Monday, November 24, 2014
Exodus 12:26-27 And when your children ask you, "What does this ceremony mean to you?" then tell them, "It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians."
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
When God Himself put together the calendar for the Hebrew people He included three thanksgiving festivals: 1) The Feast of Weeks at the end of the barley harvest; 2) The Feast of Booths (Tabernacles) at the close of the grape harvest; 3) The Passover Festival.
The Feast of Booths gave Israel the opportunity to thank God for preserving the lives of their ancestors on the wilderness journey to the Promised Land. Passover was also a Thanksgiving festival. At Passover Israel, at God's command, ate the very meal their forbears did the night God brought the Jewish nation up out of slavery in Egypt -- when the Angel of Death struck down the first-born males in every home in the land but "passed over" the houses marked with the blood of the Passover Lamb.
Because the first Passover pictured in advance the greater deliverance from eternal death that the Promised Savior (The Lamb of God!) would effect by the shedding of His blood, Passover was a thanksgiving festival that was deeply personal for Old Testament believers on more than one level. By faith they recognized that God had preserved their lives when He rescued their ancestors, and in faith they looked ahead to their rescue from sin and death eternal to be carried out by the promised Messiah, the world's Redeemer.
Now, it is possible to celebrate a special family meal -- year after year -- and lose sight of that meal's original meaning and purpose. For some, Thanksgiving has become merely "Turkey Day" and any thanks spoken is to friends and family, not God.
The LORD did not want Passover to lose its significance for Israel as time passed. So in His initial instructions God through Moses told them to explain to their children why they were doing what they were doing -- while they were doing it. As we plan our Thanksgiving meals, let us "build in" the opportunity to talk, not only about the things for which we are thankful, but also the One to whom we give thanks.
