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Hear the devotional here: https://bit.ly/2YWOhYy
1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, 2 “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. 3 Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. 4 If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. 5 The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. 6 Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. 7 Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the door frames of the houses where they eat the lambs. 8 That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. 9 Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire—with the head, legs and internal organs. 10 Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it. 11 This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the LORD’s Passover. 12 “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD. 13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt. 14 “This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD—a lasting ordinance. (Exodus 12:1-14 The Message)
Happy Wednesday, dear Friend! May the blessings of the Lord fall upon you like gentle rain; and may that make you blossom to your fullness in faithful and fruitful service to God. As we pray, please pray for The Rev. George Emerson Villegas, who has been battling Covid-19 in the Beeville Hospital and will be moved to a Corpus Christi facility. Rev. Villegas is the pastor of Skidmore UMC.
The main thing Christians and Jews celebrate that differs from other world religions is that our God is an active, involved God, that acts on our behalf. We see that from page one and we read it all the way to the end of the closing verse. Chief among those acts was the Passover; the final act that forced Pharaoh to let God's people leave Egypt. Please notice that this involved preparation on the part of the people. Faith is a two-way street; God is a giving God always, but sometimes it requires our faith to be active and responsive in some things. An active, practicing faith is a strong faith. Notice the preparations that God required. Each household was to provide a lamb for his family. It was to be a year-old male without defect. The lamb was selected thus to die on behalf of the family. The Biblical teaching was that the wages of sin is death. The lamb would die for the sins of the family. The meat of the lamb was to be sacrificed unto the Lord, the smell of the burning meat was a reminder of the goodness of God and symbolic of the smoke to rise to Heaven as worship of God. The meal was was to include bitter herbs, a reminder of the suffering of the 400 years of slavery. The bread was to be made without yeast, as a symbol of the preparedness and the hurriedness of what was to happen. The meat was to be well-done, roasted over the fire (Texas style!). It could not sit overnight; everything that was to be eaten had to be consumed that night; any leftovers had to be thrown into the fire to be consumed by the fire. The blood of the lamb was to be painted on the door frames of the houses where the lamb was eaten. Many consider the marks to be symbolic of the coming cross of Jesus.
The meal was also supposed to be eaten while fully dressed, cloak tucked in, sandals on the feet and staff in the hand. Even the meal had to be consumed as most Americans, in a hurry! (Or think the hard-working teachers who get 15 minutes to eat). This meal was to be known as the Passover. That night would be the tragic response to a king who thought of himself as god and master over all people. All along this was a contest between the real God and a supposed god. The worship of Pharaoh was evidence of the role he thought he deserved; the real people of God never bowed or worshiped this false human god. This act would prove to His people that He is the only one true God.
The angel of death would pass over the house that very night. It was God's action for the death of every firstborn of both people and animals; the only "pass" was given to those homes where the door frames were marked. Those living in those homes were exempt from any further plague; all of this done on Israel's behalf. It marked the start of a commemorative festival that continues to this day; a festival that for us is like a Thanksgiving and Fourth of July with religious overtones. "This, God did, on our behalf."
In the big picture of things, God was forming His people. From this night, the people of Israel would march in the wilderness for forty years. Many have wondered why the most direct route was not taken? Well, God wanted to form His people into a people of faith. Those who have read the story know that for Moses, it was the hardest 40 years of his life. The people of "faith" griped and complained the entire journey. When it wasn't "Are we there yet?" it was "Take us back, take us back!" No bueno. Forty years was a generation of formation; God preparing His people for a new way of life. No longer slaves, they were walking towards a new life. The great, awesome, rich history of Israel with great kings and prophets, were the result of many sand blown steps through a wilderness with God. There would not have been a King David or King Solomon were it not for the worn-out sandals left behind in the wilderness. Those daily steps could not, and probably did not, foresee the coming glories, but those who endured and completed the journey were a foundation of faith for the future.
PRAYER: Loving Father, the steps we may have to take today speak only of pain, frustration, worry and anxiety, but help us lift our eyes towards You and what You may be holding for us. We seek to reach the desired place You have prepared for me, so grant us strength, vision, and strength. Bless us when stumble, and lift us up to try again; this we pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Help someone whose "sandals" are tearing!
Receive my blessings of joy and peace,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
