Remembering God’s Mercy at Passover by Dr. Lisa Burkhardt Worley
Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever (Psalm 136:1).
Tonight at sundown, I will give up leavened bread and eat Matzah for a week when the observance of Passover (Pesach) begins. I will do this for several reasons. As a woman with a fully Jewish paternal grandmother, I believe I am required to do it. Exodus 12:14 says, “This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance.” The Hebrew word for lasting, olam also means forever and permanent. There is no grey area for Jews concerning the observance of Passover.
I also embrace Passover because I desire to celebrate the Jewish feasts and festivals. Since being called back by G-d to my Jewish roots in 2014, I want to participate in anything that enhances my Jewish journey. That includes taking a 24-hour Shabbat, learning about Jewish practice through study, and now, educating people about antisemitism to help prevent a Holocaust or an October 7th scenario from happening again.
Finally, I am observing Passover because I am grateful. Adonai saved the people of my heritage after 400 years of slavery. The Israelites endured a terrible stretch of inhumane treatment. The forced labor was upon the male population for long and indefinite terms of service and under degrading and brutal conditions. The Israelite families were given no civil rights and men were organized into large work gangs, losing any individuality in the eyes of their oppressors. But the Lord heard the Israelites’ cries for help and did something about it: “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering” (Exodus 3:7, NIV).
During the final and 10th plague that G-d brought on the Egyptians, the Israelites were told to paint their door frame with the blood of an unblemished lamb so that when the Angel of Death passed over their homes, striking the first-born sons in families, the Israelite families would be spared.
As a Jewish believer, I am also grateful for the blood of the unblemished lamb, Yeshua, shed for me on the cross so that I, too, can escape death. No matter how good I try to be, I am still a sinner and cannot stand in the presence of a holy God. There had to be a blood sacrifice so I could be spared.
After the last plague, the Egyptian Pharoah relented and let G-d’s people go so the exodus began. Led by Moses, 600,000 males, plus women and children, fled Egypt (Exod 12:37). They left so fast that their bread did not have time to rise. That is why we eat Matzah today—to remember this hurried escape from captivity, made possible by the Lord.
So, Passover is a time to recall the mercy of G-d toward His people, and personally, I am thankful for the mercy the LORD has demonstrated toward me. I am grateful—olam.
[1] Nahum M. Sarna, “Exploring Exodus: The Oppression,” The Biblical Archeologist 49 (1986): 70–71.
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Time is running out to sign up for our annual Level-Up Women’s conference May 3rd from 10:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at VentureX in Lewisville, TX. This year, our guest speaker is Purpose Author Beth Townsend. Worship will be led by Renee Rollins. Also speaking: Lisa Burkhardt Worley, Lane Jordan Burday, Aurora Ortega Geis, Michelle Burden, Onyx Conklin, Zabbie Mikasobe, Rosemary Legrand, and Emily House. We will be leveling up purpose, leveling up pampering, and leveling down pain. The conference is covered by prayer so we know you will be blessed. Register on Eventbrite: https://2025LevelUp.eventbrite.com