Category: BIBLE EVENTS

At this point the Israelites are at God’s Mountain, – Mt. Sinai, and they are warned they cannot touch the mountain when God is there.  When God was no longer there they could go to the mountain because it was not holy if God was not there.

Having fear for what God can do, this fact truly frightened the Israelites.

In the Talmud there is a legend that depicts God holding the mountain over the heads of the people and threatening to drop it on them if they did not accept the law.  The point being made is the Israelites accepted the law out of fear.

When you think about it logically that seems to be what makes people obey a law?  If we are truthful, it is very convincing that we are persuaded to obey
by the combination of love or fear.   

(I behave myself because I don’t want to suffer the consequences of misbehaving, or, because my love for the law giver makes me want to keep the object of my affection happy, whether parents, spouse, or other authority.  I believe my attitude is shared by possibly the majority of people.)

Moses led the people out of the camp toward Gad where they took their places at the foot of the mountain.

Mt Sinai was all in smoke, because the Lord was on it. The Lord had come down upon it; and the whole mountain trembled violently. The Lord had come down upon it in fire. And as Moses spoke  God answered him in thunder.

The Lord had come to the top of Mt Sinai and called Moses to the top with Him. He then told Moses to go down and warn the people not to break through the land to graze. He also said the Priests must remain pure.  After this he reiterated that the people were not to come to the mountain or they would die.

Per normal, telling them once is not enough but poor Moses is naïve enough to think that since they were warned they would not come to the mountain

God, being much wiser than Moses knows curiosity will be stronger than the rule to stay away from the mountain. Genesis chapter 20 makes it abundantly clear that it is God who gave the Ten Commandments and they were not Moses’ idea.

No human is the sole source or responsible for all the words in the Ten Commandments.  God is the sole author and giver of these rules that are given to the people.

The Ten Commandments are also called “the Decalogue”.  The Decalogue is the alternative name 
for the Ten Commandments, and actually means Ten Words.

The Ten Commandments are the first and only example of a covenantal relationship between 
deity and an entire people. They are unique in that God revealed His will not just to a single prophet
or to a privileged class, but to an entire people;
all of whom became answerable to its terms.

The Ten Commandments focuses not only on the relationship with the ruler, but also on each individual’s behavior toward every other individual. They treat both religious and social obligations as expressions of divine will. The Ten Commandments are laws that are simple, absolute, and devoid of qualification.

God gave the Ten Commandments to the ancient nation of Israel. He chose to give the Commandments in the no-man’s land of a desert
rather than in the land of Israel. This seems to signify that they are not just for one nation but apply to all people, from the beginning of their giving clear through to the end.

These biblical principles given to the Jews are set principles given by God, relating to ethics and worship, and play a fundamental role in Judaism and Christianity.

The first and second commandments go hand in hand, both emphasizing the need to give our worship exclusively to the one true God

The commandments were written on two tables of stone by the finger of God.  The Jews are to follow the commandments anywhere and everywhere thy go, and not just when they are in Israel.

The Commandments  are listed in both Exodus and Deuteronomy.

⇛ continue reading Exodus – Part 48
⇛ return to Exodus

How very fortunate it was that Jethro loved and cared for his family.  And because he did, he came to have great respect for his son-in law, Moses
and all the work Moses had to do.

It was because he saw how taxing it was for Moses to judge every situation for the Israelites that he devised a plan that became the judicial system for that nation during Moses’ lifetime.

Moses, in return, must have had great respect for his Midianite father-in-law, because that was the system he adapted to govern all his people.

The judicial system was set up with heads over the people, chiefs of thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.  It was set up in military style and worked so well that it freed up Moses’ time. Then Jethro went home to his own land, and his own job.

On the third new moon after leaving Egypt, the Israelites entered the wilderness of Sinai. They made their encampment in front of Mount Sinai, God’s Mountain.

And Moses went up to God. God called from the mountain and said: “You have seen what I did to the Egyptian, how I bore you on Eagles wings.

Well, it’s easy to recall the death of all the Egyptians armies, but when he says he bore the Israelites
on Eagles wings, it takes a little more explanation.

It is very rare for God to do but He is using poetic language to explain what he did for the Jews.

This is where we get a lesson on birds. God is comparing Himself to the Eagle that carries its young on its wings. Other birds put their young between their feet.

It seems the birds fear the birds that fly higher than they do that would snatch the birds off their backs.
But eagles fly the highest so they protect their babies on their wings.

Using that example God is expressing His protective love for His people. In this verse God is expressing
His love for His people by destroying their enemies 
and his care for His people by carrying them on His wing.

God then said, “If you will obey Me faithfully, and keep My covenant, you shall be My treasured possessions.”

God just said He will be their God and they shall be His people “IF” they will obey His Headship in their lives. And we all know who it was that fell down on the job! But they are not without hope as 
the prophet Hosea said later that God is ready and willing to take them back when they acknowledge they must follow Him. God made it clear that all the earth is His, and He had a chosen people.

After listening to God and knowing what God’s desire was, Moses was to go to the people 
and tell them what God expected.

He did and all the people said, All that the Lord has spoken we will do.  After telling the people God’s desires Moses returned to God.

God instructed him to tell the people that they must stay pure today and they were to wash their cloths.

Then on the third day the Lord will come down,
in the sight of all the people, on Mount Sinai.

The people were warned to not go up the mountain
and to not touch the mountain and if they do they will be put to death.

A ram’s horn was used in a long blast to let the people know when it is safe to return to the mountain.  Then they may climb the mountain
because without God then it is no longer a holy place.

On the third day, as morning dawned, and they had cleansed themselves, and washed their cloths,
as morning dawned there was thunder and lightning and a dense cloud upon the mountain
and a very loud blast of the horn and all the people in the camp trembled.

⇛ continue reading Exodus – Part 47
⇛ return to Exodus

The Amalekites provoked the Israelites into a war,
with God’s instructions the Israelites prevailed.
God then instructed Moses to inscribe a document
as a reminder of the battle. But it seems almost like a contradiction when God says this will be a reminder of what happened.

And not only will it be a reminder but Moses is
supposed to read it out loud to Joshua. But then God says He will blot out the memory of Amalek.

It almost sounds like a contradiction: Remember the war but forget Amalek.

Maybe remembering Amalek would give him glory.  But God is the one who deserves glory for victory over evil, and that is what we all are supposed to remember.

Then God tells them what they are to remember.
They are to build an alter and name it Adonai-nissi.

Adonai or course translates to LORD or God. And nissi is simply a banner or standard.

So they were to build an altar and over it

put an identifying marker that says, “YHVH is my banner. And that banner is meant to say, “Hand upon the throne of the Lord”:  The Lord will be at war with Amalek throughout the ages.

In the book of Exodus, the very next person God teaches us about is Jethro, Moses’s father-in-law.

It’s interesting that first we learn about Amalek, a wicked man, who was unprovoked; and now we will learn about a good man, and neither was provoked to do what they did. It’s a real contrast in human nature.

When Jethro, Moses’ father –in-law heard all that God had done for Moses and for Israel he took Zipporah, Moses’ wife and sons back to Moses.

It is surmised that Moses sent his wife and sons back home to her own father to stay during all the troubling times In Egypt with the plagues and on through the exodus. But now that the Israelites were in the wilderness Moses’ family was brought back to him.

It is assumed Moses sent his wife and two sons,
Gershom and Eliezer, to his father-in-law at the time he was escaping to Midian to protect his own life against reprisals against him for killing that Egyptian overseer.  It was at that time that Pharaoh 
was bent on killing Moses.

At the time Jethro and Moses’s family are coming home Moses is encamped at the mountain of God,
better known as Mt. Sinai.

Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, he greeted him and bowed low and kissed him

When Jethro and Moses talked, Moses told his father-in- law all about what God had done for him and all the Israelites.

Jethro was completely impressed, even though he was not a Jew. He was completely impressed and said, “Blessed be the Lord, who delivered you from the Egyptians and from Pharaoh, and who delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.” And he continued with, “Now I know that the Lord is greater than all Gods”.

Jethro was actually a Midianite priest and his daughter was not a Jew when Abraham married her. The only thing we have to believe that she was converted was when she circumcised her son and declared she had a bloody religion.

Jethro on the other hand, never became a Jew, he remained a Midianite Priest, but had true respect for the God of the Israelites. To show this respect Jethro brought a burnt offering and sacrificed for God.  Aaron came with all the Elders of Israel to partake of the meal before God with Jethro.

The following day Moses went back to work! He was needed!  He was the magistrate of his people. Moses listened to all the problems all the people 
who had problems.

Jethro inquired why it was Moses alone who had to do this all day long with all the people? Couldn’t someone else help with this work?

Moses’s answer was short and to the point.
When they have a dispute it comes before me and I make known the law and the teachings of God.

Remember, they had not yet been given the law.
It was written in The Ten Commandments.

Jethro felt this was the wrong way to approach all the problems. He was fearful that Moses would
wear himself out so he decided Moses needed his counsel.

“You be the one to take the problems concerning God to God; and then you teach the people in the way God would have them go. But then you seek out from among all the people, wise capable men who fear God; trustworthy men who will spurn ill-gotten gain. Set over them as chiefs of thousands,
hundreds, fifties, and tens. Let them judge the people at all times. Have them bring every major dispute to you, but let them dictate every minor dispute themselves. Make it easier for yourself 
by letting them share the burden with you.’

It’s interesting to note that a non-Jew was able to set up a whole judicial system for the Jews. How unique and wonderful when you consider that the Israelites and the Midianites would soon come to be each other’s most vile enemy.

God works in mysterious ways His wonders to perform.

⇛ continue reading Exodus – Part 46
⇛ return to Exodus

At this point the Israelites are at God’s Mountain, -Mt. Sinai, and they are warned they cannot touch the mountain when God is there.  When God was no longer there they could go to the mountain because it was not holy if God was not there.

Having fear for what God can do, this fact truly frightened the Israelites.

In the Talmud there is a legend that depicts God holding the mountain over the heads of the people and threatening to drop it on them if they did not accept the law.  The point being made is the Israelites accepted the law out of fear.

When you think about it logically that seems to be what makes people obey a law?  If we are truthful, it is very convincing that we are persuaded to obey by the combination of love or fear.   

I behave myself because I don’t want to suffer the consequences of misbehaving, or, because my love for the law giver makes me want to keep the object of my affection happy, whether parents, spouse, or other authority.

Moses led the people out of the camp toward Gad where they took their places at the foot of the mountain.

Mt Sinai was all in smoke, because the Lord was on it. The Lord had come down upon it; and the whole mountain trembled violently. The Lord had come down upon it in fire. And as Moses spoke, God answered him in thunder.

The Lord had come to the top of Mt Sinai and called Moses to the top with Him. He then told Moses to go down, warn the people not to break through the land to graze. He also said the Priests must remain pure.  After this he reiterated that the people  werenot to come to the mountain or they would die.

Per normal, telling them once is not enough but poor Moses is naïve enough to think that since they were warned they would not come to the mountain

God, being much wiser than Moses knows curiosity will be stronger than the rule to stay away from the mountain. Genesis chapter 20 makes it abundantly clear that it is God who gave the Ten Commandments and they were not Moses’ idea.

No human is the sole source or responsible for all the words in the Ten Commandments.  God is the sole author and giver of these rules that are given to the people.

The Ten Commandments are also called “the Decalogue”.  The Decalogue is the alternative name for the Ten Commandments, and actually means Ten Words.

The Ten Commandments are the first and only example of a covenantal relationship between deity and an entire people. They are unique in that God revealed His will not just to a single prophet or to a privileged class, but to an entire people; all of whom became answerable to its terms.

The Ten Commandments focuses not only on the relationship with the ruler, but also on each individuals behavior toward every other individual. They treat both religious and social obligations as expressions of divine will. The Ten Commandments are laws that are simple, absolute, and devoid of qualification.

God gave the Ten Commandments to the ancient nation of Israel. He chose to give theCommandments in the no-man’s land of a desert rather than in the land of Israel. This seems to signify that they are not just for one nation but apply to all people, from the beginning of their giving clear through to the end.

These biblical principles given to the Jews are set principles given by God, relating to ethics and worship, and play a fundamental role in Judaism and Christianity. 

The first and second commandments go hand in hand, both emphasizing the need to give our worship exclusively to the one true God

The commandments were written on two tables of stone by the finger of God.  The Jews are to follow the commandments anywhere and everywhere thy go, and not just when they are in Israel.

The Commandments are listed in both Exodus and Deuteronomy

⇛ return to Exodus

How very fortunate it was that Jethro loved and cared for his family.  And because he did, he came to have great respect for his son-in law, Moses
and all the work Moses had to do.

It was because he saw how taxing it was for Moses to judge every situation for the Israelites that he devised a plan that became the judicial system for that nation during Moses’ lifetime.

Moses, in return, must have had great respect for his Midianite father-in-law, because that was the system he adapted to govern all his people.

The judicial system was set up with heads over the people, chiefs of thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.  It was set up in military style and worked so well that it freed up Moses’ time. Then Jethro went home to his own land, and his own job.

On the third new moon after leaving Egypt, the Israelites entered the wilderness of Sinai. They made their encampment in front of Mount Sinai, God’s Mountain.

And Moses went up to God. God called from the mountain and said: “You have seen what I did to the Egyptian, how I bore you on Eagles wings.

Well, it’s easy to recall the death of all the Egyptians armies, but when he says he bore the Israelites
on Eagles wings, it takes a little more explanation.

It is very rare for God to do but He is using poetic language to explain what he did for the Jews.

This is where we get a lesson on birds. God is comparing Himself to the Eagle that carries its young on its wings. Other birds put their young between their feet.

It seems the birds fear the birds that fly higher than they do, that would snatch the birds off their backs.
But eagles fly the highest so they protect their babieson their wings.

Using that example God is expressing His protective love for His people. In this verse God is expressing
His love for His people by destroying their enemies 
and his care for His people by carrying them on His wing.

God then said, “If you will obey Me faithfully, and keep My covenant, you shall be My treasured possessions.”

God just said He will be their God and they shall be His people “IF” they will obey His Headship in their lives. And we all know who it was that fell down on the job! But they are not without hope as 
the prophet Hosea said later that God is ready and willing to take them back when they acknowledge they must follow Him. God made it clear that all the earth is His, and He had a chosen people.

After listening to God and knowing what God’s desire was, Moses was to go to the people 
and tell them what God expected.

He did and all the people said, All that the Lord has spoken we will do.  After telling the people God’s desires Moses returned to God.

God instructed him to tell the people that they must stay pure today and they were to wash their cloths.

Then on the third day the Lord will come own,
in the sight of all the people, on Mount Sinai.

The people were warned to not go up the mountain
and to not touch the mountain and if they do they will be put to death.

A ram’s horn was used in a long blast to let the people know when it is safe to return to the mountain.  Then they may climb the mountain
because without God there it is no longer a holy place.

On the third day, as morning dawned, and they had cleansed themselves, and washed their cloths,
as morning dawned, there was thunder and lightning, and a dense cloud upon the mountain,
and a very loud blast of the horn, a dense cloud upon the mountain and all the people in the camp trembled.

⇛ continue reading Exodus – Part 51
⇛ return to Exodus

While talking to Moses from the burning bush God said, “Come, I will send you unto Pharaoh that you may bring forth my people out of Egypt and away from Pharaoh.

Think about it.  Moses is leading a completely normal shepherd’s life when, out of nowhere, 
God Himself appears and asks him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.  Moses asked God, 
“Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and free the Israelites?”

Remember that phrase, ‘the meekness of Moses’ 
that was so frequently used as an example to us 
throughout the history of our country? Well, it was said because it was true, Moses was a truly meek man.  He was strong in his beliefs and strong in justice but he endured injury with patience 
and without resentment.  He had a quiet strength.

Actually, he was a meek man with a past. Moses knew he was wanted for murder in Egypt, and now he is asked to appear before a king who wants to kill him.  But God always prevails and God said to Moses, “I will be with you”.  Basically God said, 
“Moses, you don’t have to worry, I will be your strength and protection.” God said, “That shall be your sign that it was I who sent you.”  “And when you succeed because of me, you shall worship me at this very mountain.

It’s interesting to note that when God makes His request of Moses the first question Moses asks is,“Who am I?  

The second question Moses asks is, ​“Who are you?”   
Said more politely, he has actually asked who shall I say sent me. Moses knew The Israelites had strayed 
so far from their faith they probably no longer even knew God or anything about Him. 

It’s even quite probable that after having grown up 
in the Egyptian royal household knowing only the Egyptian gods and even now he was familiar with the Midianite gods that he needed to be reminded who God was.  Or possibly Moses asked the question because he was anxious to know more 
about the Israelite God.

God said to Moses “Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh.”  You will say Ehyeh sent me.

God just identified Himself to Moses with a name that has four different meanings, each one perfectly accurate. 
They were,  “I am what I am”, “I am who I am” “I will be what I want to be” and “I will be who I will be”.

Actually Hebrew does not have a word for the present tense of the verb “to be.”  
There is no Hebrew word for “am” or “is” or “are”.  In other words, to say I am Moses he could only say, 
“I Moses”.

What this leads to is the fact that terms “I am who I am” and “I will be” were never again mentioned in the Torah.  God gave Moses the complete answer 
for Moses only, but not for the Israelites.  

The most commonly used name for God ​​
in the Torah and the rest of the Hebrew Bible 
is essentially the verb “to be”.  It is comprised of the Hebrew letters, YHVH.  We now pronounce that word Yahweh. Yahweh is where we get the name Jehovah, and it is always translated “Lord”, even though YHVH actually means “Being,” or “Will Be,” or even just the word “Is”.  

God simply “Is”.

⇛ continue reading Exodus – Part 50
⇛ return to Exodus

Chapter 34
Having gone through the Passover and witnessing the miracles of God that saved them from Egyptian slavery, the Jews have been following God’s demands continually up and to today concerning Passover. Those were God’s instructions, to the Jews so that they not forget the Passover. Not to mention the fact that the Torah, those first five books of the Old Testament, tells them again and again the importance of remembering the Exodus. God intervening forcefully and unequivocally on behalf of the Jewish nation was without doubt a unique moment in history.

One of the reasons why God instructed the Jews to always remember the Passover was so they could be happy. Heaven knows that with all the persecutions they have gone through over all these years they have not had a lot in their lives to be happy about. Remembering the good from the past gives people a good thing to concentrate on. Something powerful takes place when people assemble to express gratitude. 

IF we are only grateful at the time something good happens, we may never be grateful again, unless good is done repeatedly. Remembering the good is a statement of faith, and it helps to maintain that faith. This must be the reason why the Lord instructed them to teach this to their sons and to celebrate seven days with only unleavened bread.

They were to take the time and trouble to educate their children about God and the Exodus. Can you even imagine if every father would fulfill the request to regularly teach their children about God and His teachings?

Verse 9 of chapter 13 says, “And this shall serve you as a sign on your hand and as a reminder on your forehead -in order that the Teaching of the Lord may be in your month- that with a mighty hand  the Lord freed you from Egypt. This is the main verse that led the Israelites to wear tef-ill-in.

The definition of tefillin is two small leather boxes that contain words from the Torah that are worn, especially during prayer time, hanging low on a person’s forehead and around a person’s arm. Actually the Torah does not mention the word tefillin.  

In fact, the Torah does not specify that this “sign” must be an actual physical object. But archeological evidence has documented, tefillin have  been physical objects for years. My curiosity about these phylacteries led me to check out more information on tefillin.

I learned these phylacteries consisted of small strips of parchment, on which are written certain passages from the Law which are then folded tight, placed in small boxes, and attached by bands to the left wrist and to the forehead at the hours of prayer. It is well known that a similar custom prevailed in Egypt; and this fact has made an objection to the Mosaic institution of phylacteries.

It has been thought that Moses would not have encouraged an Egyptian superstition. But the adoption of Egyptian customs, purged from their superstition, is in the spirit of the Mosaic institutions, and presumably in no way reprehensible.

If the Israelites were addicted to wearing amulets, like the Egyptians, it is explained, it would have been a wise provision to substitute for the magic charms of sorcerers to the solemn words of the Law, and in this way to turn a current superstition to a good account. And we know that man, even today chooses how they will display and worship God, or anything else.

It is evidenced by the fact of wearing crosses on a necklace, tattoos on our bodies, piercings on our head and clothing to signify who we are and what we believe. None of that is instructed in Scripture so we don’t have the Word of God to approve or condemn the custom.

But as humans we sometimes feel the need to show our righteousness. Right or wrong, we know tefillin cannot make or break us because: For by grace we are saved… not of works… lest any man should boast.

⇛ continue reading Exodus – Part 34
⇛ return to Exodus

In Exodus chapter thirteen, verse 2, the final plague in Egypt was the death of the firstborn of all households.

God revealed to Israel the one and only way they would be spared was to sacrifice an unblemished lamb and brush its blood on the lintel and doorposts of their homes. Only then would the Angel of Death pass over their homes and spare their firstborn. After the Passover the Lord switched to new instructions concerning the first born child in each Jewish family. These rules preceded the Levites, when a sub group within the Levites, carried out all the rituals involving animal sacrifice that were designated. In other words, these men were set aside for temple service. The Lord’s rule was: Sanctify unto me all the first-born. To “sanctify” means to “consecrate”, “set apart”, from a common to a sacred use.

The foundation of this duty rested on the fact that the Israelites, having had their first-born preserved by a distinguishing act of grace, from the general destruction that overtook the families of the Egyptians, were bound in token of gratitude to consider them as the Lord’s peculiar property At that time in Jewish history a mother’s first child was supposed to be dedicated to the priests. They were consecrated to service for God. Later in the Torah there was a law which designated that 31 days after the child is born the father could pay a priest five silver shekels to “redeem” or free the child from temple work A shekel is 14 grams of silver. A U.S. silver dollar contains 9.83 grams of silver. And we know that the price of the silver in any coin today sells at a very inflated rate, but at this time in history.

And even today, the price was never intended to be a large sum of money. It was not to be a burden for poor people to redeem their first born son. It may seem extreme to have to give your first born to the temple. But to Sanctify unto God all the firstborn was a reasonable demand when you stop to realize that the existing firstborn of Israel, were spared by God when the Egyptian firstborn were destroyed. The firstborn should be regarded as God’s and set apart for His service. But the command is limited, when it says “whatsoever openeth the womb”.

To be clear, in that command we learn it says that every child which is the firstborn of his mother. So if a man had many wives, either together or successively, his first child by every one of these was a firstborn, and, if a male, he was claimed by the Lord. But if a female came first, and afterward a male, that male was not devoted to God, because it was not the firstborn. Thus the parents were not to look upon themselves as having an interest in their firstborn, if males, till they had first solemnly presented them to God, and received them back from him again, by special right and title, as being by singular favor preserved from the common destruction.

The firstborn of man, if male, were claimed for the sacred ministrations of the priestly office and the firstborn were to be redeemed at a certain rate, which was part of the priest’s maintenance. But after the Jewish commonwealth was formed, the Levites were chosen to officiate in their stead.

The extension of the demand to existing beasts was also reasonable, since they too had been spared. God’s further requirement, that henceforth all the future firstborn should also be His, was intended to perpetuate the memory of the recent deliverance, and to help to fix it in the mind of the nation.

The substitution of a redemption in the case of unclean beasts was necessitated by the circumstances of the case, since they could not be sacrificed; and the redemption of the firstborn sons naturally followed when the Levitical priesthood was established, and their services were no longer necessary.

Can you imagine giving away your firstborn son to be raised by a priest and committed to temple service for God. It wasn’t meant as a punishment, it was meant as a privilege.

And it even carried down in our lifetimes when you think about the fact that in many Old Catholic families it was a privilege to have your first born son become a priest. First born sons seem to come equipped for special service or position in most families even today.

⇛ continue reading Exodus – Part 33
⇛ return to Exodus

After all the rules for the Passover were given Moses brought all the elders of Israel together and told them to go pick out their lambs, slaughter the lambs, then take a bunch of hyssop, to be used as a paint brush, dip it in the blood of the lamb and paint the doorposts and the lintels.  After that was accomplished they were to close the door and stay inside until morning. Moses’s explanation to them was when the Lord goes through to smite the Egyptians, He will see the blood  and not let the Destroyer enter and smite the first born.

It’s interesting that God wants the Israelites to teach their children the meaning of all that is going on. God encourages the education of children, especially when it comes to God and His will for our lives. There are actually four verses in the first five books of the Bible commanding the education of the children on the Exodus.

On Passover when the child raises the question regarding the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, they are to be told “because He passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, but saved our houses.” The questions and answers weredesigned to have them grow up knowing God’s power to both destroy and to save. We are all to fear God, it is the basis of morality. Psalm 111:10 tells us “the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.”

Those Israelites must have felt the fear of God because they obeyed and did what Moses told them.It was in the middle of the night that God struck down all the first-born in the land of Egypt who did not have the blood on their doorposts. And this death included the cattle. Pharaoh arose in the night, with all his courtiers and all the Egyptians because there was a loud cry in Egypt; for there was no house where there was not someone dead. That was when Pharaoh declared the Israelites were to leave. His words were, “Up, depart from among my people, you and the Israelites with you! Go worship the Lord as you said. Take your flocks and you herds, and be gone!”

And then what did Pharaoh do?  He asks, “May you bring a blessing upon me?”

A presumptuous man, if nothing else.  But I suppose he could ask for some pittance of self-aggrandizement, after all God already told the Israelites to ask for all the gold and silver the Egyptians owned.  Actually, by the time Pharaoh 
‘let the people go’ they had stripped the land of Egypt of all their wealth and God had even taken their first born sons. It’s hard to imagine just how difficult life would be for the Egyptians with their wealth gone and their free labor gone.

That exodus of the Israelites would take 600 thousand men, not to mention the women and the children.  Can you imagine how bereft the Egyptians felt with all this gone? Then Scripture says, “a mixed multitude went up with them.  These would be added to the number of Israelites who left.  And the Israelites also took their livestock.”

The Israelites lived in Egypt for four hundred and thirty years to the day.  But only about two hundred of those years had they lived as slaves.  When they finally got out from under the heavy hand of Pharaoh, they left without preparation.  Can you imagine uprooting your entire family without packing and without food provisions?  All they had to eat was the unleavened bread they had been instructed to eat. The law of the Passover said no foreigner shall eat of it. A slave could eat of it once he was circumcised. Hired laborers could eat of it. It was to be eaten in one house, nothing of the Passover meal could be taken outside the house. Every man who eats it must be circumcised. Then God said “one law shall be for the citizen and the strange who dwells among you.” It was unique in the world that both citizens and non-citizens would be treated equally under the law.

All those Israelites obeyed God’s laws regarding their exodus.  And that very day the Lord freed the Israelites from the land of Egypt, troop by troop.

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The blood placed on the posts of the door frame and the lintel was ‘for the Jews and not for God.’

In my naïve thinking, having heard this story from the time I was a small child until now, I was under the perception that that blood was placed there so God could see who was faithful to Him. But that turns out to be a joke when we realize God said it was a sign for the Jews and not for Himself. It was there to assure the Israelites that they will be spared in spite of the death that will be taking place all around them. As well as saving the Jews from destruction, God is a teacher to them. Remember all those things we all were forced to memorize in school?

Well, God has SIX things He told the Jews to remember or memorize, and they do it right up to this day.
The FIRST was the Sabbath, “Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.”
The SECOND was the Exodus. “You shall not eat anything leavened with it…so that you may remember the day of your departure from the land of Egypt as long as you live.”
Number THREE was Receiving the Law at Sinai, “So that you do not forget the things that you saw with your own eves…. and make them known to our children and your children’s children, the day you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb….”
The FOURTH was “Remember what Amalek did to you on your journey after you left Egypt, how, undeterred by fear of God he… cut down all the stragglers in your rear.”
FIVE was The Golden Calf and other incidents in which the Israelites angered God.  “Remember, never forget, how you provoked the Lord your God to anger in the wilderness.”
And finally the SIXTH remembrance was, God’s punishment of Miriam for speaking ill of Moses. “Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam on the journey after you left Egypt.”

Not only would it be difficult for me to remember all these things, but I must admit I don’t recall ever hearing of some of them in the first place. How very much easier we have it as grace believers.  Yes, there are verses we know by heart and concepts that we know even better, but basically it’s important to understand, and believe: “For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him  shall not perish but have everlasting life.” And then added to that:  “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.”

After God tells the Israelites to remember the Passover, He adds; you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord throughout the ages; you shall celebrate it as an institution for all time. And the interesting part of that entire scenario is whether today’s Jews remember their God or not, they do remember to celebrate the Passover. Added to the remembrance through celebrating Passover the Jews were given another instruction. That instruction was to eat unleavened bread for seven full days. In fact the instruction was extended to include that they must remove all leaven from their houses.

Leaven is a substance, such as yeast, used to produce fermentation in dough or in a liquid. It includes anything that modifies or lightens, such as baking powder that is used to produce a gas that lightens the dough. It mingles with or permeates whatever it is introduced to. Fermentation is a form of decomposition and therefore represents decay and death. Not only were they to remove all leaven from their homes, but Scripture says, “Whoever eats leavened bread from the first day to the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.” Being cut off is one of the most severe punishments in the Torah. There is some confusion as to what being “cut off” means but the consensual thought is it would be to “cut off from God and His people.”

Some Jewish people still practice the prohibition of yeast for seven days, others may think of it as a quaint ritual or as simply pointless. But nonetheless the Torah says, “You shall celebrate a sacred occasion on the first day, and a sacred occasion on the seventh day.”

How much easier Christ’s death has made it for us.  “For by grace are ye saved through faith… lest any man should boast.”

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