exodus

Exodus 12 · chapter mention

and chapter 12. This is, of course, the account of the Passover itself, just before the actual

Exodus event of the people of God leaving Egypt. We're going to read from the beginning there. So,

Exodus 12 and from the beginning. So, let's hear the word of the Lord.

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, this month shall be for you the beginning

of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell all the congregation of Israel that

on the 10th day of this month, every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers, a lamb,

according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household. And if the household is too small for

a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons. According

to what each can eat, you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish,

a male, a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, and you shall keep it until the

14th day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at

twilight. Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the

houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the flesh that night roasted on the fire with unleavened bread

and bitter herbs. And they shall eat it. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted

its head with its legs and its inner parts. And you shall let none of it remain until the morning.

Anything that remains until the morning, you shall burn in this manner. You shall eat it with your belt

fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand, and you shall eat it in haste.

It is the Lord's Passover. Amen. And we pray for God's blessing on that portion of his holy and

inspired word. We're going to sing again now. We're going to sing this time in the Scottish Psalter

chapter. And in Psalm 91. So Psalm 91. And we'll sing, that's page 351. And we'll sing

a verse 1 to the verse marked 5 there. He that doth in the secret place of the Most High reside

under the shade of him that is the Almighty shall abide. I of the Lord my God will say,

He is my refuge still. He is my fortress and my God, and in him trust I will. Assuredly he shall

thee save and give deliverance from subtle fowler snare and from the noise and pestilence. His feathers

shall thee hide. Thy trust under his wings shall be. His faithfulness shall be a shield,

and buckler unto thee. Thou shalt not need to be afraid for terrors of the night, nor for

the arrow that doth fly by day while it is light. So we'll sing those verses there, Psalm 91,

Psalms 91:1–5

verse 1 to 5.

Psalm 91, verse 1 to 5.

Psalms 91:1–5

He act of in the secret place of the Most High reside, and never shake of him that is,

and never shake of him that is, your mighty shall abide. I of the Lord my God will say, He is my

Recluse still. He is my fortress and thy God, and in him trust I will. Assuredly he shall be saved,

and give thee live heavens from the Lord my God, and in him trust I will. Assuredly he shall be saved, and give thee live heavens from the Lord my God.

Son of the Lord my God, and in him trust I will. Assuredly he shall be saved, and give thee live heavens from the Son of the Lord my God.

B

The shoulders spin and fall, the noise of pestilence.

His feathers shall delight thy trust, under his wings shall be.

His faithfulness shall be a shield, and that the ground to thee.

Thou shalt not give to thee a play, for terrors of the night.

Nor for thee I know the love that fly, by thee I lift his light.

Amen.

Again, if you can turn your Bibles to the Old Testament, this time a different section of

the Old Testament in Joshua in chapter 2.

These two passages form a couple of the images that we're going to look at this evening.

Joshua in chapter 2.

And we'll read from the beginning of this narrative here.

So Joshua chapter 2 and from the beginning.

Joshua 2 · chapter mention

So again, let's hear the word of the Lord.

And Joshua, the son of Nun, sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying,

Go, view the land, especially Jericho.

And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there.

And it was told to the king of Jericho,

Behold, men of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land.

And then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying,

Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house,

for they have come to search out all the land.

But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them.

And she said, True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from.

And when the gate was about to be closed at dark, the men went out.

I do not know where the men went.

Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.

But she had brought them up to the roof and hood them with the stalks of flax that she had laid in order on the roof.

So the men pursued after them on the way to the Jordan as far as the fords,

and the gate was shut as soon as the pursuers had gone out.

Before the men lay down, she came up to them on the roof and said to the men,

I know that the Lord has given you the land,

and that the fear of you has fallen upon us,

and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you.

For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt,

and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan,

to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction.

And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted,

and there was no spirit left in any man because of you.

For the Lord your God, he is God in heavens above and on the earth beneath.

Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that as I have dealt kindly with you,

that you also will deal kindly with my father's house,

and give me a sure sign that you will save alive my father and mother,

my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them,

and deliver our lives from death.

And the men said to her,

Our life for yours, even to death.

If you do not tell this business of ours,

then when the Lord gives us the land,

we will deal kindly and faithfully with you.

Then she let them down by a rope through the window,

for her house was built into the city wall,

so that she lived in the wall.

And she said to them,

Go into the hills, or the pursuers will encounter you,

and hide there three days until the pursuers have returned.

Then afterwards you may go your way.

The men said to her,

We will be guiltless with respect to this oath of yours that you have made us swear.

Behold, when we come into the land,

you shall tie this scarlet cord in the window,

through which you let us down,

and you shall gather into your house

your father and mother,

your brothers,

and all your father's household.

Then,

if anyone goes out of the doors of your house into the street,

his blood shall be on his own head,

and we shall be guiltless.

But if a hand is laid on anyone who is with you in the house,

his blood shall be on our head.

Amen.

And we pray for God's blessing on that second reading from his holy word.

We're going to sing again now in the Scottish Psalter and in Psalm 51.

So the Scottish Psalter and Psalm 51.

And we'll sing verse 1 down to the verse marked 6 there.

After thy loving kindness, Lord,

have mercy upon me for thy compassions.

Great blot out all mine iniquity,

me cleanse from sin,

and throughly wash from mine iniquity.

For my transgressions I confess,

my sin I ever see.

Against thee, the only, have I sinned,

and thy sight done this ill.

That when thou speakest,

thou mayst be just and clear in judging still.

Behold,

I in iniquity was formed the womb within.

My mother also me conceived in guiltiness and sin.

Behold,

thou in the inward parts,

with truth delighted art and wisdom,

thou shalt make me know within the hidden parts.

So we'll sing those verses,

Psalm 51,

Psalms 51:1–6

verse 1 to 6.

I'll stand to sing to God's praise.

Amen.

After thy loving kindness,

Lord,

come,

mercy upon me,

for thy compassion,

take water,

take water,

of my iniquity.

May cleanse from sin,

and throughly wash from my iniquity.

for my iniquity.

For my iniquity.

For my iniquity.

I confess,

I confess,

my sin I ever see.

And my sin I ever see.

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O quede, my mother also be conceded in guiltiness and sin.

Behold, thou in the inward hearts, with truth delighted are,

and wisdom thou shalt lay below, within the middle heart.

With God's help, if you can maybe first of all turn to Exodus chapter 12.

Exodus 12 · chapter mention

We are going to be going between the two passages,

but if you can open up first of all at Exodus chapter 12,

Exodus 12 · chapter mention

and we'll take us out reading verse 7, where we read there,

then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts

and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.

Now, one of the beautiful aspects of Scripture is the way in which the whole thing,

the whole of the Word of God, the whole canon of Scripture,

all ties together.

It all ties together.

It all links together so incredibly beautifully.

It isn't just some collection of random books.

It's not just some collection of ancient writings that are written by different authors

that are sometimes maybe separated by hundreds of years apart.

That's not what this is.

It's not just a collection of unlinked, separate books together as one library or one book.

This is one story, one wonderful story, one book, one wonderful narrative.

Yes, by multiple authors, ultimately one divine author, but multiple human authors.

But it is that one narrative, one wonderful redemptive narrative,

one wonderful redemptive story and timelines as well.

And one of the ways in which you see Scripture coming together

is when you pick up certain threads and themes that link the whole thing together.

And there's lots of those kinds of threads and themes that you could look at,

you know, covenant and lots of other themes as well.

But probably one of the biggest threads or themes that holds the whole thing together

is the blood of Christ.

The blood of the Lord Jesus Christ himself.

That blood that brings all the way from Genesis all the way through to Revelation,

brings this whole book, this whole story, this whole narrative wonderfully together.

Sometimes people can wrongly think that, you know, Jesus and the blood of Christ,

that that just comes into focus on the New Testament,

and maybe specifically in the Gospels themselves,

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

But of course, as we know, that's absolutely not the case at all.

There is this wonderful thread of the blood of Christ all the way through.

Even in the Old Testament itself, you go to the Old Testament,

and you can learn much about the blood of Christ,

and much about what the blood of Christ does.

The way in which the blood of Christ delivers from judgment,

the way in which the blood of Christ frees,

the way in which the blood of Christ redeems.

We were singing about that earlier on.

The way in which the blood of Christ brings us into a new family,

into the family of the Lord's people.

So there's so much of the blood of Christ,

and the Gospel message itself very much present in the pages of the Old Testament as well.

And what I want to do tonight is I want to pick out three specific images

connected to three narratives,

but specifically three images that I think in many ways are connected together.

Visually, I think they're connected together,

but certainly theologically and by illustration that they're connected together.

And the three things I want to look at is,

first of all, the blood-stained doorposts.

That's the first one, blood-stained doorposts.

Secondly, the scarlet cord.

And thirdly, the blood-stained cross of Christ himself.

So three very different images,

and images that come from three very different parts of the Bible.

Obviously, the blood-stained doorposts coming from that Exodus narrative.

Then the scarlet cord, of course, coming from the Joshua narrative.

And then the blood-stained cross of our Lord and Savior himself coming from the Gospel narrative.

We didn't specifically read that, but a section, of course, that we know very well.

And when you think of these three images,

these three images, there's a similarity between them.

You know, if you imagine yourself standing there looking at the blood-soaked doorposts in Exodus,

or if you stand there looking at this red cord hanging out of the house of Rahab,

or the cross of Christ after his body's taken away, the cross, that blood-soaked cross of Christ,

visually, there's a similarity between these three images that are presented to us in Scripture.

And I don't mean just visually, as I mentioned earlier,

also in terms of what these things communicate,

and theologically how these things speak to us,

and how we see something of the Gospel in these things.

So what I want to do is really stop at each three of these images,

to stand and to take in just the sight itself,

and really to ask, what is it that these things convey to us,

of the blood of Christ, of the Gospel,

of the wonder of what our Lord and Savior has done for us.

So let's do that, and we'll begin,

the first one here, the blood-stained doorposts.

So you're standing there, and we're just, as it were,

looking at these houses, or one of these houses in Egypt,

and there you see this blood-stained,

not just the doorposts, of course, but the lintel as well.

And as I mentioned just a few moments ago,

this obviously comes from the Exodus narrative that we just read there,

of God rescuing his people from Egypt.

And you remember how that all unfolded.

The Lord sends Moses in.

So Moses comes in to Egypt,

and then you have the ten plagues, of course.

The ten plagues are unleashed on the Egyptians.

And then you come to the last one,

the tenth plague,

which is really what this is all connected to here.

And this was the plague that was going to result

in a very solemn outcome,

the death of the firstborn of every home in Egypt,

except, of course, those who had the blood,

the blood of the Passover lamb,

actually applied to the doorposts,

actually applied to the lintel of the households as well.

And if the Lord came and saw the blood on the doorframe,

if he saw the blood on the lintel,

then, of course, he was going to Passover.

There was not going to be a death taking place in that home.

And when you read the section that we read there,

and you look at some of the way in which it's described for us,

the Lord is very deliberate in the description

of how all this was meant to happen.

He's very specific.

He gives us specifics, you know,

to do with how the blood was to be applied

and various specifics about the actual Passover lamb as well.

Now, why is that?

Why are there...

That's not just through here, of course.

That's through for lots of parts of Scripture.

But why is it through here?

Why does he give us such specifics here?

And the answer is very simply because all of these things,

all of these details are communicating.

The Lord is, in a visual way,

speaking to us and communicating various things to us.

And I think there's a lot of things that this scene before us here communicates.

And when we look to this door frame

and we see the blood on the lintel and the doorposts here,

there's lots of things that we could lift out of it.

I just want to lift a few things out of it at this point.

And the first thing I want to notice there is in verse 5 of this passage that we read there,

and this is to do with the lamb from whom the blood was to come.

And we read there that your lamb shall be without blemish.

So that's very specific.

It's to be not just any old lamb.

It's to be a lamb without blemish.

So in other words, they weren't to pick the worst of their flock,

as might be our tendency if we were giving something.

Let's just give the worst of what we might have.

They were very specifically called to bring the very best,

to sacrifice a lamb without any blemish at all.

And there was a reason for that.

I think we know what the reason for that is.

The reason for that is because the Passover lamb was intended to point forward to Christ.

It was very clearly, very specifically pointing forward to Christ.

And as we know, Christ is one who is himself sinless.

He is the spotless lamb of God.

No sin, no blame, no guilt at all to be found in our Lord and Savior.

We know he was one who would be perfectly righteous.

And therefore, when you read these laws here,

and when you read here about the unblemished lamb in the Exodus narrative,

that's clearly there specifically to teach us about that,

to teach us, to make us look forward to one who was going to come who was sinless,

to point forward to this great Savior, the spotless lamb of God,

who one day was going to come into the world.

So there you have, looking at that scene, looking at that blood,

it communicates that to us.

It communicates the way in which this lamb was to be a lamb that was unblemished.

And then after the actual killing of the lamb,

that's when they were to apply the blood to the doorpost.

You see that in verse 7 and the lintels as well.

Now, there's a very important lesson being communicated there

in that visual scene that's described for us.

Blood, in the biblical context,

blood was very much connected and associated to the life of the victim.

So blood and the life of the victim were very much seen as being linked together.

So for example, there's a verse in Leviticus, Leviticus chapter 17,

Leviticus 17 · chapter mention

and we read it saying the following, we read it says,

for the life of the flesh is in the blood,

and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls,

for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.

So specifically, for the life of the flesh is in the blood.

So there's a very clear, very close tie between blood and life.

And here, when you're looking at this scene,

this blood on the doorpost here,

that blood is a symbol,

a symbol of a life that has been sacrificed,

a life that has been sacrificed in order to make atonement.

And that blood is applied to the very entrance,

in a very visual way,

the very entrance of the house itself.

And the idea is that the Lord will pass over,

and that the Lord will see the blood.

And he'll see the blood of the Passover lamb,

and because a life has already been taken,

because there's already been a death,

the sign of the blood is a sign of that life,

has already been taken,

again, a death has already occurred in this household,

so therefore, there'll be no further death in this household.

And there you have the Lord passing over.

So the lamb has died,

and therefore, no one else is going to die.

And very clearly,

that speaks to us of the whole idea of substitution.

So again, when you're looking at that scene,

and you're seeing that blood,

it speaks to us of that.

It doesn't just speak of sacrifice.

It specifically, it speaks of this idea of substitution.

The Passover lamb is the substitutionary sacrifice.

And when we think of that in the Old Testament,

and then seek to apply that to ourselves today,

exactly the same thing happens to us,

in a theological way.

The same thing happens to us

when we come and put our faith in Jesus.

See, when you take Jesus as your Lord and Savior,

it is, in some sense anyway,

it is as though we are covered ourselves

with the blood of Christ.

As though the blood of Christ covers us.

So that, as we approach the judgment seat of the Lord,

the Lord looks to us,

and he will see the blood of Christ,

and he will see, well,

judgment has already been experienced here.

A life has already been sacrificed.

And because of that blood,

the blood of Christ,

because the Lord Jesus has given his life

as that penalty that's paid for us,

therefore, we are saved.

Therefore, as it were,

the Lord passes over.

So the blood on the doorposts

is pointing towards very much

the death of the true,

the true Passover lamb to come,

Jesus himself.

That blood that ultimately would be shed to save

all who are his,

all who come,

all who come and put their trust

and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

And in this scene here,

actually putting the blood on the doorpost,

that was in itself the sign of your faith.

That was the sign of your faith and trust.

You were showing your faith and trust

by actually applying these things

to the doorpost and lintel.

And that's ultimately what delivered the people

from the judgment here.

That's what ultimately,

in the rest of the Exodus narrative,

that's what ultimately leads to their freedom as well.

Yes, there's trust.

They trust the Lord.

That's clearly there.

But they also had to be obedient.

They had to be obedient

to actually perform what it is

that the Lord had asked them to do.

So they trusted in him.

They believed in him.

But then they had to do something.

They had to actually apply.

They had to take that blood

and put it on the doorpost.

So they had to respond.

There was some kind of response

to God's command required here.

So there was a trust, a faith,

that led to obedience.

And yet that obedience part

was very, very important.

And again, that is like us as well.

I mean, we are saved through faith.

Faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.

But that is a faith and a trust

that leads to something.

It's a faith and a trust

that leads to us responding in some way

and being obedient,

showing our faith and trust in the Lord.

And here as well,

the people were specifically

to do this in a public way.

You know, it wasn't applying the blood

in the doorpost and lintel

in a hidden way.

It was very much something

that was very visible.

You know, you'd see it.

Standing outside the home,

you would see it.

You would see these are people

who trust the Lord.

These are people who have put

their faith in the Lord,

that the blood, the sign of the blood

is a sign of just that.

And I think for ourselves as well,

I think that's important.

If your faith is in Christ,

if your faith is in the Lord,

the Lord does not want you to hide that.

The Lord does not want you

to keep that to yourself.

He wants you to make that known.

It ought to be on display.

And I don't mean that in the sense of,

you know, pride

and this kind of holier than thou

sort of wearing our Christianity

like some kind of badge of pride

of look at me.

I don't mean it in that sense at all.

But it ought to be visible

in that sign of love

and that we're not hiding

our faith in the Lord,

but that we're revealing it,

showing out of love,

out of love for our Lord and Savior,

displaying these things.

Shouldn't be hidden.

Shouldn't be hidden.

And it shouldn't be something

that we hide away.

It should be evident to all

that our trust is in the Lord.

If you walk past those houses,

you would have seen

their trust is in the Lord.

The blood,

the sign of the blood

is very clearly there.

And it ought to be the same

in our own lives as well.

Not by putting badges on our homes

or our cars,

but through our lives.

Through our lives,

we ought to show,

ought to show something

of the trust and faith

that we have in the Lord Jesus Christ.

So when you look at the blood,

they're standing at this,

looking at the doorpost,

seeing that the blood on it

communicates all of these things,

sacrifice, substitution, atonement,

speaks of the sinlessness of Christ,

even trust and obedience.

All of these things,

just looking at that,

seeing with the blood on the doorpost,

that speaks to us

of all of these different things.

That speaks to us

of much, much more than that as well.

But these things certainly are there.

And what I want to do now

is I want to jump forward.

So we're going to jump to Joshua

and the second passage

that we read

in Joshua chapter 2.

Joshua 2 · chapter mention

And here,

it's a slightly different image.

So a slightly different image here,

but similar.

So we've just looked at the red blood

on the outside of people's homes.

And now we come to this scene here

and what you see is a red rope,

a red cord,

again outside a home.

So there are similarities

in the actual image

that's been displayed there.

And you see there in verse 17.

So in Joshua chapter 2, verse 17,

Joshua 2:17

the men said to her,

we will be guiltless

with respect to this oath of yours

that you have made us swear.

Behold, when we come into the land,

you shall tie the scarlet cord

in the window

through which you let us down.

So again,

we're into a different narrative here,

but the themes are the same,

which is why I'm connecting them together.

So the backstory here,

this is a long way

into the Exodus journey now.

They've gone through the wilderness.

They've spent their 40 years

going through the wilderness.

They've come to the shores of Canaan.

They're about to come and take Canaan.

And of course,

before they go into enemy territory,

they send the spies in.

And so these spies go in.

And when the spies,

when they're in enemy territory

there in Jericho,

they come to the house of Rahab,

the prostitute.

And Rahab, of course,

hides these spies.

The Jericho police find out

that they're possibly here.

And the Jericho police come.

And of course, Rahab sends them off

in another direction.

She hides these men.

And that was a huge risk,

massive risk, her doing that.

This was not just something small

that she did a wee favor.

This is huge.

Her life would have very much

been on the line

by actually covering

for these men like this.

And she does it.

We find out there.

She does it because ultimately

her faith is in God.

Surprisingly so.

When you're reading it,

you're not expecting that

in many ways.

But her faith is in the God of Israel.

She's heard about him.

She's heard the stories.

Again, we read that in the passage.

She's heard about the God

of heaven and earth.

And she somehow has come

to this place of actually

putting her trust in him.

And as a result of that,

and as a result of her

protecting the spies

of the Lord here,

when destruction is going

to come the way of Jericho,

and we know it does,

and we know it did,

when that comes,

she was going to be protected.

And she was,

very specifically,

she was going to be protected

on the condition

that she was going to

hang this rope,

hang this red rope

down from her window.

So again,

just the similarity there

to the blood on the doorpost,

the setting,

and the colours,

and everything being similar.

And now you've got this red

blood-coloured rope

hanging from her window here.

Now,

clearly the red blood

on the doorpost

in Exodus

is very,

very explicitly linked

to Christ

and the blood of Christ.

Now,

here,

the text doesn't directly tie

this idea of the red rope

to the blood of Christ,

but the visual illustration,

when you look at it,

you cannot but make

that connection.

You cannot but see

something of the blood

of Christ here,

something of the shadow

of the gospel

present here

in this image.

And what I want us

to do here is,

again,

we'll do the same thing.

We'll stand in front

of this house,

see this red rope

coming down,

and ask,

what's it communicating

to us?

What's it speaking to us

about the blood of Christ,

about the gospel,

about some of the wonders

of what our Lord

has done for us?

And again,

I've noted a few things

here of what

the particular image

communicates to us.

And one thing

that it communicates

to us

is the idea

of salvation

from destruction.

When you're looking

at Rahab's house

and seeing the red

rope coming down,

it speaks to us

of salvation

from destruction,

salvation

from judgment.

We know that

because that red rope

was going down,

that her home

was going to be safe,

that she and her

household as well,

that they were going

to be saved,

saved from judgment.

And that concept

of saved from judgment

through the red rope,

if we apply that

to the blood of Christ,

that's exactly what

the blood of our Lord

and Savior does

for sinners like us.

We are deserving

of judgment,

but when we put our trust,

as it were,

lay hold of the blood

of Christ,

then we too,

we find that

we are saved,

delivered from that judgment

because of what

our Lord and Savior

Jesus Christ

has done for us.

So that's one of the things

that communicates

the deliverance

from destruction,

deliverance from judgment.

But it also

speaks to us

of trust as well.

So we saw that

in the last image

and we see that here

as well

because,

again,

when you're looking

at this house

with the red rope

coming down here,

she's not told

to run away

from Jericho.

She's not told,

you know,

destruction's coming,

you need to get out of here.

You know,

you need to run away,

try and hide

and get to safety.

She's told,

no,

stay here,

stay in this place

that's going to be destroyed.

Stay here

and put a red cord

out your window

and if you do that,

you will be saved.

And that's a tremendous

test of trust.

Is it not?

I mean,

imagine,

for example,

if someone told you today

a bomb is going to

hit Stornoway tomorrow,

a bomb is going to

hit this town,

but it's okay

as long as you put

a red rope

outside your window

that you'll be fine,

that you don't need to worry.

I mean,

the strong temptation,

I think,

for us in that kind of situation

would be to run

or to escape,

just to get away

from Stornoway.

If we know

that there's some kind

of danger coming,

just to get away

would take an awful lot

of trust,

an awful lot of trust

to remain in place

and just to merely

put out a piece

of rope outside

our window.

And that's exactly

what Rahab is doing.

She doesn't run away.

She doesn't hear

about the destruction

and get out of here

before the bad stuff happens.

She stays there.

She stays in this place

and she shows

incredible trust

by just putting

that cord out.

And again,

if you looked at that home

and you saw that rope out,

that's what you would see.

That's an incredible display,

an incredible sign

of trust in the Lord.

And again,

that's,

you know,

applying this to ourselves,

that's the same for us as well.

You know,

we are sinners

and to be saved,

God doesn't tell us

go away,

flee for rescue

and flee from the danger.

He doesn't tell us

to kind of work out

our way to get

to safety ourselves

and do things

in our own strength.

He doesn't say to us

be better,

do better.

That's not

what the message

of the gospel

is about at all.

He simply says

put your trust

in the Lord.

Just put your trust

in the Lord.

Put your trust

in that blood,

that blood that was shed

for sinners like you.

There's a tremendous simplicity

in that.

There's a simplicity

in just the red rope,

Rahab putting that red rope

out her window.

And there's a simplicity

as well

when it comes to the gospel

for us.

Just believe.

Put your faith

and trust in Christ.

Lean on Christ

and you will be delivered.

Lean on Christ

and you will be saved.

And here,

Rahab,

as we see in the image,

she does that.

She puts that rope down

and miraculously

when that destruction comes,

she's delivered.

She's delivered.

She is saved.

So again,

when you're looking

at this picture here

of this red rope

coming out of her house,

it speaks to us

of salvation

from destruction,

salvation from judgment,

speaks to us

of trust as well.

But also,

that red rope

or cord

also speaks to us

of God's grace

to the outsider.

So if you're standing there

looking at that rope,

you're thinking to yourself,

wow,

what amazing grace

God has shown

that outsider.

And I say outsider

because famously,

of course,

Rahab is not,

she's not part of Israel.

She's not part

of the Lord's people.

In fact,

very opposite,

clearly.

She's a pagan Gentile.

She's from another people group,

from another nation,

from a false religion,

a pagan religion.

And amazingly,

she finds salvation.

And it's,

you know,

if you focus on her

conversion story,

it's an amazing story,

really,

seeing this woman

coming to faith

and the one

true living God.

And not only

does the red cord

speak to us

of God's grace

to the outsider,

but even more specifically,

it speaks to us

of God's grace

to the most unlikely

of outsiders.

Because,

you know,

again,

when you look

at the Rahab story,

what's perhaps

most remarkable

about the story

is that it's not just

that she was Gentile.

It's not just

that she was a pagan.

But,

of course,

as we know,

she's a prostitute.

This is Rahab,

the harlot.

Someone whose life,

in lots of ways,

is contrary

to the law of God.

You might imagine

she might be one

of the least likely people

in Jericho

to actually come

and put her faith

and trust in the Lord.

And yet,

amazingly,

someone like her,

in all that she's gone through,

can find salvation.

And again,

it's through the blood

of Christ,

ultimately.

That blood that was

yet to come,

but it's through

the blood of Christ.

She would find

that salvation.

And that's a wonderful image

and a wonderful message

that that red cord

outside the building

actually conveys to us.

And we can apply that,

of course,

to ourselves as well.

It matters not

what people's backgrounds are.

We thought about something

of this in our service

earlier on today.

It matters not

whether people have

a church background.

It matters not

how much people know

in terms of knowledge.

It doesn't matter

how little people know.

It doesn't matter

how checkered

people's pasts are.

It doesn't matter

how stained

their record of sin is.

These things,

these things matter not.

That atoning blood,

that atoning blood

of the Passover lamb,

that blood is able

to wash

the blackest of records,

able to save

the most unlikely

of people.

And we know that.

We know that,

perhaps,

in our own experience.

Our own experience

of coming to the Lord,

that the Lord

is able to save

the most unlikely.

And you see that

in Scripture as well.

I mean,

how many people

in the Bible,

you would say,

not likely to come

to faith,

and yet they're saved.

You know,

incredible, really.

Rahab,

Ruth,

Saul himself,

the Ethiopian eunuch,

the jailer.

So many people,

you think,

not likely to be saved,

and yet you see

the power of the gospel

and the way in which

the grace of God

is able to reach

not just the outsider,

but the most unlikely,

even the most unlikely

of outsiders.

So,

there you have

these two images,

these two pictures.

You've got

the blood-stained

doorposts in Egypt

communicating to us

something of

the blood of the Lord

and how he saves.

And then you've got

another house

with a red line,

the red scarlet cord

out the window,

Rahab's house,

and again we see

there in that scene

as well,

something,

it communicates

something to us

of the blood of Christ

and something to us

of the wonder

of the grace of the Lord,

even to the most

unlikely of people.

And then we come

to the third image,

just for the last

few minutes,

and the third scene

that I want us

to picture tonight,

and that is

just the blood-stained

cross itself.

The blood-stained

cross itself.

See,

the blood on the doorposts

in the Exodus account

and then the scarlet cord

in the Joshua account there,

both those scenes,

which are scenes

of deliverance,

really,

scenes of salvation,

they're both

pointing forward,

both pointing forward

to this great

climax moment,

this great climax moment

in the redemptive story,

the redemptive narrative

of Scripture,

as we see Jesus himself,

the true Passover Lamb,

and we see him there

crucified on that cross

at Calvary.

And again,

just put yourself

in that situation.

Christ's been taken away,

he's been buried,

the body of Christ

has been removed,

and you're left there

with a cross,

that blood-stained cross

of our Lord.

And make no mistake,

that would have been

a blood-stained cross.

I mean,

we know his back

was lacerated,

we know he was beaten,

we know crown of thorns

was wedged into his head,

and that's not thorns

like we know.

These are serious spikes

that's going to cause

a lot of blood loss.

Obviously,

the hands and the feet

are nailed as well.

So,

that cross,

that wooden cross,

it's going to be stained.

It is going to be full

of the blood

of our Lord and Savior.

And again,

just like we did

with Exodus passage

and with Rahab's house,

let's stand before,

as it were,

that cross,

the blood-soaked cross

of Christ.

And ask the question again,

what does that

communicate to us?

We looked at what

the blood-stained doorposts

and the red cord

communicated.

What does the cross,

that blood-stained cross

of Christ,

communicate to us?

And,

well,

again,

it communicates a lot

to us,

and you could spend

a whole sermon

just looking at

what that communicates

to us.

But just a couple

of things that I've

noted down here.

The first one is

that it communicates

judgment.

It communicates

judgment.

And that's where

you see a difference

between the other two

images that we saw

there.

Because the examples

in Exodus

and in Joshua,

the blood on the

wooden doorposts

and the red-colored

rope,

that resulted

in salvation.

It resulted

in deliverance,

delivered from

judgment.

They didn't

experience judgment.

But here,

when you look at

the blood-soaked

cross of Christ,

there is no

deliverance here.

There is no

avoiding judgment

here.

Our Lord

and Savior,

his blood is

scattered there

on that cross

because he

actually endures it.

In the other two

examples,

they were delivered

from judgment.

Here,

in the blood-stained

cross,

he is the one

experiencing judgment

because he is the

substitute.

He is himself

the substitute.

There was no

shelter

from judgment

for him.

There was shelter

for the other two

in the other two

examples.

There is no

shelter from

that judgment

here.

It was the very

epicenter of it.

The very epicenter

of that judgment

that we deserve.

Our Lord

and Savior

experience is there

on that cross

and the blood-stained

cross.

It speaks to us

of that.

He is our

substitute.

He is there

enduring the

very pains

of hell

there on the

cross.

So,

it speaks to us

of judgment.

But,

it also

communicates

something to us

of what I

touched on

earlier on,

the fact that

he is the

sinless

lamb of God.

Because,

we saw that

in the

Exodus

narrative.

It was a

spotless lamb

that was required.

And,

ever since then,

you're looking

in the narrative

of Scripture

for this

sinless Savior.

You're looking

at all the

characters.

Is it David?

No.

Is it Moses?

No.

Is it Daniel?

No.

You're continually

looking.

Is it John the

Baptist?

No.

You're continually

looking for this

sinless Savior

to come and hear

in the Lord Jesus

Christ.

You see it.

The one who is

himself the

God-man.

He knew no sin.

The blood that's

on that blood-soaked

cross is the

blood of the

sinless,

spotless

lamb of God.

One who is

perfectly righteous.

Unlike Rahab,

unlike the rest

of the Lord's

people,

unlike anyone

else,

he was

absolutely

righteous.

The blood

speaks to us

of that.

It's the

blood of one

who is

himself sinless.

But the

third thing

that it speaks

to us of

is that he

is a Savior

who died

for sinners.

What I'm

specifically

getting that

there is that

this is the

blood of a

man.

It's the

blood of

the God-man.

It's the

blood of

one who

was 100%

God,

100%

man.

But it

is the

blood of

a

because of

course,

Rahab

herself,

amazingly,

she becomes

part of

the direct

bloodline

of our

Lord and

Savior,

the direct

bloodline

of Jesus

himself.

And you

see that

when you

read the

genealogy of

Jesus at

the beginning

of Matthew

in chapter

one.

You see

she appears

there.

Amazingly,

really,

when you're

reading through

the Old

Testament,

to see

Rahab

appearing

in that

passage.

So the

blood of

the

harlot

woman

herself

is

connected

to

the

very

blood

that's

actually

flowing

through

the

veins

of

the

Lord

Jesus

Christ.

And as

the

blood of

Christ

is shed

there on

the cross,

not only

do we

see the

precious,

sinless

blood of

the Lamb

of God,

but we

also see

that blood

that's

connected

to man,

that blood

that is

connected

to his

fallen

people.

He himself

is not

a sinner,

he himself

is not

sinful,

but he

is from

that blood

line.

He is

dying there

for sinful

people,

his sinful

people,

not just

the likes

of Rahab,

but all

of his

people,

all of

his people,

he's dying

there for

us.

It is the

blood of

a man,

the blood

of the

God,

the blood

of our

Lord and

Savior,

Jesus

Christ.

And ultimately,

when you look at

all that,

and when you look

at that

blood-stained

cross,

I think that

the overriding

communication

perhaps that

it speaks to

us of is

the love

of God.

I think that's

the overriding

thing.

When you

stand there

and you

look and

you think

about that

blood-stained

cross and

all that

took place

there on

that cross,

it communicates

strongly something

of the love

of our

Lord,

that he

would go

through

this,

that he

would

experience

all of

this for

people like

us,

people who

don't

deserve

it,

people who

deserve

nothing,

and yet for

him to have

come,

and for

him to have

endured all

these things

for sinners

like us,

it speaks to

us very

strongly of

the love,

the love of

the Lord

himself.

So that's

three different

but similar

images that we

have in

scripture.

The blood-stained

doorpost,

the red cord

down the

window,

and the

blood-stained

wooden cross

as well.

Three similar

images,

but all three

really connecting

scripture together

together,

bringing some

of the

wonders of

what Christ

has done

for us,

bringing it

all together.

And when

you see it

like that,

and you see

it all

interacting

like that,

you can't

but respond

in worship,

you can't

but respond

in awe,

really,

thinking about

all that has

been done,

and the

plan of

God,

the triune

God,

working all

these things

together,

bringing about

this amazing

plan of

redemption with

a climax

there on

the cross

at Calvary.

And my

prayer is that

we would be

able to look

at these

things and

respond in

that way,

that our

eyes would

be open,

that our

hearts would

be open

to see

something of

the love

of Christ,

the love

of the

triune

God in

all of

this,

and that

we might

respond

ourselves

in having

our own

love

stimulated.

Because

sometimes,

let's be

honest,

we can

grow cold,

can't we?

Sadly,

we can

grow cold,

and we can

forget exactly

what it is

the Lord

has done.

And it

is important,

so important,

to continue

to go back

to what is

the very

basics,

of what

takes place

there when

you think

about the

blood of

Christ on

that cross,

and what

it is that

he has

done for

us.

So let's

take what

all three

of these

images

communicate to

us,

and let

us respond

in worship

and adoration,

and seeking

therefore,

because of

what he's

done for

us,

seeking

therefore to

serve him,

and to

follow him,

and to be

obedient to

him,

and whatever

it is that

he seeks

to call

us to.

Amen.

May the

Lord bless

these few

thoughts to

us will

bow our

heads now

in a

word of

prayer.

Heavenly

Father,

we give

thanks that

you are a

God who is

all-wise,

and a God

who is

ultimately the

author of all

that we see

in Scripture,

and we do

marvel at the

way in which

the whole of

Scripture ties

and knits

together,

and help us

to see these

connections,

and the

images and

illustrations that

we find in

Scripture as

well.

Help us to

see the

wonder of

Christ and

the wonder

of the

gospel itself

in every

page and

in every

scene,

and help

us especially

to give

thanks for

all that was

achieved for

us there at

that cross.

We do pray,

even as we

spoke of

there,

that you would

forgive us for

the coldness of

our hearts,

the way in

which we can

switch off,

really,

to the

reality of

these things,

how cold

we can become,

but when we

come around

your word and

we seek to

meditate on

some of

these themes,

it warms our

hearts,

and may that

be the case,

even as we

experience something

of the warmth

of the sun

over these

days,

may your

word and

may the

very gospel

itself warm

our hearts

and souls as

we seek to,

God willing,

enter into

these days to

come.

So cleanse

us,

wash us,

in the blood

of Christ,

we ask it

all,

his name,

Amen.

We're going

to conclude

now by

singing to

God's

praise,

again in

Psalm 51,

this time in

the Sing

Psalms.

Psalm 51

in the Sing

Psalms,

page 68,

page 68,

Psalm 51,

and verse

7 to

verse 15,

cleanse,

that's

page 68,

cleanse with

hyssop,

purify me,

I'll be

whiter than

the snow,

let the

bones you

crushed be

joyful,

may I joy

and gladness

know,

from my

failure,

hide your

face,

blot out