Passover and Deliverance

Tonight marks the first night of the Jewish holiday of Passover. Passover commemorates the story of the Exodus of the Jewish people, led by Moses, out of slavery in Egypt. Moses was chosen by God to take on the enormous task of convincing the hard-hearted Pharaoh to let the people go. It took plague after plague after plague, including the death of his son, to finally convince Pharaoh to let God’s chosen people out of the bitter bonds of slavery. Even after he decided to let them leave Egypt, once again, his cruel nature resurfaced and he ordered his army to chase after the people of Israel. God did a wondrous thing and parted the Red Sea so the people would have a path to their freedom.  

The people groaned with fear and cried to Moses, saying that it would have been better to remain in Egypt as slaves than to die in the desert this way. Then Moses answered, “Stop being so fearful! Remain steady, and you will see how Adonai is going to save you. He will do it today-today you have seen the Egyptians, but you will never see them again! Adonai will do battle for you. Just calm yourselves down!” (Exodus 14:13-14) As they continued to travel through the desert, they grew complacent and complained constantly. Yet, in His mercy, God always provided for them. When they had no food, God gave them mana from Heaven, sweeter than the sweetest honey cakes. When they had no water, he made water spring from a rock. Even Moses’s trust faltered; because of that, Moses was never able to enter the Promised Land.

Each year, we Jewish people celebrate the story of Passover with the Passover Seder. Throughout the ceremony and the meal are symbols of the exodus from the land of Egypt and the deliverance of the people from the bonds of slavery. We eat matzo, or unleavened bread. During the Seder, we also eat various foods that symbolize the tears of the people, the bricks they made in slavery and the Passover lamb that was slain so the people’s lives would be spared. The lamb’s blood was spread over the doorposts of the Israeli houses so the angel of death would pass over their homes and not take the first born living there.

Every time I think about what the people of Israel experienced and how they reacted to adversity, I am both in awe and completely baffled by their lack of faith and trust. They endured such harsh slavery at the hands of the Egyptians. Through it all, their faith in the God of Israel was so strong. He heard their cries and answered their prayers. He sent the deliverer, who was Moses. Each time I want to complain about having to give up hametz (leavening for bread) for a week, I think about the horrible conditions my ancestors had to endure and I basically suck it up and pay homage to them by eating cardboard, I mean matzo, for a week.

I honor them, but I am also perplexed by their wavering trust in the Lord who delivered them. Think about this for a second. They witnessed miracle after miracle. God directly and astoundingly answered their prayers for help. God saved them over and over again, yet they still complained! Sure, they repented at times. They acknowledged that their lack of faith was sin against the Most High. However, their human nature always seemed to make them grow complacent, even ungrateful. There were consequences for this ingratitude and lack of faith. Their journey to the Promised Land should have taken only days, but, as a consequence of their lack of trust, it ended up taking 40 years.

As baffled as I am by the people of Israel and their lack of faith, I cannot help but admit that we today are not much different. Yes, I include myself in that “we” statement. I wish we all could remember to keep an attitude of gratitude at all times. We have all endured difficult times in our lives; some have endured worse things than the people of Israel. We have also enjoyed wonderful moments of happiness and joy. In the difficult times, we need to be thankful, yes thankful! The hard times can make us stronger. They can draw us closer to God as we look to Him for strength, comfort and guidance. They make us appreciate the good things in our lives all the more.

We also need to remember that when things are good, we need to thank God for blessing us. For me, I believe that He is faithful and will always deliver me and those whom I love from whatever difficulties we face. I know that, although He may not have caused whatever bad thing that is happening, He most certainly will turn that bad thing for our good, because we love Him and He loves us.  In that sense, my faith is God’s deliverance for me from despair. His sacrifice on our behalf is His deliverance for us from sin and death. In spite of the fact that we continue to get complacent at times, He is always waiting for us to turn our eyes back to Him so that He can once again deliver us. So, today, I wish all who celebrate a Happy Passover. Remember the sacrifices that have been made that have enabled us to reach this season. Be thankful for God’s protection, His mercy, His faithfulness, His unwavering love and His deliverance!