The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. 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…Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old….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. Then take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.” (12:1-3, 5-7)
The first part of chapter twelve has detailed instructions regarding what has come to be known as “Passover,” when Hashem was going to kill all the firstborn of the Egyptians (man and beast) but would pass over the homes that have the blood of the lamb on the doorposts and lintels. The Israelites were to keep this day “as a feast to HaShem throughout your generations as a statute forever” (12:14). But that is not all. They were also to observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Matzah) (12:17). That is, they were to eat Matzah for seven days, because due to the haste with which they had to leave Egypt, they didn’t have time to let bread rise. They had to grab it and go.
Indeed, this last and final plague was so drastic that there was not an Egyptian household where someone was not dead. So, Pharaoh called Moses by night and told them to go and serve HaShem and to bless him (that is, Pharaoh). It appears that Pharaoh has finally learned his lesson – not to mess with HaShem, or HaShem’s people. But what a cost, not just to himself, but to all the Egyptians!
This story of Israel’s deliverance out of slavery is very central to the whole Bible. It is referred to repeatedly in various books of the Bible including Psalms, as it shows God’s power, His faithfulness, His salvation. And Yeshua (Jesus)—as the ultimate Passover Lamb, whose shed blood causes God to pass over our sins—celebrated it with his disciples approximately 1400 years later.
Just as at that time when anyone who feared HaShem, believing His Words, could have sacrificed the lamb and put its blood on the door frames and lintels to be protected from the judgement of God, so can anyone at this time, have the shed blood of Yeshua (Jesus) God’s sacrificial lamb atone for their sins simply by coming to him and asking. I think this calls for a “Hallelujah!”
Prayer: I thank You God with all my heart that You provided a way for anyone who chooses to trust in You and the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, to have our sins atoned for. Unhindered by sins, I am gloriously free to follow You and obey You! Hallelujah!
