by Shirley Rosemarie Evans
3 So Moses said to the people, “This is a day to remember forever—the day you left Egypt, the place of your slavery. Today the Lord has brought you out by the power of his mighty hand. (Remember, eat no food containing yeast.) 4 On this day in early spring, in the month of Abib, you have been set free. 5 You must celebrate this event in this month each year after the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites. (He swore to your ancestors that he would give you this land—a land flowing with milk and honey.) 6 For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast. Then on the seventh day, celebrate a feast to the Lord. 7 Eat bread without yeast during those seven days. In fact, there must be no yeast bread or any yeast at all found within the borders of your land during this time.
8 “On the seventh day you must explain to your children, ‘I am celebrating what the Lord did for me when I left Egypt.’ 9 This annual festival will be a visible sign to you, like a mark branded on your hand or your forehead. Let it remind you always to recite this teaching of the Lord: ‘With a strong hand, the Lord rescued you from Egypt
(Exodus 13:3-9 NLT)
The long-awaited day of deliverance is here. Can you picture the scene as those who have been held captive for so long finally receive the word that their cries have been heard and they have been set free? But this freedom has been by no decrees or ordinances of man. No! This deliverance has come about through the mighty acts of Yahweh.
There have been nine plagues sent to trouble Egypt: - blood, frogs, bugs, wild animals, pestilence, boils, hail, locusts, and darkness, none of which moved the stony heart of Pharoah. Finally, God hit him where it hurt most with a final devasting tenth plague. But beforehand, God gave the children of Israel instruction to celebrate the Passover, where each household was to eat unleavened bread and lamb, eaten on the fourteenth day with shoes on and staff in hand. They were to eat it in preparation for a journey. They were also told to put the blood of the lamb on their doorposts. This was to be the day of their great deliverance. God would smite the Egyptians with this final plague of all the death of the firstborn. But God’s promise to His people was that when he saw the blood on the door He God would spare them or “pass over” them.
Is it any wonder that God wanted them to celebrate this day continually and that it should be taught to their children? God wanted them to know that it was by His might alone they were set free. “With a strong hand, the Lord rescued you from Egypt.”
Let us take a moment to consider the great plan of salvation and just how God rescued us and continues to rescue us. He rescued us from brokenness, He rescued us from hopelessness, He rescued us from violence, from lack, and from despair. The list goes on ...
Let us join with the songwriter today and shout aloud about our great rescue:
From sinking sand, He lifted me
With tender hand, He lifted me
From shades of night to planes of light
O praise His Name, He lifted me.
Charlotte G. Homer
Ask - Why was it important to God that the children of Israel perpetually remember the rescue from Egypt?
Seek – How is this passage speaking to me about the things I should be diligent in passing on to my children and grandchildren?
Knock – What will I commit to praying about for my family in light of today?
(Main Photo by Ben Mack: https://www.pexels.com/photo/faceless-woman-walking-on-wet-sandy-beach-in-early-morning-5326893/)
