The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-06-08

DOT1 OI AL hkSJpC RCIlS9G0-
Pharaoh had doomed all the male
infants Of Israel to perish; now his
own son (the Pharaoh of the oppreS-
sion was succeeded on the throne by
his widow, according to some authors
ties, J. and the frSt-born OF every fam
lily, down to, tfaat of the slave toiling
at the MILL yess down to the drst-born
iofT every beast was suddenly srnitten
with death. Terrible indeed was the
measure, but nothing less could bring
Pharaoh. to his knees and accomplish
the deliverance of the chosen people.
And God must he. God. at any cost;
they who will not follow his shepherd
staff must be, driven by his kingly
sceptre.
A Sign of Escape
Here we find tire beginning of an in
stitution which has been kept ever since.
wherever the. chill dren of Abraham have
dwelt. It was the divine design to pass
over his own people in this dread vista
ton; Therefore he appointed the sign of
the. blood and the Sacrff1cial feast, crowd
ed with the Significance of a fuller.
greater Passover and it's Lamb yet to
come; and this memorial continues to
this day, a historic practice more elo-
quent than the monuments. A keen
writer Ieslie) two centuries ago found
in. the Passover institution four marks
which are never lacking from any event
of proved historically; visibility, public
ity. memorial Observance and contem-
pOraneous ness OF institution"
MUTE lIilIpESSSANS Iuehn any COIlI1oI1I
the moving narrative itself, as found in
Exoduss
Then Moses called for all the elders
of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out
and take yoIr lambs according to you're
families. and kTil the passover. And ye
shall taxa a bunch of hyssop, and dip
it in the blnotE that is in the BASIN and
strike the lirtEE and the two side-postS
with the b1O0d that is in the basin: and
nome of ysoTa shall go out of the door of
his IfO1ISfs. TiT1ffH the Morning For
hovaf1 will pa IS through to smite the
Egyptfa1S.. an when he seeth the blood
upon the Intel, and on the two side-posts,
Jehovah will pass over the door, and
will not suffer the destroyer to come in
unto your houites to smite you. And we
shall observe this thing for an ordinance
to thee and to- thy sons for ever. And
It shall come t D pass. when We are come
to the land VIII tch Jehovah will give you,
according as re hath promised, that We
shall keep this service. And it shall
come to pass. when your children shall
say unto you,. What mean We by this
servfce2 that we shall say, It is the
sacrifice Of Jtahovahs passover, who
passed over the houses of the children
of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the
L -yptians, and delivered our houses.
And the pee pie bowed the head and
worshipped- a nd the children of Israel
went and did o; as Jehovah had COM
manded Moses and Aaron, SO did they
And it came to pass at midnight that
Jehovah sTnote all the flrst-born in the
land of Egypt, from the first-born of
Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the
first-born Of the captive that was in tho
dungeon, and all the frst-born of cattle.
And Pharaoh rose up in the night. he
and all his ser wants, and all the Eygp-
tfanS; and there was great cry in
Egypt: for there was not a. house where
there was not one dead
The Meaning of the Miracle.
The underlying message of the Pass
over for the present times is expressed
in many ways even today: namely, that
God has put a difference between his
own people and those who know him
not. Any traveller among nations
knows this to be So He sees Christian
peoples ruling the world. He finds a
difference between the white man and
the yellow or the brown or the black
that is fundamentally a difference Of
with peculiar, personal and paternal
care. The faith of the little child. that
God is interested in its affairs and
knows it by name and is concerned for
highest religion revealed to man. what
God said in the Passover he Is still
saying by revelation and by provi-
dence: Casting all your care upon
Him, for he careth for you"
The paschal lamb was to be eaten by
families: the cody household is the in
teger of the kingdom of heaven. Jeho-
yah never lets pass all opportunity of
emphasizing the sacredness Of the fam
lily; the person who neglects his own
family for church gatherings has an
altogether distorted idea of religion.
The Will of God Is behind the modern
emphasis that Is being laid upon the
sanctity of the home.
Every people, like every individual
heart, has its anniversaries. 1t Is not
good to forget these, for they come
laden with messages from the past
which the present needs. And the great
message of the Passover, which is per-
petuated in the Lords Supper, is that
in the sign of the blood is salvation.
Christ. our Passover" who was sacri-
feed for us, Is the only warrant we
have for claiming the divine favor and
protection. without the shedding of
blood there is no remission of SIM" In
the shed blood of the whole worlds
sufficient Paschal Lamb there is safety, |
liberty and life in fullness. /