Lesson Five: The Cure for the Most Deadly Virus
COVID-19 is not the most deadly virus known to man. There is one virus that far exceeds all other viruses in its lethality. Yes, we will conquer COVID-19. With all of the great minds of infectious disease scientists working on a cure we are most likely going to find a therapeutic drug soon and perhaps even a powerful inoculation that stops the spread of this disease. But the most deadly disease known to man that has a 100% death rate cannot be controlled or halted by a drug. The deadly virus I’m speaking of is the disease of sin.
During the tenth and final plague in Egypt, God was more concerned about the eternal consequences of the virus of sin than He was about the consequences of the ten plagues. So, God commands the Israelites that they were to memorialize the Passover event as a perpetual feast and an annual reminder that their redemption came as a result of being under the covering of the blood of the lamb:
“The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you…This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a statute forever…Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood…” -Exodus 12:13-14, 22
God promised that He would “Passover” the homes with the sign of the blood and spare the first born within. Later on the scriptures teach us, “It is the blood that makes atonement” (Leviticus 17:11) and “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22). The blood was to be applied with hyssop. Most likely hyssop was a long reed- like plant. Hyssop dipped in blood become a symbol of cleansing (see Leviticus 14:4-7). David said:
“Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow…Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God and renew a right spirit within me.” -Psalm 51:7, 9-10
Yes, COVID-19 is a lethal virus that we all should be concerned about. So were the ten plagues in Egypt. I find it interesting that the first time hyssop is used in the Bible is during the night of the Passover during the final plague in Egypt. What was the lesson God was teaching? God was saying, “To save yourself from death you must be under the blood.”
This is a good lesson for us today. A far greater virus than COVID-19 is the virus of sin that if not covered, always leads to eternal death. Is your heart right with God today? Psalm 51 is a wonderful chapter to read and meditate upon as you think about this question.
“But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it – the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins. It was to show His righteousness at the present time, so that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” -Romans 3:21-26