Exodus 12: the beginning

” The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt,  “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year.” (v. 1)

He gave them their beginning, marking their rescue as the start of their year for the rest of their days. A reminder, always, of when God took them out of slavery and into freedom.

My date is today, April 2nd, and I’m embarrassed to say that I don’t always think about my rescue when this date rolls around each year. But, the memory of it is embedded in me all the same. The date, the place, the sounds going on around me as I physically sat in a chair repeating a prayer while also, somewhere in my soul, falling in a broken heap at the feet of Jesus. That’s when He gave me my beginning.

This conversation God had with Moses in chapter 12 is almost like an artist painting on a canvas, telling the story of thousands of years. The Israelites, and you and I, escaping death through the blood of a perfect, unblemished lamb.

God marked the day for them, and for the generations to come. “This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance.” (v. 14)

In other words, this day is worthy of remembrance for you, and for those coming after you. Make much of it.

The blood of Jesus was applied to my life on the second day in April 1989, and on that day God marked my beginning. The generations that come won’t see my years of slavery. They won’t be witnesses to the darkness of my oppression, but instead, they will know the testimony that His blood has put on my life. Thirty-six years ago Jesus rescued me and in doing so, He changed the course of not just my life but the lives of my family.

This chapter in the book of Exodus, which I have read at least a dozen times if not more, hit me different this time, as I realize that God marked out their beginning, and told them to celebrate it for all time.

My rescue is no less worthy of remembrance, and neither is yours. He wants His people to celebrate what He has done for them, to remember it, talk about it, so the generations to come will know.

This was the beginning.