The first Feast of Unleavened Bread the Israelites kept must have been exciting and exhilarating! They went out with boldness (Exodus 14:8; the King James Version reads, “with a high hand”). It was on the Last Day of Unleavened Bread, according to Jewish tradition, that they actually saw the Red Sea split in two, and they walked through it on dry ground. Then they witnessed Pharaoh’s feared army being smashed beneath its crushing walls (Exodus 14:9-31). And yet, just three days later, they forgot this great deliverance and amazingly began to condemn Moses again (Exodus 15:24).
But stop for a moment. Before we judge the Israelites too harshly, let’s judge ourselves. Can we, several days after an inspiring Last Day of Unleavened Bread service, regress as well? After the “high” of the Holy Days, how quickly can we return to wrong patterns of thinking, if we are not careful?
How fast can we say or do things we later regret? We need to remember the words that Moses was charged to relay to the children of Israel on the banks of the Red Sea: “Tell the children of Israel to go forward” (Exodus 14:15). As we leave the Spring Feasts of 2011 behind us, let us heed those words as well.
Let’s grow, overcome, change, and accomplish our part in God’s great Work that lies yet ahead of us. Let’s not go backward, let’s go forward!
