His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him. — Exodus 2:4 And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him.
The Torah reading for today is from
Exodus 12:21–51
21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families and kill the Passover lamb. 22 And you shall take a bunch of hyssops, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning. 23 For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you. 24 And you shall observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever. 25 It will come to pass when you come to the land which the LORD will give you, just as He promised, that you shall keep this service. 26 And it shall be, when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ 27 that you shall say, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice of the LORD, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households.’ ” So the people bowed their heads and worshiped. 28 Then the children of Israel went away and did so; just as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.
The Tenth Plague: Death of the Firstborn
(Ex. 11:1–10 )
29 And it came to pass at midnight that the LORD struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of livestock. 30 So Pharaoh rose in the night, he, all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead.
The Exodus
31 Then he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, “Rise, go out from among my people, both you and the children of Israel. And go, serve the LORD as you have said. 32 Also take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone; and bless me also.”
33 And the Egyptians urged the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste. For they said, “We shall all be dead.” 34 So the people took their dough before it was leavened, having their kneading bowls bound up in their clothes on their shoulders. 35 Now the children of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, and they had asked from the Egyptians articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing. 36 And the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians so that they granted them what they requested. Thus they plundered the Egyptians. 37 Then the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children. 38 A mixed multitude went up with them also, and flocks and herds—a great deal of livestock. 39 And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they had brought out of Egypt; for it was not leavened, because they were driven out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared provisions for themselves.
40 Now the sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. 41 And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years—on that very same day—it came to pass that all the armies of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt. 42 It is a night of solemn observance to the LORD for bringing them out of the land of Egypt. This is that night of the LORD, a solemn observance for all the children of Israel throughout their generations.
Passover Regulations
43 And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the ordinance of the Passover: No foreigner shall eat it. 44 But every man’s servant who is bought for money when you have circumcised him, then he may eat it. 45 A sojourner and a hired servant shall not eat it. 46 In one house it shall be eaten; you shall not carry any of the flesh outside the house, nor shall you break one of its bones. 47 All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. 48 And when a stranger dwells with you and wants to keep the Passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it, and he shall be as a native of the land. For no uncircumcised person shall eat it. 49 One law shall be for the native-born and for the stranger who dwells among you.”
50 Thus all the children of Israel did; as the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did. 51 And it came to pass, on that very same day, that the LORD brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt according to their armies.
Numbers 28:16–25,
Offerings at Passover
16 ‘On the fourteenth day of the first month is the Passover of the LORD. 17 And on the fifteenth day of this month is the feast; unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days. 18 On the first day you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work. 19 And you shall present an offering made by fire as a burnt offering to the LORD: two young bulls, one ram, and seven lambs in their first year. Be sure they are without blemish. 20 Their grain offering shall be of fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an ephah you shall offer for a bull, and two-tenths for a ram; 21 you shall offer one-tenth of an ephah for each of the seven lambs; 22 also one goat as a sin offering, to make atonement for you. 23 You shall offer these besides the burnt offering of the morning, which is for a regular burnt offering. 24 In this manner you shall offer the food of the offering made by fire daily for seven days, as a sweet aroma to the LORD; it shall be offered besides the regular burnt offering and its drink offering. 25 And on the seventh day yo
Joshua 3:5–7; 5 And Joshua said to the people, “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.” 6 Then Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, “Take up the ark of the covenant and cross over before the people.”
So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people.
7 And the LORD said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.
5:2–6:1, 27.1 So it was, when all the kings of the Amorites who were on the west side of the Jordan, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan from before the children of Israel until we had crossed over, that their heart melted; and there was no spirit in them any longer because of the children of Israel.
2 At that time the LORD said to Joshua, “Make flint knives for yourself, and circumcise the sons of Israel again the second time.” 3 So Joshua made flint knives for himself and circumcised the sons of Israel at the hill of the foreskins. 4 And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: All the people who came out of Egypt who were males, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way after they had come out of Egypt. 5 For all the people who came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness, on the way as they came out of Egypt, had not been circumcised. 6 For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people who were men of war, who came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they did not obey the voice of the LORD—to whom the LORD swore that He would not show them the land which the LORD had sworn to their fathers that He would give us, “a land flowing with milk and honey.” 7 Then Joshua circumcised their sons whom He raised up in their place; for they were uncircumcised because they had not been circumcised on the way.
8 So it was when they had finished circumcising all the people, that they stayed in their places in the camp till they were healed. 9 Then the LORD said to Joshua, “This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” Therefore the name of the place is called Gilgal[fn] to this day.
10 Now the children of Israel camped in Gilgal and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight on the plains of Jericho. 11 And they ate of the produce of the land on the day after the Passover, unleavened bread and parched grain, on the very same day. 12 Then the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the produce of the land, and the children of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate the food of the land of Canaan that year.
The Commander of the Army of the LORD
13 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, “Are You for us or for our adversaries?”
14 So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.”
And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, “What does my Lord say to His servant?”
15 Then the Commander of the LORD’s army said to Joshua, “Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.” And Joshua did so.
6:1 Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in.
6:27 So the LORD was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout all the country.
What if God answered every prayer with a resounding “YES”?
Would the world be a better and happier place or a worse one?
For example, what if God had answered Miriam’s prayer as she stood among the reeds next to the Nile River where her baby brother Moses floated in a basket designed to protect him as he drifted in the water?
As you remember, Miriam and her mother placed Moses in the basket as a last resort. The Egyptians had resolved to kill every single Hebrew baby boy.
Miriam and her mother hoped that a non-Egyptian would find the infant and have mercy on him.
Miriam watched to find out her baby brother’s fate, and as the sages teach, while she waited, she prayed. “God, please watch over him. Please make sure no Egyptian officials find him.”
Who should come along but the daughter of Pharaoh himself? The daughter of the very man who proclaimed: “Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile” (Exodus 1:22).
Miriam continued to pray: “God, please don’t let her see him!” But Pharaoh’s daughter did see him and she reached for the basket. Miriam begged: “Please God, don’t let her reach him!”
Again, God didn’t listen to her. Pharaoh’s daughter did reach the basket, and according to tradition, God even performed a miracle to lengthen her arm so that she could reach Moses.
Miriam pleaded: “Oh, God, please make her think that he is ugly and no good.” But Pharaoh’s daughter was smitten, and she decided to take Moses for her son.
And God said: “Good thing I didn’t answer you, Miriam! Had I done what you asked,
Moses would have drifted off and drowned. Instead, he will grow up in Pharaoh’s home where he will become a noble, a leader who can redeem Israel.”
And indeed he did!
Like Miriam, we don’t always get what we pray for.
But we always get what we need, and that makes all the difference.
When we pray for one thing and we don’t get what we asked for, it feels as though one of two things have happened: Either God didn’t hear our prayers, or He has denied us a gift.
But neither is true. God hears every one of our prayers. Sometimes He says “yes” and other times He says “no.” But when God says “no,” it’s not because He doesn’t want us to have good things.
When God says “no” to what we asked for, it’s because He has something even greater to give us!
When your prayers seem to go unanswered, think of Miriam standing desperately by the Egyptian Nile. Thank God for your unanswered prayers because those are often the greatest gifts of all.
Comments