Pesach “Passover”
Exodus 12:1-51
Jeremiah 23:1-8
Luke 22-23

Keeping Vigil

This week we depart from our sequential Torah readings to focus on the time of Passover. This Feast day begins the yearly cycle which teaches us about the sin of mankind and the redemption our Creator has offered to all men.

The scriptures leading up to the first Passover show how Elohim desires to take His people out of bondage and slavery and deliver us into His freedom and a new walk of life. As we read through the Exodus account there can be no doubt in one’s mind that HaShem is working personally to bring His plans to pass in the people’s lives. As we see His faithfulness to our forefathers it brings forth faith that He will do and in fact is doing the same in our lives today.

It had been about one year since Moses had walked into the palace the first time to confront Pharaoh. As we have the advantage of reading the account after the fact we can see that at no time do the actions of Pharaoh take HaShem by surprise. He does not seem to be nervous or excited during the events, but instead acts like He has everything in control, which of course we know He does.

It is on the last night though that just as a general who has developed a strategy to win a war we see HaShem focus His attention more on the events transpiring in Egypt. The Complete Jewish Bible in Exodus 12:42 says that "He keeps vigil to bring them out of the land of Egypt." The word vigil means to have an increased sense of awareness regarding the events that are transpiring. The verses seem to tell us that He is watching even more closely and more attentively to what is transpiring on earth just to make sure nothing can go wrong with His plan.

The verse goes on to tell us that The Holy One continues to mark Passover night throughout all generations as a night to keep special vigil over His people. This causes me at least to ask the question, “Why?” Is it just to remember His accomplishments in the past and to be a memorial to those days or is it something more? Could it be that He has kept this vigil on every Passover of the hundreds since the first Exodus because of the excitement and desire within His heart to see the fulfillment which will come forth in the Greater Exodus? Could it be that as He kept vigil on that infamous night so long ago that, as He watched over the events, He dreamed of something far greater, something that the Book of Hebrews says would involve each of us? Could it be that as He watched He continued to see into the future, looking to our day and a time of His family coming together and coming home, home to a land He would personally and bodily dwell in with them?

Here in Seminole OK we are celebrating Passover this entire week. Our thoughts and readings will be of our ancestors who made their way out of Egypt by the hand of HaShem. We will think back to the mighty signs and wonders of that day. I dare say though that as we read about that day each one of us will have a dual screen within our minds eye which will be pointing us to what is coming in the near future, the Greater Exodus. As we read the scriptures of Jeremiah 23 I believe there will be an excitement come forth that can not nor should not be contained. As He keeps his vigil over us, I am certain that we will join in with excitement in a vigil of our own.

The Hebrews in Egypt were no doubt a chosen generation. They were honored to be part of the events of their day more than most of them ever realized. Many of them never did enter into the challenge of being that chosen and honored generation and because of that died in the wilderness. My prayer is that we will not make the same mistake as many of them, but instead we will see and understand the days of our deliverance. May our spirits join in with His in an excitement of increased awareness and anticipation that comes with each new day.

The Feast of Passover marks the beginning of our journey this year. May it be a beginning that none of us will ever forget, a beginning which causes us to keep vigil, not only on this night, but for each passing day as we see His return drawing near.