The Israeli Exclusive Passover Exodus from Bondage

In yesterday’s Passover blog, the story was told of how the Jewish people came to be slaves in the land of Egypt. These people provided forced labor for over 400 years, serving their masters, raising crops, building pyramids, being beaten on a regular basis, and raising families. The descendants of Israel, over the years, recalled the names of their ancestors who they had never met, and also remembered the God that their father Abraham had worshiped in the land of Canaan.

All too often the fact of this Jewish God is discredited or discounted, but the truth is that the People of Israel are great only because of this God. The God of Israel made them different. The people developed a zest for life as they told tales of this Almighty One, and zeal was displayed by the people who worshipped the Most High.

Israel’s Unique Passover Culture

Indeed, the world, and some of their own people did not understand how the Lord, who is King of the Universe made His people greater than any other. But it is through the high calling, the morality, persecution, put downs, songs, praises, telling of stories, and teachings of the sole God of the Universe that the people of Israel became, and have ever maintained unusual pronounced qualities that are different than any other peoples of the world.

One of their own, a Jewish man living in Egypt wrote, in the days that the Roman Empire was great, “the Jews … had been taught in a manner from their very swaddling-clothes by their parents, teachers and instructors, and even before that by their holy laws, and also their unwritten maxims and customs, to believe that there was but one God, their Father and Creator of the world.” (Philo, On the Embassy to Gaius)

Philo also wrote, “Whatever advantages are derived from the most approved philosophy to its students, full as great are derived by the Jews from their laws and customs, inasmuch as through them they have rejected all errors about gods who have been created themselves; for there is no created being who is truly God, but such a one is only in appearance and opinion, being destitute of that most indispensable quality in God, namely, eternity.”(On the Virtues)

Passover’s Freedom from enslavement

It was not in the plan of God to allow the Hebrew people that continued to believe in the King of the Universe to remain enslaved to a polytheistic people that occupied the land of Egypt. At a chosen time, God called forth a leader for the people of Israel, a man who had been taken on his own unique journey, to lead the nation out of slavery. This man, who was named Moses, had an encounter with God, and was thus equipped to meet with the Pharaoh of Egypt in order to gain freedom for the nation. Moses said, “Let my people go!” and was told the simple word, “NO!”

But God does not permit a man to say “NO!” when the time has come for the people of His choosing to gain their liberty. Ten unique plagues were visited upon the kingdom of Egypt in order to bring them and their gods to their knees. When God’s miracle was complete, the Pharaoh had no choice except to release the over two million descendants of Jacob from their enslavement.

The Beginning of Passover

During the period of miracles, perhaps when the plagues were turned away from Goshen, a land inhabited by the Jews, Moses told each family to prepare. They were to begin packing their belongings, they were to prepare a special meal, and they were to allow their tormenters to become their benefactors. God’s people separated out the bare essentials they could take with them on their journey, selected a lamb and roasted it on the fourteenth day of the month of Nisan, and before their departure asked the Egyptians who had been their tormenters for a donation of wealth and clothing.

At the conclusion of the Plagues, when Egypt was at their lowest, God led His chosen people (who are exactly the people who had chosen the Lord God above all others) to leave Egypt. The former slaves did not take the main highway, but were guided by extraordinary signs to take a road less traveled into the wilderness and away from Egypt’s large population.

Passover’s Miracle of Miracles

The three day journey went well, until those in the rear of the parade heard and then spotted Pharaoh’s trained chariots and soldiers. Those who were lagging and meandering in time chose a sprinter, a child that was yet with his mother, to take a message to Moses, “We are being followed … no, actually chase, in order to capture our people and force a return into slavery.

But God would not let that happen. Moses and the nation of Israel were brought to a beach at the edge of the sea, and taught to trust. As the tormenters of the nation came into full view, Moses began to pray, then he raised his staff toward heaven, and the waters of the Red Sea parted.

In an ever increasing level of discomfort which leads to trust, a cloud came between the unarmed slaves and Egypt’s brilliant army. By cover of night, a wind blew, and the bottom of the sea became bone dry so Israel’s men, women and children could cross the barrier and go into the desert. The people stepped it up in fear, but it still took all morning, and more, before the two million Hebrews made it across to the other side.

Passover’s Safe Spot

As the last of the elderly and the children of Israel crossed onto the beachfront across from Egypt, Pharaoh’s army was in hot pursuit. The chariots, only a few feet behind the last of the tribe were about to capture their first captives. Then Moses lowered his staff, and the Red Sea came crashing back into its bed. The soldiers never made their capture, neither did they make it home. And Israel was safe.

Of how they made it to Mount Sinai, received the Ten Commandments, how the nation was formed, and other adventures is to be told at another time. What I have shared is enough for a great story, a story that continues to be told every year.

Celebrating the Passover

This episode of history is called the Passover, an epic tale that is told each year in the homes of Israel’s descendants. Perhaps you are a member of the family, or want to join them.

If you do not have a plan for Passover, I want to recommend a couple of different books – The Psalmatic Seder is a book full of songs that can be sung and performed bringing great history and joy to a musical celebration. A Christian Passover in the Jewish Tradition is for those who are not familiar with the Passover Seder, or who just want to dig deeper (a full explanation of every part is included in the book!). For those just wanting a simple read-along Haggadah, a couple $1 versions are available for upload on a kindle reader.