I´m reading Exodus just now, where the Israelites leave Egypt. Away from slavery but also away from the land full of luxury. And there are so many parallels to our current situation! God sends plagues to pharao and his people. Because they are arrogant and won´t accept him as the highest king. The last plague is the worst. Until to this day the Israelites are celebrating the feast of the Passover, to remember how God saved there people back then: Death went through the country and every firstborn died. Only the Isrealites are spared, when (and they are eager to obey) they stay home and nobody leaves the house; and as a sign of their loyalty and their trust in God they paint their doors with the blood of the Passover lamb. They were save.
Jesus is our Passover lamb, who that for us so that we may have eternal life. (The week before Easter is by the way always exactly the same time Israelites celebrate the Passover feast.)
In addition to that, the Passover feast is also the feast of the unraised bread. For one week there is to be no yeast in the house and everybody is only eating unraised bread. In remeberance to the exodus out of Egypt when they were in a hurry and had no time to let the dough raise.
I like to bake bread and pizza. But for three weeks now, yeast is nowhere tob e found! Last week I tried three local stores but it was sold out everywhere. While I went searching from store to store, I suddenly had the feeling, God wants to tell me something. There won´t be any yeast for me, before I finish up the one I have at home. “That´s so God!” I thought. „That´s so like him!“ I can´t have everything stockpiled in my corona-cupboard. There won´t be any yeast before I really need it. And I kind of accepted that. (Although I kept my eyes open each time I entered a grocery store. But I kind of knew there was no chance finding one, as long as I still had three portions of dried yeast at home… J)
Yesterday was the day, when I finally used up the last bit of yeast to bake bread for the family. My husband asked me, if I did not want to save the yeast a little bit longer as there is no possibility to replace it? But I HAD to use it, otherwise there would not be any new one for me!
Anyway, I gave some of the bread to one of my neighbors. And she had already heard from another neighbor, that I did not have any more yeast. And she gave me one little packet!
One portion! That´s great, although it´s not much. God did not say how much yeast I will receive. But I do have another portion right now. No more and no less!
Today I read how God cared for his people in the desert by giving them Mannah.
Some people became greedy and took more than they needed, although it was only allowed to collect for what a household could eat in a day. The consequence of their disobedience was, that the Mannah in their tupperbox got wormy and smelled bad. Only the day before the Sabbath they were allowed to collect twice as needed. And then it stayed good.
The Israelites needed to learn to trust God. They couldn´t make it on their own, they were not independent. They had to trust and wait like a kid.
That´s also how God cares for me.
So the Israelites were in the desert for a long time and they complained because they missed the different sorts of food they had in Egypt. It was kind of boring. And no detailed route for the journey.
“How long will it take? Where is it exactly we are going to? Why are we taking the longer route? Are we there yet?“
It´s three weeks now we ar in quarantine. A desert time.
But: God is here. He cares. He knows the future.
We can learn patience and obedience. And trust and thankfulness.
When we do learn these things we will be able and courageous in going new ways, like Joshua did later on.
“Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”