Prepping For Deliverance Like the Hebrews
Ex. 12:1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,
Ex. 12:2 “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you.
Ex. 12:3 Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household.
Ex. 12:4 And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb.
Ex. 12:5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats,
Ex. 12:6 and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.
Ex. 12:7 ¶ “Then 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.
Ex. 12:8 They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it.
Passover was a big deal. It was the night of deliverance from 400 years of slavery for the Hebrews, and a symbol of God’s salvation for the next 3000+ years. Let’s take is slow, though, and look at some of the built-in salvation of God in the Passover.
They had notice
God told Moses and Aaron that this was the month, but the real activities wouldn’t begin for 10 days. They had already been through 9 horrific plagues, though they themselves hadn’t been directly affected by most of them. This one would be a surprise, but not to the Hebrews that were following Yahweh.
They were all in this together
If your family is too small to get a lamb, that’s ok, split a lamb with someone else. You’re about to spend a loooooooong time in the wilderness together, so you better start working together to figure out your meals. It’s a feast, so make sure everyone gets enough.
The directions were clear
Spread the blood from the lamb over the doorway and eat it all up. Eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. These directions weren’t out of this world, since it was around the time of year when lambs would be one year old.
Preparations Today
As Passover and Easter roll around on our strange schedule this year, we are in a great position. We know that Easter is coming in 2 weeks and we have time to prepare for a great one in our homes and neighborhoods.
We know the various rules (so far) for where we can go, what we can do, and how close together we can be. With those set, we are able to plan out our festivities.
Focus on the Lord
When the Hebrews spread blood over their doorways, they weren’t doing it to make a statement to the Egyptians. That celebration was all about the Lord. There weren’t Egyptians walking the streets that night to look for anybody — they were still reeling from plague #9.
As we focus on the Lord this Passover-Easter season, we can do what we are supposed to and at the same time celebrate the deliverance from God. We can celebrate the salvation that Jesus bought for us in all kinds of circumstances.
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