Today (Tuesday) is the 14th of Nisan on the Jewish calendar. Doesn’t mean anything to you? Think back to the time of Moses… and the long, drawn out series of events that led up to Pharaoh’s release of the Hebrew people from bondage in Egypt. It was on the 14th of Nisan when God had instructed them about the Passover meal and about the blood over the doorpost that would signal their faithfulness to His will. Imagine the excitement, fear, and anticipation the Israelites must have felt that night so many centuries ago as they were preparing to leave slavery in Egypt. What strange circumstances they were witnessing (as described in Exodus 12)! Smearing blood above and on the sides of door frames? Packing light for a middle-of-the-night journey? Gifts of gold and silver from their Egyptian masters who had treated them with such contempt and hatred for so long?
One of the names used in the Bible to refer to the LORD is "Jehovah-Jireh" which roughly translates "my Provider." What a fitting reference for the escape from bondage! He provided everything they needed before, during, and after their journey. That night, when the cries and wailing increased exponentially all over the land of Egypt as mothers and fathers began discovering the fulfillment of God's promised plague to kill the firstborn, the Israelites needed one last little detail to help them on their journey. Just a little something that only God could provide: some extra light for their journey until daylight comes. How did God provide for this need? With a full moon!
On Tuesday night - on this year's 14 Nisan - go outside after dark and observe the full moon that God provides. If the sky is clear of clouds, you can just imagine how much that extra amount of light must have helped Moses and the Israelites "get out of town" in an efficient and orderly manner (before Pharaoh changed his mind and took his army to pursue them)! That same Provider also takes care of us today.
What an amazing story of redemption, huh? What a Provider!
(Thanks to Mark Clark for these thoughts!)
Resurrection Sunday!
We have a great opportunity before us this Sunday to celebrate and praise Jehovah-Jireh… God, our Provider! For it was on a cold, Roman cross many years following those days in Egypt when God would completely fulfill the promise of Passover and provide the perfect Lamb… once and for all time… to shed his own blood… the blood that would cleanse His people from their sins. But the story doesn’t end there! If it did, it would be a moving story… but there would be no victory. There would just be death. On the third day after Jesus’ crucifixion, his body went missing. The tomb was found empty. His followers were dumbfounded. They soon came to realize that his body wasn’t stolen… he had risen… just as he had said that he would! We’ll celebrate that resurrection this Sunday as we do every Lord’s day… and we’ll remember the provision God made for sin. In Christ, there is victory because of what God provided! In Christ, there is life! Invite a friend to come and celebrate with us this Sunday!
--Jim
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