A Work in Progress….

Exodus 12:48 “A foreigner residing among you who wants to celebrate the Lord’s Passover must have all the males in his household circumcised; then he may take part like one born in the land. No uncircumcised male may eat it. 

Commentary compares the liberation of Israel to pregnancy and the birth of a baby. I find the analogy interesting. The 430 years was the gestation, the growing of cells into a human who can survive outside the womb. The plagues are compared to labor pains. The exodus of the Israelites to the actual birth, in this case of a new nation.

Exodus 12:49 The same law applies both to the native-born and to the foreigner residing among you.”

The Israelites in Egypt had lived through 430 years of what happens when you aren’t obedient to God. I wonder if that trauma contained the seeds that would become the Pharisees and Sadducees with their stringent rules and laws and observations. Honestly, I think I could understand if it did.

Exodus 12:50 All the Israelites did just what the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. 

Precious Savior, Thank You that You do not want our hearts tied to You through fear and rule following. You want us, heart and soul. You want us to seek to know You more and better every single day. You want us to love like You love, which can be messy and painful and frustrating but is always the right thing to do. Help us, Jesus. Amen.

Exodus 12:51 And on that very day the Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt by their divisions.

Have a blessed day.

Exodus 12:44 Any slave you have bought may eat it after you have circumcised him, 

Today’s scripture has me thinking about faith traditions. Some faiths have a closed communion table. The only ones allowed to partake are those who have gone through the rites and rituals to be allowed to partake. Some faiths have an open communion table, where all are welcome to come and seek to know Him more.

Exodus 12:45 but a temporary resident or a hired worker may not eat it.

My pastor always says before communion, “You don’t even have to be sure you believe” in order to partake at our communion table. I am at a place in my life where that open table is important. I question and doubt and seek and explore on a daily basis. I’m thankful for a Savior who not only can handle my questions but encourages me to know Him more.

Exodus 12:46 “It must be eaten inside the house; take none of the meat outside the house. Do not break any of the bones. 

Precious Savior, Thank You for Your love and inclusivity. Thank You for the encouragement to love You and love others and encourage each other, lifting each other up. Help us, even when it’s hard, even when we are grumpy, to love like You do. Amen.

Exodus 12:47 The whole community of Israel must celebrate it.

Have a blessed day.

Exodus 12:40 Now the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt was 430 years. 

I listened to a podcast on this scripture the other day, and at the end of the short recording, the host addressed the 430 years the Israelites spent in Egypt (as opposed to the 400 years promised/prophesied). She was quick to provide a plausible explanation. Interestingly, the commentary I read each morning didn’t address the discrepancy at all. They took the “Ignore it and it doesn’t exist” approach.

Exodus 12:41 At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the Lord’s divisions left Egypt. 

I grew up thinking that I could not and should not ask questions about God’s word, that a good Christian trusted the Bible as the unerring word of God. Period. But as I’ve grown and matured and learned more about Christ, I truly don’t believe that is what He wants of us. Christ upset the status quo. He asked difficult questions that didn’t have easy answers. He encouraged people  to think more deeply. I truly believe He still wants us to do the same with His word because that’s the only true way to know His heart.

Exodus 12:42 Because the Lord kept vigil that night to bring them out of Egypt, on this night all the Israelites are to keep vigil to honor the Lord for the generations to come.

Precious Savior, Thank You that You are sovereign and good and can handle my questions without threat to Your sovereignty. I don’t have to be afraid to ask. Thank You that You want me to question, to ponder, that You aren’t a fan of the status quo. Help me to seek You through my questions. Help me to draw closer with every breath. Amen.

Exodus 12:43 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “These are the regulations for the Passover meal: “No foreigner may eat it.

Have a blessed day.

Exodus 12:33 The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and leave the country. “For otherwise,” they said, “we will all die!” 

Verse 36 has my attention this morning, specifically the word plundered. Google’s dictionary says plunder (v) means to “steal goods from (a place or person), typically using force and in a time of war or civil disorder.” The connotations and synonyms for plunder are all quite negative.

Exodus 12:34 So the people took their dough before the yeast was added, and carried it on their shoulders in kneading troughs wrapped in clothing. 

Interestingly, the Google AI overview says, “In the Bible, ‘plunder’ generally refers to goods taken by force, especially during war or conquest, often seen as a manifestation of God’s judgment or provision.” Honestly, I’m not sure what to do with that, just as I’m unsure what to do with verse 36’s “favorable disposed” Egyptians and that the Israelites “plundered” them.

Exodus 12:35 The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing. 

Precious Savior, Today I am having a difficult time reconciling “the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the” Israelites while the Israelites “plunder the Egyptians.” It doesn’t feel right, yet I know that You are sovereign, just, and good. Help me to reconcile these discrepancies, and thank You for the curiosity to see and ponder them. Amen.

Exodus 12:36 The Lord had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians.

Have a blessed day.

Exodus 12:25 When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. 

Today’s scripture puts me in mind of stories and traditions. I love the story of how I met my husband. The second thing I ever said to him was, “I’ve been looking for you!” I love the stories behind our Christmas decorations, our family traditions. I love telling those stories to my children. It helps me remember and it informs them, too.

Exodus 12:26-27a 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.’ ” 

I love the idea of our faith being tied up in our stories and traditions. The story of how I met my husband is absolutely Providential. You cannot tell me that God didn’t lead us to each other. And I think we make God happy when we delight in telling our “God Stories” to each other, those stories of how we have seen Him again and again in our lives.

Exodus 12:27b Then the people bowed down and worshiped. 

Precious Savior, Thank You that You are so present with us. Thank You for the tradition of sharing stories of You as a way to share our faith. Thank You for the traditions that preserve those stories so we can share them with each other and remember them fondly ourselves, again and again. Thank You. Amen.

Exodus 12:28 The Israelites did just what the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron.

Have a blessed day.

Exodus 12:21 Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. 

I am a little perplexed by this section of scripture. Verse 24 tells the Israelites to “Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for” them and their descendants, yet a quick Google search says that this instance was the only time blood was put on the lintels and doorposts.

Exodus 12:22 Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go out of the door of your house until morning. 

This confusion, I think, epitomizes that issue when the Bible is reduced to just following the rules. Instead of focusing on the event, the why of what was occurring, the focus becomes How can I follow the letter of the law of this scripture. The focus isn’t God, His actions, His meaning. The focus is on the rules, on ourselves, on how to “do it right,” a distinction a true rule-follower can get behind, but one that totally misses God’s point.

Exodus 12:23 When the Lord goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.

Precious Savior, I want a heart that chases after You, reading, studying, learning about You, understanding You more and more so that I can live a life that is pleasing to You. Help me not to get caught up in the “how do I do religion right” but instead strive to know Your heart and remake mine accordingly. Amen.

Exodus 12:24 “Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants.

Have a blessed day.

Exodus 12:12 “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. 

Again today I am struggling with the academic remove, the strict rule-following of today’s verses. If anyone (Israelite or Egyptian, saint or sinner) followed these rules/instructions and put the blood on the lintels and doorposts, that house would be spared. So if you were faithful your entire life and for some reason missed this one thing, you were out.

Exodus 12:13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.

That sort of rule-following religion is hard for me. I’m not saying I don’t want to follow the rules. I’ve already admitted to being a rule-follower, but I mess up DAILY. If messing up one time means being out of God’s favor forever, the nature of humanity means Heaven is going to be pretty lonely.

Exodus 12:14 “This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance. 

Precious Savior, I struggle with some of the Old Testament, with the anger, and vengefulness, with the absolutes and rules. I struggle because I know that I mess up daily, multiple times a day. I  know that Your grace, Your fierce, deep, complete love are the only things that save me. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Exodus 12:15 For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel.

Have a blessed day.