“And Moses said, Thus saith the LORD, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt.”
“This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.”
“And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.”
“And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.”
“And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.”
Exodus 11:4, 12:2, 6, 14, 29
Our selection of Scriptures today is to point out just how hastily the first Passover was announced and executed. There is strong indication that the last audience with Pharaoh in Exodus 11, and the Passover of Exodus 12 occured the same day. With that possibility in mind, the Lord has Moses announce to the people the start of a new year… two weeks ago.
Why did the Lord put His Passover in the middle of a month? What was He revealing about His attitude for, and control of, times? How can you apply that to your daily walk with Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and for ever? Let’s take a look.
First at the authority and audacity of God- to pick a month out of the year and suddenly ‘rechristen’ it as the head of the new calendar! This month stands elevated past the other eleven to the primary spot. What was once just another day, becomes the start of a whole new year.
It is no marvel that God would take the first month for Himself: He deserves the first. In Revelation (and Isaiah) He declares, “I am the first and the last.” (Revelation 2:8, Isaiah 44:6) In the redemption of Israel He does not take second place.
God is first, and God is last,
Vance Havner
But He is never ‘next.’
This month that the Lord made first is called ‘Abib’. Abib is to us around the month of April. April is based off of the circuit of the sun, but Abib- and Passover- occur with the first new moon of the spring, corresponding somewhat with the vernal equinox. (Israel [and the Lord] recognize the moon as the keeper of the months, and so it was through 2,000 years of history starting with the Abrahamic Covenant.) God picked the spring season to be first (not the winter).
A new year had to be instituted, for over 400 years had passed for the children of Israel in Egyptian bondage, and the days, weeks, months, and years all started to run together. For longer than the United States has been an independent nation, Israel gathered straw, trod the mortar, fed the brickkiln for the Pharaohs. They had lost sight of Jehovah’s promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They had forgotten the 400 year prophecy, and even those who remembered had lost track of time.
So, the Almighty made a new calendar. He marked the top of the new page as the dawn of a new era of freedom. Here is why the calendar reset happened… two weeks after it started.
I. Because today is the best option to worship Christ.
A Change of Plate – a taste of things to come
It is never too late to start anew. The Lord revealed His plan of redemption after the first of the year. Why did He not make the announcement day, the commencement day? Because time is always moving (and your New Year’s was weeks ago, also).
Over Israel’s enslaved state, the Lord God had been working wonders to emancipate them. That process had begun not just days, nor weeks, nor months, but centuries earlier. God had promised them deliverance, and the 14th day of the first month was the fulfilled promise of emancipation (400 years plus the 30 of Joseph’s sojourn) to the very day.
“And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 12:41)
No man ever waited for the best day to receive salvation. The BEST day to trust Christ was YESTERDAY. The second best is TODAY. The WORST day to trust in Jesus Christ is TOMORROW.
The best day to trust Christ was yesterday.
Adrian Rogers
That second week of their January, they exchanged collard greens for roast lamb and fresh baked bread. That was their first taste of freedom!
Because today was the best option they had.
II. Because grace has waited a long time already
A Change of Fate – a short time to prepare
Israel in Egypt was just as deserving of the Death Angel as the taskmaster with the bull whip. God sent the judgment on them all. But to them both, he waited until the middle of the month to give them a chance to prepare.
“Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.”
Proverb 27:1
“Therefore thus will I do unto thee O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.“ (Amos 4:12) God allowed 120 years of Noah’s preaching before the Flood. He sent prophets to warn Jerusalem 300 years before it went into captivity. He sent 9 plagues on Egypt in the sight of the Hebrews before unleashing the Death Angel.
If God were not interested in saving sinners like us, He would not bother to send a warning.
God moved quickly, suddenly even, on that first Passover. From Moses’ last audience with Pharaoh to the whole nation leaving at once (according to my reading) may have only taken as little as 6 hours. At most, it took 14 days. They had only a short time to get ready for the biggest change of their life. Though it was sudden, those who listened to Moses still had enough time to find a lamb for their house for the Passover.
“(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, NOW is the accepted time; behold NOW is the day of salvation.)”
2 Corinthians 6:2
For there was nothing else for them to do but get ready! God wanted to condition them to obey immediately, instead of falling into a ritual of planned procedures. They needed, as we need, to listen to His prompting right away, not wait for the right service with the right invitation. When God says NOW, He has allowed all the prep time He will ever allow.
Because God’s grace has already waited a long time for you.
III. Because the start of any journey starts with obedience, not a date; an action, not a wish.
A Change of State – Sitting to moving
If God had set the New Year’s Day as the day of redemption from Egypt and the day of Israel’s remission of their sin, we may be tempted to wait for a date rather than go when God says.
Rather than make a resolution, we wait for the right season.
Instead of erasing and starting over, we watch the clock for a memorable time.
While we are stalling for a momentous occasion, we miss the Divine opportunity we have today.
“While it is said, To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.”
Hebrews 3:15
What Israel did not know, was that there was an eleven day- (or forty year-) journey ahead of their fledgling nation. Their greatest days were just ahead of them; but only if they got started right away. Some of them had wished for freedom their entire lives, like Caleb, who was around 40 years old when Moses returned to Egypt. They had wished so long that if God had revealed His schedule too far in advance, they would have relegated it to more wishful thinking. The day of God’s Passover violently changed their wishing into walking.
I like to begin my projects on Monday and have them completed by Friday. If something comes up in the middle of a week, I often procrastinate until the next Monday. Why? Most often, it is not an issue of priority or being too busy, just my obsession with a date on a calendar over completing a job.
We are all flawed like that a little; this is why this announcement in Exodus 12 places me in more awe and reverence of God Almighty.
Two types of people will hear this:
Have you heard the Gospel- how that Jesus Christ died and arose from the dead to save sinners- and you’ve not trusted Him yet? You missed Sunday, you missed the first of the month, you missed the new year? Christ will make today your spiritual birthday! Call on Him now:
“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Romans 10:13
The only other person reading/listening right now is a believer who has hesitated to obey some clear instruction that the Spirit or Scripture has shown you. You have lingered as a slave to indecision, and now feel hopeless because you missed a great chance with the turning of the year. Take hope my friend! You have today!
The authority of God to just rename and reset a calendar- and then the audacity to wait until the middle of the month to tell anyone! I believe it was for the reasons discussed today: better to use today than tomorrow, better to not keep grace waiting, and better to do, instead of wish to do. When it comes to obedience to the command of the Gospel, and the mighty call of the Word of God on your life- your best option is NOW… two weeks late.
Spiritual Reload 