Exodus 12:5 Lamb Without Blemish
Exodus 12:5 KJV Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:
The shepherd had to carefully inspect each lamb, looking for the best to offer as a sacrifice. What did a carpenter, soldier, farmer, merchant, or other person who did not raise or own sheep do for a sacrifice? In the early days of Judah, before the stone temple, did each person go into the fields to purchase a sacrifice? Did the shepherd give the same care and attention to choosing every sacrifice for others as he put into choosing one for his family? Was there one lamb more perfect than the other? Did the shepherd think by saving the best for himself, he would receive a special blessing from God? Or did he see the message in the sacrifice and give the best to others, maybe the poorest family as an offering?
If the shepherd really loved and cared for his sheep, what went though his mind day after day, week after week as people came to purchase a lamb? What went through his mind each year as he choose the best of the first born to take to the Tabernacle? What must of gone through the mind of a shepherd as he looked up at the stars wondering why God ordered the sacrificial system? Did they realize the lamb was a symbol pointing to the life, ministry and sacrifice of the Messiah?
John 1:36 KJV And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!
Before Jesus began His public ministry, John identified Him as the lamb of God. Many people look at this symbol as Jesus’ sacrifice. What about Jesus as the Lamb of God? What about God as Jesus’ Shepherd? God chose the best of the best, the perfect sacrifice. He held nothing back. God watched over Jesus every minute of every day He was gone, closer than any shepherd watched a lamb. God constantly inspected His Lamb making certain He was the perfect offering. There were a few major differences. The lambs death was quick. At the hands of the high priest, Jesus’ death was slow. Unlike the shepherd looking up at the stars asking why, God had no place to turn, no one to ask. The only thing God could do is shroud His Son in darkness for a while as He suffered on the cross.
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