It seems strange that we need to be reminded of the many good things that God has done for us. This feast of which we are about to partake is a provision made by God to keep us in remembrance of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is often referred to as the “Feast of Remembrance” or the “Memorial Feast,” in order that we might always remember our high calling and what is expected of us as followers of the Lord. The proneness of man to forget has been one of the weaknesses of all generations. Even in the early days of Israel, when they received blessings from God in abundance, there had to be provisions made so they would not forget the One who had given them these great gifts. David recalls that, even so, they soon “forgot his works” (Psalms 106:10-21), and willingly gave obedience to other gods of wood and stone.
In our thoughts we are taken back to the time when Israel had grown into a great nation and had come to be feared by the Egyptians. In slavery they had come to remember God, the God who could save them, so He raised up a leader, the man Moses, who would lead them to a new land and a new way of life. God allowed ten plagues to afflict the land of Egypt and its people, none of which affected the Israelites. In order that Israel might not suffer from the tenth plague, the death of the firstborn of every family, they were commanded of God to prepare and partake of a special feast. In Exodus 12 we read that they were commanded to prepare a lamb without blemish, a male of the first year. The blood from this lamb must be taken and placed on the two side posts and on the upper post of each house. They were commanded to cook the lamb and eat it on a certain date and at a certain time. Instructions were given that they were not to leave the house on the evening they partook of this feast, they were to remain inside until morning (Exodus 12:22).
We who constitute spiritual Israel are also given the same advice by the Apostle Paul, to remain in the household until the new dawn when we shall hear the cry. “The Lord has come.” Hebrews 10: 25 tells us not to forsake “the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is: but exhorting one another: and so much the more as ye set the day approaching.” How much more difficult it would have been for the wife of the house in those days to prepare that feast if her husband had decided on that eventful evening to go and do some business or visit his friends elsewhere. When questioned by his wife as to why he would do such a thing, suppose he had answered: “We have waited all these years and nothing has happened. What about the other nine plagues? Do you think Pharaoh will take any notice of this one?” It could have been worse still if both parents had left the house, and the children had been alone. The outcome we know would have been a tragic one; for God had told them that if anyone neglected to follow His instructions regarding this feast and left the house in the evening, he would bring death to that household.
The exhortation for us is plain. By our constant fellowship within the household we can cause the “angel of death” to pass over, and so help bring salvation to others and to ourselves. The saying is true, “I am my brother’s keeper.”
We can be assured that there was not much sleep among the Israelites on that particular evening, but there must have been an atmosphere of readiness, everyone preparing to leave at a minute’s notice. This is the way that God had commanded them to eat the feast: “And thus ye shall eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the Lord’s passover” (Exodus 12: 11). Here is shown a note of urgency, and the appeal also comes to us to make haste, “for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh” (Matthew 24:44). The parable of the ten virgins teaches us the need to be fully prepared for the coming of the bridegroom. Matthew 25 :13 warns us to “watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.”
Les us be certain that we do not belong to the five foolish virgins who were not prepared, with the result that the door to the wedding feast was closed to them. Although natural Israel was told that they would leave Egypt, they were not told at what time they would leave. We know that we shall leave this life, but the day or the hour is no given to us. Is it not more important that we remain in the household at all times, keeping ourselves prepared and organized so that the coming of the Lord will not come “as a thief in the night” for us? For such words to pass our lips as “all things continue as they were from the beginning; we have waited nearly two thousand years, a few more days will not make any difference,” may cause the angel of death to touch our household. Let us be willing to follow the advice of Paul regarding our way of living. “Therefore let us not sleep, as do others: but let us watch and be sober” (1st Thessalonians 5:6). Paul in his exhortation to us at this time portrays the soldier who is prepared to go into battle at any time to follow his captain. It would be suicide for a soldier to go into battle without his armor, or for the one who wishes to climb a mountain to go without his gear. How far would the pilgrim go without shoes on his feet or being clothed with the proper apparel?
We are the pilgrims and foreigners on the earth at this time, so we should eat the Feast of Remembrance under the same conditions that Christ sets forth in Luke 12:33: “Sell that ye have, and give alms: provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.” A traveler who intends to travel far never burdens himself, but provides himself with only the essentials of life. Let us lay down the burdens of this life, equipping ourselves with the things essential for a traveler to the kingdom: the bread of life, and the apparel of a soldier of Christ.
How far can men or women get to the gates of the kingdom without spiritual shoes on their feet? Paul says (Ephesians 6:15): “And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.” The “shoes” or the “Word of God” will give comfort to the traveler, protecting his feet from the jagged rocks and pitfalls that are part of any highway.
We partake of this feast in the closing hour of the Gentile evening, the new dawn is about to appear when the Savior who was raised up of God Almighty shall appear. So let us examine ourselves to see if we eat the feast with our loins girded, our shoes on our feet, and the staff in our hands.
May this feast be to us then not alone a “Memorial Feast” but also a “pass-over feast.” When we stand before the judge of all men, may the angel of death Pass over us and our household, and may we be led into that new kingdom which will be prepared from the kingdoms of men for those who are redeemed of the Lord.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One