The Morrow After the Passover
“And Moses wrote their goings out according to their journeys by the commandment of the LORD: and these are their journeys according to their goings out. And they departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the passover the children of Israel went out with an high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians.”Numbers 33:2–3 (KJV)
Numbers 33 is a list most readers skim: a long list of stops on Israel’s journey through the wilderness. But look at how it starts. “And Moses wrote their goings out according to their journeys by the commandment of the LORD.” God wanted them to remember the whole road.
And the road begins on a particular day: “on the morrow after the passover the children of Israel went out with an high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians.” Their journey started the day after the lamb died.
So does ours. Paul says, “even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us.” And because he died and rose, “we also should walk in newness of life.” Your walk with God doesn’t begin with your effort. It begins the morning after the Lamb.
If you came to Christ, there is a “morrow after the passover” in your story too. It is worth remembering, the way Israel did, and writing down where God has brought you since.
Read it yourself
Read Numbers 33:1–5. What does verse 4 say the LORD did to the gods of Egypt?
If you wrote down the “journeys” of your life with God, what would the first few stops be?
Lord Jesus, my passover Lamb, thank you that my journey starts with your sacrifice. Help me walk in newness of life. Amen.