What Does the Passover Represent to You?

            My Come, Follow Me studies for this week took me to Exodus 7-13. Moses was called to return to Egypt to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. He was obedient and delivered God’s messages to Pharaoh, but Pharaoh would not let the Israelites go. Before each plague, God warned Pharaoh what would happen if he did not let the people go.

God proceeded to show His power to Pharaoh, but He did not do it all at once. The plagues were brought over a period of weeks. With God’s power, Moses and Aaron showed some signs to Pharaoh, his magicians imitated some of them.

·         Aaron threw down his rod, and it became a serpent. The magicians threw down their rods, and they became serpents. Aaron’s serpent ate the other serpents. When Aaron picked up the serpent by the tail, it became a rod once again. This sign showed that God is more powerful than the gods of Pharaoh.

·         Aaron struck the water, and it became blood. The ministers struck water, and it became blood. All the water in the land became blood. Seven days passed before Moses went back to see Pharaoh to tell him to let the Israelites go.

·         Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt and frogs came out of the water and covered the land. The magicians also brought frogs out of the water. The frogs died, but Pharaoh did not free the people.

·         Aaron stretched out his rod and smote the earth, and dust became lice, but the magicians could not bring forth lice. They told Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” Pharaoh did not let the people go.

·         The Lord sent flies into the land of Egypt, but He blocked them from going to Goshen where the Israelites lived. Moses prayed to have the flies leave, but Pharaoh would not let the people go.

·         The Lord warned Pharaoh that all the cattle – horses, asses, camels, oxen, and sheep – in the fields would die if he did not let the people go. Pharaoh refused. All the cattle in Egypt died, but the cattle in Goshen were protected. Pharaoh still refused to let the people go.

·         Moses and Aaron sprinkled ashes toward heaven in the sight of Pharaoh, and the dust became a boil on man and beast throughout the land of Egypt. The boils were so painful that the magicians could not stand. Pharaoh still refused to let the people go.

·         Moses told Pharaoh that the Lord would send hail that would kill every man and beast in the field. Those who feared the word of Moses made their servants and animals flee to houses. The hail fell and became fire running along the ground. Every man or beast in the fields of Egypt was killed, but no hail fell in Goshen. Pharaoh promised to let the people go if Moses entreated God to stop the hail – but Pharaoh did not keep his promise.

·         Moses told Pharaoh that the Lord would send locusts that would eat the remaining crops, so many that the earth would be covered. Again, Pharaoh promised to let the people go and broke his promise.

·         The next plague was three days of total darkness in Egypt – but not in Goshen. This time Pharaoh told Moses to get out of his presence and not come back.

·         The last plague was the death of the firstborn in every family of man and beast. The Israelites were saved by lamb’s blood put on the sides and top of their doorways. This was the beginning of the Passover, still celebrated each year by observant Jews.

The Come, Follow Me manual for individuals and families gave the following explanation for what happened in Egypt:

Plague after plague afflicted Egypt, but Pharaoh still refused to release the Israelites. And yet God continued to demonstrate His power and give Pharaoh opportunities to accept “that I am the Lord” and “there is none like me in all the earth” (Exodus 7:5; 9:14). Meanwhile, Moses and the Israelites must have watched in awe at these manifestations of God’s power in their behalf. Surely these continued signs confirmed their faith in God and strengthened their willingness to follow God’s prophet. Then, after nine terrible plagues had failed to free the Israelites, it was the tenth plague – the death of the firstborn, including Pharaoh’s firstborn – that finally ended the captivity. This seems fitting because in every case of spiritual captivity, there truly is only one way to escape. No matter what else we may have tried in the past, it is with us as it was with the children of Israel. It is only the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Firstborn – the blood of the Lamb without blemish – that will save us.

            Exodus says that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart after each plague, but we know that God gave agency to each of His spirit children before we left our pre-mortal life. Therefore, it was Pharaoh who hardened his heart even though God gave him many chances to soften it. You and I are faced with “plagues” in our lives, and we have our agency to choose whether we will allow our adversities to harden our hearts or turn our hearts toward God. The principle taught is “I can choose to soften my heart.” The choice is ours: we can choose to soften our hearts or to have God soften them for us. The former is the better choice.

            Another principle taught in these chapters is “The Passover symbolizes the Atonement of Jesus Christ.” The only way that the Israelites could be saved from the tenth plague – the death of all firstborns as described in Exodus 11:4-5 -- was to precisely follow the instructions of the Lord given in Exodus 12. The ritual given is known as the Passover. The Passover teaches us through symbols that the Lord can deliver us from the bondage of sin just as He delivered the Israelites from the bondage of Egypt.

            God wanted the Israelites to remember that He had delivered them from Egypt, and He wanted this memory to be passed to future generations. This is why He gave them precise directions about the Passover feast and commanded them to observe it every year. The purposes of the Passover are similar to the sacrament instituted by Jesus Christ during Passover just before He was crucified.

            The Passover and the sacrament teach that our deliverance comes through Jesus Christ. Celebrating the Feast of the Passover helped the children of Israel to remember that the Lord delivered them from captivity. Partaking of the sacrament each Sunday helps us to remember that we are delivered from death and sin through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.