Day 24 of 40 days to Resurrection day

Today’s suggestion:

March 20 is the new moon when it is hidden from our view.  

Observe how it grows until it reaches its fullness on April 4th, the night of Passover.  

The story of Passover is integral to the message of the cross of Jesus.  The last meal He shared with the disciples was a celebration of the Passover.  Passover and what we call Easter – the resurrection of Jesus from the dead – cannot be separated.  We must understand the first to fully appreciate the second.

The regulations regarding Passover given to Moses and recorded in Exodus 12 are a shadow of things to come.  The revelation of Jesus Christ fulfilled the Passover and presented Him as God’s ultimate sacrifice, the Passover Lamb.

This night, March 20, begins a new cycle of the moon when the moon appears to be invisible.  It’s what we call the new moon,  when it is positioned between the earth and sun.

As I studied the Passover in relation to the cross, I observed the moon growing full as Passover approached.

Just an explanation:  The Hebrew religious calendar is a lunisolar calendar, meaning the months are based on a lunar month for religious observances while most of the world operates on the Gregorian calendar with its “30 days hath September, April, June and November.  All the rest have 31 except for February what has 28 and sometimes 29.”

After tonight’s new moon, it will appear to grow larger until it becomes full on Passover night.  But what significance does that have for me in 2015?

Picture the Israelites in Egypt as plague upon plague ravished Egypt.  The final plague was approaching, the death of the first-born, both man and beast.

On the night of Passover, God’s people were hidden behind blood-marked doors.  The moon was full as the destroyer moved through the land bringing final judgment on Pharaoh and the land he ruled.  This night was different from other nights, and it would be remembered through the generations.  Each year thereafter, the moon rose full and bright on Passover evening as they celebrated and remembered.

Scripture abounds with verses that tell us God is in control.  He rules nature.  He rules the earth and all that is in it. He rules even when we think earthly powers are in charge. What we see now is just the fringe of God’s might and strength.  We are only hearing the whisper of Who He is.

As you watch the moon the next couple of weeks, picture the Hebrews in the land of Egypt, enslaved and hopeless. The idea of emancipation was a distant dream, hidden from their view until God sent Moses with a message of freedom.  As the evening moon grew fuller, the time of their deliverance grew closer.

We have heard the voice of freedom, freedom from the bondage of sin, of self, and of our enemy.  The Voice cried out on a cruel cross, “It is finished.”  It was Jesus’ battle cry.  It was the deliverance we had been waiting for.