Fascinating! As far as God is concerned, the true beginning of history was the death of His Son!
God loves when His people get together! He arranged three annual conferences, first in Shiloh and then in Jerusalem, once His people settled in the land. Wending their way from little farms in the Golan, joined by fishermen and their families from villages ringing the Sea of Galilee, then vineyard owners from the terraced slopes of Samaria, the people would join together, singing as they traveled up to the Holy City. First like little rivulets, then streaming together until a torrent of praising people, they are described like the headwaters of the Jordan flowing south, or like the holy anointing oil running down from the high priest’s head all the way to the bells tinkling on his garment’s hem! “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments. It is like the dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion; for there the Lord commanded the blessing—life forevermore” (Ps 133:1-3). The first festival, in the spring month of Abib (March-April), was the Passover. It both looked back to the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt and forward to the far greater deliverance for all humanity out of the slave market of sin. Remember how each family selected a lamb, observed it to make sure it was perfect, killed it between the evenings, applied the blood to the door posts, then ate the roast lamb before being liberated. Our chapter simply says, “On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the Lord’s Passover” (Lev 23:5) since it was already familiar to them. But what a rich picture! We say with deep thankfulness, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (Jn 1:29).