New Year, New Resolve

Exodus 12:1-7

With Christmas now behind us, our attention turns to the New Year. It was Julius Caesar who made January 1st the beginning of the New Year. January is named after the Roman god Janus. He had two faces, one looking forward and one looking back. Caesar thought it fitting that the god would be looking back on the previous year and forward to the new year. This was also a way to impose Roman culture and religion of those nations they had conquered. The Julian named after Julius, was not popular among the people, but they did not have a choice. So, January first began in New Year. But, what if God had a different date for the New Year?

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Now the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, “This month shall be your beginning of months; it 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 lintel of the houses where they eat it.

Exodus 12:1-7

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This date was the first of Nisan. For those of us who use the Gregorian calendar (named for Pope Gregory XIII in 1582) this will be March 22, 2023. God told Moses that this would be the beginning of months for the Hebrews. What they were about to experience was going to be so massive that it would define their existence for the rest of history. At least, that is what God expected from them. Their New Years celebrations was supposed to be a memorial and a celebration of what God was about to do in their lives and for this would be nation.

So, what was God about to do? He was about to pass over (Passover) Egypt. When He did, those who were covered by the blood of the sacrifice would be spared, and those who were not would lose their firstborn son. This was true for people and animals alike. Man's refusal to obey God had brought judgment, and only the blood of a sacrifice would appease the wrath that was to come. The Hebrews were commanded to kill a lamb and put the blood on the doorposts and the lintel. When God passed over and saw the blood, He spared those inside the house. When the Egyptians woke and found the dead, they were so grieved that they kicked the Hebrews out of Egypt. God had commanded the Hebrews to be dressed, shoes on, bags packed, and to prepare unleavened bread (because it would not have time to rise). They also took precious materials from the Egyptians the day before that went with them when they left. It was a kind of severance pay. All of this was a picture of God's salvation through the sacrifice of His Son that would come some 1,600 years later.

For God and the Hebrews, the New Year began with the celebration of Passover. Yes, there was the picture of death and judgment, but for those who celebrated, it was a picture of mercy, grace, and life. Every New Year was to be a reminder of what God had done and would continue to do if they obeyed and worshipped Him. It was to set the tone for the rest of the year. The year began with God, His mercy, and His sacrifice for sins. What a great thing to focus on with the beginning of each new year.

Father, thank You for Your payment for our sins and for Your mercy. May we begin this new year focused on You. May we have a heart of gratitude and worship that sets the tone for the coming year. May we not forget that it is only by Your mercy that we have a New Year to celebrate!