Exodus 12:17. And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever.
Exodus 13:8. And thou shalt shew thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the Lord did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt.
It was the instruction of God that His people would
observe the Passover annually to remember how they gained their freedom
from bondage in Egypt. It also serves as a model of how we as Christians
gain our freedom from the bondage of sin.
Before Passover begins all leaven has to be
removed from the home. The Hebrews were on short notice to leave Egypt
and did not have time to wait for leaven to raise the bread dough before
baking. So they prepared unleavened bread to take with them on their
flight from Egypt.
Today many parents make a game of this by hiding
pieces of raised bread around the house and having the children hunt for them -
similar to an Easter egg hunt. The children are awarded for their
findings. Then a pray of "nullification" is said vowing that sin is
totally done away with and no longer desired.
The original Passover table spoken of in Exodus
had on it only 3 elements: the lamb, unleavened bread, and bitter herbs.
The lamb because wherever lambs' blood was
not applied to the doorposts the angel of death would not 'pass over' and
the firstborn died. John the Baptist said when he saw Jesus
approach, "Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world"
John 1:29
The unleavened bread stood for a life
without sin. 1 Corinthians 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye
may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened.
The bitter herbs were a reminder of the pain
and sorrows of living in slavery. Also slavery to sin.
Romans 6:6. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body
of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Jesus observed Passover with the 12 disciples on the night He was betrayed.
Matthew 26:26. And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and
blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat;
this is my body.
27. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye
all of it;
28. For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the
remission of sins.
29. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine,
until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.
[1452 BC]
After 40 years of wandering the wilderness of Sinai, the tribes of Israel headed
north towards the promised land of Caanan. Balak, the King of Moab feared
the Israelites would attack his land. Thinking he could not defeat them in battle, Balak sent
for the pagan prophet Balaam to have him put a curse on Israel.
Balaam, fearing the God of Israel, at first refused, but Balak kept offering
more and more money until Balaam agreed. While on the way to Moab,
Balaam's donkey sees an Angel of the Lord holding a sword blocking the road.
The scared donkey heads off into a field. Balaam repeatedly beats his
donkey until the donkey, in plain language, scolds Balaam asking why he deserves such
mean treatment.
At this point, Balaam sees the Angel and understands he
should not be going to help Balak. The Angel tells Balaam to meet
Balak, but instead of cursing Israel he is to deliver 3 blessings. After
blessing Israel the third time in front of an angry King Balak, Balaam
also adds this prophecy of the Lords coming.
Number 24: 16-17 "The utterance of Balaam
the son of Beor, and the utterance of the man whose eyes are opened;
the utterance of him who hears the words of God, and knows the knowledge of the
Most High, who sees the vision of the Almighty, who falls down, with eyes opened
wide: "I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near;
A Star shall
come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel, ....."
I find it very encouraging that God used a donkey and a pagan
prophet to reveal His Truth. That means you and I can be used by God
too. As many mistakes as we make, God wants us to be telling others about
Jesus. No, we will never be good enough. Yes, God still wants
to use us. No excuses! Don't wait to get started! You don't want to be scolded by a
donkey! Do you?
The children of God move into Moab preparing to cross over
the Jordan River into Canaan. But they fall into disobedience by
worshipping the Moabite god, Baal, and by behaving immorally with Moabite women. A
priest named Phinehas, the grandson of Moses's brother Aaron, finally brought an
end to the idol worship and immorality, but it cost the lives of 24,000
Israelites to do so. Sin is not cheap. Neither is the payment for
sin.
