Move It Up

The intuitive order is to leave Egypt, and then hold a feast.

This was God’s first proposal to Pharaoh:

“Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.” (Exodus 5:1)

First, rescue. Then, rejoicing.

First, deliverance. Then, delight.

First, get out of Egypt. Then, throw a feast.

Natural thinking tells us to hold off on the banquet until we see breakthrough.

When I get through this busy season, then I will rest.

When I receive healing from my depression, then I will dance.

When I see the answer to my prayer, then I will praise.

But God’s first proposal to Pharaoh was a decoy plan. He knew that Pharaoh would harden his heart (Exodus 4:21-23). He knew the plagues alone would not loosen Israel’s chains. So God was already preparing a premature celebration, a defiance of the natural order—a party before the provision:

“This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast …”

“In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fasteners, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste.” (Exodus 12:14, 11)

At first, Moses thought that Israel had to wait until their freedom to feast. But on the night of the Passover, God showed that the freedom would come through the feast.

We naturally think, “I’ll celebrate when I get out.”

But God says, “Celebrate now, and that’s how you’ll get out.” Don’t change your clothes. Don’t take off your shoes or drop your staff. Do it now—in the thick of the process, in the middle of the pain. Throw a party for the salvation you can’t yet see.

Why does God choose the valley of the shadow of death as the place to a prepare his table for us (Psalm 23:4)? Because this is how the Master of the Feast loves to dine. He skips the formalities of reentry and throws hastened parties for prodigals (Luke 15:22). He cries out, “Eat my flesh,” to an undeserving crowd unready to eat (John 6:54). He invites us to a fully cooked breakfast before we get out of the boat (John 21:12).

What if breakthrough comes the banquet? What if faith-filled praise is the battering ram that topples the wall of intimacy between you and God? What if a premature party of praise is what brings you out of the bondage and into freedom?

Move up the celebration. Savor the Lamb, even while you wait for release. Hold up the blood, even while you wait for breakthrough. Shout in victory, even while you stand on the borders of a weary wilderness.

“For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate …” (1 Corinthians 5:7)