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258. "Remember, Always Remember!"

Key Verse: "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 12:14

"Celebrate the feast of unleavened bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come." (Exodus 12:17) "And when your children ask you, "What does this ceremony mean to you?" then tell them, "It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when He struck down the Egyptians." (Exodus 12:27)

The original act was an act of worship as the first true act of freedom for the people of Israel. They had been brought to Egypt by Joseph during a time of famine so that through Joseph God could preserve their lives. (Genesis 37, & 39-50) After Joseph died, however, instead of heading back to Canaan, the Israelites settled down to continue their lives together. As they grew in number, the Egyptians began to become afraid of the Israelites and the Pharaoh, who did not remember Joseph, began to create rules to oppress them. Like the frog in the pot, the temperature kept rising until finally the Egyptians had made slaves of their one time guests.

For four hundred years, the Egyptians increased their oppression because of their fear. God, however, blessed His people by continuing to increase their number even more. Finally, God raised up a deliverer who, like Jesus, was not recognized for what he was. He got off to a rocky start, but eventually, with the Lord's staff in his hand, freedom from slavery was being won for the people of Israel.

Through Moses, God had sent plagues to attack each of the so called gods of Egypt. The Egyptians had endured frogs, flies, gnats, locusts, hail, no water to drink, nine plagues in which Pharaoh continued to be stubborn and not let God's people go. Now, with this final plague of the Passover, Egyptians would each lose their first born, but the blood of a lamb, spread on the door posts of their houses, would protect the first born of Israel. God was doing an amazing thing for His people and He did not want them to forget it.

The Seder meal that Jews still celebrate today is in obedience to God's command, on this night, years ago, that they do so in order to remember what God did for them and also pass that memory on to the next generation. It's a wonderful way for families to pass on their history of an amazing, loving Father God.

The celebration, even in its original form, points to the one true sacrificial lamb, Messiah Himself. No bones were to be broken. None of Jesus’ bones were broken at the crucifixion. Each person needed to partake of the lamb. No one could eat another person's portion. No one can claim salvation for another. The opportunity for salvation was present for the nation, but each individual had to participate if they were to be saved. Finally, while everyone only receives a measured portion, there is enough for all. No one is to be excluded. The Passover is a foreshadowing of Christ's sacrifice on the cross which would offer salvation to the world.

As Jesus joins His disciples in fellowship for the Passover on this evening to come, it is done in obedience to His Heavenly Father's command, but also, in a new way, He is to become the Lamb of God for all of us.

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