Quick Note – Exodus 12:1-4 – The Sufficient Lamb

Exodus 12:1-4 – “The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, ² “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. ³ Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household. ⁴ And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb.”

Jewish people celebrate the Passover to commemorate the night when God delivered His people from Egyptian slavery. After sending nine plagues on Pharaoh and Egypt for not letting His people go, God decided that the tenth plague would be upon all the firstborn in Egypt whether livestock, slave, or royal. All the firstborn would be killed. However to preserve His people who lived in Egypt, God told the Israelites to take a lamb, kill it, and place its blood on the lintel and doorposts of their houses. In this way, when the angel of the Lord was coming to strike the firstborn, if it saw the blood on the house, it would pass over that house, sparing the firstborn inside. That night when the angel of God struck the firstborn of Egypt, all the Israelites were safe, because he passed over their houses when he saw the blood of the lamb. This is why the holiday/celebration was known as the Passover.

After that night, each year the Israelites were called to celebrate the Passover by taking a lamb and repeating this rite to remember that day. However, what is even more interesting is that each year when the Passover lamb was sacrificed, it was not just done as a commemoration of the past, but also, a representation of what would happen in the future when the Messiah would come to this earth to die for the sins of the world. Just as how the Passover lamb was slain as a replacement for the firstborn that was to die, the Messiah was to come and die as a replacement for sinners, whose wages for sin is death (Romans 6:23). When Jesus Christ came, He came to be that Messiah; He came to be, what John the Baptist called Him, “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29). He did this by living a perfect sinless life yet dying as a replacement on the cross for us. He paid the penalty that was ours, so that we could find life in Him. He acted as that Passover lamb, who would be sacrificed in our place to spare us from the judgment that was awaiting us. For that, we should accept His gift of salvation and always thank Him.

One question I have always had though is how many lambs were sacrificed during that first Passover. In vs. 3, the people were told that they were to take a lamb and sacrifice it for each household. They were to kill it, place the blood on the doorposts of the house, then roast the lamb and eat it, so as not to waste the sacrifice that was spilled in their place. However, vs. 4 tells us that if a household was too small for a lamb, then that house was to share a lamb between two households. This probably meant that two or three households could all stay in the same house and have the angel of God pass over or maybe use the same blood and place it on the lintels of two or three houses and share the meat of the lamb. I mean there must have been more than enough blood from one lamb to cover four doorposts and two lintels, right? So I wonder how many lambs were slain in Egypt during that night. Hundreds, thousands, or just a few that were shared for multiple houses.

As Christians though, we know that only one sacrifice exists for our sin, and that sacrifice is Jesus Christ. He came to this earth once; He died on the cross once; and He was raised again once. After His death and resurrection, no other sacrifice was needed; no other person needed to die; no other lamb needed to be slain. The reason for this was because He paid the full penalty for the sins of the world on that cross, when He cried out, “It is finished.” So there would only be one Passover lamb for the sins of the world. But why is that? Why only one? It is for the same reason why multiple households shared one Passover lamb during that first Passover – because one household could not finish that single lamb. The whole world and all its sin could never use up the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He is enough. He is sufficient. He is complete. All of us can share that one Lamb, because no matter how many sins we commit, no matter how bad they are, it is still too small to use up the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. His grace is enough. His mercy is enough. His love is enough. He is more than enough.

So if you believe that you have failed too much, sinned too badly, or fallen too far, remember that the sacrifice of the true Passover Lamb, Jesus Christ, is still more than enough for you. He is enough to pay for the sins of the world and that includes yours. Give your life over to Him today. Take part in that sacrifice by accepting Him as your Lord and Savior, and be saved today. Let His blood be the reason that the judgment of God will pass over your life.

Quick Note – Deuteronomy 16:3 – A Day to Always Remember

Deuteronomy 16:3b – “…That all the days of your life you may remember the day when you came out of the land of Egypt.”

Holidays are used to remember specific events in a person’s or nation’s life or history.  We celebrate Christmas to commemorate Christ’s birth.  We celebrate Easter to remember Christ’s Resurrection.  We celebrate Mother’s Day to honor mothers and Father’s Day to honor fathers.  Veteran’s Day is for us to remember our veterans, but it also commemorates the day when WWII was won on the European front.  Holidays help us to remember.  

The people of Israel were given a specific week long holiday to remember their deliverance from Egypt.  This holiday was known as the Passover.  Deuteronomy 16:1-8 describes the week long celebration where they were to offer a sacrifice to God and not eat leavened bread (bread made with yeast).  It is in this passage that we find our verse today – “…That all the days of your life you may remember the day when you came out of the land of Egypt.”  This holiday was given for them to remember the day they were delivered.  And even today, Jewish people continue to celebrate the Passover (but without the sacrifices now).  

Although Christians do not celebrate the Passover, there is still something important we can learn from this passage today – the reason for the Passover – to remember the day when they were delivered all the days of their lives.  Like the Israelites, we used to live in bondage; rather than being in bondage to Egypt, we were in bondage to sin.  We were then saved by the grace of God through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.  When we received Him into our hearts, we were set free from sin and entered the family of God.  This is the day we must remember all the days of our lives.  Every single day we should remember what Christ has done for us.  We should be thankful and grateful for His grace, love, and mercy.  This grateful heart will spur us to honor and serve Him every day of our lives.  Although you may not remember the exact day when you received Him into your life, you can still praise Him for it.  I must admit I don’t know the exact day, I only know that He is my God, my Lord, and my Savior and that I have given my life to Him.  And after reading this passage, I am challenged to remember His gift every day and give Him praise.  

Quick Note – Numbers 9:1-8 – The Desire to Worship

Numbers 9:1-8 – And the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, 2 “Let the people of Israel keep the Passover at its appointed time. 3 On the fourteenth day of this month, at twilight, you shall keep it at its appointed time; according to all its statutes and all its rules you shall keep it.” 4 So Moses told the people of Israel that they should keep the Passover. 5 And they kept the Passover in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, in the wilderness of Sinai; according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so the people of Israel did. 6 And there were certain men who were unclean through touching a dead body, so that they could not keep the Passover on that day, and they came before Moses and Aaron on that day. 7 And those men said to him, “We are unclean through touching a dead body. Why are we kept from bringing the Lord’s offering at its appointed time among the people of Israel?” 8 And Moses said to them, “Wait, that I may hear what the Lord will command concerning you.”

When you miss out on a chance to go to church or to study the Word of God, what is your reaction?  Be honest with yourself, because this is a time for internal reflection.  You can feel safe that you do not need to keep your mask on.  If you are like me, at times, when I am exhausted from a long work week or tired from a Saturday full of activity, part of me internally is happy that I don’t need to attend a Wednesday night Bible study or wake up early to dress up properly to attend church.  I am just tired and want a “break.”  But worshipping and spending time with God should not be a burden to us.  It should be something that we long for, that we desire to do more than anything else.  It should be something that we are excited to do and don’t want to miss out on.  This was the heart of the men described in our passage today. 

In our passage, the Lord asked Moses and the people of Israel to celebrate the Passover.  This was a feast used to help the people of Israel remember the time when God delivered them from Egypt.  It was a time of reflection and worship of the Almighty God.  It took place on the fourteenth day of the first month of every year.  But if a person was unclean (because at the time if you were in the presence of a dead body, you were considered unclean for a certain amount of time), then you were told not to bring anything to the Tabernacle, which meant you could not take part in the Passover and would not be able to worship with everyone that day.  It wasn’t because of sin that they were not allowed to worship but because of an unexpected and unavoidable situation – death of a friend or loved one.  These men in vs. 6 could have easily used this as an excuse to not have to bring an offering and to have the “day off” from worshipping God.  But they wanted to glorify God so much that they went to Moses and told him, “Why should we be exempted from this worship?”  They had a heart that craved the presence of God, that desired to spend time with Him, and that wanted to serve Him.  And they didn’t want anything to keep them away.  So they asked for a time to worship, and God gave them the fourteenth day of the second month as a replacement day. 

We as Christians need to have this type of heart – a heart that longs to spend time with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  With the coronavirus pandemic that occurred last year and is still ongoing, many Christians have gotten used to staying at home, turning on Zoom at the last minute, and listening to a sermon in the comfort of their bed.  Because there is no need to dress up, no need to get up and drive, no need to put in any effort, the heart is distracted up until the last minute before the service begins and sometimes continues to be distracted by all the things that are going on in the home.  They are no longer concerned about going to meet other believers, they just want to enjoy the comfort and ease that worshipping digitally brings.  But this is the wrong heart.  It is a heart that simply wants to check an obligation box to God and move on for the day.  It is a heart that would be happy to miss that time with God if a valid excuse came up.  Rather than being like the men described in this chapter, their hearts are glad to get a “break.”  This is the wrong heart, and a heart I am guilty of having at times.  So let us ask the Holy Spirit to change our hearts – to restore that desire to honor and worship God, to convict us when we are lazy, and to push us to spend time with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  May we be like these men described in Numbers 9, who asked God for an opportunity to worship and to serve Him during the Passover, rather than wait another year for that celebration to come again.  It is a privilege for us to worship God. Let us desire to worship Him.

Quick Note – Deuteronomy 16:16b – 17 – Never Empty Handed

Deuteronomy 16:16b-17 – “…They shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed.  Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD our God that He has given you.”

Although I don’t necessarily always follow this rule, I have been taught a basic principle to follow whenever I am invited to a person’s home – “Never come empty-handed.”  I could bring a dessert, a dish, flowers, whatever; I was just always to bring a gift to show my graciousness to the host for inviting me over.  Now, I normally don’t follow this rule with family and close friends, since that would mean an exorbitant amount of gifts due to our constant parties; but, I do follow this principle when I am going to a person’s house for the first time.  Usually, I will bring some type of baked good for us to share, which probably stems from my mom’s habit of bringing something she has baked herself like a cake.  We try not to appear empty-handed lest we suffer the embarrassment of improper etiquette or offending our host.  Although this may seem a little extravagant, I know that I am not alone in this, for I know of people who follow this same rule.  They will never go to a house empty-handed; they do something to appreciate their host.  But if we tend to practice this principle with others, why do we not do so with our Lord God?  Is He not a more important person to please?

The context of our passage today, which speaks to this very issue, describes the three feasts in which the Jewish people were supposed to come to the Temple of the Lord with their sacrifices – the Passover, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles.  The Passover, of course, was to commemorate their deliverance from Egypt, where each Israelite house that had the blood of a lamb struck against its lintels was passed over by the Angel of death, who struck the firstborn.  The Feast of Weeks was a time to give thanks for their bountiful harvest as they brought the first fruits of their harvest to the Lord.  The Feast of Tabernacles/Booths was used to remind the people of Israel of their time in the wilderness and how God had always provided for them.  In each of these three feasts, they were supposed to make sacrifices to their Lord God, which is why vs. 16b states, “…They shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed.”  Although at each of these feasts there were specific sacrifices that needed to be made as described in the other Levitical laws by the priests for the nation as a whole, what is interesting here is that a person could bring whatever he could and offer it to the Lord, as well.  They were actually called to come before God with something, anything that they could afford to give; they were to give as God had blessed them.  There was no minimum or maximum amount; they were just to give as God had blessed them.  If they were blessed with a bountiful harvest in grains, then they were to give a lot.  If they were blessed with a more difficult year, then they give less.  The opportunity to give was not limited to just the rich but was also open for the poor.  They were just to give as they were able.

We can learn a number of things from these two verses.  The first is simply that we should never come before the Lord empty-handed.  That doesn’t mean that we need to give huge and extravagant amounts of money every time we go to church or pray.  It simply means that we must give what we can to the Lord every time we approach Him, never coming before Him empty-handed.  It can be you giving your life to Him, when you first get saved.  It could be you relinquishing your will to Him every day as you take up your cross and follow Him.  It could be your service in some ministry when you go to church on Sunday.  It could be your worship on Sunday.  It could be your praise, your honor, your glory, your pride, your time, your heart, your willingness to obey.  All of these things can be given to God and will be greatly appreciated.  God isn’t like a king who is imposing a minimum requirement; He wants you to give back to Him as He has blessed you, and we have been blessed a lot by God through His Son.  The second thing we can learn from this passage is how God appreciates every gift no matter how small.  Don’t be discouraged just because you can’t offer millions of dollars to the ministry.  God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7), and He takes joy just knowing that you are willing to give your all to Him.  Look at how Christ honors the poor widow who gave only two sixty-fourths of a day’s wage at the Temple; He lifts her above even those who put large sums in the offering box, for she gave of all that she had.  It was not the value that mattered but her willingness to give all to God (Mark 12:41-44).  God doesn’t care how much we can give, as long as we are giving our all to Him.  The third thing that we can learn is gratitude, for as the Psalms constantly say, “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.”  In this passage, the people of Israel were called to give as they had been blessed.  This seems to be, in a way, a lesson of gratitude.  They were to give back to God as they had received from Him.  This act of giving back to Him likely helped them to remember the source of all the good and to tangibly praise, worship, and thank Him for all He had done for them.  How often do we as Christians forget to say “Thank you” to our Lord God?  He has given us so much in material blessings, provisions, and protection, not to mention the more important things like salvation, grace, mercy, His Son, and a personal relationship with Him.  How can we not give our lives back to Him in gratitude?  He asks for nothing more than our full and complete devotion to Him; that is the least we could do for our Lord and Savior.  What else could we give Him that could even come close to the blessings He has poured out on us?  Oswald Chambers expressed it best in a devotional in his book My Utmost for His Highest, “In our surrender, we must give ourselves to God in the same way He gave Himself for us— totally, unconditionally, and without reservation.”¹  Next time you come before the Lord, consider what you are giving to Him and humbly lay it at His feet.

1  Chambers, Oswald.  “God’s Total Surrender to Us.”  My Utmost for His Highest.  http://utmost.org/god%E2%80%99s-total-surrender-to-us/.