It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes. Exodus 12:27
I love a good game of Scrabble. After one particular game, my friends named a move after me—calling it a “Katara.” I’d been trailing the entire game, but at the end of it—with no tiles left in the bag—I made a seven-letter word. This meant the game was over, and I received fifty bonus points as well as all the points from all of my opponents’ leftover tiles, moving me from last place to first. Now whenever we play and someone is trailing, they remember what happened and hold out hope for a “Katara.”
Remembering what has happened in the past has the power to lift our spirits and give us hope. And that’s exactly what the Israelites did when they celebrated Passover. The Passover commemorates what God did for the Israelites when they were in Egypt, oppressed by Pharaoh and his crew (Exodus 1:6–14). After they cried out to God, He delivered the people in a mighty way. He told them to put blood on their doorposts so the death angel would “pass over” their firstborn people and animals (12:12–13). Then they would be kept safe from death.
Centuries later, believers in Jesus regularly take communion as we remember His sacrifice on the cross—providing what we needed to be delivered from sin and death (1 Corinthians 11:23–26). Remembering God’s loving acts in the past gives us hope for today.
How can you celebrate what God has done on your behalf? How can you offer hope to others from your past experiences?
I thank You, loving God, for all the marvelous works You’ve done on my behalf. Please give me the strength to focus on Your mighty acts when I need hope to keep going.
INSIGHT
The point of the first Passover was substitutionary death: a spotless lamb sacrificed in place of the firstborn son. As with all elements of worship prescribed in the Old Testament, this points to the future Messiah who would be the once-for-all sacrifice for the entire human race. At the Passover observance we now know as the Last Supper, Jesus said, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28). Hebrews 9:26 explains that “[Christ] has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.” The writer to the Hebrews concluded, “So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him” (v. 28).