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The sacrifice of a lamb was a critical part of Second Temple-era Pesach celebrations. Out of all the sacrificial services of Torah, none is so well known and oft remembered as the sacrifice of the Pesach (Passover) Lamb. The Passover Lamb was the first sacrifice that Israel, as a nation, was commanded to make. Juxtaposed against the drama unfolding in the Exodus narrative, the Passover sacrifice strikes an indelible impression on the mind of the reader.
In that story, the stakes are very high. Death is coming to the land of Egypt. Even the Israelites will not be spared as the LORD comes to strike the firstborn of man and beast. It is a judgment from heaven, a terror in the night.
Merits of innocence and guilt are not considered. Faith and creed are irrelevant. The righteous will perish with the wicked. Previous plagues had shown particularity, sparing the Jews in the midst of Egypt. The tenth plague, however, will be completely impartial. Just as in life itself, death knows no boundaries, the tenth plague will strike Egyptian and Jewish homes alike.
Only those who are within homes marked by the blood of a lamb will be spared. Had the Egyptians imitated the ritual slaughter of the Pesach, marking their homes with the blood in like manner, they too would have been spared. The only criteria for salvation, in this instance at least, is the blood on the doorway.
Merits of innocence and guilt are not considered. Faith and creed are irrelevant. The righteous will perish with the wicked. Previous plagues had shown particularity, sparing the Jews in the midst of Egypt. The tenth plague, however, will be completely impartial. Just as in life itself, death knows no boundaries, the tenth plague will strike Egyptian and Jewish homes alike.
Only those who are within homes marked by the blood of a lamb will be spared. Had the Egyptians imitated the ritual slaughter of the Pesach, marking their homes with the blood in like manner, they too would have been spared. The only criteria for salvation, in this instance at least, is the blood on the doorway.