CELEBRATE! BETTER LATE THAN NEVER
The Israelites who were present in Jerusalem celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great joyH8057, and the Levites and priests praised the LORD day after day, accompanied by loud instruments of praise to the LORD. And Hezekiah encouraged all the Levites who performed skillfully before the LORD. For seven days they ate their assigned portion, sacrificing fellowship offerings and giving thanks to the LORD, the God of their fathers.
2 Chronicles 30:21-22
The Passover Feast and Feast of Unleavened Bread which begins the next day had not been celebrated at the prescribed time—the 14th day of the first month—because the Temple had not been made ready and the people were not consecrated and prepared to participate. The Passover feast celebrated that the angel of death passed over the houses marked by the blood of the sacrificial lamb but killed all the firstborn children and animals of the people of Egypt. The next day, the Israelites left in haste and did not make bread containing yeast that would have to rise which God called the bread of affliction (Deuteronomy 16:3). Leavening (such as yeast) represents sin, so all leaven was cleansed from their houses and only flat bread without leaven was eaten for the seven days of the feast. They remembered this salvation of their forefathers and the fact that God brought them out of Egypt joyfully each year with the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread. Since they had failed to celebrate at the proper time, King Hezekiah issued a decree that Passover would be celebrated on the 14th day of the second month. He invited people from tribes other than Judah saying God might help the ones from their tribes who had been taken captive by Assyria. Many of those people scorned the invitation, but some came to Jerusalem to join the celebration. All the people who had gathered in Jerusalem celebrated for seven days “with great joy!” The Levites and priests sang praises and played loud instruments throughout the festival. The Passover was a time for rejoicing in the salvation the Lord provided for the nation of Israel.
Jesus Christ was the final, perfect Passover Lamb. The One of whom John the Baptist said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29 NASB), was sacrificed on the cross to cover our sin and grant us eternal life. Jesus is our Passover! Do we celebrate our deliverance from sin with great joy? When we celebrate what the world now calls “Easter” by remembering the death and resurrection of Jesus, do we rejoice that this final Passover Lamb delivered us from bondage to sin and insured our entrance into the ultimate Promised Land? Perhaps we should instigate a 7-day celebration of the resurrection!
Father, we rejoice in the deliverance You provided for us by sending Your only begotten Son to the cross to die as our Passover Lamb. When the cares of this world try to drag us down, help us to remember the joy of our salvation! Let the celebration begin!
For more on the Feast of Unleavened Bread, go to: What is the significance of unleavened bread? | GotQuestions.org