Celebrating in the Desert

Today: Numbers 8-10

Can I be really honest and say to anyone reading this post that I am SO READY to move on from the year 2009?!? I should be grateful--it's not like the year was totally horrible to me. I still have my faith, an amazing family, some fabulous friends, a great church, my health, a job and a roof over my head. But 2009 felt like an emotional rollercoaster year--full of lots of changes that weren't all sunshine and roses. I'm still trying to see the bright side, hope for the best and believe God for better things ahead. But when you're in (what feels like) a Desert in your life, it can be tough to celebrate.

But perhaps that's why it's necessary.

In today's passage, I noticed that God's people were (literally) in that same place. Take a look:

Moses told the People of Israel

to celebrate the Passover and they did—

in the Wilderness of Sinai

at evening of the fourteenth day of the first month.

The People of Israel did it all

just as God had commanded Moses.

Okay, at first glance, we could just gloss over the significance of this passage. But think about it--Passover was a celebration that God spared His people's lives, that He took them out of slavery in Egypt. That's pretty cool. But if you were one of the Israelites at the time, you might have thought, "Okay, God. I'm grateful you took me and my family out of slavery--but into what?!? We're still stuck in this Desert." However, God instructed the people to celebrate and they did. Passover was a miracle. God was still worthy of celebrating, even though the full story hadn't been written yet. He intervened and saved people's lives--and even though they were in the Desert, they were free. They were breathing. And they chose to obey--and celebrate His goodness in the midst of that Desert. Maybe we should, too.

Tomorrow: Numbers 11-13

The Rescuer

Today: Exodus 10-12

If I described someone as a "rescuer," what would you picture?

Would you envision a firefighter? Chuck Norris? A knight in shining armor? A military officer? A soup kitchen volunteer? A drug rehab therapist? A couple of mice from a cartoon who attempt to help a young orphan girl escape dangerously mining for a diamond (I'm totally dating myself here!)?

Have you ever been rescued?

One interesting thing about rescuers is that many times, they're underappreciated. Their efforts are often unnoticed, unrewarded and unaccepted. And there are some people who ultimately choose not to be rescued even when rescuers are willing to help them.

In today's passage, we read about a few people who chose that path (like Pharaoah and many of his Egyptian leaders). They rejected God's rescue plan for His people...which ultimately, cost them a lot. God gave them opportunities (at least 10, to be exact)...but they chose not to follow His direction--I think largely because of pride. To be rescued, you must first recognize that you need some help, that you don't have all the answers. That takes some humility.

Let's take a look at a portion of God's rescue plan for His people:

Moses assembled all the elders of Israel.

He said, "Select a lamb for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb.

Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the bowl of blood

and smear it on the lintel and on the two doorposts.

No one is to leave the house until morning.

God will pass through to strike Egypt down.

When he sees the blood on the lintel and the two doorposts,

God will pass over the doorway;

he won't let the destroyer enter your house to strike you down with ruin.
"Keep this word.

It's the law for you and your children, forever.

When you enter the land which God will give you as he promised,

keep doing this.

And when your children say to you, 'Why are we doing this?'

tell them:

'It's the Passover-sacrifice to God

who passed over the homes of the Israelites in Egypt

when he hit Egypt with death

but rescued us.'"

God's rescue plan here is very interesting. He could have chosen to just save the Israelites--I mean, He knew who they were without the blood on their doorways, right? But He required them to take a few little steps of faith--to follow His very specific instructions. They had to first believe they needed to be rescued and accept His plan in order to be spared by a sheer act of grace.

Tomorrow: Exodus 13-15