#Jesus22 - Daily DevotionalsSample

One of many traditional wedding rituals is to carry your bride over the doorstep of your home after the wedding reception. I must confess that this personally slipped my mind when I got married 16 years ago. I can't remember the reason. Too tired? Too much good wine? Or maybe I'm just not an Arnold Schwarzenegger type in terms of stature. But in fact, the doorstep has an important meaning: in an apartment there are different rooms which you can enter, but there is only one entrance. The doorstep forms the transition from "outside" to "inside". Inside the apartment, private life takes place. A new life for the bride and groom. The doorstep has another deep meaning and symbolism in the history of religion.

To understand this, we need to immerse ourselves in another time. In a time before there were temples, synagogues, churches, or mosques. People were deeply religious then. Everyone had a connection to some deity. On their own doorstep they built an altar to it. An animal was sacrificed in honor of the deity and blood was spread on the doorstep and doorposts. Why? This is how they expressed that they were a) blessed by this god and b) protected by this god. Blessing and protection are what is desired from a god. Even before there were official temples and priests, the doorstep was considered the altar and the father of the house the house priest. He defined which deity would bless and protect the inhabitants of that house.

In Exodus 12:21-23, you read that the Jews performed this exact ritual, which was by no means invented by them, but was widespread in the Orient: when the tenth plague broke out, they had to sacrifice a lamb without blemish. An image for the Lamb of God, as we will see later this week. The doorposts were smeared with blood. By doing so, they also made a clear statement: "Here we are under the blessing and protection of the true God. The angel of death will not be able to harm our firstborn."

God entered the house of the Israelites over the threshold that memorable night (blessing), but the angel of death had to pass by (protection).

ACTION STEP

Today, write down three things you want to experience as blessings in your home and three things you want to be protected from.