Passover

9 The Lord spoke to Moses in the Sinai desert. This was during the first month of the second year after the people of Israel came out of Egypt. The Lord said to Moses, ²“Tell the people of Israel to celebrate Passover at the chosen time—³they must eat the Passover* meal at twilight* on the 14th day of this month. They must do this at the chosen time, and they must follow all the rules about Passover.” ⁴So Moses told the people of Israel to celebrate Passover.* ⁵The people did this in the Sinai desert at twilight* on the 14th day of the first month. The Israelites did everything just like the Lord commanded Moses. ⁶But some of the people could not celebrate Passover* that day. They were unclean* because they had touched a dead body. So they went to Moses and Aaron that day. ⁷Those people said to Moses, “We touched a person’s dead body and became unclean. The priests stopped us from giving gifts to the Lord at the chosen time. So we can’t {celebrate Passover} with the other people of Israel! {What should we do?}” ⁸Moses said to them, “I will ask the Lord what he says about this.” ⁹Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹⁰“Tell these things to the people of Israel: This rule will be for you and your descendants.* Maybe a person is not able to celebrate Passover* at the right time. Maybe that person is unclean* because he touched a dead body. Or maybe that person was away on a trip. ¹¹That person will still be able to celebrate Passover {at another time}. That person must celebrate Passover at twilight* on the 14th day of the second month. At that time, he must eat the lamb, the bread made without yeast, and the bitter herbs. ¹²That person must not leave any of that food until the next morning. And that person must not break any of the bones of the lamb. That person must follow all the rules about Passover. ¹³But any person who is able must celebrate Passover at the right time. If he is clean* and he is not away on a trip, then he has no excuse. If that person does not celebrate Passover at the right time, then he must be separated from his people. He is guilty and must be punished! Why? Because he did not give the Lord his gift at the right time. ¹⁴“A foreigner living among you might want to share in the Lord’s Passover* with you. This is allowed, but that person must follow all the rules about Passover. The same rules are for everyone.”

The Cloud and the Fire

¹⁵On the day the Holy Tent,* the Tent of the Agreement, was set up, the Lord’s cloud covered it. At night, the cloud over the Holy Tent looked like fire. ¹⁶The cloud stayed over the Holy Tent all the time. And at night the cloud looked like fire. ¹⁷When the cloud moved from its place over the Holy Tent, the Israelites followed it. When the cloud stopped, that is the place where the people of Israel camped. ¹⁸This was the way the Lord showed the people of Israel when to move and when to stop and set up camp. While the cloud stayed over the Holy Tent, the people continued to camp in that same place. ¹⁹Sometimes the cloud would stay over the Holy Tent for a long time. The Israelites obeyed the Lord and did not move. ²⁰Sometimes the cloud was over the Holy Tent for only a few days. So the people obeyed the Lord’s command—they followed the cloud when it moved. ²¹Sometimes the cloud stayed only during the night—the next morning the cloud moved. So the people gathered their things and followed it. If the cloud moved, during the day or during the night, then the people followed it. ²²If the cloud stayed over the Holy Tent for two days, or a month, or a year, the people continued to obey the Lord. They stayed at that place and did not leave until the cloud moved. Then when the cloud rose from its place and moved, the people also moved. ²³So the people obeyed the Lord’s commands. They camped when the Lord told them to. And they moved when the Lord told them to. The people watched carefully and obeyed the Lord’s commands to Moses.

Passover Important Jewish holy day. They ate a special meal on this day every spring to remember that God freed them from slavery in Egypt. twilight The time after the sun goes down, but before dark. unclean Not pure or not acceptable to God for worship. descendants A person’s children and their future families. clean Pure or acceptable to God for worship. Holy Tent Or, “tabernacle,” the tent where God came to live among his people.

The Silver Trumpets

10 The Lord said to Moses: ²“Make two trumpets. Use silver and hammer it to make the trumpets. These trumpets will be for calling the people together and for telling them when it is time to move the camp. ³If you blow long blasts on both trumpets, then all the people must meet together at the entrance of the Meeting Tent.* ⁴But if you blow long blasts on only one trumpet, then only the leaders will come to meet with you. (These are the leaders of the twelve family groups of Israel.) ⁵“Short blasts on the trumpets will be the way to tell the people to move the camp. The first time you blow a short blast on the trumpets, the family groups camping on the east {side of the Meeting Tent} must begin to move. ⁶The second time you blow a short blast on the trumpets, the family groups camping on the south {side of the Meeting Tent} will begin to move. ⁷But if you want to gather the people together for a special meeting, then blow the trumpets in a different way—blow a long steady blast on the trumpets. ⁸Only Aaron’s sons, the priests, should blow the trumpets. This is a law for you that will continue forever, for generations to come. ⁹“If you are fighting an enemy in your own land, then blow loudly on the trumpets before you go to fight them. The Lord your God will hear you, and he will save you from your enemies. ¹⁰Also you should blow these trumpets for your special meetings, new moon days, and all your happy times together. Blow the trumpets when you give your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. This will be a special way for the Lord your God to remember you. I command you to do this; I am the Lord your God.”

The People of Israel Move Their Camp

¹¹On the 20th day of the second month of the second year after the people of Israel left Egypt, the cloud rose from above the Tent of the Agreement.* ¹²So the people of Israel began their journeys. They left the Sinai desert and traveled until the cloud stopped in the desert of Paran. ¹³This was the first time the people moved their camp. They moved it the way the Lord commanded Moses. ¹⁴The three groups* from Judah’s camp went first. They traveled under their flag. The first group was Judah’s family group. Nahshon son of Amminadab was the commander of that group. ¹⁵Next came Issachar’s family group. Nethanel son of Zuar was the commander of that group. ¹⁶And then came Zebulun’s family group. Eliab son of Helon was the commander of that group. ¹⁷Then the Holy Tent* was taken down. And the men from the Gershon and the Merari families carried the Holy Tent. So the people from these families were next in line. ¹⁸Then came the three groups* from Reuben’s camp. They traveled under their flag. The first group was Reuben’s family group. Elizur son of Shedeur was the commander of that group. ¹⁹Next came Simeon’s family group. Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai was the commander of that group. ²⁰And then came Gad’s family group. Eliasaph son of Deuel* was the commander of that group. ²¹Then came the people from the Kohath family. They carried the holy things {from inside the Holy Place}. These people came at this time so that the other people could set up the Holy Tent* and make it ready {at the new camp} before these people arrived. ²²Next came the three groups from Ephraim’s camp. They traveled under their flag. The first group was Ephraim’s family group. Elishama son of Ammihud was the commander of that group. ²³Next came Manasseh’s family group. Gamaliel son of Pedahzur was the commander of that group. ²⁴Then came Benjamin’s family group. Abidan son of Gideoni was the commander of that group. ²⁵The last three family groups in the line were the rear guard for all the other family groups. These were the groups from Dan’s camp. They traveled under their flag. The first group was Dan’s family group. Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai was their commander. ²⁶Next came Asher’s family group. Pagiel son of Ocran was the commander of that group. ²⁷Then came Naphtali’s family group. Ahira son of Enan was the commander of that group. ²⁸That was the way the people of Israel marched when they moved from place to place. ²⁹Hobab was the son of Reuel, the Midianite. (Reuel was Moses’ father-in-law.) Moses said to Hobab, “We are traveling to the land that God promised to give to us. Come with us and we will be good to you. The Lord has promised good things to the people of Israel.” ³⁰But Hobab answered, “No, I will not go with you. I will go back to my homeland and to my own people.” ³¹Then Moses said, “Please don’t leave us. You know more about the desert than we do. You can be our guide. ³²If you come with us, then we will share with you all the good things that the Lord gives us.” ³³{So Hobab agreed,} and they began traveling from the mountain of the Lord. The priests took the Box of the Lord’s Agreement* and walked in front of the people. They carried the Holy Box for three days, looking for a place to camp. ³⁴The Lord’s cloud was over them every day. And when they left their camp every morning, the cloud was there to lead them. ³⁵When the people lifted the Holy Box to move the camp, Moses always said, “Get up, Lord! May your enemies be scattered. May your enemies run away from you.” ³⁶And when the Holy Box was put in its place, Moses always said, “Come back, Lord, to the millions of people of Israel.

Meeting Tent The Holy Tent (tabernacle) where the people of Israel went to meet with God. Tent of the Agreement The Holy Tent (tabernacle) where the Box of the Agreement was kept. group(s) Or, “division(s).” This is a military term that shows Israel was organized like an army. Holy Tent Or, “tabernacle,” the tent where God came to live among his people. Deuel Or, “Reuel.” Box of the Lord’s Agreement Holy Box or ark of the Covenant,” the box containing the flat stones with the Ten Commandments written on them. These were proof of the Agreement between God and the people of Israel.