The LORD’s
Passover
The
LORD said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, “This month is to be for you the first month, the first
month of your year. 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. 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. The animals you
choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the
sheep or the goats. 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. Then they are to take
some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the
houses where they eat the lambs. That same night they are to eat the meat
roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. Do
not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire—with the
head, legs and internal organs. Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is
left till morning, you must burn it. 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.
“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. 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.
Exodus
12:1-13
We are all taught to
question things in life, to make sure they are true. Ask the same questions of
the Bible. Learning begins by asking questions and getting answers. The answers
to life are found in the Bible, and you can use it your whole life.
The Passover was a
training and remembrance celebration. Moses was instructed to institute it and
knew that it would invite questions. The Passover celebration reminds adults of
God’s deliverance, and it causes children to ask about it.
Be thankful when
people ask questions about your own faith. Questions give us the opportunity to
answer lovingly and carefully, knowing that our words may have eternal
consequences.
Honest
questions can lead to faith-building answers.
Our Daily Bread – February 18, 2012