Thursday, Sept. 19
Exodus 11:1 – 12:13 Read it here
This passage is worth reading more than once. It is the source of the most important annual rite of the Jewish people, and the model for the Christian sacrament of Communion. It is also a rich source of our understanding of the meaning of the crucifixion.
For a slightly different take on it, though, try reading it from a pre-Jesus perspective. Imagine what it meant to people as a salvation story unconnected to the Messiah.
Reading it in that way doesn’t take away any of its power. It does, though, emphasize God’s protective care for us in this earthly life. As Christians we can easily forget that God was active in the world long before the birth of Jesus, already doing the same things he does in the Christian era.
Read through these verses and look at the earthiness and immediacy of the story. Try to look beyond the ritualized reenactments we are so familiar with and consider that night of both terror and hope.
The first time I remember preaching on this passage happened to be the day that Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. That helped bring that night home to me. In our part of the world, we’ve all spent days and nights waiting to see how bad it was going to be…eating hurriedly, ready to flee…our most valued and most portable possessions prioritized and packed.
Also notice that none of the Hebrews were alone that night. If a household was too small to eat a whole lamb, it was to combine with a neighboring household. Most people were with family, but for some that family was extended so no one was in isolation.
It’s easy to think of the people as cowering in their houses behind locked doors, counting on the blood on the doorposts to protect them. But in truth they were waiting eagerly for what was on the other side of Passover. Like sprinters waiting for the starting pistol, they were primed and ready to move once God cleared the way.
-Rev. Mark Fleming
Thursday meditation
Proverbs 7:6-27
At the window of my house I looked down through the lattice. I saw among the simple, I noticed among the young men, a youth who had no sense. He was going down the street near her corner, walking along in the direction of her house at twilight, as the day was fading, as the dark of night set in.
Then out came a woman to meet him, dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent. (She is unruly and defiant, her feet never stay at home; now in the street, now in the squares, at every corner she lurks.) She took hold of him and kissed him and with a brazen face she said:
“Today I fulfilled my vows, and I have food from my fellowship offering at home. So I came out to meet you; I looked for you and have found you! I have covered my bed with colored linens from Egypt. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon. Come, let’s drink deeply of love till morning; let’s enjoy ourselves with love! My husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey. He took his purse filled with money and will not be home till full moon.”
With persuasive words she led him astray; she seduced him with her smooth talk. All at once he followed her like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer stepping into a noose till an arrow pierces his liver, like a bird darting into a snare, little knowing it will cost him his life.
Now then, my sons, listen to me; pay attention to what I say. Do not let your heart turn to her ways or stray into her paths. Many are the victims she has brought down; her slain are a mighty throng. Her house is a highway to the grave, leading down to the chambers of death.
Prayer focus
Pray that God will find you attentive and ready to follow in his pathways, not on the wide highway to destruction.