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The Passover
March 23, 2013

Passover will soon be here, and as a Christian, I am reminded of the sacrifice of Jesus that made forgiveness of my sins possible as this occurred during this time, and I am reminded of the historical accounts of the original Passover, when the children of Israel were in Egypt and the heart of Pharaoh had been hardened. Before this time, the Egyptians had seen the hand of God deliver plagues that shook their pride. What happened would have appeared to be surreal, and must have caused concern for many. Pharaoh became angry because he was made to appear powerless before his people to stop the plagues. I cannot imagine the average person not being somewhat concerned when the Nile was turned to blood. When that was followed with frogs it should have created doubt, and been a mess to deal with, and I would know because I had an experience with lots of toads while teaching in middle school in the Lower Valley of El Paso, Texas. After a solid rain, we had an invasion of desert toads at our school. Driving out of the parking lot, all that could be heard was the crunching sound of toads being flattened, and in the halls everyone had to be careful to avoid stepping on them. I can't say I experienced lice and flies to the degree endured by the Egyptians. The most aggressive fly I ever encountered was the deer fly of northern Minnesota, and those would bite small chunks of flesh off. I guess at least the Egyptians didn't have to deal with the mosquitoes! Then all the livestock died. Imagine the stink after few days. The smell of death would have been everywhere. Imagine first being near the dead animals and then later to have your skin erupt in sores. That's what happened to the Egyptians, and by this time some might be questioning if the end of time had arrived. So, its stinky and everyone is sore, and then a tremendous storm comes and pelts everyone and everything with hail. A few years back a hail storm caused extensive damage to my house, broke skylights, and damaged exterior portions of the house. Looking outside, it was as if I was in the middle of a popcorn popper, and a hail storm leaves damage to property, and really messes up yards. So not only where the Egyptians living in stink while being sore. They now had to repair homes and mend gardens and yards. Everyone's pride was being crushed, and Pharaoh could not give in, because the gods who in his mind gave him power, were being challenged by the God of the children of Israel. If Pharaoh had given in, in his mind he would have been surrendering himself. Surrendering ourself to God and Jesus is something we do as Christians, and Pharaoh was instead happy to have his gods, and in his mind, he probably thought his faith in the power of his gods was being tested. Then came the locusts with the loud sounds and dominating presence. These hungry critters ate what remained of gardens after the hail storm. Imagine a prospect of no food. I would feel desperate, and there had to be many Egyptians who were understanding the severity of the situation. Then when things had seemed to settle down for just a bit, everything goes dark, and not just for an isolated solar eclipse, but for three days. The threat of the extinction of life was real. Still Pharaoh hardened his heart, and then came the Passover and a history remembered to this day.

Exodus 11:1-10
And the LORD said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence: when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether. Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbour, and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold. And the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants, and in the sight of the people. And Moses said, Thus saith the LORD, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt: And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts. And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more. But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the LORD doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel. And all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down themselves unto me, saying, Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee: and after that I will go out. And he went out from Pharaoh in a great anger. And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you; that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt. And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh: and the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go out of his land.

Death of the firstborn was promised, as all preceding plagues had been promised. By now, the average Egyptian might have caught on, but not Pharaoh. He still refused to let the children of Israel go. From the Book of Exodus it looks like two weeks passed, and the children of Israel were told what they must do to avoid the fate of the firstborn of the Egyptians. They had to take a lamb on the the tenth day of the first month, and keep it at their house until the start of the fourteenth day, days were considered to start at sunset then, when they would kill it. They had to take the blood of the lamb, and use the blood to mark the sides and top of the entrance to their house. Afterwards they were to eat a meal and be prepared to leave on short notice. The children of Israel listened and spared the final plague and shortly left Egypt, and the Passover is observed to this day. The lamb had to be roasted over fire, and all of it was to be eaten by the sunrise. If they did this the firstborn in their family would be safe, and if not the firstborn in their family would also die.

Exodus 12:29-36
And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead. And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as ye have said. Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also. And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men. And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading troughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders. And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: And the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians.

The lamb used in the Passover and the use of the lamb's blood to protect from evil reminds me of the life of Jesus. Just as the lamb was sacrificed so the children of Israel would live, Jesus was crucified so that Christians would have life. Just as the lamb was roasted over fire, Jesus faced trials throughout his life, including when he understood his death was near. Just as the lamb was to be gone by morning, the body of Jesus was not found in the tomb. Jesus was the modern Passover sacrifice.

1 Corinthians 11:23-34
For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another. And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come.

When Jesus died, the symbols of the wine and the bread were given to us. The wine represents the blood of Jesus, and the bread represents the body of Jesus. As Christians we can never forget that Jesus died for our sins so that we might live because to do so lumps us in with the fate of the world. We each have to judge our own actions so that we may be worthy of the sacrifice of Jesus and and when we do this, not only do we honor the legacy of the Passover, we are able to celebrate what is good, embrace what is good, and do what is good.

All verses are from the King James Version.
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