God sets the calendar by deliverance: “This month shall be unto you the beginning of months. The lamb is chosen, spotless, and shared, echoes of Christ’s sacrifice. Bitter herbs, unleavened bread, and haste: a meal of memory and movement. Abib means “spring” and corresponds roughly to March–April in the modern calendar. After the Babylonian exile, the name Nisan (from the Babylonian calendar) replaced Abib in common usage (Nehemiah 2:1: In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before,). The killing of the lamb marked the beginning of Passover, a lasting ordinance of deliverance and remembrance.

It reads in Exodus 12:1-20 Easy: The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the country of Egypt. He said, ‘This month will be the first month of each year for you. Tell all the Israelite people to do this on the tenth day of this month: Each man must choose a lamb to kill as a sacrifice for his family. That will be one lamb for each home. But the family may be too small to eat a whole lamb. Then they must share a lamb with another family that lives nearby. You must decide how much each person can eat and then count the number of people. The lamb that you choose must have nothing wrong with it. It must be a male lamb that is one year old. It can be either a young sheep or a young goat. Keep the lamb safe until the 14th day of this month. Then every Israelite family must kill their lamb in the evening. They must take some of its blood. They must put the blood on the wood that is round the door of their house. They must put it on each side of the door and above the door. They must do this in every house where they will eat a lamb. That night, they must cook the meat over the fire. They must eat it immediately, with bitter herbs and with bread that has no yeast in it. You must cook the meat before you eat it. Cook it over the fire. Do not cook it in water. Cook the whole lamb, with its head, its legs and the inside parts of its body. You must eat all the meat before morning arrives. If some of it still remains in the morning, then you must burn it. This is how you must eat the lamb: Dress yourselves so that you are ready to travel. Put your shoes on your feet. Take your stick in your hand. Then eat the food quickly. This is the Passover meal which shows that you obey me, the Lord. On the night that you eat the Passover meal, I will travel through the country of Egypt. I will kill every firstborn son and every firstborn male animal. I will punish all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. When you put the blood round the doors of your houses, that will be a sign to show that you live there. When I see the blood on your house, I will pass over you.[a] No trouble will hurt you, when I attack the people of Egypt. In future years, you must remember this day as a special day every year. It will be a festival when you worship me, the Lord. You and your descendants must do this every year, for all time. For seven days, you must eat flat bread that has no yeast in it. On the first day of the Passover festival, you must take all the yeast out of your houses. During those seven days, if anyone eats bread with yeast in it, he will no longer belong to my people, the Israelites. On the first day of the festival, you must bring together all the people to a special meeting. And you must do the same thing on the seventh day. On these special days, you must not do your usual work. You may prepare the food that you need to eat on those days. That is the only work that you may do. This will be the Feast of Flat Bread, when you eat bread with no yeast in it. You will remember that I brought you all out of the country of Egypt on this day. You marched out like an army, family by family! That is why you must enjoy this day as a special day for all time. This is a rule that you must always obey. In the first month of each year, you must eat bread without yeast in it. Do this from the evening of the 14th day until the evening of the 21st day. For those seven days, you must not have any yeast in your houses. Whoever eats anything with yeast in it will no longer belong to my people, the Israelites. Everyone must obey these rules, those who live among you as strangers, as well as those who have been born in your land. Eat nothing that has yeast in it. Whatever country you live in, you must eat bread without yeast in it.’

Father God, You, are the God of new beginnings and deliverance. You taught us to prepare with faith and trust, knowing salvation is near. Help us listen, obey, and remember Your instructions come from love. We place our lives and homes under Your mercy and care. Grant us peace and guide us forward in praise. Love You, thank You, praise You and give You all the honor and glory in Jesus Precious Name Amen.