Exodus 12:1-28 (NKJV) “12 Now the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2 “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. 3 Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. 4 And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man’s need you shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6 Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. 7 And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. 8 Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire—its head with its legs and its entrails. 10 You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire. 11 And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD’s Passover.
12 ‘For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgement: I am the LORD. 13 Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
14 ‘So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance. 15 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. 16 On the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation for you. No manner of work shall be done on them; but that which everyone must eat—that only may be prepared by you. 17 So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance. 18 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. 19 For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses, since whoever eats what is leavened, that same person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land. 20 You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.’ ”
21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. 22 And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning. 23 For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you. 24 And you shall observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever. 25 It will come to pass when you come to the land which the LORD will give you, just as He promised, that you shall keep this service. 26 And it shall be, when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ 27 that you shall say, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice of the LORD, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households.’ ” So the people bowed their heads and worshiped. 28 Then the children of Israel went away and did so; just as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.
We observe Holy Communion or the LORD Supper in our different churches as a memorial of our Lord Jesus taking our sins away. Exodus 12:24-26 says “24 And you shall observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever. 25 It will come to pass when you come to the land which the LORD will give you, just as He promised, that you shall keep this service. 26 And it shall be, when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service? 27 that you shall say, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice of the LORD, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households.’
Our Lord Jesus Christ was the sacrificial Lamb that made the eternal death to pass over us. However, there are certain things expected of us to have a good and an acceptable Holy Communion Service or the Lord’s Supper.
Firstly, Holy Communion requires acceptable sacrifices! The Bible specifically mentioned a lamb here in Verse 3 say “ 3 Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. Jesus is the lamb that took away the sins of the world and that is what represents here. Sacrifices on our own part may be praying, fasting or giving. It is an important to make sure that our Holy Communion is acceptable to God.
• Every sacrifice that I need to make, prayers, fasting and giving, give me the enablement to do it as from today IJMN. Let me give an acceptable sacrifice to You always.
Secondly, Holy Communion requires fellowship, it requires us to be friends of one another, it requires us to love one another. Verse 4 says “4 And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man’s need you shall make your count for the lamb. Is it possible to be an enemies and still do this to one another? Jesus is teaching us to be friendly with one another, to love ourselves, and our neighbors like ourselves.
It requires us to love ourselves in this church. You don’t get anything from hatred and enmity. HOLY COMMUNION requires giving to neighbors and those that are in need.
• Almighty God, Let there be love, selflessness, fellowship, assistance and helping of one another in this congregation IJMN.
• Almighty God, any tree that You did not plant in this congregation, uproot it Yourself IJMN.
Also, Holy Community requires unity. We are supposed to be one. Verse 6b also says Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. The “whole assembly,” not just the males, or the females or just the adults or the youths. The “whole assembly.”
The devil was the one trying to divide them through Pharaoh, he told them to go without their wives and children in Exodus 10:11 “Not so, Go now, you who are men, and serve the Lord for that is what you desired.” That is the enemy in action for you, to divide, to make some people look as if they are not good enough.
Even Apostle Paul condemned divisions and factions in totality In 1 Corinthians 11:17-22 (NKJV) “17 Now in giving these instructions I do not praise you, since you come together not for the better but for the worse. 18 For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. 19 For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you. 20 Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. 21 For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you.
The disciples were in one accord before Holy Spirit can come upon them in Acts 2:1.
• Almighty God, let there be unity in this congregation. Let us see and treat each other as brothers and sisters IJMN.
• Almighty God, let us all continue to look up to our Lord Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of our faith IJMN.
HOLY COMMUNION requires us to run away from sins and appearances of sin. Verse 5 says 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year.
There is no small sin or big sin, when we fall into sin, we should quickly and genuinely ask for forgiveness of our sins.
• Almighty Father, any sin that will not allow my prayers to be answered during this prayer and fasting exercise, let the Blood of Jesus wash it away IJMN.
• Almighty God, sin will not reign over me. I refuse to be a slave to sin. I will be a slave of righteousness. Sin will not hinder me IJMN.
HOLY COMMUNION requires long suffering, patience, ability to wait on the Lord. Verse 6 says “6 Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. They will take a lamb and preserve it for fourteen days before killing it. And they will eat unleavened bread for another seven days. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. 19 For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses. It is not easy doing the same thing for a long time. HOLY COMMUNION requires total obedience from God. Eating the same thing every day for seven days, when you are not sick!
Eating the same thing for even three days may not be easy, but we have to if commanded by the Lord.
God will naturally renew the strength of those that wait on Him. HOLY COMMUNION requires long suffering, patience, ability to wait on the Lord, it requires fasting and praying for a time.
• Almighty Father, grant me all that I need to wait on You. The strength, patience, endurance, perseverance, courage, sacrifices needed to wait on you, I receive today IJMN.
Holy Communion requires work, faith and diligence. Verse 7 says. 7 And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. It takes faith to go and applying blood on the lintels of houses without looking left and right to see who is looking! It requires that you should not worry about what anyone would say.
• Almighty Father, I will not be a man without faith, I will not be a man with little faith, help me to be a man with great faith like the Centurion, make me a man of great faith IJMN.’
For Holy Communion to work for us, we have to endure unpleasant and bitter circumstances. Verse 8 says
8 Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, (roasted meet may be sweet and pleasant, but the Bible says it should be eaten with BITTER HERBS) with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. We don’t expect everything to be smooth and sweet at all times. Life is not balance without one. When troubles and trial comes, we should realize that God is calling our attention, and we should not run away from Him.
• Almighty Father, today I receive the ability, courage and patience to persevere and endure any hardship, trouble, trials and challenges that may come my way IJMN.
HOLY COMMUNION requires you to get ready at all times. Verse 11 says “. 11 And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD’s Passover. How can you be eating and at the same time putting on your belt sandals? It must also be eaten in haste! What if the food goes into the wrong place and start coming through the nose? What the Lord is saying here is that we must be prepared at all times for the commandment of the Lord and to obey. Nothing should serve or be an hindrance. The Lord can come at any time and we must be ready. Boys Scout motto is “be prepared.” The 5 foolish virgins were not prepared when the Bridegroom came.
• Almighty God, whenever you shall come, I shall not be caught unprepared. I will be ready, I will not be found faithful. AF, help me to be prepared at all times IJMN.
Holy Communion requires determination to serve God for the rest of our lives and teach and show our children the way of the Lord. Verse 17 says 17 So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance.
• Almighty God, help me let me serve you till the time I will see You in glory. Let me serve you with all my strength, heart and my mind. Let me serve you with all that I have IJMN.
I pray that whenever we observe Holy Communion in our churches, it will not be an exercise in futility. It will not just be an entertainment, partying or eating exercise. I pray that it will be acceptable to the Almighty God in Jesus Mighty Name.
