COVID 19 diary part 3: the Plateau

The Passover/Easter long weekend

With the COVID19 shut downs, this year’s Passover is more similar to Exodus 12:22 than the usual Passovers. “…None of you shall go out of the door of your house until morning.” Tried celebrating it the “Messianic Jew” style (=Christian Jews)!

https://www.celebratemessiah.com.au/live/

Looking at Exodus 12 in more detail, there seems to be some parallels between the Passover, the Christian life, and the current COVID19 pandemic.

1. Israelites must stay home when disaster struck Egypt: people must stay home to avoid catching COVID-19.

2. Eating lamb: “eating Jesus,” where we study the Word of God and developing a closer relationship with Christ. If we don’t spend time connecting with God now, when the pandemic is over, we will “remain in Egypt,” as we will not have enough strength to “leave Egypt”. (In the bible, Egypt is often used as an metaphor for the world.)

3. Eating bitter herbs: For the Israelites to remember how their ancestors endured hardship in Egypt and thank God for delivering them. Christians should be prepared to face hardship and learn how to depend on God in these difficult times.

4. Eating unleavened bread: During the Exodus, it was because the Israelites did not have enough time to wait for the bread to rise. Yeast as a metaphor of sin: getting rid of sin, living a simpler life with a greater appetite for spiritual things over materialistic things.

5. Sojourners: Like sojourners, our stay in any one place is transient. The world is not our home.

6. The ten plaques forced the pharaoh to let the Israelites go, so they can leave Egypt and serve God: The COVID-19 pandemic shakes us as we are forced to adjust to a different way of life. This can result in a shift in our mindsets and make us see things from a new perspective. Some of us begin to reflect more on our relationship with God and issues related to life and death.

7. Judgement on all the gods of Egypt: The COVID-19 pandemic impacts the world in many ways. It has already adversely impacted global economy, disrupted education and work, and even caused several countries’ health systems to collapse. With the social distancing rules, people have to change the way they socialise. Church buildings suddenly became empty: state of the art church buildings and concert-like worship no longer seem to be of any use in the current situation. It is a time for people to reflect on whether their lives and ministries are built on a solid rock. As people are forced into isolation, away from the noise, some people find that they can better hear God’s voice when they seek God in a quiet space.    

The Exodus vs today:

Israelites: The preparation of the people of God so they can enter into the promised land.  

Christians: The people of God, learning to relate with and serve God, and experiencing revival (individual, local, national and global level).

In the Passover custom, the Jews try to get rid of all the yeasts in their house, as yeast is a metaphor for sin. Rather than getting rid of yeast, I got rid of moulds over the Easter long weekend! When I was sorting through my clothes in my closet, I discovered that the wall behind the clothes became moulded! Took the opportunity to reorganise my clothes and pack up some of the clothes that either no longer fits or are too old. Realised that my buttocks had grown so big I could no longer fit into most of my jeans! Reorganised many things in my house. Finally had the opportunity to clean my room to the point where it is the cleanest it’s ever been in my life! I also YouTube searched ways to fix my Nespresso machine, which broke many years ago, and got my husband to fix it according to the video.

Watched a few episodes of “The Chosen,” starting off from the episode five which is on the Wedding in Cana (I had already watched the first four episodes last year).

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaeSz8m8MXVX-HiuZbGQ1u_YXL-Arfy-Q

This Jesus series is quite different from the usual movies about Jesus in that the followers of Jesus were illustrated in a more 3D fashion in their character development, which makes the whole thing seem a lot more personal.

23 April, 2020

The Australian COVID-19 graph have stayed pretty flat for quite some time (very few new cases each day). This could be one of those rare opportunities where we could get a property for a bargain price. And so that was what we did. Life suddenly flowed into my husband the moment he signed the contract, turning from sleepy to manic. He began drawing all sorts of impressive pictures of the dream home, both 2D and 3D, on the computer! And not just some random sketches, but very professional stuff!

28 April, 2020

Thank God things didn't turn out so bad in Australia. The NSW premier has announced today that the NSW coronavirus lockdown will be relaxed slightly on Friday, 1May, so that groups of two adults will be able to visit other households for social gathering. It is great to see that we will soon be "passing over" April, into the Pentecost in May! And it will be nice to catch up with some people.