Ep.1224: Why Should Christians Care About Israel’s Deliverance From Slavery?
Absorbing the profound lessons Israel's Passover teaches about Jesus
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Theme Scripture: Exodus 12:50-51
In all of human history, there has never been an event with the magnitude and drama of the nation of Israel being freed from their harsh slavery in Egypt. Millions of people and countless flocks literally walked away from generations of harsh servitude. God guided them to their freedom after the 10th plague and through the establishment of the Passover. This Passover event was to be remembered and celebrated year after year for all of their generations to follow. And the whole deliverance-from-Egypt experience was mentioned countless times throughout the history of the Old Testament. Why? Why were these things such vital things to not only remember but to appreciate? It turns out that these things provide massive insights for Christians as to how God’s plan really works!
A new calendar
Not too many events in all of world history can you look at and see a whole new calendar being established because of them. When God told the Hebrews it was time to leave their Egyptian slave masters, He marked this event by establishing a “sacred calendar.” Before going any further with the details, this tells us just how significant their freedom would be in God’s mind and plan. The first dates to be recognized on that sacred calendar would be the 10th and the 14th of the month Nisan. Interestingly, neither of these were the date they were actually freed from slavery. Both dates had to do with a lamb.
The month of Nisan
On the 10th of Nisan each enslaved Hebrew household was to choose a lamb from their herds. The chosen lamb (or goat) was to be the best of the herd. It was to be without any defect, a year old and male. Each household was to slaughter that lamb four days later on the 14th. They were to eat it and put some of its blood on the outside doorframes of their homes. Why so much focus on the meal of a lamb when they are about to be freed from generations of slavery? The deliverance millions of Hebrews would experience would not come as a result of a revolt or a war. Their freedom would come because of the lamb. The lamb would be the centerpiece of Israel’s Passover, Israel’s deliverance, that would for thousands of years be celebrated on the 14th of Nisan.
Check out our April 11,2022 podcast, “Why Should Christians Care About Israel’s Deliverance From Slavery?” for more. We piece together many of the fascinating and meticulous details of this first Passover. We then open the floodgates of biblical testimony that show how the Passover was a profound picture of God’s plan of salvation through Jesus. The lamb, the meal they ate, the manner in which they ate it, the sparing of the firstborn and the deliverance of the nation all told a bigger story. Join us for this amazing journey into Israel’s amazing deliverance from slavery that painted a detailed picture of how salvation in Jesus works.
God is love.
Agreed! We recently did a two-part series asking “Is God’s Wrath Stronger Than His Love?” Please listen to Episodes 1218 and 1219 for more. – Christian Questions