IT’S A NEW DAY Larry W Peebles April 17, 2020 20.13
It may not seem like it at the moment, but a new day is coming. Just this week my wife and I watched the dawn break on Easter morning. Mark 16:2 says “Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they [Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome] came to the tomb when the sun had risen.” They found the tomb empty, because Jesus had risen from the dead, as He said. We thought it appropriate to celebrate Resurrection Sunday by worshipping on our back deck and watching the sun rise. In addition, there is something beautiful and hopeful about the dawning of a new day.
This particular Easter morning sunrise was special not only because of the occasion we were celebrating, but also because it felt invigorating to stand on a mountain and sing praises to Jesus before the world. We go out for walks, and for groceries and essentials, but otherwise we have been staying at home in compliance with government guidelines to control the spread of the coronavirus. It just felt good to sit outside for a while to watch a new day begin.
In reading the account of the original Passover, this verse stood out in Exodus 12:22- “And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning.” The first Passover occurred when God sent the Death Angel to wipe out the first-born in Egypt as the tenth and final plague in order to convince Pharaoh to let the children of Israel to go free. They had been held captive as slaves for four hundred years, and God heard their cries for freedom. They slayed an unblemished lamb and put the blood on the doorposts of their homes so the Death Angel would pass over. This was a prophetic sign pointing to Jesus who would come at Passover to die for the sins of the whole world. Afterwards, Pharaoh let them go free, and they took great wealth from Egypt with them as they went. But they were to stay in their homes while the Death Angel came in the night as the final plague to execute a mighty judgement on Egypt. Three things about this verse stand out during The Easter/Passover season and the times of self-isolation we are living in today.
First, they were to stay in their homes while God was doing something outside. The plague of death was outside, and it was not safe to leave their homes. God had determined to set His people free. Today during the Coronavirus crisis, we as the people of this nation and around the world should be seeking our freedom from anything and everything that has held us captive—work, sports, entertainment, television, news, money, schedules, etc. The time and attention given to these areas have robbed us of the richer things in life- relationship with God and family. Much of the fruitless activities already seem more than a distant memory, as we have not been allowed to gather to participate in them.
Although we are all affected by this pandemic, God is not surprised and unprepared for this virus. He is not taking shelter in His house. He has known of it from eternity past, and has promised to work all things for our good. When this quarantine is over, and we are allowed to come out of our homes, the outside world will have changed. Many are already saying we will never go back to the way things used to be. The children of Israel came out of their houses and quickly left Egypt as free people. It wasn’t long before they began to complain about the lack of water and food. They had already forgotten they were slaves, and they forgot their living conditions and brutal work requirements. They said at least in Egypt we had food to eat; out here in the wilderness we will die. They had been dependent on their captors, and had not yet learned to depend upon God. Their world had changed for the better, but they quickly complained it was not what they were familiar with. Many wanted to go back. May it not be so in these days. Our outside world will also change. We want to come out of Egypt, and we want all the worldly influences of Egypt to come out of us. We must look for the positives, and trust God to help us improve. We need His insight to make the necessary changes for a better future.
Second, while they were in their homes, God was doing something inside. The people were gathered in their homes as family. The opportunity was there to be still, build relationships and spend time together. They could hear what God was doing among the Egyptians that night, and it had a profound effect on them personally to know God was fighting for them. The long hours were severe and intense as they focused on their being spared from a similar fate. They were grateful as they imagined what it would feel like to walk out of Egypt as a free people. They were about to embark on a journey not knowing where they were going or how they would get there. There were many references to their father Abraham that night, as he had done the same thing in his walk with God centuries earlier. Whatever the journey would look like, they would never be the same people.
Today, we want to ask and trust God to use our “night hours” well. We must shine as a light into the darkness. While we are inside our homes, may we allow Him to work in us to change us and prepare us for a new environment and a new opportunity. If we are honest, we will admit how much more we learn and grow under adverse conditions. May our trust in Him grow, and our relationship with Him flourish. Just as God taught the children of Israel to trust Him daily for food, water and guidance, may we learn to depend on Him and hear His voice. Now is the time to build a “tent of meeting” like Moses had, a place to meet daily with the Lord and talk face to face.
Third, the day will come when we can go out. The plague will pass. There will be a morning when we can leave our homes. The world will have changed, and we will have changed. Many are saying they just want to get back to normal. I hope to move past “normal”, to get to a place well advanced from where I was when I was held captive to things that did not matter. I don’t want to just survive this quarantine. I want to thrive during the period we are shut-in. I pray every day that this virus will die, and its effect on the world will shrink back. I pray daily for the leaders of this nation and around the world who are on the front lines, making decisions that have a huge impact on us all. But I also pray daily that God will use this time to make any necessary adjustments in the world, this country, and within me. I do not want to waste the night, because the day is coming.
For now, we need to sit tight. There are always those who are called to rush into the battle. The job of a fire fighter is to rush into the fire to help everyone who is trying to get out of the fire. Against all logic and concern for self, David rushed into the battle to fight Goliath (1Samuel 17:48), and Aaron rushed with the fire from the altar to stand between the people and the plague (Number 16:46). Some in these days have been called to “rush into the plague”, such as doctors, nurses, first responders and essential services. Otherwise, this is a time for most to leave the battle in God’s hands, and let Him work this for our good. He will take the lead if allowed, and prepare us emotionally and spiritually for what lies ahead. We must fight the battle in the mind and in the prayer closet, always looking to God, the author and finisher of our faith, for the current knowledge and eternal purpose of what is happening.
When the plague is over, we will walk out of our houses. This is not about the house we are living in. Rather it is about living in the presence of God under the shelter of the Almighty. When the children of Israel walked through the doors of their homes in Egypt for the last time, they walked through the door stained with the blood of the lamb they had killed. This is clearly symbolic of Jesus, who is the Lamb of God (John 1:29), the Door (John 10:9), and it is His blood on the door (Matthew 26:27-28). When we come out of the house after the plague, Jesus is the door way to the presence of God. We must spiritually walk out of Egypt (our past slavery to sins, mistakes and regrets) toward our eternal destiny and promise—the very reason for which we were created.
We may not know exactly where this new day and new path will take us. Rest assured that His presence will instruct and guide us, as he did the children of Israel by His presence displayed as a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. I pray we do not waste the night, but use it fully to prepare for the coming of the new day.
