“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 that is in the basin. None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning.”
Exodus 12:22
Passover is the moment of deliverance for Israel. It is the day that God supernaturally acts to free the Chosen People from the bondage of Egypt. It was the first movement away from slavery towards freedom. They spent a really long time in the Wilderness before crossing into the Promised Land. But, it is Passover that is the first domino to fall in God’s saving work.
And Hyssop was a pivotal piece of the puzzle.
Biblical records and study of the ancient world don’t pull up a lot of specifics about Hyssop. It was used to describe plants much like we might say a fern or ivy. It was particular, but not specific. The defining characteristic of hyssop is its bushy, leafy nature. In short, it was perfect to use as a paintbrush. Necessity is the mother of invention, right? The Israelites used hyssop to dip in the blood of the Passover lamb and paint it on the door posts. Without a doubt, it is the blood of the Lamb (and it’s sacrifice) that delivered the people. But it was the hyssop that was the signifier. It was the signpost pointing to what had happened.
Fast forward to a couple of weeks from now and we see this signifier again.
“After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth.”
What God did for Israel in Exodus is what Jesus does for all the world on the cross. Here you are delivered from slavery to freedom. From death the life. From bondage to release. And the players are the same! The Lamb of God hangs from the cross. The saving blood pours out from his hands and feet. And the hyssop is there to point to the significance.
Just as before, the work of the cross is the moment that your chains are broken. Just like Passover. In its aftermath we continue to live in a wilderness. The wilderness is a beautiful and maddening place. It is where we spend our lives. We are guided and directed—not to mention protected, fed, nourished, and more—by the Lord. Like the Israelites, we get a lot right. And a whole lot wrong. We journey throughout our lives in the ups and downs, just like Moses led the Israelites. Waiting for that moment when we are blessed to cross over into the Promised Land. This is when Gods final work is fulfilled. This is what we long for.
Today, we look to the hyssop. The signifier that points to the importance of this moment. The significance of what God is doing.