“And Moses said to the people, “Remember this day in which you went out from Egypt, from the house of slavery; for by a powerful hand the LORD brought you out from this place. And nothing leavened shall be eaten. “On this day in the month of Abib, you are about to go forth. “And it shall be when the LORD brings you to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Hivite and the Jebusite, which He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, that you shall observe this rite in this month. “For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the LORD. “Unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days; and nothing leavened shall be seen among you, nor shall any leaven be seen among you in all your borders. “And you shall tell your son on that day, saying, ‘It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ “And it shall serve as a sign to you on your hand, and as a reminder on your forehead, that the law of the LORD may be in your mouth; for with a powerful hand the LORD brought you out of Egypt. “Therefore, you shall keep this ordinance at its appointed time from year to year.” Exodus 13:3-10

I chose to begin this week’s blog entry with the Scriptures because of the central importance it should be in each of our lives. There is a lot one can write about the above verses, but I want to share some thoughts that will highlight a few key points.

“Remember”

The story of Pesach (Passover) is a wonderful story of the Almighty’s supernatural redemption of the Children of Israel from slavery in Egypt, under the rule of Pharaoh. In our daily life, we tend to focus on the here and now, and we often forget that which was yesterday. God, through Moses, instructs the Children of Israel to remember their past, and the place from which they came – the intense daily hardship they suffered during the time of slavery and the fact that they had no freedom whatsoever. He tells them to remember that specific day in which He himself miraculously freed them from slavery as a sign of His faithfulness to fulfill those promises that He made to their forefathers.

“Tell”

One of the best ways for us to remember something is simply to tell it to others. Here, God instructs us to tell our children of all that He has done. It is important to tell them the stories of the past, in order for them to appreciate the present, and anticipate what He will do in the future.

During Passover, we tend to focus on the amazing story of deliverance in the past; however, there is something very interesting that we can find in this specific portion of the above scripture: “And you shall tell your son on that day, saying, ‘It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.’”

I personally believe that this specific instruction has a prophetic element for us followers of the Messiah. Note that the word here does not tell us to tell our children what the Lord did for us, or our people (which is also important); instead, it instructs us to tell our children what the Lord has done for me, when I came out of slavery in Egypt (i.e., slavery to sin.)

What a wonderful opportunity to remind our children of the amazing story not only of the physical redemption of our people from slavery, but also to share our own personal story of spiritual redemption from sin.

My dear brothers and sisters, please don’t hide what the Lord has done for you from your children! It is a wonderful opportunity to tell them of your personal redemption, which will show them the endless love and faithfulness of our Lord for them as well.

I would like to close with an encouragement for each of us. God, in His infinite wisdom, gave us these appointed times in part because He knew how easy it is to forget; we are indeed very quick to forget, aren’t we? Let us not repeat the mistakes of the past, but rather live in a way worthy of the present, which will prepare us for the future.

Have a wonderful and blessed Pesach!

Moran