An Exercise in Common Sense

Common Sense= intelligent human reasoning plus God-given wisdom 

A message to my brothers and sisters in God's Church

To copy a phrase from our brother Paul, “I would not have you ignorant my brothers.” I will first give you a false scenario that is prevalent in our church. In Egypt, God gave a message to Moses and told him to have Israelites put up a little lamb less than a year old on the tenth day of Abib which they did (this part is true). (Now the false teaching): Late in the evening of Abib (they, the Israelites) 14th, they killed the small lambs and put their blood on the lintels and door posts of their homes, so the death angel would pass over them. (They did). About midnight, the death angel destroyed all first born of the people and cattle in Egypt (not) that same night. The night part of Abib 15 they roasted and ate lambs.  The same practice that the Pharisees did in the time of Christ, really not all the Israelites, but most I suppose the same practice which many of our brethren do now. Then the morning of the 15th, they left their home and marched to Rameses; all two and a half million of them. They spoiled the Egyptians and picked up Joseph’s bone and left Rameses the same day of Abib 15. The land of Goshen is a big place where the best of the farm land in Egypt is.  The homes in this big land are many, many miles from Rameses, so were their settlements. If you believe that all the residents of Chicago, Illinois or all the residents of St. Louis, Missouri could take all their belongings and walk the long distance the Israelites did in one twelve-hour period, not counting all the cows, sheep, goats, chickens, and all their other creatures; then my believed brethrens, some strong spirit has cursed you with strong delusion. You couldn’t have moved all these people in twelve hours with a hundred trucks and trailer trucks, much less trotting along with little children of all ages.  I am not trying to win a popularity contest, on the contrary I will anger many. But to top it all, and put the icing on the cake, all the believers in a 15th Passover scenario most think mine and your Savior had a spell of Alzheimer’s disease along with the disciples and the house holder where Christ and His disciples ate the Passover meal. Do myself and yourself a favor and count the times Christ stated He and His disciples were eating the Passover meal. After you give this article serious considerations and grasp the impossibility of it and still believe all this happened on the 15th day of Abib; then I truly feel sorry for you. I am aware of the intestinal fortitude it to takes to admit that you are wrong and change. Brethren, get your heads out of the sand and enjoy the beautiful light of the truth. As Paul Harvey says, “Now for the rest of the story…”

First, a lesson in common sense: The words twilight, dusk at even, between the two evenings; all mean the same thing, the beginning of any and everyday.  The words at even you might look them up in strong concordance.  The word even is strong 6153 meaning dusk-getting dark. Exodus 12:18 is telling us to eat unleavened bread with the Passover meal. At even in Exodus 16:6, 12, & 13 are interesting scriptures; study them carefully. There are many scriptures showing man to be unclean until even for many different reasons. In Leviticus 23:5 shows the 14th day of Abib at even is the Lord’s Passover, and the 15th-the next day is unleavened bread.  The scripture in Leviticus 23:32 is a contradiction. Both the Septuagint and the Masoretic text shows evening, not even. Meaning beginning of the tenth to the evening of the tenth, as Atonement could not be on both the ninth and the tenth.  I will ask a very important question?  In the wilderness when did God tell Moses and the Israelites to keep the Passover?  In Numbers 9: 2, 3, & 5; where is a mention of a 15th anything? Those who for one reason or another could not keep Passover on the 14th of the first were allowed to keep Passover on the 14th of the second month at even; Numbers 9: 10, 11, & 12.  Chapter 16 of Deuteronomy causes a lot of confusion because the word Passover is used many times when it should be unleavened bread.  Deuteronomy 16:1 through 8 is a description of the feast of unleavened bread as they are using sheep and cows. Cows can never be used as Passover sacrifice. Note verse 1, the Israelites left Egypt by night.  Joshua 5:10 and 11 are two very interesting scriptures. It’s strange He (God) didn’t mention the 15th anything.  Now for the truth of the Exodus as given in the old Bible; God commanded Moses to have the children of Israel choose a young male lamb or goat, a year old or less, and put it up until twilight of Abib 14.  If the family who had the lamb were too small to completely eat the lamb, they were to choose a neighbor or neighbors to help eat all of the lamb.  They were to take the blood of the lamb and paint it on the door and posts and lintel of their door, so the death angel would pass over them.  The death angel passed over about midnight and destroyed all the first born people and cattle of Egypt.  They were to roast the lamb with fire with only skin removed.  They were to be fully clothed and ready to leave their homes the morning of the 14th.  They also burned what was left over of the lambs before they left on the journey to Rameses.  These were six hundred thousand men plus women and children-more than two and a half million people.  They walked to Rameses during the day of Abib 14 and probably most of the night of Abib 15.  The Bible doesn’t say, but the old people and babies probably rode on the back of their animals.  At Rameses, they picked up the bones of Joseph and were divided into their tribes.  During their journey from Goshen to Rameses and beyond, they spoiled the Egyptians and watched them burying their dead.  It was probably late on the day, part of Abib 15 when they left Rameses as is recorded in Numbers 33:3.  They traveled to the bank of the Red Sea guided by a pillar of smoke by day and pillar of fire by night.  At the beginning of Abib 20, the Lord caused an east wind to blow all night and opened a road through the Red Sea wide enough for all the people to cross on dry land.  They started that journey on the morning of Abib 20, and the last Israelite stepped into the Red Sea at dusk of Abib 21 and came out of the Red Sea in the morning watch of Abib 21.  As they came out of the sea, they watched the rest of their people as they crossed the sea and then all of the people watched as God drowned the Egyptians.  The scripture says they left Egypt by night, and the night part of Abib 21 was that night of watching.  Think about it.  Remember how they danced and sang songs.  Remember Moses and Miriam’s long song to the Lord.  I believed they made leavened bread on the 21st day as they had time for the yeast bread to rise.  I believe that fulfilled the scripture in Deuteronomy 16:8.  I don’t think Pharaoh would have allowed the slaves to have horses or camels, but I believe they has oxen to plow the land to farm.  An ox is a bull cow that has been neutered.  It is very possible that the Israelites had some kind of carts pulled by the oxen and carried some of their belongings, the old people, and babies, but the Bible doesn’t say.  Common sense is a very rare item in the minds of human race.  Those without God’s spirit and also those with God’s spirit on the other side of the coin, tradition, and mind set are very strong characteristics of all human.  I doubt that this little article will change many minds, but if it changes even one, it will have been worth the effort.

Disciples Church of God
3012 Mill Hill Road
East Bend, NC 27018