The celebration of the Passover brings up a logistical question: what if there are legitimate reasons for someone to miss the celebration? This shows a pattern for how the law was to be interpreted when two laws came into conflict with one another. Here God shows that mercy takes precedence. The people are forgiven, but they do still have to satisfy their responsibilities concerning the Passover at a later date.
Although it does seem that there is a qualitative difference to the presence of God in New Testament believer’s lives (through the indwelling of the Spirit), that doesn’t mean that He wasn’t with His people in the Old. Here we have an ongoing visible reminder that God’s presence was with them. We also see the standard God sets: when the cloud lifts, they better be ready to go!
Thought for the day: Isn’t it wonderful that God is always with us?
John 14:16 (WEB) “I will pray to the Father, and he will give you another Counsellor, that he may be with you forever.”
Hebrews 13:5 (WEB) “for he has said, ‘I will in no way leave you, neither will I in any way forsake you.’ “
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