July 31

The 1^st Passover

             The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you.  Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household.  If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbor in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year-old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats.  

            You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight.  They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.  They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.  Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over the fire, with its head, legs, and inner organs. You shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. 

            This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the passover of the Lord. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

Exodus 11:1-13

             

            The Israelites were coming to the end of their time as the slaves of the Egyptians.  Moses had returned to lead them to the Promised Land and God had been sending plagues upon Pharaoh and his people in order to convince them to let the Israelites go.  Nine terrible plagues had descended so far, leaving the nation of Egypt in ruins, but Pharaoh stubbornly resisted, believing that Moses and his God would run out of tricks soon.

            God told Moses that there was only a single plague left.  It would be so important that it would signify the end of their slavery and the beginning of their nation.  It would serve as the beginning of their calendar year.  It would be God’s final judgement, not against Pharaoh or the people of Egypt…it would be God’s judgement on the gods of Egypt who claimed power and authority that was His alone.

            This was the ultimate “Who Do You Believe” moment for the children of Israel.  If they believed that God would do what He said and that He was stronger than the gods of the culture that they were living in, they would obey and smear the lamb blood on their doorposts.  Those who doubted…it is easy to hear their rationalizations for disobeying:

·         A good God would never cause that much suffering

·         God is All-Knowing.  He does not need blood on the outside of the house to know that I am one of the Chosen.

·         A lamb is too expensive.  Couldn’t we use an old animal?  That would be more efficient in the long run.

·         Moses is arrogant.  I don’t like him. I don’t trust him and I don’t believe he heard God right.

There were dozens of reasons to not listen to the warnings, but overriding everything was the knowledge that God was on the move and no one and no thing would stand in the way of Him accomplishing His purposes.  The people believed and so they obeyed.  Their obedience led to their freedom and the birth of a new nation.

            There are several gods/philosophies/priorities that we can follow in this life.  They all promise to make our lives better.  They all lead to slavery and death except for the one true and living God.  Money is a great tool.  It is a lousy god.  Those who make money the priority in their life will sacrifice family and friends and the health of their body and their soul in order to get more and more and more money.  The more money that they have, the more money that they need in order to protect the money that they already had.  The love of money demands their life and binds with chains just as deadly as those that the Israelites wore.

            Politics are a great tool.  They are lousy gods.  Sexuality is a great tool.  It is a lousy god.  Entertainment is a great tool.  It is a lousy god.  Freedom is a great tool.  It is a lousy god.  Purity, Religion, Social Justice are all incredibly helpful tools in living our best life and blessing the world around us.  If they become our focus instead of a relationship with God, then they become idols and they lead to death.

            God is the only Lord that we can follow, the only Master that we can serve, where obedience and complete dedication lead to freedom and life.  God’s judgement passed over the faithful and gave birth to a new people.  He led them to a new land and a new life and they had a simple arrangement:  He would be their God and they would be His people.  We all have a choice on which God to serve.  Some choices are better than others.

           

A moment to reflect:

Where has God invited you into obedience?  Has that resulted in a better life?