Blood on the doorpost

Now the LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, "This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you. Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, 'On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers' households, a lamb for each household. Now if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according to the number of persons in them; according to what each man should eat, you are to divide the lamb. Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight. Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the flesh that same night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather roasted with fire, both its head and its legs along with its entrails. And you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until morning, you shall burn with fire. Now you shall eat it in this manner: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste-it is the LORD ' S Passover. For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments-I am the LORD. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. (Exodus 12:1-13 NASB)

The absolute greatest celebration of the Jewish faith is Passover. This day commemorates the night that God spared them from the plague of death that was sent to the Egyptians. It also marks the beginning of their new freedom from slavery.

God was very specific in His details as to how to carry out His instructions for the Passover. Every detail was to be followed to the letter. Suppose someone used a blemished lamb? What if they followed all cooking and eating instructions but didn't put the blood on the door posts? Imagine they smeared the blood with reeds instead of hyssop? Wouldn't their faith alone keep them safe from death?

Why does God expect anyone to go through all these instructions?

What is the significance of the unblemished lamb and the blood? 

God expects us to pay attention to His instructions and details. Yet like Pharaoh, too often, our hearts are hardened.