Passover
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The festivals of the first month were centred on the Passover. This festival recalled the dramatic events that took place when the children of Israel came out of Egypt. In Egypt they were slaves. Cruel taskmasters forced them to work hard. Generations of Israelites lived and died without knowing happiness or freedom. At last God heard their cry and sent a deliverer to set them free. Moses led them out of Egypt and eventually to the land of Israel.
On the night of their departure the angel of the Lord killed the firstborn son in every Egyptian family. The Israelites were instructed to kill a lamb and put its blood on the doors of their houses. When the angel of the Lord saw the blood he passed over that house, and the firstborn son was not killed.
Jewish families observe the Passover festival every year to this day. We who follow Jesus observe a spiritual Passover. For us Jesus is the Lamb of God who died to save us from our sins. Our death sentences have been cancelled. We are freely pardoned and forgiven. The Lamb of God has carried our sin for us with all its dreadful penalty. Like the Israelites of old we are a redeemed people.
This festival is the starting point of our experience in God. Through the blood of Jesus we are redeemed or bought back to God. We initially belong to God by right of creation. He made us. We are lost to him through sin that separates us from him. Jesus, the Lamb of God, offered himself, as represented in his life blood, to purchase us back for God. On that basis we now belong to him and are his property. This is a fundamental fact that underpins all our spiritual experience. We have been bought back for God and we belong to him. We are his people and he is our God.