Passover and Family

We read in Exodus 5, verse 1, it says, After Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, Thus says the Lord God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness. What follows in the next chapters of Exodus is the account of how God brought the Israelites out of their bondage to Egypt. In Exodus 6, verse 1, it says, Then the Lord said to Moses, Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. For with a strong hand he will let them go, And with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.

And in verse 6 of the same chapter, it says, Therefore say to the children of Israel, I am the Lord.

I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will rescue you from their bondage, And I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.

To break that bond that Egypt had on the Israelites, God sent plague after plague on the whole of Egypt, weakening their faith and their pagan gods, and showing the might of the true God, one plague at a time.

Let's look in Exodus 11 to continue the account here of God redeeming and providing a way of escape for his people.

Exodus chapter 11, and we'll read starting in verse 1.

The plague after plague continued to break the will of Pharaoh, at times making him dig his heels in harder, but God was not going to lose his battle. And one last plague would be the determining factor. Here in verse 1, we see the beginning of this described. Exodus 11 and verse 1, And the Lord said to Moses, I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. Afterward, he will let you go from here, and when he lets you go, he will surely drive you out of here altogether. Verse 4, Then Moses said, Thus says the Lord, About midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt, and all the firstborn of the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the female servant who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the animals. Then there shall be a great cry throughout the land of Egypt, such as not like it before, nor shall it be like it again. But against none of the children of Israel shall a dog move its tongue against man or beast, that you may know that the Lord does make a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.

And then in chapter 12, we see the conclusion of the matter in verse 29, Exodus 12 verse 29. And it came to pass at midnight that the Lord struck all the firstborn of the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on his throne, to the firstborn of the captive, who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock. So Pharaoh rose in the night, he and all his servants, and all the Egyptians, and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead.

As I read this passage, I can't help but to bring to memory the movie that I think many of us, if not all of us, has seen, The Ten Commandments, the one with Charlton Heston and Yule Brenner and Ann Baxter, the ones where they brought to life some of the visuals that we have seen over the years, and one of my favorite lines from the movie, so let it be written, so let it be done, one of those classic lines from that movie.

But that movie pales in comparison. It could never bring forth, in a visual way or an understanding, how the magnitude of this event and the impact that it had on the Egyptians. Nothing that we could ever envision, or to create a movie about, or even try to describe, would ever do justice. And displaying just truly how horrified the Egyptians were in this moment when the Lord struck Egypt. A couple commentaries kind of helps make a word picture that, and using words to make a visual picture that maybe could be helpful, but it is also hard to read and hard to imagine.

From Matthew Henry's commentary says, the time when the blow was given, it was at midnight, which added to the terror of it. The three preceding nights were made dreadful by additional plagues of darkness, and now, when they hoped for one quiet night's rest, at midnight, the alarm given. Destruction of Egypt was by a pestilence walking in darkness. Shortly there will be an alarming cry at midnight, how far it reached from the throne to the dungeon.

Prince and peasant stand on the same level before God's judgments. There was a great cry in Egypt, universal lamentation for their only sons, for many, and with all of their firstborn. The Egyptians could have no help, no comfort, from their neighbors, all being involved in the same.

From Expositor's Bible commentary gives this insight, and now the blow fell. Infants grew cold in their mother's arms. Right statesmen and crafty priests lost breath as they reposed. The wisest, the strongest, the most hopeful of the nation were brought it out at once, for the firstborn of a population is its flower.

We can imagine the scene. Suspense and terror must have been widespread, for the former plagues had given authority to the more dreadful threat, the fulfillment of which is now being executed since all negotiations between Moses and Pharaoh had been formally broken off. Strange and confident movements and doubtless ominous expressions among the Hebrews would also make this night a fearful one, and there was little rest for those who feared the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh.

Noting from Exodus chapter 9 and verse 20 that some, even of Pharaoh's own servants, acknowledge that this was a hand of God behind these plagues, goes on to say, these knowing where the danger lay would watch their firstborn well, for when the ashly change came suddenly upon a blooming face, and they raised the wild cry of Eastern bereavement, then others awoke to the same misery. From remote villages and lonely hamlets, the clamor of great population was echoed back, and when under midnight skies in which the strong wind of the morrow was already moaning, the Ostruc people rushed into their temples.

They are the corpses of their animals, animal deities glade at them with glassy eyes. The Egyptian pagan gods are well known, multitude, numerous in multitude, I think I heard over, I forget the number, I'm not going to quote it one time, I looked it up and I can't remember, but they would have granted their temples to try to pray to their gods, would have only found the dead animals, the dead firstborn animals in these temples. Goes on to say, thus the cup which they had made their slaves to drink was put to larger measure to their own lips at last, and not infants only were snatched away, but sons around whom years of tenderness had woven stronger ties, and the loss of their bondsmen from which they feared so much national weakness had to be endured along with the far deadlier drain of their own lifeblood.

The universal wail was bitter and hopeless and full of terror even more than woe, for they said, we will all be dead men without the consolation of ministering by sick beds or the romance or gallant excitement of war. There was not a house where there was not one dead, and this is said to give sharpness to the statement that there was a great cry in Egypt.

This description is hard to read and hard to hear. We can probably more easily imagine the confusion and the terror of the people suddenly roused from sleep and enveloped in the darkness and terror felt that night. But this evening is one that also carried with it profound meaning to God's holy people as the Israelites were also part of this night. But as we see in scripture part of this night in a completely different way, through God's plan of deliverance, the Israelites would be passed over if they followed God's instructions and placed blood on the doorposts of their homes. I think there can be a misconception in the church around this time of the year at Passover that this evening this special event is only for those baptized members in the church.

But I ask the question, is this true? Or is Passover meaningful for the whole family?

These are the questions I'd like to explore with you today as we consider the subject, Passover and Family. We clearly see in scripture that Jesus Christ gave his life for the whole of humanity. And as we were called and understood the deep meanings of these holy days, we came to understand what Paul meant when he said, for indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.

God himself gave his own Son so everyone who has ever lived will have a chance to become God's children as God opens their mind to understand his word and gives them the opportunity to also follow him. Turn with me to John 3 in verse 13 next.

Here in John 3, we have recorded the the death that God went to to provide this avenue to be redeemed, to be forgiven, to be made whole, to bring this promise to all of mankind. John 3 in verse 13. Jesus said, No one has ascended to heaven, but he who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of man who is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the servant in the wilderness, even so the Son of man must be lifted up, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ is the starting point for salvation only made possible through his death. And with this foundational truth understood, we can understand the annual Holy Days that follow through the remainder of the year and the powerful meaning of each of these days.

We know the plan of God recording as his Holy Days paints a picture for what he is doing, his plan for all of mankind, the work that he is doing actively even today. This plan is for everyone who has ever lived and everyone that will give God that God will give an opportunity to be in his family. So clearly, Passover and the meaning of what it represents is for the whole family as well. With the understanding that Passover is for family and about family, let's read the instructions given to the Israelites in Exodus 12 on that first for that first Passover that they observed. Exodus 12, and we'll start at the beginning.

Exodus 12, starting in verse 1. Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be your beginning of months, and shall be the first month of the year to you. 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. 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.

Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 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. And they shall take some of the blood, and put it on the two doorposts and on the lentil of the houses where they eat it. Then they shall eat the flesh on that night, roasted in fire with unleavened bread, and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire its heads and its legs with its entrails. You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire. 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. For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn of the land of Egypt, both man and beast, and against all the gods of Egypt. I will execute judgment. I am the Lord. Now the blood shall be assigned for you in 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. So this day shall be to you as a memorial, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by everlasting ordinance. And then skipping ahead to verse 21, then Moses called for all the elders of Israel said to them, pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. You shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basins, and strike the lentils in the two doorposts with the blood that is in basin, and none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning. For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians when he sees the blood on the lentil on the two doorposts. The Lord will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your house to strike you. You shall observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever. It will come to pass that when you come into the land which the Lord will give you, just as he promised, that you should keep this service. That shall be when your children say to you, what do you mean by this service? That you shall say, it is the Passover sacrifice of the Lord who passed over the houses of the children of Israel and Egypt when he struck the Egyptians and delivered our households, so the people bowed their heads and worshiped. Then the children of Israel went away and did so, just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.

It's a lengthy passage, but so much meaning, so much important details, so much behind the curtains here to to unpack. As we again consider that Passover is about family, there are some aspects I would like to draw out from the scriptures we have read, focusing on how this special day is for every one of us here. First aspect to consider is that the Lamb was important to the whole family. The Israelites were instructed on the 10th of the month to take for themselves a lamb. Again in verse 5 and 6, your lamb shall be without blemish, a male from the first year, you may take it from the sheep or the goats. And he tells them in verse 6 to keep it until the 14th day of the same month, and then they would kill that lamb at twilight. I've heard in the church over the years that based on tradition, this lamb would have potentially been brought into the homes of the people who would select the lamb to provide an opportunity for it to be not only set apart to keep an eye on it, but to also thoroughly inspect it by everyone in the family. In Samuel Bakiyoki's book, God's Festivals and Scriptures and History, he shared this about the lamb.

God used Passover as an object lesson to teach vital truths to his people. Each family had to single out from their flock the handsomest, healthiest-looking, yearly lamb on the 10th day of the first month and watch it carefully for four days to make sure it was healthy and perfect.

So we can imagine, I've never raised animals in this way, but I can imagine going out to my flock, having to choose the healthiest to choose and to sort through them, which one is the best that I'm instructed to bring in and to examine and to bring into my house. It would not have been the one that was disheveled with with like a hoof missing or that's pretty nasty. I was trying to think of how to describe this in a fun way with the one eye looking off to the left. You know, you know the crazy looking lamb, the crazy one that everybody's just like let's just turn away and walk in another direction. It would not have been that lamb. You can imagine it in your mind's eye, right? We've all seen those types of disheveled one eye looking off to a funny direction type of animals. It would not have been that animal. It would have been the one that was most beautiful, the one that was most perfect the way that God designed animals to be born.

It would have been the one that meant the most to us, maybe a prized possession, maybe the one that we would want to use for breeding other animals because it was so perfect.

And since it was a good looking lamb, could you imagine introducing this cute little cuddly lamb into your house? Could you imagine what your children would do with this little lamb? I think there's two sides of this. I was thinking, I was talking to one of our elders about this before services. I think I can also imagine the side of bringing in a lamb into my house and it might be a little bit of a disturbance. But could I picture like being a young, having a young child in our home when Kelsey was like four. If I would have brought a little sheep into our house, I don't know how I could have ever got her away from that animal. She'd been chasing it, playing with it, making it, decorating it, putting a little hat on it, I'm sure. Different things to make because she would have been like, this is so cool to get to do this. Now maybe Laura and I, we would have been losing our mind trying to chase a goat around our house or a lamb around our house. But they, from tradition and what we've been, what I've heard from many elders in the church over the many years, it was an opportunity for them to examine this lamb, to look at it, to respect the fact that this lamb picked on the tenth day of the month would eventually become the sacrificial lamb.

Continuing from Bakiyoki's book, he says, during this time the lamb must have won the affection of the family members, especially the children. Then they had to watch the head of the household kill their lovely lamb in order to draw out its blood to protect their home.

It's on this more serious and somber note. We knew the lamb would eventually, we know the lamb would eventually be killed. To everyone in the house, they would have to understand, or even if they were young, have explained to them the reason why this animal was chosen for its purpose.

The head of the household would have recognized and known the value and the importance that this animal was to him when, and the pure life that was going to be taken. The mother and others that would have been preparing and cooking the lamb would have had to recognize the fact that it was once this beautiful animal and is now being prepared for as food. And the children would have understood the purpose the animal served in life and also in death. The event and evening would have been impactful. It would have 100% been remembered. And so Passover is about family.

The next aspect to draw from is the firstborn of the family was protected in Passover.

Obviously, we read that. There would have been many Israelites, adults, who were the firstborn.

There would have been husbands and wives, aunts and uncles, grandparents, who would have been in these homes keeping it. There would have been many children. And anyone who had children, they would have known that their own child, one of them, was a firstborn. And so every single Israelite would have been able to think of someone very close to them. Imagine that. I, again, put myself into a home where you're keeping this meal. The whole family gathered together in one place.

You would have been able to look around the room and recognize, that's a firstborn. That's a firstborn. Or maybe even, I'm a firstborn.

And as they recognized this, they would have recognized the significance of what God was willing to do for them. Because of their obedience, God protected the lives of the firstborn, thus protecting them from the tragedy and sadness of losing a close family member.

For us today, we know that we're not always immune to loss and sadness. But we see tremendous blessings in our lives when those in our homes and our families strive to live according to God's instructions and His ways. We see family members who work hard to follow after God.

We see family members that seek to overcome their own nature and to put God first.

And when we compare our lives to many as we look around in society, and as our teens, our young adults, those of us who have lived a few years, and those of us who've lived a few more, we recognize that God's way brings tremendous blessings to our lives.

We recognize that it gives us the power to go forward in confidence that we're making the right decision. It leads us down a path of happiness, may not be without struggle again, but we know in the end that God is still with us. He's the one that's going to lead us through the challenge.

So when we see the confusion in society around us, we see the lack of a moral compass, we see the lack of a compass period in a lot of eyes. We recognize that God is our compass. He's the one that provides us a path forward, and He's the one that provided the Israelites a way of escape, and He does the same for us as we follow and heed His law. Because the Israelites followed God's instructions, He protected and redeemed His people from the evil and oppressive nation they were held captive by. Through His love and grace, He passed over His people and saved them from that wrath.

Again, Passover is about family.

The third aspect to draw from this is the aspect and the quoting that says, When your children say to you. This is an interesting instruction that if we're not careful, we could quickly read over through this account and read right over and miss the power of this lesson. Again, some may think at times that the Feast of Passover is only for the baptized members of the church, but God makes it very clear that this special day is important to the entire family.

We're still in Exodus 12. Let's again read verse 14, because He shared this to remind everyone to bring it back home to their children as far as making it sit on their heart, helping them to sit this understanding on their heart. Exodus 12 and verse 14, So this day shall be a memorial, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations. So that meant that this had to be further taught. The understanding of what these days represent, these holy days and this Feast of Passover, what it represents has to be passed on, or it will eventually stop. There'll be no future generations keeping these days.

He said, Throughout your generations you shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance.

And then in verse 26, again of the same chapter, He says, And it shall be when your children say to you, What do you mean by this service, that you shall say, It is the Passover sacrifice of the Lord, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel and Egypt, when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households. In an article titled Passover and the Multigenerational Self, and this is from March 27th and 2020, and recognize what we'll be doing in March of 2020, Daniel Brenner shared research findings produced by Marshall Duke and Robin Fivish, who are both professors from Emory University. Each of the professors have spent decades studying storytelling and the power it holds within family systems. I thought this was really interesting to read. It says, Through family stories, Duke observes, children develop a sense of what we call the multigenerational self. The best way I can kind of bring this down to an easier understanding is, as we each live our own lives, we have understanding of what we go through in life. Our experiences, our upbringing, where we went to school, the jobs we held, kind of compacted into our generation. But what he's saying here is, as we share stories with one another in our family structures, we become multi-generational, meaning it's not just about us. Going on to continue with this article, he says, children develop a sense of what we call the multigenerational self and the personal strength and moral guidance that comes with it. When something challenging happens, they can call on that expanded sense of self to pull through, meaning they can call on multi- other people's stories, right? Has anybody ever had a story that their parent told them, and then later it came to memory when they were having their own struggles? I think we, many of us, have had that experience in life. It goes on to say, Duke and Fyvish have researched, has focused research on seven types of family stories that are passed down. Stories of surviving discrimination or disaster. Stories of tragedies. Stories of journeys away from comfort. Stories of recovery from illness or injury. Stories of financial success and failure. Stories of comedy and stories of rebirth. It says, each of these seven types of story plays a unique role in our lives. Fyvish points out that it's not the specific facts that are important to impart upon the next generation, but rather it is the process of families sharing stories about their lives that are important.

Duke is emphatic that research shows that children who know a lot about their families tend to be more resilient. They have higher levels of self-esteem, more self-control, better time functioning, lower levels of anxiety, fewer behavioral problems, and a better chance for good outcomes when faced with challenges. I underlined that last one in relation to a couple things. One, what the Israelites were going through, facing Egypt and being brought out, and to share that story. Because other challenges we read in Scripture came upon the Israelites as they continued to go forth following God. It wasn't the only challenge they faced. But I also think of this again. Better chances for good outcomes when faced with challenges. That's us here, right? That's our family here that when we face challenges together and we pass these stories on about what it was like when I came into the church or the things I had to endure, some of the favorite are those feast sites. Those crazy stories of the feast sites where back in the day the tent was hopping up and down and the rain was coming sideways and everybody went to church in kind of a soggy shoes. Well, those stories come back to my mind at times, even though I didn't experience that myself when I hit my own challenge at the feast. When something doesn't go the way I thought it would be when I go to the feast. And you realize this is just part of what we do. Part of who we are.

Again, he says as we share these stories, as we recognize that we're family and these stories and these lessons are passed down, there's a better chance for good outcomes when faced with challenges for the next generation. Five-ish finishes, or the part I'll finish reading here from the article, says five-ish shares that even a simple question to a child like, do you know what illnesses and injuries that your parents experienced when they were younger? That single question can spark stories of resilience that may have never been shared. I read something like this, I read in this article, and at times I ask, am I ever surprised by God? Right? This beautiful thing that people are now understanding through research and through questioning and talking to other people is what God designed from the beginning for mankind. To talk, to share stories, a simple instruction. I mean, look at it, is this a really complex thing for us to do? Is this a hard one for us to follow? To just, when your children ask, you should say, it's not that hard. God knew we would be, it would be profound in shaping and guiding our children and his people at the time in their walk and journey with him. When we share stories of what we have done and things that God has done in our lives, those answered prayers, those miracles that he has performed that only really we know about because they affected us directly. It can make such an impact on our children and on their future. Now, I'd like us to add, I'd like to add in here too that we can all share these stories with our children who are in our midst. As we sit down and up these upcoming holy days with the night to be much observed coming up, it's a time when sometimes people do share the story of how they came into the church. The story of when they were called. The story of what was that experience even like? Because I was here keeping this holiday of the world or I was attending this church and I didn't understand and then all of a sudden I couldn't put the booklet down.

Those types of stories are so encouraging too, like my generation growing up in the church, they're so encouraging to the younger generation too that's grown up in your midst because these are not experiences that maybe we are going to go through in our own lives. I've only been part of the church of God my whole life as many of our teens here and it's a huge blessing for them. So we don't have that initial first what some people call their first love, but yet we have seen God work hand in hand with us all these years teaching us little bite by little bite this way to live. And as we share stories together at these different events like we're having today, as we share these stories of the holy days coming up and the different feast exciting stories and also those crazy stories of our feast experiences, that pulls us closer together. It helps us to understand one another more fully and what binds us truly together.

If any of you have ever wondered if God's calling is real, it's a question that sometimes people, sometimes a younger generation may ask, just ask some of our mature members to share how they were drawn to the church. The stories are often unbelievable and profound in the ways that God made it obvious that he is working in the lives of those that he calls. Let's flip ahead one chapter to Exodus 13 because it's repeated in the context of some of the other holy days that are mentioned here and some of the other elements that God included as instructions. But notice we're just going to draw out the example of him saying that that needs to be shared. You need to tell this. Exodus 13 and verse 8, and this is in the context of Unleavened Bread, he says, You shall tell your sons in that day, saying, This is done because of what the Lord did for me when I came up from Egypt. She'll be assigned to you in your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the Lord's wall may be in your mouth, for with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt. And then verse 14 of the same chapter, so shall be when your sons ask you in time to come, saying, What is this? that you shall say to them, By strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. And it shall come to pass when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all males that open the womb, but of the firstborn of my sons I redeem. So again, we see clearly that Passover is about family.

As we begin to wrap up, I hope that everyone here can see the importance of this special feast day and to feel a personal connection to this special event. Some who have not yet committed their lives or baptism may feel disconnected or may regard this as just another day. It doesn't apply to me. Just another day on the calendar. It's what my parents do. It's what people at church do. But I hope we understand better how the Feast of Passover sets the tone for the rest of God's holy days through the year and helps us understand these holy special days even more. The Passover's meaning transcends age barriers by displaying Jesus's merciful sacrifice to remove our penalty for sin, allowing us to draw closer to Him. As we conclude, let's finish in the book of Hebrews.

We're going to go back to Hebrews 9 and read some of the passage that was shared in the sermonette, but we're going to read some additional scriptures here in Hebrews 9 and verse 11.

This concept is not one I feel like I might have fully understood at a younger age before being baptized because sometimes I was the one babysitting my nephews at home. My sister and brother-in-law would go. My mom and dad would go. But maybe I was the one babysitting. And sometimes maybe I felt like it didn't apply to me. But I hope as we have gone through this subject and as we've looked at scripture today, we recognize this is a fundamental aspect of God's plan for all of humanity. And we see that the magnitude of it here in Hebrews chapter 9 as we read in verse 11. But Christ came as high priest of the good things to come, with greater and more perfect tabernacle, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is not of this creation, not with the blood of goats or calves, but with his own blood. He entered the most holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer sprinkle and the unclean sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself without spot to God, cleanse your consciousness from dead works to serve the living God. And for this reason, he is the mediator of the new covenant by means of death for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. In verse 24, For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself now to appear in the presence of God for us. In verse 27, Our Savior willingly gave of his life, so God could mercifully forgive us of our sins, while still maintaining the integrity of his law and his perfect justice. Each of us have fallen short of the glory of God, and everyone in our church family here has earned the death penalty for disobedience.

That's why it's universal that this whole way day applies for all. That's a special feast of Passover applies to everyone. Passover is about family, and this special feast of the Lord applies and is critical for each and every one of us to understand from our youngest to our oldest.

In one chapter further forward, Hebrews 10 and verse 19.

Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way he consecrated for us through the veil that is his flesh, and having a high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having a heart sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And I'm thankful they included this as well, and let us consider one another. This family that God has called us to, drawn us to, brought us into a closer relationship with.

Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as is the manner of some, but exhorting or building up one another, and so much more as you see the day approaching.