The Wednesday Word 2.08.2023

 

Exodus 12:1-11

New Living Translation

 

“12 While the Israelites were still in the land of Egypt, the Lord gave the following instructions to Moses and Aaron: 2 “From now on, this month will be the first month of the year for you. 3 Announce to the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each family must choose a lamb or a young goat for a sacrifice, one animal for each household. 4 If a family is too small to eat a whole animal, let them share with another family in the neighborhood. Divide the animal according to the size of each family and how much they can eat. 5 The animal you select must be a one-year-old male, either a sheep or a goat, with no defects.6 “Take special care of this chosen animal until the evening of the fourteenth day of this first month. Then the whole assembly of the community of Israel must slaughter their lamb or young goat at twilight. 7 They are to take some of the blood and smear it on the sides and top of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the animal. 8 That same night they must roast the meat over a fire and eat it along with bitter salad greens and bread made without yeast. 9 Do not eat any of the meat raw or boiled in water. The whole animal—including the head, legs, and internal organs—must be roasted over a fire. 10 Do not leave any of it until the next morning. Burn whatever is not eaten before morning. 11 “These are your instructions for eating this meal: Be fully dressed, wear your sandals, and carry your walking stick in your hand. Eat the meal with urgency, for this is the Lord’s Passover.”

 

The Israelites had labored under ever-worsening conditions. Like the Bible so often tells us, God made a way for his people. Let’s be clear here. God made opportunity after opportunity for Pharaoh to see the error of his ways, but he refused to bend.  Pharaoh’s choices carried devastating consequences. For those who believed, God laid out the means by which they could be saved. That salvation required specific action, very specific action, on the part of the Israelites. If you failed to follow the instructions, your home would be stricken along with the Egyptian homes. Not only would you need to follow these instructions, but all future descendants would commemorate the mercy and deliverance shown your people at this time in a very specific way. Passover began.

 

Again and again, God makes a way for his people. Jesus was sent to be the ultimate way for us to receive mercy and be delivered. Just like those Israelites, we have to do our part. We have to open the door. We have to follow Jesus…something to pray about.

 

Don’t forget to look for the Lord today. Vicki H.



                                                                                            photo by Holden Baxter

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