God's Embrace Renewal Centers

• THE ACTIONS OF  GOD-IN-COVENANT:
  
              The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is the same God who is now interacting with Moses and the descendants of Abraham. God entered into covenant with Abraham and is therefore being faithful to His promises made to Abraham and his descendants, now enslaved in Egypt. Berit or bond is the preferred meaning of the Old Testament word for covenant. God has entered into a permanent bond with the Hebrew people that can be likened to marriage. Israel will always be looked upon as God’s wife, a familiar image that is referred to by the prophets. This bond between God and His people is the core of biblical faith and history.
  
              As we have seen in Week Eight, God has chosen Moses as the divine spokesperson to Pharaoh. Through nine plagues inflicted upon the Egyptians, Moses has grown in stature and respect both among his own people and among the Egyptians. All are beginning to see that Moses is a force to reckon with, as his God is mighty and more powerful than Pharaoh and his gods. However, at the end of Exodus chapter 10, Pharaoh is still obstinate and will not let the Israelites leave for the desert to worship their God. In conclusion Pharaoh said to Moses: “Leave my presence, and see to it that you do not appear before me again! The day you appear before me you shall die!” And Exodus chapter 11 ends on a similar note. “The Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh refuses to listen to you that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.”
  
  PREPARATIONS FOR FREEDOM AND SALVATION:
  
              The tenth plague is the most crucial one as it serves the purpose of breaking Pharaoh’s obstinacy and resolve, and gives the Israelites a true experience of God’s powerful commitment to them. In very concrete terms they understand what it means for their God to be in covenant with them. Exodus chapter 11 begins with a definitive word from God to Moses: “One more plague will I bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. After that he will let you depart. In fact, he will not merely let you go; he will drive you away (verse 1).” In preparation for their exodus from Egypt, the people are told specifically what will happen. Every first-born in the land of Egypt will die, from the first-born of Pharaoh on the throne to the first-born of the slave-girl at the hand mill, as well as all the first-born of the animals. Among the Israelites and their animals, not even a dog will growl so that all will know that the Lord distinguishes between the Egyptians and the Israelites. 
  
  THE PASSOVER RITUAL PRESCRIBED:
  
              God gives this exodus event a very specific ritual. “Tell the whole community of Israel: On the tenth of this month every one of your families must procure for itself a lamb, one apiece for each household…The lamb must be a year-old male and without blemish…. You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, and then, with the whole assembly of Israel present, it shall be slaughtered during the evening twilight. They shall take some of its blood and apply it to the two doorposts and the lintel of every house in which they partake of the lamb. That same night they shall eat its roasted flesh with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. It shall not be eaten raw or boiled, but roasted whole, with its head and shanks and inner organs…. This is how you are to eat it, with your loins girt, sandals on your feet and your staff in hand, you shall eat like those who are in flight. It is the Passover of the Lord. For on this same night I will go through Egypt, striking down every first-born of the land, both man and beast, and executing judgment on all the gods of Egypt – I, the Lord! But the blood will mark the houses where you are. Seeing the blood, I will pass over you; thus, when I strike the land of Egypt, no destructive blow will come upon you. This day shall be a memorial feast for you, which all your generations shall celebrate with pilgrimage to the Lord as a perpetual institution (Exodus 12: 3-14).” 
  
   THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE MEAL:
  
              It would be rich food for the soul to ponder the immense depths and significance of this Passover Meal. Imagine you were an Israelite at the time. You have heard countless stories of oppression and brutality meted out to your people for centuries. You have even heard of Moses’ stab at freedom for his people when he killed the Egyptian guard and then fled for his life, thereby causing harsher punishment and treatment of your people. You have wondered about the God of your fathers who seemingly has been absent in the lives of your people. But now it has been several months when stirrings of hope and salvation are echoing throughout the Israelite ghetto, as this same Moses has returned in God’s name, and has been challenging the indomitable Pharaoh through nine plagues that have been disasters to the Egyptians and blessings to the Israelites.
  
              And now the Israelite community is abuzz with excitement as tonight is the night of salvation, a time of reckoning with “I AM” who will deliver them from their captivity, and set them free to worship the true God and become God’s people! After these centuries of enslavement, can this summons to partake of a covenantal meal, re-affirming and sealing God’s bond with the Israelites, be for real? And will Yahweh deliver on His promise against the might of Pharaoh and the gods he worships? Tonight will be the night of Israel’s greatest salvation event. God will pass over the Egyptian houses wreaking havoc against their enemies and His, and providing security and salvation to His own people. By the same token the Israelites will pass over from Egypt, the land of slavery, to the Promised Land flowing with milk and honey. The bond between God and His people will be strengthened. Israel will belong to God, and God will be their everlasting Protector! This is the great news then that is being celebrated and savored during the Passover Meal, allbeit in a mighty hurry and extreme urgency!
  
              No wonder God wants them to make it a perpetual institution to celebrate every year as a memorial feast. It was God’s way of saying that this salvation event would remain the bedrock of the covenant between the Israelites and God. It would need to be savored and experienced in an ongoing manner for the rest of their lives! And so the term ‘memorial’ has special significance for God’s people. Every year when they celebrated this salvation event, they knew they would not merely be remembering their people’s redemption from Egypt which took place in the past. Rather, they would be experiencing the same event and depth of relationship with God in their present lives the way their ancestors did.
  
  JESUS INSTITUTES THE EUCHARIST DURING THE PASSOVER MEAL:
  
              Jesus instituted the Eucharist during the Passover meal, thereby expanding the depths of its meaning beyond anything the Israelites could ever imagine. At one and the same time, Jesus presents himself at various depths of meaning. Jesus is the new Moses leading his people from slavery to sin to the freedom of becoming the sons and daughters of the Living God. Jesus is also the Passover Lamb through whose blood we have been spared God’s wrath and justice and have been clothed in the mantel of God’s love and forgiveness. Jesus instructs his disciples to celebrate Eucharist as a memorial feast. Every time we celebrate Eucharist we are not merely remembering our redemption from sin and death when Jesus died for us on the cross. Rather, in truth engendered by faith, we are participating in the saving event of Christ’s death and resurrection which are an eternal and ever-present reality.
  
  

HELPFUL ATTITUDES  FOR  PRAYER:

·God entered into covenant with Abraham and is therefore being faithful to His promises made to Abraham and his descendants, now enslaved in Egypt.

·Berit or bond is the preferred meaning of the Old Testament word for covenant. God has entered into a permanent bond with the Israelites that can be likened to marriage. Israel will always be looked upon as God’s wife, a familiar image that is referred to by the prophets.

·The tenth plague serves the purpose of breaking Pharaoh’s obstinate resolve, and gives the Israelites a true experience of God’s powerful commitment to them. Very concretely they understand what it means for their God to be in covenant with them.

·Through the covenant meal, the Israelites will pass over from slavery to freedom in the Promised Land. The bond between God and His people will be strengthened. Israel will belong to God, and God will be their everlasting Protector! This is the great news then that is being celebrated and savored, albeit with extreme urgency!

·The term ‘memorial’ has special significance for God’s people. They knew they would not merely be remembering their people’s redemption from Egypt in the past. Rather, they would be experiencing the same event and depth of relationship with God in their present lives, the way their ancestors did. 

·Jesus is the new Moses leading his people from slavery to sin to the freedom of becoming children of the Living God.

·Jesus is the Passover Lamb through whose blood we have been spared God’s wrath and justice and have been clothed in the mantel of God’s love and forgiveness.



GUIDELINES FOR PRAYER:

• Journal for a few minutes daily about your experience with God in prayer and during the day.
• Your journal will help you with your sharing in spiritual direction
• Gradually patterns of insights, themes, consolations, and resistance to God’s promptings will emerge.
• Your journal will help you appreciate the Holy Spirit’s action in your being.