“On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household…Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it…It is the Lord’s Passover.
“For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast…Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you” (Exodus 12:1-13).
As soon as people in the USA know that we are from Egypt, they ask us how we feel about the plagues that came on the Egyptians.
Some of them ask the question, almost apologetically and others in fear of offending us.
Laila and I have totally reconciled this since we met Jesus (Me in 1969, Laila in 1973). We recognized that the plagues were against the gods of the Egyptians, not the Egyptians themselves. In fact, each one of the plagues was against a certain Egyptian god. If you want to know which gods, we will post it at the end of this newsletter.
We know that God loves Egyptians and died for them, if they put their trust in Him.
How hard do you find it to stay home with your family during this shutdown? Are you still looking for ways to distract yourself from your family?
Blaise Pascal in Pensee says, “Distraction is the only thing that consoles us from our miseries and yet is itself the greatest of our miseries.”
This shutdown made me realize how distracted I can be. I spend more time scrolling than I spend with family or with God.
COVID-19 came as a wake-up call to me as well as to many.
What we read in Exodus are three things God told the people of Israel to do if they wanted to stay safe from the plague of the death of the firstborn.
1. Stay Home with Your Family
Deserts are part of the geography of life. We might be in a desert situation with the COVID-19. Yet, God promised to “turn a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water” (Psalm 107:35). He can turn those dry relationships into intimate loving relationships. Maybe you have not played with your kids or teens in a long time. Perhaps you have not told your husband or wife how much you love him/her because you were too busy with your career. Now is the time to rekindle this love.
God told the people of Israel to stay home because this is where their safety was that night.
For those of us who have no families, God asked every two families to stay together.
Ask about and take in those who are lonely and alone: that old parent, that sister you have not spoken to in a long time, that college student that cannot return home.
2. Celebrate and enjoy a hearty meal with your family
Celebrate three meals a day together. When was the last time you had three meals together for several days? It seems like an old tradition that has dwindled with busyness, work, and school. Yet, Jesus Himself told the disciples, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you.” (Luke 22: 15).
3. Hide in the Blood
Imagine with me two scenarios here. The first scenario is an Israelite who did not believe in all this animal killing and putting the blood of the sacrifice on the top and sides of the door frame. He thought it a fable. He decided that he will NOT give in to such childish myths. He did not put the blood on his door frame. What do you think would happen when the angel of the Lord passed through that Hebrew man’s house?
The orders were clear, “For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you.”
The next scenario is the scenario of an Egyptian who heard Moses’ warning and decided to believe. He hid in his house with his family, sacrificed the animal, ate it with his family, and put the blood on the lintel and the two doorposts. What do you think will happen to this Egyptian family who believed in the power of the Blood? They will be saved.
There is no other way but the Blood of Jesus today to save our families and us.
During this COVID-19 pandemic, let us stay home, enjoy our families, and hide in the Blood.
This is a season of preparation for the new adventure God has in store for you, for your ministry, for your family, and for your career. God never wastes time. He never comes too early or too late.
Stay at home, enjoy your family and hide in the Blood.
Happy Easter to all.
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