Di Lamb for Di Door

One papa dip one bunch of leaves inside bowl and e reach up to di wooden beam wey dey on top im front door. For inside, im children dey watch, dia eye open wide. Tonight no be like any oda night. Tonight, dem must mark di doors.

Di people of Israel na slaves for Egypt. For many generations dem don dey make bricks under hot sun for Pharaoh building projects. God don send Moses make e tell Pharaoh: let my people go. And Pharaoh don talk no, again and again. Nine terrible plagues don hit di land: water turn to blood, frogs, lice, flies, sickness, boils, hail, locusts, and three days of darkness. Still Pharaoh no gree let dem go. Now God tell Moses say one last plague dey come, di hardest of all. For midnight, di first born for every house for Egypt go die. But for Israel, God give instructions. Instructions wey dem must follow well-well. Instructions about one lamb.

God tell Moses and Aaron: dis month go be di first month of una year. New beginning. For di tenth day, every family go take one lamb. If di house too small for one whole lamb, make dem share with dia neighbours. Di lamb must dey perfect, no spot at all, one-year-old male, from di sheep or di goats. Dem go keep am for four days. Imagine di children of every house as dem dey know dat small lamb, dem dey feed am, dem dey watch am. Then, for di fourteenth day, as evening dey come, every family for Israel go kill dia lamb. All for di same time, all across di land.

Then di strange part come. Dem go take some of di lamb blood and put am for di two side posts and di top of di door frame of dia house. Dem go roast di lamb and chop am dat night, with bitter herbs and bread wey no get yeast, because time no dey for di bread to rise. And dem go chop am as people wey ready to travel, belt tie, sandals for leg, walking stick for hand. Chop am quick-quick, God talk. Na di Lord Passover.

Why di blood? God explain. “I go pass through di land of Egypt dat night, and I go strike all di first born. Di blood go be sign for una for di houses where una dey. When I see di blood, I go pass over una, and no plague go fall on una to destroy una.” Behind every door wey dem mark, di families dey wait. Dem no safe because dem good pass di Egyptians. Dem safe because of di lamb. And God add: remember dis day. Keep am as feast, every year, for all generations. And dem do am. For more than three thousand years, Jewish families don dey keep di Passover. And for di night before Jesus die, e chop di Passover with im friends. Later Paul go write: Christ, our Passover lamb, don dey sacrificed for us.

By di time of Jesus, Passover dey draw big-big crowd come Jerusalem. Di Jewish historian Josephus, wey live through dat years, describe how priests count di lambs wey dem sacrifice for one Passover before Rome destroy di temple. E give di number as two hundred and fifty-six thousand, five hundred. Whatever di exact number be, di whole city go don full with families wey dey share dia lambs, just as God tell dem dat first night for Egypt.

Di lamb for di door. You go find am for Exodus chapter twelve, verse one reach fourteen. One perfect lamb, one door wey dem mark, and one family wey dey safe. So see one question wey you go carry dey go. God save di Israelites no be because dem good, but because of di lamb. Wetin dat one dey tell you about how God dey rescue people?