There are a myriad of people and events recorded in the Old Testament that point to the coming Person and work of Jesus Christ. Passover may be one of the clearest signs we have. In Numbers 9:1-14, God mandates an annual celebration and remembrance of this very special occasion.

Numbers 9

9 And the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, 2 “Let the people of Israel keep the Passover at its appointed time. 3 On the fourteenth day of this month, at twilight, you shall keep it at its appointed time; according to all its statutes and all its rules you shall keep it.” 4 So Moses told the people of Israel that they should keep the Passover. 5 And they kept the Passover in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, in the wilderness of Sinai; according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so the people of Israel did. 6 And there were certain men who were unclean through touching a dead body, so that they could not keep the Passover on that day, and they came before Moses and Aaron on that day. 7 And those men said to him, “We are unclean through touching a dead body. Why are we kept from bringing the Lord's offering at its appointed time among the people of Israel?” 8 And Moses said to them, “Wait, that I may hear what the Lord will command concerning you.”

9 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If any one of you or of your descendants is unclean through touching a dead body, or is on a long journey, he shall still keep the Passover to the Lord. 11 In the second month on the fourteenth day at twilight they shall keep it. They shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 12 They shall leave none of it until the morning, nor break any of its bones; according to all the statute for the Passover they shall keep it. 13 But if anyone who is clean and is not on a journey fails to keep the Passover, that person shall be cut off from his people because he did not bring the Lord's offering at its appointed time; that man shall bear his sin. 14 And if a stranger sojourns among you and would keep the Passover to the Lord, according to the statute of the Passover and according to its rule, so shall he do. You shall have one statute, both for the sojourner and for the native.”

[ WHAT ] is this passage saying and what is a key truth or thought that we learn?

+ Read Exodus 12 to reacquaint yourself with the circumstances surrounding the original event. How would you describe Passover to someone who was unfamiliar with the story?

+ What is at issue with the men in verse 6? What is their attitude toward celebrating the Passover? What is the remedy given by the Lord? Can you correlate this to a spiritual truth?

+ What is the issue in verse 13? What is the attitude of these people toward celebrating the Passover? What is the punishment given by the Lord? Can you correlate this to a spiritual truth?

+ What is the issue in verse 14? What is the attitude of these people toward celebrating the Passover? What is the answer given by the Lord? Can you correlate this to a spiritual truth?

[ HOW ] is the Lord calling me to action/obedience?

+ Is there a sin to confess or a next step to take? How has it gone since last time?

+ Reading God’s penalty to those who failed to keep the Passover in Numbers 9 got me thinking about Paul’s warning to believers who partake in the Lord’s Supper in an “unworthy manner” in 1 Corinthians 11:27. I must confess I have had a hard time giving the Lord’s Supper the reverence it’s due while we’ve been kept from meeting together, but that is no excuse for my cavalier attitude toward God’s gracious love to me.

Holy Father, forgive me for taking for granted the great cost you paid in sending Your only begotten Son to be our Passover Lamb. We are steeped in sin and unworthy of the grace and mercy You bestow. Let the truth of the Gospel propel us to live lives full of thankfulness and service to Your purposes. Amen

“Jesus fulfilled the Passover sacrifice by His death on the cross (1 Corinthians 5:7); the covering of His blood causes the judgment of God to “pass over” us. We are commanded to continually remember our occasion of being spared judgment and the deliverance that followed, by remembering Jesus’ work on the cross through the Lord’s Supper”. David Guzik, Commentary on Numbers 9

[ WHO ] am I walking with and praying for to discover Jesus?

+ What is my next step?