Night Watch

Have you heard the story about the little boy who wanted a watch? You know how little boys can be very persistent. And so all he could talk about is, Mom, I really want that watch! You know, the one that'll do your heart and the whole thing, I gotta have a watch! And he would tell his dad, all the time, I want a watch! I can't wait till I get a watch! I just really want... And the parents kept putting them off as much as they possibly could, but this little one would just keep talking about this watch all the time, every sentence it seemed, all he would talk about was this watch! Finally, the parents got to the breaking point. We don't want to hear about a watch. Dad finally says, if you say one more word about a watch, that'll be it. No more! So the little boy decided he better zip it up or he's really going to be in trouble. And for the rest of the week, not a word.

Well, they got to Sabbath evening and in their family, all the kids had learned a Bible verse that week and they would rehearse them that night on the Sabbath. And so all the kids recited their Bible verse and it came to the little boy's turn.

And he sat down with a very solemn, serious face and he quoted his verse perfectly. He said, Mark 1337, what I say to you, I say to all, watch! Little boy finally got to watch. Well, it's just a reminder that the Bible actually says a lot about watches. Now, not the kind of watch you might wear on your wrist, but many other kinds of watches to watch out for things.

In fact, many times in the Old Testament, it talks about being a watchman or being the night watchman. And it points right to the fact that that's a person who looks out, you know, that individual who keeps a steady eye, one who spies. That's what the Hebrew word literally means, one who watches.

Nothing surprising about that. But when you consider what their duty was, these watchmen were the ones who were like a guard, and they would be placed within the city walls or maybe on a high tower, and they could keep an eye out on anyone that would be approaching the city, whether they were friends, whether they were enemies. And so they were responsible for helping to protect the towns and the military installations. No surprise enemy attacks. Nothing would go beyond their vision. And so their job was to watch out, to keep an eye out, and then to warn the people if there was any possible impending threat.

So that was their job. And so they would be stationed on the city walls or they would be stationed up in the towers so they could watch over the entire scene. And of course, if you can imagine that, imagine what that would have been like, especially for a guard to have this duty of watching over the fields that were just outside of the city. I mean, those fields were life. Those crops meant everything to the survival of the people. So the community's resources, their entire food supply was at stake if this watchman didn't do their job.

So it was absolutely critical. So if you can imagine this situation, a guard up on the tower and he's watching out, and this is at night and there's some glow in the distance. Now immediately he zeros in on that glow and he sees it get bigger. Well, is that armies approaching with their torches? What could that be? And he keeps his eyes there, just totally fixated on what that could possibly be. And then watches it slowly die away, realizing, well, maybe a shepherd's fire got away from them for a minute and it's not a threat at all.

But if it was, he would immediately have to sound the alarm. Three times the blast would go out and people would come immediately to check out what the threat might be. And so that alarm would be sounded by that night watchman because his duty was to stand vigil, to stand guard and observe everything that was happening. And of course, even during the day, they watched the people, they watched the marketplaces, they watched the happenings that would occur every single day because they knew what was going on and what was normal, what was a potential problem or a threat.

And so even at night, they divided up the nighttime into a number of watches, a number of sections of the evening that they would keep their vigil. So there would be early evening watchers and there would be the middle night watchers. And then those that would be on, you know, the worst shift of all, right? They'd be in that late night shift. They'd be in watching out for all the possible problems that they could possibly be. And when you think about this watchman, what did they look for as a characteristic of an individual who could fulfill that possibility, fulfill that role to help protect the city?

I mean, you'd have to be someone that would be vigilant, not one that would fall down on the job, not one that would fall asleep during the night watch, but someone that was constantly going to be on their toes. I was reminded of this thinking way back in my childhood when my brother-in-law who had been in the army would tell us about his guard duty. And he had to memorize his instructions. And he could probably even to this day, now those 40 years later, could probably tell you what one of his main instructions were on guard duty.

And I think of that in terms of what it must have been like to be on night watch because he could recite for you what the job entailed. And he had to memorize and he would tell you, I will guard everything within the limits of my post, and I will quit my post only, only when properly relieved because that's how critical the job was.

They had to guard that military base. So that guard, that watchman had to be vigilant, had to be attentive, had to know what was going on because it was their duty, their responsibility for the livelihood of their city. And they had to act as like a voice that would cry out in the wilderness if there was anything that seemed to be a potential threat. And they had to watch and pay attention. So there was this constant continual commitment to do their job.

And so over and over again throughout the Old Testament, we'll find these references to the watchman, to the ones that would watch. And in fact, there was a special night that was recorded in the Bible that spiritually to us reminds us that we're on the night watch, that we have to be like those guards, like those watchmen, reminding us of our God-given duty always to be vigilant, always to be attentive, always to be on guard and alert. That evening is described in Exodus 12. If you'd like to turn over there with me, Exodus 12 is probably a very familiar part of Scripture.

Exodus 12 is that section of Scripture that talks about the Passover that they kept in Egypt. And the events of the Passover are certainly events that happened at night. But it wasn't the only evening that's described in Exodus 12. In fact, there's two evenings that are described in this particular chapter. One of them is the Passover. The other is the beginning of the days of Unleavened Bread, and both began at night. And so as we look through this story in Exodus 12, it's a great reminder because we remember this story. What did the Israelites have to do as those plagues were coming to an end? I mean, the ultimate plague was that death that God predicted for the firstborn. But to protect themselves, the Israelites had to be covered by blood. They had to put that blood on their doorposts so that they would be protected, and God would pass over them, and their life would be spared. And so the beginning of that night of the 14th, it's described for us what they needed to do. They needed to kill that lamb and put that blood on their doorposts, and then they would eat part of that lamb and then burn up the remains. And then, of course, if we look down the story a little bit, if you look down to verse 29, we have this image probably burned in our brains of what happened that evening. Verse 29 of Exodus 12 tells us, it came to pass at midnight that the Lord struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, those that weren't covered by blood. It says, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the captive, who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of livestock. So Pharaoh rose in the night, he and all his servants, all the Egyptians, and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead.

So we have this horrible experience of the death of the firstborn, of those not covered, and under the protection of blood. And of course, the Israelites, they stayed in their houses. They didn't go out. They obeyed God's instructions, and they stayed there until daybreak. Of course, once daybreak came, then they went out, and Egypt was in mourning. So what did the Israelites do?

Well, they plundered Egypt. The Israelites plundered the Egyptians and then began to prepare to leave. After that first Passover in Egypt, now they were ready to go. And in fact, it's described over in Numbers 33. If you want to hold your place here in Exodus, turn to Numbers 33, and it gives us a little bit more detail about what happened next, because that evening of the 14th was the Passover. And the Lord passed over them because their doorpost was covered with blood. They were covered with blood. Numbers 33 describes what happened next. After they plundered the Egyptians during the daylight portion of the 14th, look at Numbers 33.1.

It says, "...these are the journeys of the children of Israel who went out of the land of Egypt by their armies under the hand of Moses and Aaron." All right, well, how did they go out? How did they finally leave Egypt? Well, it says Moses wrote down the starting points, and then it says, these are the journeys. Verse 3, "...they departed from Ramses," that's part of Egypt, "...in the first month." Okay, we already knew that was the first month according to God's reckoning, but it gets more specific. It says, "...on the fifteenth day of the first month." And it's even more specific than that. Not only the fifteenth day of the first month, but it also tells us when that falls. On the day after the Passover, the children of Israel went out with boldness in the sight of all the Egyptians. And it gives us the details. It says, "...the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn whom the Lord had killed among them. Also on their gods the Lord had executed judgments." So here it becomes very clear. When did they leave?

They left on the fifteenth. Passover, it says, was on the fourteenth. So this is the day after Passover. And of course, we know according to biblical accounting, when does the day begin?

It begins in the evening at sunset. So days begin, you could say, kind of at night, where it's the little opposite of our reckoning today. So that day begins at sunset. So here is the day after the Passover. The fifteenth is when they left Egypt. And in fact, it tells us even more specifically, more detailed, so we can zero in exactly when that took place. And we can find that over in Deuteronomy chapter 16 verse 1. So right at the beginning of chapter 16 of Deuteronomy, notice how specific God is in recording the details specifically of what's happening and when it's happening. So here in Deuteronomy chapter 16, right at the very beginning of that chapter, notice the detail that it tells us here that we can add to Exodus 12 and add to Numbers 33. Deuteronomy 16.1, it says, observe the month of Abib. Now that's the first month of the year, according to God's reckoning, the month of Nisan sometimes it's called. So it says, observe that month and keep the Passover to the Lord your God. For in the month of Abib, the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night. So here we have the details to fill in exactly when the Israelites left Egypt. When was it? It was the day after Passover. It was on the 15th. So obviously the Passover is on the 14th just by reckoning. We know that from other passages, but just looking through that, we know that to be the case. And then we also know it wasn't during the daylight hours, it was at night. So the Israelites came out by night and that's when they began to leave. So as we consider those details, there's some very specific things that we can note about this departure. In fact, some significance to the time, the night of the departure.

So let's head back to Exodus 12 and look at how significant this timing and these details that God gives us really become. Exodus 12, let's look at verse 41. Exodus 12, verse 41, it tells us this, It came to pass at the end of the 430 years on that very same day it came to pass, that all the armies of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. Then it says, it's a night of solemn observance to the Lord for bringing them out of the land of Egypt. This is that night of the Lord, a solemn observance for all the children of Israel throughout their generations.

And so here we see a couple of key aspects that are described about that evening, that night of the 15th when the Israelites left Egypt. First of all, we see this phrase, the very same day. Now that's what it says in the New King James, that very same day.

If you look this up in other passages, other translations, it'll tell you that very day, or other translations will tell you that exact day or to the exact day.

Well, to the exact day of what? What is that referring to? Well, that's one of the phrases that's key in this passage. But then it also says it's a night of solemn observance.

A night of solemn observance. If you look that up in the King James, it says a night to be much observed. Some translations say a night of remembrance or a night to be remembered.

Probably more accurately, other translations say it's a night of vigil. It's a night of watching, a night of intently watching. I like the way those translations put it because it brings out the character of what really those Hebrew words mean here. In fact, if you were to read this in the Good News translation, look back at verse 41 for a moment. Verse 41, Good News says this, on the day the 430 years ended, all the tribes of the Lord's people left Egypt. It was a night when the Lord kept watch to bring them out of Egypt. This is the same night that's dedicated to the Lord for all time to come as a night when the Israelites must keep watch. So, it spells out some of the significance of those phrases that we might just read over and not recognize how important and how significant those couple of phrases really are. Now, if you read this in the CJB translation, look once again back to verse 41. It puts it this way, and notice the slight difference of intent that it brings out that I think is important. Verse 41, it says, at the end of the 430 years to the day, all the divisions of Adonai left the land of Egypt.

This is kind of a Jewish translation. They use the word Adonai because they don't want to use the word for the name of the Lord, Yahweh, the tetragrammaton, the YHWH, or the YHVH. That's really the word that's there, Yahweh. And so Yahweh led them out of this land. Verse 42, this was a night when Adonai, Yahweh, kept vigil to bring them out of the land of Egypt. And this same night continues to be a night when Adonai keeps vigil for all the people of Israel throughout their generations. So it gives us a little bit of an intent that who's in charge here, who's really vigilant, who is our ultimate example of watching and guarding and keeping an eye on us? Well, it's God. God does that. And our response should be one of vigilance as well. So when we recognize these phrases here in verse 41 and verse 42, this night of solemn observance, this night to be much observed becomes so critical because it's the very same day. It's the self same day. It's the exact same day, something that happened 430 years before this.

What is it? What's this thing that it's referring to going back 430 years before Egypt, before the Exodus? What would that possibly be referring to? If we turn over to Genesis chapter 14, we have a clue of what this would be referring to. Now in Genesis chapter 14, probably another familiar section of Scripture, this is the story of Abraham and Lot in Canaan. And there were kings in Canaan that didn't like Abraham, didn't like Lot. They wanted power. And so they formed this coalition to take as much as they possibly could. And so this is the occurrence where Lot is captured. They kidnapped Lot. In fact, if we look down to chapter 14 verse 11, these kings, this coalition, took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their provisions and went their way. Verse 12, they also took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom and his goods and departed. So his brother's son, his nephew, some would say. And as we see this, we recognize now these kings have kidnapped Lot. Now what's Abraham going to do? Well, he's not just going to let things lie. He's going to take things into his own hands. So verse 14, Abraham heard, or Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, his nephew literally it seems. He armed his 318 trade and servants who were born in his own house and went in pursuit as far as Dan.

So when you look at this and you see this coalition of all these kings and their mighty armies, how in the world, 318 guys are going to take on all of these kings and their armies?

That doesn't seem like that's very good odds. But nonetheless, let's skip to the end of the story, Abraham wins. Abraham wins and he defeats these kings.

There's a little more to the story than just that. As Abraham wins the battle, that means he also receives the spoils of the battle.

As he comes back from winning this great victory, someone comes out to meet Abraham. Verse 18, Genesis 14, 18, it says, then Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine. He was the priest of God Most High. It says, he blessed him, blessed Abram, and said, Bless be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth, and bless be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand. So obviously, it wasn't the 318 men that Abraham had that achieved this great victory. No, it was God. God was victorious. God gave Abram the victory. And Abram, then it says, gave Melchizedek, end of verse 20, a tithe of all.

And so when we put these passages together with what we read in Hebrews 7, might just make a note of Hebrews 7. Won't get into a long discourse on Melchizedek, but Hebrews 7 makes it obvious, this Melchizedek is the one who would become Jesus Christ. He is this God-being, Melchizedek, meaning the king of righteousness, and then also recorded here, king of Salem, king of peace. Well, who is the king? Well, Christ is king. He's the prince of peace. He fills this role. Hebrews 7 describes no genealogy, no father, no mother. Well, the only individual that could refer to would be a God-being. And so we see this is the one who would become Jesus Christ.

Now, what's interesting about that as well, Abraham tithes to him. But what does Melchizedek have for Abram? Well, if we look back to verse 18, it says, Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine. What does bread and wine have to do with this time of the year? That's interesting. It certainly seems to be a precursor to the Passover, to the bread and wine that ultimately Christ would use as symbols of His body and His blood. And so we see that intimation here in chapter 14. But it doesn't stop there.

In fact, from here, we see that God now is going to make a covenant, an agreement, with Abram, with Abraham. And so when we get to chapter 15, to show these promises, He takes Abram out for an object lesson. So what does He do? Look down to verse 4 of chapter 15 now. Chapter 15, we see it says, Behold, the Word of the Lord came to Abram, saying, This one shall not be your heir. This is verse 4. This is talking about Ishmael. That's not going to be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir, a son of miraculous birth, the one who would be Isaac is going to be born. And to make that point, to show that God is coveting with Abraham, making a contract, an agreement, He uses this object lesson in verse 5. So it says, He brought him out, that's God, Yahweh brings out Abraham and says, Look now toward heaven. Count the stars if you're able to number them. And He said to him, So shall your descendants be. And it says, He believed the Lord and He accounted it to Abram for righteousness. So God uses this object lesson to show Abraham that he will fulfill this covenant, this promise, and He promises him descendants. And of course, that's big because Sarah couldn't have children. It was going to take a miracle. And yet, his children would be like the stars eventually. And He adds to that promise that from Abraham would come the seed, would come the Messiah, would come Jesus Christ. That was the ultimate promise that also gets included later on in this covenant that God makes with Abraham.

And exactly when this happens becomes so critical because God spoke this promise. And when did He do it? Well, they're looking at the stars. He's doing it at night.

It's dark out. If you're going to see billions of stars, it's not immediately after sunset. It's probably a little later than that. I can't help but wonder, hmm, I wonder if that would have happened later, maybe around midnight, maybe a connection to the Exodus here. Because they went out and they looked up at the stars. And as they look up at these stars, it becomes evident that God is making this covenant with Abraham. And so the stars make the point. Now, of course, that's not the end of the story. After this, God gives Abram some very specific instructions.

So in verse 9, God tells Abraham, look at verse 9, bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.

So He tells him to bring a sacrifice, a sacrifice. And it's interesting what He's supposed to do with this sacrifice. Verse 10, it says, He brought all these and He, or to Him, to God. And then Abram cut them in two down the middle, placed each piece opposite the other, but He didn't cut the birds in two. And so in order to make this contract, this oath, this agreement, this covenant, God does something that becomes known as a maledictory oath. That's a big word, a maledictory oath. And that is an oath that is one that can't be denied. This is an agreement that is absolutely certain. In fact, this kind of a contract was done that there's no changing it, is absolutely promised. And you don't see it too often in Scripture. It just happens just a couple of times. But they would take these animals and they would sacrifice them and divide them up. And they'd cut them lengthwise and vertically as well. And then they'd lay one half on one side, one half on the other, and do that with each of the animals until there was a path down the middle between those pieces. And in making this binding covenant, if it was two individuals, the two individuals would walk through the middle of these pieces of the animals to show their absolute commitment, this binding agreement, this unchangeable covenant. It would make that point. And in fact, it was called a maledictory oath because it was, well, based on a malediction, which a malediction is bad. You know, really, if you've heard of Melissa Fint and words that are related to that, is bad. And what's bad about it? Not the oath being bad, but if you don't keep this oath, it's really bad for you. It's over for you, in other words. And so when we see a sacrifice of this type, it means this cannot be changed. You better never go back on your word.

And what we see here, especially this particular oath that's made, it's God making the oath, God making the promise. And so anyone in these ancient times would have understood what a big deal this was. This is a big deal. This is hugely important. And so a brahm is to take this heifer and this female goat, this ram, this turtledove, and the pigeon. Interesting to see that these were the same animals that would later, when we go to the time of the Levitical priesthood, these would be the same animals that would be sacrificed later on in that sacrificial system, these animals that are listed here. And so a brahm does what he was supposed to do. Now, of course, after this very vivid dream that seems to take place on the night of the 14th, during the daylight portion of the 14th, it's going to take a while to get these things. You just don't magically come up with a heifer and a female goat and a ram and a turtledove and the pigeon. You got to get those things together. So during the daylight portion, a brahm is doing just that. He does what he's instructed to do. And then in verse 10, we see he brought them, he cut them, and two got them all set to go. They're ready to go. So the sacrifice has taken place during the later daylight hours of the 14th. And we see very clearly this was something he had to be watchful over. He had to be vigilant because in verse 11, it says, the vultures came down on the carcasses and a brahm drove them away. So there were vultures trying to pick at this sacrifice. But a brahm was chasing them off, getting rid of them. And then finally, I mean, he's waiting.

The whole rest of the day, whatever timeframe that was, we're not told specifically, but it had to be later in the day. He was waiting and waiting and driving off these vultures, getting rid of these scavengers, these picky birds that would try to eat and pick away at the sacrifice. And so he gets rid of them and ultimately after waiting and waiting and waiting, verse 12 tells us when the sun was going down. Now it's coming to the end of the 14th and the beginning of the 15th, the beginning of the 15th. So this is very late afternoon, now beginning to be early evening, approaching the beginning of the night to be much observed, the 15th. The 15th, well, how do we know that? Well, it seems to be a pretty strong indication with what Moses wrote back in Exodus 12, 41. The children of Israel came out of Egypt on the exact date when this occurred 430 years earlier, when the Abrahamic covenant was made that selfsame day. Seems to be pretty strong indications. That's when they left Egypt. Numbers 33 reminded us that it was the 15th day of the first month. Deuteronomy 16 reminds us it's at night and it's the exact timing. God's timing is exact. It's absolutely phenomenal when we see how God's Word ties so beautifully together. And of course, foreshadowing ultimately the seed, the Savior, the Messiah, Jesus Christ. So the promise that was given that evening then would be verified. So the promise was given. We see that taking place on the 14th. But then on the 15th, we see something happening that is confirming that oath. So we find that Israel started out on that exact anniversary. God confirmed the covenant with Abraham 430 years before that. And so this would have been the time that we see something amazing happening. By the time we get to Moses, it's known as the night to be much observed. But notice what happens to Abraham at this time. When we look at verse 12, we see the sun going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. I said, what does that have to do with anything? Well, remember where we are in the story. The sacrifice has been made. There's been picking vultures at this sacrifice. Abraham has been driving them off. Now darkness is coming. Well, who is our ultimate Savior?

Christ is our ultimate Savior. When did He die? When was He crucified? He was crucified during the daylight portion of the 14th. He was sacrificed for us, and vultures surrounded that crucifixion and picked at Him and tried to discredit Him and put Him down.

They had to be driven away by the power of God. And darkness fell over the earth for three hours during that time. And it was so overwhelming that even Christ cried out to God, "'My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?'" And here we have something that seems to be foreshadowing that very event. Those last conscious moments of Christ's life. Here we find a brom in the horror of great darkness that seems to line up almost precisely with that same event that's going to happen thousands of years later. And so as we look at this, we know the sun was down, it was dark. And here we find this amazing occurrence, this amazing occurrence that takes place. So as we look at this particular verse, we see that the covenant is confirmed. Verse 13, He, God says to Abram, certainly know your descendants will be strangers in the land, and they'll serve them. And He talks about promises and predictions and things that are going to take place. But then we see ultimately that God makes and cuts, sometimes they would call this cutting a covenant because of these pieces that were cut, that this would certainly happen. And it's also interesting to note exactly what happens during this time, during this time of horror, during this time of what happens, we see that Abraham doesn't walk through the pieces.

It's not a covenant between necessarily God and Abraham because what we find is only God walks through the pieces. Only God walks through the pieces because as we look at that, if we skip down a little bit farther, verse 17, it came to pass when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces.

On the same day, the Lord made a covenant with Abram. So we see those same details reiterated again. And Abraham didn't walk through it, so only God is responsible for making these promises absolutely airtight and complete. God promises to do this. And there's... what is it? Well, it wasn't an oven, but it appeared like a smoking oven. It wasn't a lamp, but it looked like that. It looked like a burning torch that went through these pieces. And this oath, this covenant, is confirmed at this time, which fits so beautifully with the description that Paul writes about in Hebrews 6, verse 13. I don't have time to turn there, but you could just write that down and and read about that a little bit later, where we find the oath confirmed.

And of course, we've got these two representations of God Himself. We've got this burning oven, and we have... or smoking oven and a burning torch, a burning lamp. Now, we think about our timeframe and these occurrences that kept happening at the same time throughout the ages. What would a smoking oven have to do with anything? What would a burning torch have to do with anything? Of course, we know 430 years later, what happened? Israel left Egypt.

Who was on watch? Who was guarding Israel? Who was protecting them from Pharaoh's chariots? It was a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire, a smoking oven and a burning torch.

We have that symbolism, that same representation a little bit differently. But amazing... I mean, if you want to look over, we could just verify that pretty clearly if you want to take a look at Exodus chapter 13. So here we are 430 years later, and we have a similarity here between what a Brahm sees pass through this sacrifice and what's happening as Israel departs from Egypt. Exodus chapter 13, notice verse 21. It wasn't just a pillar of fire, it wasn't just a pillar of cloud, just like it wasn't just a burning oven or just a smoking oven and a burning torch. Here we see exactly what it is. Verse 21, the Lord went before them. This is Yahweh, the Lord, the one who would become Jesus Christ, went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light. So it has to go by day and night. And when did this occur? Well, this is the beginning of the days of unleavened bread. This is the night to be much observed. This is the night of solemn vigil. And so we have Christ passing through that maledictory sacrifice and makes this oath to Abraham and confirms that oath. And he passes through between the pieces, which is also interesting. When you think of the connections here, there were a couple of birds that didn't get cut up.

Did Christ ever have been placed between two others? When you think about His sacrifice, when Christ was crucified, He was between two other criminals. Were they cut up? Did they bleed to death? No. They came and they broke their legs and they died. They weren't slain by the sword. They didn't bleed to death like Christ did. He was crucified between two criminals. And like these two birds that weren't cut up, in a way, Abraham probably suffocated them by breaking their necks. So we have an interesting connection, even with that, in the occurrence that happens with Christ thousands of years later.

And of course, as we fast forward to the time of Christ, Christ institutes the New Testament Passover and, in a way, the New Covenant at that final Passover. And He made those promises, in a way, as we take His body and we take His blood. He's committed to us and watches over us and we are committed to Him. And He confirms that promise as He's crucified, as He's slain. And these events occur at the same time, the same night of Passover, the same night of Abram, the same night when the Israelites were ready to go. We see these amazing connections between these things. And so, over and over again, we can see this interconnectedness of God's Word. And things happen for a purpose, for a reason, and they happen exactly when God has them happen. So at first, we have this original covenant with Abraham confirmed. Then on the exact anniversary, 430 years later, the Exodus begins. And in fact, even 40 years after that, Israel's coming into the Promised Land. If you look into the details of that story, when did they cross the Jordan? Exactly 40 years after they crossed the Red Sea. And what do they do? They keep the Passover. They keep the Passover and they enter into the Promised Land. They enter into the covenant. And so we see these beautiful representations of how sure God is watching over us. Because then we have the spiritual fulfillment in Christ's sacrifice, in His Passover that He gave, in His body and His blood and His death and His burial. And how beautiful this whole situation is as it all interconnects. And so we watch. We recognize these things and we're called to be night watchers, spiritually speaking. And we recognize the example that God has set that He watches over us. And He's not talking about some, well, I hope those Israelites do okay. I kind of see them over there, but I wish them the best. That's not watching.

That's not vigilant. What the whole concept here is not some passive observation. That's not what God was doing. And that's not what He expects of us, some passive kind of approach to life. He doesn't want that. That meant He was guarding them. He was protecting them. He was actively involved in warding off Pharaoh's armies and then sustaining them throughout the wilderness.

And so as we recognize these things, this is not just some nice little tradition that we observe. This isn't just, oh, well, let's have a meal and hang out at the restaurant for a while and go home.

Is that what you get out of these passages? Is that what it speaks to you? I don't think so. I think it calls us to the point to recognize we're to be the night watchman. We're to be the watchman that watches over our own lives and ultimately to trust God to continue to lead and protect us. There's a beautiful passage over in Colossians 1 that kind of tells that story of our calling that I think connects into this story, not specifically on the day, the exact time, or anything like that. But I think when we see the words that Paul expresses to God's church in Colossae, to us by extension, I think we can see how closely this fits with our calling and this concept of watching. Colossians 1, notice verse 21. Colossians 1, verse 21. It says, You who were once alienated and enemies in your own mind by wicked works.

Yeah, that was us. Once we were like those Israelites in slavery, once we were like that, we didn't know God's way, we weren't following God's way, we weren't committed to Him.

But because we have a God that's vigilant, because we have a God who loves us, because He's called us to His way, we see that through His blood, He has reconciled us. Verse 22, He says, In the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and blameless, and above reproach in His sight. You see, God's shown is kind of doing the work and drawing us to Him. Of course, we've got to respond, we've got to do our part. But God's not going to fail to draw us and watch over us and be vigilant over us. We have to accept that protection and come under that protection. And so He says, verse 23, If indeed you continue, continue in the faith, continue to follow the example of the Father of the faithful, ultimately Abraham, the Father of the faithful, that's what He's called. In fact, if you think about the beginning of the church, I mean, oftentimes we'll think of Acts 2, the day of Pentecost, God pours out His Spirit, the New Testament church begins. Absolutely, no doubt. But really, you could take a step back from that and say, wait, the Father of the faithful is Abraham, all the way back there, where really you had the roots of that new covenant, the roots of the faithful there. And so we're called to watch and continue, continue in the faith like our faithful Father, Abraham. It says, grounded and steadfast, not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which you've heard. Be a watcher, be vigilant, keep an eye out, watch and protect yourself and remember, be observant. And of course, all of that imagery comes back to this very night, the night to be much observed. We celebrate that night as the days of Unleavened Bread begin, because it is to be remembered. It is a night of watching, of intent watching and vigilance.

And we keep it also recognizing not just the fact that God called us out, but we also recognize we have a vigilant God. We have a God that nothing escapes Him. He's watching over us. And when we put all these different aspects together, it is just amazing that God's given us this opportunity to celebrate and to praise and honor Him. And so, as Israel started out, we recognize this as well. And so, today in modern times, on that very evening, most members get together in other members' homes, and we enjoy fellowship, and we rehearse the stories. We remember what God has done, and maybe you'll gather in a restaurant.

But don't just make it a meal. Don't just say, well, this is great. Good night. See you later.

Think of the significance of what was happening throughout history. Think about that, because we've been called to be the body of Christ, and we have a great God that is watching over us, and we rehearse His greatness at this special time. It's a time to be together. It's not a time to be off on your own. It's not a time to ignore God's promises. It's not a time to ignore His watchfulness. So, we don't want anybody to be alone. This is a time to be together. And I know many of you have already made your plans for the night to be much observed. And so, you're all set to go. But some may not yet. And I know there's many of us who can host others. And so, if you have extra room in your home, we have a list back at the information table that you could sign to say, I have more room. I would gladly host others to this momentous special evening. And if you're one who doesn't have a place, don't be embarrassed about that. It's not... you shouldn't be. It's a time to come together as families. So, just take a look at the list and give a call to those who could host. And they would be more than happy to have you a part of their gathering on this special evening that we commemorate to God. So, we don't want anyone left out. We are God's people, and we are His flock, and we want to be together on this very special night. And so, we remember these things. And more importantly, the great spiritual symbolism that is in all of these events for us today. We, like the Israelites, not just physically leaving Egypt, we are leaving sin. We're repenting and leaving that sin far behind. And we're getting that leavening out of our lives, not just out of our cars and our homes, but we're getting it out of our life, symbolizing that sins that we're repenting of and leaving it behind. And we're watching over ourselves, so there's nothing that we're overlooking, because we want to be like Christ. And so, we say this isn't just a nice little quaint tradition. It is a part of what God would have us do, the very beginning of the Days of Unleavened Bread. And so, we can begin the Days of Unleavened Bread, the Holy Day season in a sense, with inspiration, with an excitement, with an enthusiasm, with a joyous start. So, we can be mindful always to be watchful and follow God. Focus on the fact that we have a great God that is always vigilant, always watchful. And we can be thankful that He continues to keep guard. He continues to watch and protect us. And He continues to preserve us, especially in the Night Watch.