Pesach – A Tale of Two Cities
The Pesach Haggadah should begin, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…”[1] because the best and worst of the Pesach (Passover) story are determined by wisdom and foolishness.
Pesach started as the worst of times for my ancestors. We were Pharaoh’s slaves, the flesh and blood engine of Egypt’s growing architectural glory. In agony we cried out to God, “Help us!” Just as He promised our father Abraham, God heard and acted on our behalf.
In nine plagues by the hand of Moses and mouth of Aaron, God destroyed the myth of Egypt’s gods and demonstrated His uncontested power. Pharaoh rejected all nine proofs. Just as it seemed our enslavement would never end, God’s tenth and final plague brought our release once and for all. For us, the end of the Pesach story was the best of times.
Not so for the Egyptians. It started as Egypt’s “best of times.” Symbols of imperial might . . . and her gods’ unrivaled power rose steadily from the desert – built by those she mastered. Moses’ demands for freedom were scorned as empty threats. It was clear that the gods of the masters must be greater than the God of the slaves!
Yet, nine times by Moses’ hand and Aaron’s mouth, Egypt’s gods proved impotent. When God displayed His power in the tenth plague, Egypt lost every first-born son, and Pharaoh’s hand was forced to free my people. For Egypt, Pesach ended with the worst of times.
Pesach was the best and worst of times. It was also an age of wisdom and foolishness.
It was an age of foolishness for the Egyptians. Led by Pharaoh’s pride and self-confidence they refused to obey Israel’s God and forfeited the lives of their first-born sons. By rejecting God’s self-revelation, they ultimately forfeited the lives of their first-born sons. Egypt’s foolishness left them consumed with grief as they helplessly watched Israel, God’s “first-born” go free.
It was an age of wisdom for Israel. Powerless over their enslavement, Jacob’s descendants cried out for deliverance, stood in awe of God’s self-revelation, and trusted in His provision. At the tenth plague each household offered the life of a spotless lamb in place of their precious first-born son. Although powerless and unworthy, Israel wisely received God’s gracious provision and were freed to worship and serve God.
The annual reading of the Pesach Haggadah challenges each of us to ponder our own destinies. It invites us to ponder whether we will experience the best of times or the worst of times. And it challenges us to see how wisdom and foolishness impact the outcome.
Reading Egypt’s story inoculates us against deadly spiritual delusion – that the gods, religions, and philosophies of human wisdom lead to life. Egypt and Pharaoh demonstrate how outward symbols of prosperity and success can blind us to our spiritual poverty and helplessness. It is a dramatic reminder that such foolishness results in death.
Israel’s story affirms the certainty of this essential spiritual fact – that trusting God’s provision leads to redemption. Israel demonstrates how helplessness leads to faith in God and His power. It is a dramatic reminder that such wisdom results in life.
Each of us is living in the best of times and the worst of times, an age of wisdom and an age of foolishness. The story of Pesach challenges us to respond wisely in two simple ways. First, confess to God your natural self-sufficiency and foolish dependence on human religions and philosophies. Second, humbly acknowledge your helplessness and joyfully receive God’s provision. My ancestors did this by offering the Pesach Lamb. Today we put our trust in the Lamb of God, our promised Messiah.
Through the Haggadah, God calls to every generation, reminding us of our need to cry out for redemption, and His provision for it. May this year’s Pesach celebration find us anticipating the best of times by wisely receiving God’s Lamb.
“Now you shall eat it in this manner: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste – it is the Lord’s Passover. For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments – I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.”[2]
“By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them.”[3]
“Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Messiah our Passover also has been sacrificed.”[4]
Written by Dan Strull, LIFE Board Chair
“If only I had known…!” How many times in life have we acted in ignorance or under a delusion only to discover – sometimes too late – how mistaken we were.
How much pain results from our foolishness is directly proportional to the importance of the matter. Missing a turn while driving may cost us some minutes; turning the wrong way on a one-way street may cause an accident. Mistaking one brand of aspirin for another likely produces no harm; unwittingly ingesting poison while convinced its medicine could prove fatal.
Eternal destinies matter – eternally. We need to “get the facts straight” when it comes to who God is, what His standards and righteous demands are, and His provision for our redemption.
If you need help “calibrating your spiritual compass” on life’s journey, we’d be happy to point you to the resources God has provided. Give us a call or send an email. Questions and prayer requests welcome!
Footnotes:
[1] So begins The Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.
[2] Exodus 12:11–13 (NASB95).
[3] Hebrews 11:28 (NASB95).
[4] 1 Corinthians 5:7 (NASB95).