When I See the Blood
Month 3: The Great Rescue · Memory Verse
Today's Scripture
Read together: Exodus 12:13
13 The blood on the houses where you are staying will be a sign; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will fall on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
Memory Verse
“The blood on the houses where you are staying will be a sign; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will fall on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.”— Exodus 12:13 (BSB)memorize this week
📖 Bible-in-a-Year (optional)
Today's reading: Numbers 35–36
Reading the whole Bible in a year — do this when you have extra time.The Heart of It
On the night of the last plague, God told every Israelite family to take a lamb. They were to brush its blood on the doorframes of their house. Then the family stayed safely inside. When the destroyer passed through Egypt that night, God made a promise: "When I see the blood, I will pass over you." Notice the most important words in our verse. God did not say, "when I see how good you are." He did not say, "when I see how brave you are." He said, "when I see the blood." The families inside were not safe because they were better than the Egyptians. They were safe because a lamb had died in their place, and its blood marked the door.
This is the very heart of the gospel, hidden inside an old story. Every one of us has sinned, and sin earns death (). We cannot make ourselves good enough to escape it. But God gave us a way out. He gave a substitute. A lamb died, and its blood went on the door. God doesn't look at us and ask, "Are they good enough?" When we trust Jesus, God looks at the blood of His own Lamb, and He passes over our sin. That is why this verse is worth hiding deep in our hearts. It teaches us that we are saved by what Someone else did for us. We receive it as a gift.
Around the Table
God said, "When I see the blood, I will pass over you." The blood of the lamb kept the families safe!
Let's do it: Make a "doorpost" with your two arms and a flat hand on top. Say the verse while standing safely "inside."
The families weren't saved because they were good — they were saved because a lamb died for them.
Let's talk: Why does God say "when I see the blood" instead of "when I see your good behavior"?
Salvation has always come by substitution. That means Someone dies in our place. The Passover is a picture of grace, not of earning.
Let's go deeper: How does "when I see the blood" protect you from thinking you have to earn your way to God?
💬 Conversation Starter
Imagine you broke something expensive. Then someone offered to pay for it so you wouldn't be in trouble. How would you feel? That's a little like what the lamb did for those families.
🛡️ Defending the Faith
Why trust this verse? Because the whole Bible was written over 1,500 years, and it tells one connected story. A lamb in Egypt points straight to "the Lamb of God" (). Only God could weave a promise that long and keep it that perfectly.
For Dad · Go Deeper
It's worth pausing on the word substitution. It sits right at the center of the gospel, and our culture quietly hates it. We're told to look inside ourselves for worth, and to be "enough" on our own. But says the opposite. You are not enough, and you don't have to be, because God provided a substitute. As you help your kids memorize this verse, you are planting the deepest comfort a soul can know. Your standing before God rests on the blood of the Lamb, not on the strength of your own performance. Preach that to yourself first. The dad who rests in the blood parents from peace. The dad who's still trying to earn it parents from fear.
Draws on: Paul David Tripp, Parenting: 14 Gospel Principles That Can Radically Change Your Family.
Let's Pray Together
"Father, thank You for providing a Lamb so that we could be safe. Help us trust not in our own goodness but in the blood of Jesus. Hide this verse deep in our hearts. In Jesus' name, amen."
I am not safe because I'm good enough. I'm safe because the Lamb's blood covers me.