Written by: Christine Gore - Church Army
Exodus 12 v 29-30
At midnight the LORD killed all the firstborn sons in the land of Egypt-from
the firstborn of the king who sat on the throne to the firstborn of the prisoner
in jail. Also, all the firstborn farm animals died. The king, his officers
and all the Egyptians got up during the night because someone had died in every
house. So there was a loud outcry everywhere in Egypt.
Notes
It seems to me that in the west we have a fascination with murderers and murder.
Our television screens are filled with dead bodies! Whether it's "CSI", "Wire
in the Blood", "Hercule Poirot" or "Midsomer Murders" -
whichever channel we tune into we'll find explicit stories of murder and
mayhem. You'd think by now we'd be bored, rather than fascinated with murder!
Today's reading is very short - easily glossed over. Yet when we stop and think about it, it's deeply shocking. Do we really worship a vindictive God who commits mass murder? Perhaps our 21st century sensibilities are stopping us see what these verses actually teach us about God.
God is passionate about His people. He set His heart on Israel and will not allow anyone or anything to get in the way of that relationship. God, like a mighty warrior, fights His enemies in order to set free His imprisoned lover. And make no mistake, the battle is very real, played out in both earth and heaven. The spiritual battle has been between the Egyptian gods and the LORD, and the death of the "divine" Pharaoh's equally "divine" son and heir demonstrates God's victory over them.
God will eventually judge those who do not acknowledge Him. It's not that the Egyptians hadn't had fair warning (how many plagues does it take?). In this final plague, God's judgement on those who had enslaved His people was revealed in full, and it was chilling. No favouritism was shown - all were judged, from the greatest to the least. Nevertheless, whatever we may think, God is merciful! For He did not destroy all of the Egyptians, only representatives of each family, thus giving those who remained yet another chance. God alone can judge with justice, for God alone has made and loved us.
Prayerful reflection
God is passionate about His people. He set His heart on you and will not allow
anyone or anything to get in the way of that relationship. God is passionate
about all people and will do everything He can to be in relationship with
them. But because God has given us all freedom of choice He cannot, will
not, make us love Him, and so people have to live with their choices and
the consequences of them. Reflect on these challenging thoughts and take
your thoughts to God in prayer.
Exodus 12 v 31-36
During the night the king called for Moses and Aaron and said, "Get up
and leave my people. You and your people may do as you have asked; go and worship
the LORD. Take all of your flocks and herds as you have asked, and go. And
also bless me." The Egyptians also asked the Israelites to hurry and leave,
saying, "If you don't leave, we will all die!"
So the people took their dough before the yeast was added. They wrapped the
bowls for making dough in clothing and carried them on their shoulders. The
Israelites did what Moses told them to do and asked their Egyptian neighbours
for things made of silver and gold and for clothing. The LORD caused the Egyptians
to think well of them, and the Egyptians gave the people everything they asked
for. So the Israelites took rich gifts from them.
Notes
It would be fair to say that Pharaoh had been on a long voyage of discovery.
He started off totally ignorant of the LORD - then Moses enlightened him.
He then denied the LORD's existence - so God sent him messages via Moses.
Next he tried to outdo God - but then came the plagues. In today's reading
we see that the penny had finally dropped and Pharaoh had realised that he
wasn't God - the LORD is! His final audience with Moses was very different
from the others - you can practically hear Pharaoh screaming at him: "Go,
just go and go now!" But Pharaoh knew that he had been cursed by God
and so he was desperate for His blessing. Only someone superior can bless
you - hence this request to Moses was a final admission of defeat. The LORD
was victorious, His people were freed, and like a victorious army they left
the battlefield carrying the spoils of war - Egyptian silver and gold.
As Pharaoh was coming to the end of his voyage of discovery, the people of God were just beginning theirs. It had started very shakily for them, but now it was moving at a supersonic speed! Imagine the euphoria, the disbelief and the bewilderment! This was it - they could go, but they had to go now! No time to pack! Just grab the unmade bread, the kids, the animals and the gifts from the neighbours and leave!
What has your journey of discovery about God been like? Have you been a Pharaoh - reigning supreme in your own life? Has your life been like that of the Israelites - so full of pain and hardship that you couldn't see past the heartache? Where have you seen God at work in your life - drawing you to Himself?
Prayer activity
In your time of prayer today think back over your journey of faith so far.
Thank God for the signs of His presence and activity in your life. Bring
to Him those areas where you find it difficult to let Him in - those areas
of pain, or those areas where you feel you're in control, or refuse to let
go of control.
Exodus 12 v 37-42
The Israelites travelled from Rameses to Succoth. There were about 600,000
men walking, not including the women and children. Many other people who
were not Israelites went with them, as well as a large number of sheep, goats
and cattle. The Israelites used the dough they had brought out of Egypt to
bake loaves of bread without yeast. The dough had no yeast in it, because
they had been rushed out of Egypt and had no time to get food ready for their
trip.
The people of Israel had lived in Egypt for 430 years; on the very day the
430 years ended, the LORD's divisions of people left Egypt. That night the
LORD kept watch to bring them out of Egypt, and so on this same night the Israelites
are to keep watch to honour the LORD from now on.
Notes
The people of God were on the move and what a sight they must have been! A
chaotic mass of Israelites, animals and hangers on who took the opportunity
to escape with them. All they had to eat was fast food (bread without yeast)
- there was no time to make anything else. But God was watching over this
scene of chaos and haste. This day had been in His mind and on His heart
for eternity. For hundreds of years all the activity had been happening "behind
the scenes", but now it was centre stage and the drama was unfolding
for all to see.
The church is the new Israel, the new people of God, and we too are called to be a people on the move - a journeying people, making our way ultimately to our promised heavenly home. When we look at the church, she too is a motley and chaotic mass of people and baggage! Not very promising at all - and yet… And yet she also is centre stage in God's unfolding drama - the story of the promise-keeping God and His beloved people. The story hasn't ended - it didn't end when they left Egypt, nor when Christ came or when the Bible was finished. The story goes on and we are as much a part of that story as the Israelites were all those thousands of years ago!
The Promise Keeper still keeps watch, and we are to remember and honour Him, each and everyday, for all that He has done for us. It's important that we know where we've come from and where we are going in order that we know how to live in the meantime. So, part of honouring and remembering God is to familiarise ourselves with our story as written in the Bible.
Prayer activity
How well do you know your Bible? Prayerfully plan to try to read it more often
and/or to read a book such as "A Passion For God's Story" by Philip
Greenslade (Paternoster Press: 2002) which will give you a very readable
overview of the biblical story. Some inspiring holiday reading!
Exodus 12 v 43-50
The LORD told Moses and Aaron, "Here are the rules for Passover: no
foreigner is to eat the Passover. If someone buys a slave and circumcises
him, the slave
may eat the Passover. But neither a person who lives for a short time in your
country nor a hired worker may eat it.
" The meal must be eaten inside a house; take none of the meat outside the
house. Don't break any of the bones. The whole community of Israel must take
part in this feast. A foreigner who lives with you may share in the LORD's Passover
if all the males in his house become circumcised. Then, since he will be like
a citizen of Israel, he may share in the meal. But a man who is not circumcised
may not eat the Passover meal. The same rules apply to an Israelite born in the
country or to a foreigner living there."
So all the Israelites did just as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron. On
that same day the LORD led the Israelites out of Egypt by their divisions.
Notes
In Genesis we find God making covenants with specific individuals, most notably
Abraham. But in Exodus the Lord makes a covenant with the whole of the people
of Israel. "I will be your God and you will be My people" is the
covenant heartbeat resounding throughout the Old Testament. At the heart
of the covenant is relationship - not rules and regulations - yet God put
boundaries in place to protect that relationship (as in a marriage). "I
will be your God and you will be My people… and this is how you live
to proclaim to a watching world that this is so." Circumcision was the
mark of that covenant relationship (like a wedding ring!) and declared that
you belonged to the LORD and His family.
Previously the Israelites were commanded to remember their flight from Egypt by celebrating the Passover; in doing so they would honour God. In today's reading the LORD told Moses that He wanted some boundaries put in place to ensure that the Passover was kept special. It is a sacred celebration - commemorating the night the angel of death passed over their families, protected by the blood of the lamb. It was not a feast for those outside of the covenant community for it celebrated its inauguration, and as each household had been spared their firstborn, so each household sacrificed one whole lamb in the place of that firstborn. It could not be divided up amongst other households (hence no bones broken) - one whole life sacrificed to redeem another whole life.
For Christians the echoes of this resound down the ages to Calvary: the Lamb of God sacrificed for each and every one of us - His blood shed, His bones unbroken (see John 19 v 33-36) and our freedom secured.
Prayer reflection
Use this song in your prayer time today. Take time to think about the words
and then turn them into prayer.
Only by grace can we enter,
Only by grace can we stand;
Not by our human endeavour,
But by the blood of the Lamb.
Into Your presence You call us,
You call us to come.
Into Your presence You draw us,
And now by Your grace we come,
Now by Your grace we come.
(Gerrit Gustafson, Kingsway's Thankyou Music 1989)
Exodus 13 v 1-6
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Give every firstborn male to me. Every
firstborn male among the Israelites belongs to me, whether human or animal."
Moses said to the people, "Remember this day, the day you left Egypt.
You were slaves in that land, but the LORD with his great power brought you
out of it. You must not eat bread made with yeast. Today, in the month of Abib,
you are leaving Egypt. The LORD will lead you to the land of the Canaanites,
Hittites, Amorites, Hivites and Jebusites. This is the land he promised your
ancestors he would give you, a fertile land. There you must celebrate this
feast during the first month of every year. For seven days you must eat bread
made without yeast, and on the seventh day there will be a feast to honour
the LORD."
Notes
The Exodus is a story of freedom and fulfilment: the freedom of captive Israel
from slavery and the freedom to worship the LORD; the fulfilment of the promises
of the LORD to His people for a land - a place they could call home, having
been strangers in a foreign land for so long. If you've read the story of
the wilderness wanderings in the rest of Exodus you will know that it didn't
take long for the people to forget all that God had done for them. In fact,
they soon started complaining and wanting to go back to Egypt! Is it any
wonder that God made provision for an annual celebration to ensure that they
didn't forget where they had come from, what it was like there and what God
had to do to secure their freedom!
What was your life like before you were conscious of God's existence and His desire to have a relationship of love with you? Do you ever get hankerings to go back to your old life? If so, when do these come? Are you like the children of Israel - when the going gets tough do you want to go back to Egypt?
What could you do to ensure that you don't forget what God has done for you and how much it cost Him to set you free? The church calendar has annual celebrations and seasons to help us to remember, and being involved in these is important for our communal life as Christians. But perhaps you could also spend time with a small group of friends or family thinking of new ways of celebrating your individual and corporate stories. Why not have a special meal where you each share your faith story and celebrate what God has done for you?
Prayer
Father, I thank You that I have a faith story to share with others. Thank You
for the signs of Your faithfulness in my life and story. Thank You that you
call me to journey with You - to new places in myself and in You. Thank You
for loving me so much that You are not prepared to leave me as I am and where
I am. Help me to have the courage to go with You and not keep wanting to
go back to my old life. Help me to keep pressing forward, holding fast to
Your promises and love. Amen
Exodus 13 v 7-10
"So for seven days you must not eat any bread made with yeast.
There must be no bread made with yeast anywhere in your land. On that day you
should tell your son: ‘We are having this feast because of what the LORD
did for me when I came out of Egypt.' This feast will help you remember, like
a mark on your hand or a reminder on your forehead. This feast will remind
you to speak the LORD's teachings, because the LORD used his great power to
bring you out of Egypt. So celebrate this feast every year at the right time."
Notes
How do you help yourself remember things? Are you someone who writes notes
in biro on your hand or ties knots in your hanky (not so easy these days
with tissues)? I'm a habitual note writer - I find if I leave myself a note
in my glasses case I invariably come across it and get prompted to remember.
Previously we spent time thinking about how we should remember all the good things that God has done for us by retelling our faith stories. As you relive your own journey with God, and travel with others on theirs, I have no doubt that you will both give and receive encouragement. Hearing how God has worked in the lives of others brings us hope. Remembering how God was with you in past difficulties/joys nourishes faith for the future, gratitude for the past and strength for today.
The
reading today describes re-enacting the Exodus story by celebrating annually
the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Doing this, it says, is like writing a note
on your hand, or sticking it on your forehead so that every time you look in
the mirror you're reminded. Some Jews took this passage quite literally and
bound little boxes containing portions of the Law (known as phylacteries) onto
their arms and foreheads (and still do today).
We must be careful that we don't let those things that are there to jog our memory become more important than the things we are meant to be remembering. We're missing the point if we do! There's no sense in religiously wearing a WWJD bracelet if it doesn't prompt you to ask "What would Jesus do" in this situation! Or wearing cross jewellery if you don't take time to ponder on its meaning to you and its costliness for Jesus.
Prayer activity
If you're wearing a cross or a WJJD bracelet, have a fish symbol, another Christian
symbol, or any reminder of your faith with you today, take some time to think
about what they symbolise and their meaning for you, your relationship with
God and your neighbour. Turn those thoughts into prayer and possibly even
action!
Photo Source: http://www.glory-of-zion.org/gozkidz/images/israel_pics/hasid_boy.jpg
Exodus 13 v 11-13
"And when the LORD takes you into the land of the Canaanites, the land he
promised to give you and your ancestors, you must give him every firstborn male.
Also every firstborn male animal must be given to the LORD. Buy back every firstborn
donkey by offering a lamb. But if you don't want to buy the donkey back, then
break its neck. You must buy back from the LORD every firstborn of your sons."
Notes
How good are you at keeping promises? Do you find them easier to make than
to keep? What is Israel's response to be to the God who keeps His word? To
remember is obviously important, as we've already seen, but in today's reading
one more thing is highlighted and that is sacrifice. The appropriate response
from God's people to His giving of promises and giving of Himself is a costly
giving of their own.
The sacrificial system may seem very alien and distasteful to us today. Thankfully
we are Easter People and the sacrificial system no longer applies - it was
fulfilled in Christ. However, our response to God, who He is and what He has
done for us, is still to be sacrificial! This is what Paul says in Romans 12
v 1-2: "Take your everyday, ordinary life - your sleeping, eating, going-to-work,
and walking-around life - and place it before God as an offering. Embracing
what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so
well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead
fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from inside out. Readily recognize
what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around
you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best
out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you" (from "The Message" by
Eugene H. Petersen, Navpress 2002).
As God gave His Son - His firstborn - to you and for you, you are to give wholly
of yourself to Him. All bits of your life, none to be kept back. And in response
to your act of self-giving, of loving obedience, God transforms you into the
glorious and wondrous likeness of His Son.
Prayer reflection
Use Matt Redman's song in your prayer time today. Take time to think about
the words and then turn them into prayer.
I will offer up my life
In spirit and truth,
Pouring out the oil of love
As my worship to You.
In surrender I must give my every part;
Lord receive the sacrifice
Of a broken heart.
Chorus
Jesus, what can I give, what can I bring
To so faithful a friend, to so loving a King?
Saviour, what can be said, what can be sung
As a praise of Your name
For the things You have done?
Oh, my words could not tell, not even in part,
Of the debt of love that is owed by this thankful heart.
You deserve my every breath
For You've paid the great cost;
Giving up Your life to death,
Even death on a cross.
You took all my shame away,
There defeated my sin,
Opened up the gate of heaven,
And have beckoned me in.
Chorus
(Matt Redman, Kingsway's Thankyou Music 1994)
word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text taken from the Youth Bible, New Century Version (Anglicised Edition) copyright 1993 by Word Publishing Milton Keynes
