A Day To Be Remembered

Introduction:

As I read this week’s chapter, the realization flooded over me that my personal experience parallels that of Israel in so many ways. I had been "brought out" but I had not "entered in". Yes, I can remember the day I was redeemed, but like Israel, I wandered around in the desert, ignorant of what I had received when I was redeemed, rebellious and independent, still holding on to my resources and trusting only in my abilities. And like Israel, who finally did cross over Jordan into Canaan but frequently didn’t place their confidence in God to fight the battles for them, I too have crossed over but still resort to fighting many of the battles in my own strength. Like Paul, my cry is, "Who will deliver me from this body of death?" And like Paul, I have discovered that Jesus Christ is the only answer!

Group Discussion:

How does the first Passover parallel the beginning of the Christian life?

"This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you." Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers’ households, a lamb for each household. ‘Now if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according to the number of persons in them; according to what each man should eat, you are to divide the lamb. ‘Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. ‘You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight.‘ Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.‘ They shall eat the flesh that same night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.‘ Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather roasted with fire, both its head and its legs along with its entrails.
‘And you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until morning, you shall burn with fire.‘ Now you shall eat it in this manner: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste—it is the Lord’s Passover. (Exodus 12:2-11)

It was the "beginning of days"…the first day of a new life.

The lamb without spot or blemish represented Christ who was sacrificed for us.

The Israelites trusted in the blood of the lamb to save them; we too trust in the blood of Christ to save us.

They ate the Passover meal prepared for a journey; accepting Christ marks the beginning of a journey as well…it was the beginning, the means, not the end!

It marks the beginning of a new walk, as Paul said, Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in union with Christ Jesus…who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:1,4)

Why did Israel not celebrate the Passover in the wilderness?

The Biblical record indicates they only celebrated it once in the wilderness, the year after they left Egypt. What was there to celebrate in the wilderness? They certainly didn’t have any harvest! The manna didn’t taste nearly as good as the fleshpots of Egypt, especially those seasoned with the leeks, onions and garlic! The Passover only had significance after they entered into Canaan. They had been brought out, but had not yet entered in.

How does this experience parallel the Christian life?

Contrary to popular hymnology, Canaan is not heaven…it’s Christ right now! There can be no meaningful celebration of Passover (Redemption) until we are resting in the resurrection life of Jesus.

Draw the ABC illustration:

A = Where we all start—"in Adam"

B = Where all of us who have been saved live most of the time—we still operate "in the flesh"

C = Where we live some of the time, but we’d like to live all of the time—"in Christ"

The Passover was given to Israel as a reminder of God’s deliverance from slavery. He said in Exodus 13:9, It shall be as a sign to you on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the Lord’s law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt.

"a sign to you on your hand" Passover was to be a reminder that there was to be a change in their actions…in what they did. "as a memorial between your eyes" Passover was to be a reminder that there was to be a change in the way they thought…their mental attitude would be different. "that the Lord’s law may be in your mouth" Passover was to be a reminder that there was to be a change in what they said…their speech would different.

What is the Christian "sign" that reminds us of God’s deliverance from the slavery of sin?

Baptism and The Lord’s Supper

Let’s look more closely at the Israelites in the wilderness and see if we can draw some more parallels for the Christian life:

What were they doing?

God spoke to Moses and said, You shall not do at all what we are doing here today, every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes; for you have not as yet come to the resting place and the inheritance which the Lord your God is giving you. (Deuteronomy 12:8-9)

There was no sense of the sovereignty of God…every man did what seemed right in his own eyes. Each man was directed by his own conviction…he knew nothing of the direction of God.

Until a Christian has come into the resting place and the inheritance God has provided in Jesus, they will continue to be directed by their own convictions and the Christian life will be drudgery instead of the sheer joy that God designed for His redeemed people. The writer of Hebrews says, There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. (Hebrews 4:9-10)

Thomas says, "When a man, woman, boy or girl gives to the Holy Spirit the right to re-establish the sovereignty of Jesus Christ within his soul, he does not even have the right to do what is right in his own eyes—let alone what is wrong!"

What were they thinking?

Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: "Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!" Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its color like the color of bdellium. The people went about and gathered it, ground it on millstones or beat it in the mortar, cooked it in pans, and made cakes of it; and its taste was like the taste of pastry prepared with oil. (Numbers 11:4-8)

In the Bible, oil is used to describe the Holy Spirit…the daily manna was a constant reminder of God’s presence among His people…but they got bored with it! And who wouldn’t? God never designed for Israel to eat manna for forty years…the trip Egypt to Canaan should have only taken a week! But instead of going on into Canaan, they stayed in the wilderness and dreamed of Egypt.

Is your Christian life dull and boring? If it is, you have not yet entered into all that God has given you in Christ Jesus. Are you thoughts still captivated by your past? Are you still dreaming of that from which you have been redeemed? Are your thoughts, ambitions and appetites still in Egypt?

What were they saying?

They assembled together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, "You have gone far enough, for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?" (Numbers 16:3)

They had become acclimatized to their circumstances in the desert and resisted any suggestion that their unhappy lot could be bettered "in the land." In their own estimation, they were all holy…every one of them! How holy? Holy enough! They resisted every suggestion of Moses or Aaron that they were missing God’s purpose for them and they should press on to Canaan.

Does that describe your Christian life…holy enough? Or are you ready to enter Canaan and let Christ become your holiness? Will you let Christ express His life through you?

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, may we experience the saving life of Christ as our very own in a more consistent way as we walk by faith…trusting in Jesus alone. Lead us to surrender completely and to depend entirely upon You…save us from being independent…show us the areas of our lives where we still resist and hold on to our independence. Thank You for loving and accepting us unconditionally, even when we fail and fall short of the abundant life You have given us, for Jesus sake, Amen.