Reading

• Ex. 12:1-13:16

Devotional

GOD told Moses that He would bring one final plague upon Egypt and then Pharaoh would drive the children of Israel out of the land. GOD was going to kill the firstborn of every Egyptian. GOD gave Moses specific instructions for what the Hebrews must do to avoid this plague coming upon them. GOD outlined a process whereby the Israelites were to take a lamb and kill it and sprinkle its blood above their doorpost. By doing so the death angel would pass over that house sparing the firstborn child. GOD called this event the Passover.

So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance.
(Ex. 12:14 NKJV)

Memorials are important events. By definition a memorial is a day, event or ceremony that is set aside for the purpose of remembering a previous person or event. In the United States, for example, the fourth Thursday in November has been set aside as a memorial called Thanksgiving. The benefit you gain from the memorial event depends on how much you focus upon what is being remembered.

In the case of the Passover, there are two levels of significance to the Hebrews at the time. First and most obvious, the Passover was for the purpose of remembering when GOD brought them out of Egyptian slavery. Second, the Passover symbolized the fact that the blood of the lamb that was sacrificed to GOD caused GOD to pass over their sins, not giving them the spiritual death they deserved.

GOD has given us another memorial to remember under the New Covenant. Jesus became our Passover Lamb when He died upon the cross. Before He died, Jesus setup a memorial for his disciples to remember Him—bread, which symbolized Jesus’ body, and juice or wine which symbolized Jesus’ blood. This memorial is called the Lord’s Supper, and we still observe it today, for in doing so we proclaim Jesus’ death to the world (1 Cor. 11:26).