The story of the exodus out of Egypt is full of extraordinary miracles against false gods, the protection of God’s people, and the preparation on the part of the people. Even though Israel’s deliverance was one hundred percent the supernatural work of God there was still a requirement on the part of the people.

Exodus 12:1-11 ESV “The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2 “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. 3 Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household. 4 And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, 6 and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight. 7 “Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. 8 They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. 10 And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. 11 In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover.”

Specific instructions were given to Israel so that their deliverance could be accomplished. God is not arbitrary in His working; we must work with Him. As Passover is less than a week away, I encourage you to search your heart for anything that could hold you back from receiving all God has for you during this appointed time. 

There is a story in the Gospels about a man who had a son who was demon-possessed. The dad brought his son to the disciples, and they couldn’t cast it out; Jesus had to. The issue wasn’t that they couldn’t cast it out; Jesus had given them the authority to do so; the problem was in their lack of faith.

Mark 9:19, 25-29 ESV “And he answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.” And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” 26 And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.28 And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” 29 And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”

Jesus wasn’t saying they couldn’t cast the demon out because they hadn’t prayed enough; He was saying the low level of faith couldn’t be overcome and brought to a higher level unless they prayed.

Jesus often went away to quiet places to pray. Have you ever asked the question, why did He do that? He wanted to be in communion with His Father. In order for the disciples to cast out demons, they needed to be in communion with the Father. 

Passover and each festival are opportunities for closer fellowship with the Lord. During the spring Feasts, we don’t end with Passover; we then have the Counting of the Omer until Pentecost. We are in a great season of heart inspection and closeness with God. In fact, God offers two times a year for us to examine ourselves closely to see if we are in faith: the Counting of the Omer and the month of Elul before the Fall Feasts.

God is all about connecting with us. Are we ready to connect with Him during this special time? The first step is to spend time in prayer, and I encourage you to spend extra devoted time in prayer over these next few days, preparing your heart as you come to the Lord’s table at Passover.

Tomorrow, we will discuss healing; Sunday, we will talk about walking out deliverance; and next Tuesday through Friday, I will post Scriptural confessions of love, healing, freedom, and our covenant connection through Yeshua.