The Second Passover
“Now the Lord spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying: “Let the children of Israel keep the Passover at its appointed time. On the fourteenth day of this month, at twilight, you shall keep it at its appointed time. According to all its rites and ceremonies you shall keep it.” So Moses told the children of Israel that they should keep the Passover. And they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month, at twilight, in the Wilderness of Sinai; according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did.
Now there were certain men who were defiled by a human corpse, so that they could not keep the Passover on that day; and they came before Moses and Aaron that day. And those men said to him, “We became defiled by a human corpse. Why are we kept from presenting the offering of the Lord at its appointed time among the children of Israel?”
And Moses said to them, “Stand still, that I may hear what the Lord will command concerning you.”
Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘If anyone of you or your posterity is unclean because of a corpse, or is far away on a journey, he may still keep the Lord’s Passover. On the fourteenth day of the second month, at twilight, they may keep it. They shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. They shall leave none of it until morning, nor break one of its bones. According to all the ordinances of the Passover they shall keep it. But the man who is clean and is not on a journey, and ceases to keep the Passover, that same person shall be cut off from among his people, because he did not bring the offering of the Lord at its appointed time; that man shall bear his sin.
‘And if a stranger dwells among you, and would keep the Lord’s Passover, he must do so according to the rite of the Passover and according to its ceremony; you shall have one ordinance, both for the stranger and the native of the land.’ ”
The Cloud and the Fire
Now on the day that the tabernacle was raised up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the Testimony; from evening until morning it was above the tabernacle like the appearance of fire. So it was always: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night. Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, after that the children of Israel would journey; and in the place where the cloud settled, there the children of Israel would pitch their tents. At the command of the Lord the children of Israel would journey, and at the command of the Lord they would camp; as long as the cloud stayed above the tabernacle they remained encamped. Even when the cloud continued long, many days above the tabernacle, the children of Israel kept the charge of the Lord and did not journey. So it was, when the cloud was above the tabernacle a few days: according to the command of the Lord they would remain encamped, and according to the command of the Lord they would journey. So it was, when the cloud remained only from evening until morning: when the cloud was taken up in the morning, then they would journey; whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud was taken up, they would journey. Whether it was two days, a month, or a year that the cloud remained above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would remain encamped and not journey; but when it was taken up, they would journey. At the command of the Lord they remained encamped, and at the command of the Lord they journeyed; they kept the charge of the Lord, at the command of the Lord by the hand of Moses.
How do you train a people with no previous religious traditions, especially if they have just come out of slavery and if they have spent 400 years of being exposed to the death – centered Egyptian religion? God has ordained certain feasts and celebrations throughout the year, and Passover is the first. These people have experienced the original Passover when God struck all the firstborn people and animals of Egypt dead. The Angel of the Lord passed over the houses of the Israelites when he saw the blood of the sacrificial lamb on the doorposts. Now the Israelites are about to celebrate the second Passover, and predictably, there are problems. Men who touch a corpse are defiled and must undergo cleansing, but are they barred from celebrating Passover? No. Passover is so important that these men are allowed to celebrate; however, anyone who is not defiled and refuses to celebrate Passover faces being cut off from his people.
Once the Israelites have crossed the Red Sea, they have entered unknown territory. Where do Moses and his people go next? On the day that the Tabernacle was first raised up, God manifested His presence by a cloud that remained above the Tabernacle. At night, this cloud appeared to be full of fire, so that it could always be seen. Now God is indicating His guidance by the presence of the cloud. If the cloud remains stationary, Moses and his people stay put. As soon as the cloud begins to move, the Israelites must pack up and follow the cloud. God is training His people to follow Him without questioning.
APPLICATION: Sometimes we feel frustrated because we wish God would make His will clear. The Israelites didn’t have that problem-God sent them a cloud. But do you think the Israelites were happy? Doubtful! It’s far more likely that Moses heard stuff like this: “Moses, when are we going to move again? This place is horrible! Why can’t we simply pack up and get going?”
Even when we say we want God’s will for our lives, most of the time we really hope that God will rubber stamp our desires. But God has never been interested in rubber stamps, and He works at His own rate and not ours. How much will we trust God? What if we find ourselves in a miserable situation, one from which there appears to be no way out? Are we willing to trust God or will we try to be our own amateur providence? Years ago, we found ourselves in a difficult situation. We had joined a church that appeared to be a perfect fit with excellent teaching and worship. Then the leadership changed and one of the elders seized control, strangling worship, and teaching at the same time. We were struggling with pressure from several other directions and desperately wanted to leave, but God absolutely said “No!” It was only when the leadership changed and things began to improve that God released us to move to a different church. God kept us there as intercessors until His purposes were accomplished.
God has promised in His Word that “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will guide you with My eye (upon you.)” We may not see moving clouds, but God is a good Father who does not play charades with His children. If we ask God for guidance, we can trust Him to give it.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, many of us feel confused and wonder if we are heading in the right direction. Please guide us and give us Your peace. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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