Ezr 6:20 | KingComments | STEP | After the dedication of the house the Passover is celebrated ( ). The people celebrate the remembrance of their redemption from Egypt. They realize that the foundation on which they stand is the blood of the lamb. The blood of the Lamb is also the foundation for us. They celebrate the Passover, despite their small number. They celebrate it in the realization that they have been in exile. Their whole history of deviation and restoration by grace give this Passover something they have never known. The priests and Levites have “purified themselves together” ( ). It is emphasized again: “All of them were pure.” Under the grace of God we find more faithfulness here than in the best days of kings (cf. ). There is no selfishness. The Passover lamb is slaughtered “for all the exiles” and further for their brethren, the priests. Finally we read that they also slaughter it for themselves. This is the true spirit of unity, with an eye for the whole and the other. This spirit of unity is also expressed by the eating of the Passover lamb by all those who have joined them and separated themselves from the impurity of the nations of the land. They are people who “seek the LORD God of Israel”. They understand that the LORD is a holy God, a God who cannot have any connection with impurity and cannot allow it with His people. They have, to say it for the present time, withdrawn from iniquity and want to call upon the Lord with others who are pure in heart ( ). For us, celebrating the Passover can be compared to celebrating the Lord’s Supper. This should always be done in self-judgment ( ). No one who is unclean is allowed to eat it. After the Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread is celebrated ( ). Our salvation is followed by a life of separation from evil, sanctified to God ( ). The feast lasts for seven days. This means for us that our whole life should be in the sign of the slaughtered Christ.

‏ Ezra 6:20

Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread

After the dedication of the house the Passover is celebrated (Ezra 6:19). The people celebrate the remembrance of their redemption from Egypt. They realize that the foundation on which they stand is the blood of the lamb. The blood of the Lamb is also the foundation for us. They celebrate the Passover, despite their small number. They celebrate it in the realization that they have been in exile.

Their whole history of deviation and restoration by grace give this Passover something they have never known. The priests and Levites have “purified themselves together” (Ezra 6:20). It is emphasized again: “All of them were pure.” Under the grace of God we find more faithfulness here than in the best days of kings (cf. 2Chr 29:34). There is no selfishness. The Passover lamb is slaughtered “for all the exiles” and further for their brethren, the priests. Finally we read that they also slaughter it for themselves. This is the true spirit of unity, with an eye for the whole and the other.

This spirit of unity is also expressed by the eating of the Passover lamb by all those who have joined them and separated themselves from the impurity of the nations of the land. They are people who “seek the LORD God of Israel”. They understand that the LORD is a holy God, a God who cannot have any connection with impurity and cannot allow it with His people. They have, to say it for the present time, withdrawn from iniquity and want to call upon the Lord with others who are pure in heart (2Tim 2:19-22).

For us, celebrating the Passover can be compared to celebrating the Lord’s Supper. This should always be done in self-judgment (1Cor 11:28). No one who is unclean is allowed to eat it.

After the Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread is celebrated (Exo 12:17-20 ; Exo 13:6-7). Our salvation is followed by a life of separation from evil, sanctified to God (1Cor 5:7-8). The feast lasts for seven days. This means for us that our whole life should be in the sign of the slaughtered Christ.