The Reason for Worship

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:
Exodus 12 (click the link)


FOCAL VERSES:
“Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come… Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants. When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. 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.’” Then the people bowed down and worshiped. The Israelites did just what the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron. (Exodus 12:17, 24-28, NIV)


REFLECTIONS:
You could write books on this passage; however, I’m going to write down the high points that struck me while reading this passage:

• God changes the Jewish calendar to start with Passover because everything points to and starts with Jesus being the Lamb of God.  
• Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey on the 10th of the month as the spotless Lamb of God, the exact day each family of Israel was to pick out their spotless lamb to be crucified for their sins at Passover. 
• Jesus stayed with the people of Israel and stayed in their houses until the fourteenth day.  Just as a spotless lamb was being kept by each family in Israel during the same time.
• On the fourteenth day, the people of Israel had Jesus (the Lamb of God) crucified.  While Jesus was hanging on the cross at Passover; all throughout Israel different households were starting to kill their lambs as they did since the day of Moses. However, the people of Israel didn’t even understand what Passover was all about! 
• Israel placed the blood of the lamb on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs.   Death passed over all of the houses with the blood of the lamb on the doorposts.   It was only by the blood of the Lamb that people were saved.
• At Passover, they eat the Lamb roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast.   The fire represented God’s judgment for sin.   The bitter herbs reminded them of their past life that was under the bondage of sin.  Leaven (yeast) represented sin.  Unleavened bread reminds us that we should live a life without sin; just like Jesus.
• At Passover, the people eat with their cloak tucked into their belt, their sandals on their feet and their staff in their hand.  They were ready to move when God told them to move.
• The people of Israel were ready for God’s judgment day because they were covered with the blood of the lamb.  Just like Israel in Egypt, the only hope for us now is to be under the blood of the Lamb (Jesus Christ). 

POINT OF ACTION:
Passover is a day to be celebrated for all generations.  We have more to celebrate on Passover than the Israelites in Egypt, because we know that Jesus is the Lamb of God.  Because of what Jesus did on the cross for us, we are given a new birth (life); we are pardoned from the death penalty that is due each of us.  We receive the new covenant of Grace given by God because of what Jesus did for us on the cross.  Without Jesus as our Lord and Savior; we have nothing!  With Jesus, we have eternal life!

I like the passage “Then the people bowed down and worshiped” (verse 28).  One reason we worship God is because of what He did for us on the cross (His great sacrificial love for us).  The blood is over our lives and we have been declared righteous because of it!  We are to bow down and worship God because He set us free from the bondage of sin and gave us new life! 


PRAYER:
Thank you Jesus for what You did for me on the cross.  You are the Holy Lamb of God who washed away all of my sins.  I cannot even fathom the depth of Your unconditional love for me.  I LOVE YOU with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength.  Every day is a gift from You.  I have been set free from the bondage of sin and given new life because of Your sacrificial love for me. 


WHO AM I?
I am Max Peeples, a man whose many sins have been forgiven by the Grace of God. God has blessed me with a beautiful wife who loves me even with all of my faults as a man.  My cup is overflowing with the blessings of God.   Attached is a picture my beautiful wife took while we were hiking in the Davis Mountains.