Growing up, my family and I would always watch the Ten Commandments movie on TV at Easter time.
I'll admit, I never quite understood why we would watch it when, to me, there wasn't anything related to Christ in it.
The other night, I had the strongest inclination to watch the Prince of Egypt movie (since it has been YEARS since I've seen the Ten Commandments).
Well, I finally learned some things.
First, the whole reason we would watch the Ten Commandments movie on TV is because Easter coincides with the Jewish holiday ("Holy Day") of Passover. Where did the Passover all begin? In Egypt with Moses of course! When the tenth and final plague was sent forth, God had informed Moses that He would go out amongst Egypt and take every firstborn.
From Exodus 11, we read:
4 And Moses said, Thus saith the Lord, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt:
5 And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts.
It then goes on to say how the Lord instructed Moses to tell the Hebrews to take an unblemished lamb and slay it, using its blood to mark the posts of every door. When the "Angel of Death" passes through, it will see the blood on their door and not enter. Thereby, it will pass over their house.
Exodus 12
12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord.
13 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.
So, now that you know the background, let me talk to you for a moment about something I noticed.
Remember how I thought this movie had nothing to do with Christ? Well, I was wrong. This particular scene in the movie made me realize some connections. The first being the lamb's blood painted over the doorways of houses.
Jesus Christ is also considered the Lamb of God. If we put this knowledge into the context of the story: You would take the blood of Christ and paint it over your door to ensure salvation from the judgment of God.
The blood of Christ being the Atonement.
What does this all mean? It reminds me of how we must apply the Atonement to the doors in our life, and thereby be saved from the Angel of Death (or this could be turned around to say, saved by the temptations of the world). If we would be "paint our doors" with the blood of Christ, we will be protected against the evil that is in this world. We would be saved.
Another similarity with this same story is the fact that when the Hebrews slaughtered the lamb and used its blood on their doors, they were then commanded to eat all of the lamb.
Exodus 12
7 And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.
8 And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and aunleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.
9 Eat not of it raw, nor asodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the bpurtenance thereof.
10 And ye shall let nothing of it aremain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire.
To me, this symbolizes partaking of Christ, taking Him into us. I find this also symbolic of the Sacrament, when we eat the bread. In a very real sense, we are taking Christ into our being.
So we can now see that the Passover, the Ten Commandments movie, and the Prince of Egypt all have to do with Christ, and therefore are befitting an Easter celebration.
For Christ lives. He truly lives. He suffered in Gethsemane, bleeding from every pore, so that you and I can not only return to our Heavenly Father but that we might also communicate with Him in this life, and feel of His presence. The Atonement of Jesus Christ and the suffering He endured on the cross is something I don't think we can ever come to fully comprehend in this life. But I still make it an effort to learn and study about it, coming to a better appreciation of its power, especially how it blessing my life.
But the Atonement is not the only thing I am grateful for.
One of the most amazing things Christ ever did for us was conquer death. Today (Sunday) marks the day when Christ was Resurrected. After having given up His spirit on the cross, He rose on the third day. He came forth out of the tomb with a physical body, perfect and whole.
And we will all have the chance to be resurrected someday. When Christ comes again. Our bodies will be made whole and perfected in Christ, therefore, any ailment or illness or disfigurement of our body will be changed. I am so grateful for this! For I cannot help but think of my mother who passed away a little less than a year ago, and how, though she struggled with the progressive disease of Rheumatoid Arthritis, she will be made whole at the Second Coming of Christ. This brings me tremendous hope because I can only imagine what she will be able to do and accomplish if her body is not holding her back. I look forward to that day.
I know that my Redeemer lives. I know that He atoned and died for us so that we have the opportunity to live with our Heavenly Father again. I know that by "painting the doors" in our life with Christ's Atonement, applying it in every aspect of our life, we will see a change begin. This change will bring about the greatest of happiness. A happiness that you cannot find in this world.
I know that Jesus Christ arose from the grave on the third day and is living with our Heavenly Father in flesh and blood, just as we will have that opportunity in the future.
By putting our faith and trust in our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, we will be able to conquer any trial that may come upon us, knowing that They are with us.
All these things and more are what I am pondering on this beautiful early Easter morning.
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