God's Watchful Care
It was a night of watching by the Lord, to bring them out of the land of Egypt. (Exodus 12:42)
Ex. 12:1-14 and 40-42; Neh. 5:1-6; I Cor. 3:7; Mt. 28:20; Heb. 13:5
What Is God Saying?
This night of watching by the Lord is of monumental significance. It was a singular hinge on the door of history. The day of Pharoah's rule was ending, Israel's day was just beginning, and this particular night has been more frequently and consistently memorialized than any other night. For the Jew, it was the Passover. For the Christian, it continues in the Holy Communion. It was a night of salvation.
The tenth and final plague was to bring death to all the firstborn children in Egypt. Yet it would not claim lives in households whose gates and lintels were sprinkled with the blood of an unblemished lamb. It was the blood of redemption. The Lord's Passover (Ex. 12:27) assured the Israelites of freedom from bondage and life in the face of death. It was their salvation. This is the basis of the frequent New Testament references to our Lord Jesus as the Lamb of God; God's unspeakable love, providing us with salvation, received by faith alone.
What a night! It was a night of watching by the Lord.
How Does This Apply To Us?
For us, every night is a night of watching by the Lord. God our Father, the unslumbering One is always watching over us. During the daylight hours when we are active, God is at our side, sheltering, protecting, enabling, and guiding. When we are absorbed in the demands and decisions that crowd our days, from first light to last, we count on His Presence because we believe in His promises.
Yet it is in the still of night that feelings of inadequacy, a sense of loneliness, and the pressures of momentous decisions are intensified. Shadows are long and dark. Stillness can make us fear the unknown or the half-known, but that same stillness, the threshold of needed slumber, can be the time when we turn to the Psalmist's words, ‘Be still and know that I am God.’ That is the path to rest. He who cares is standing by. The moment your head touches the pillow, say the secret word, claim the blessed victory, open the door to peace and rest, ‘This is a night of watching by the Lord.’
Pray With Me
Lord, Your eye is ever open to the needs of Your children. I thank You for Your constant and watchful care. In keeping Israel, You neither slumbered nor slept. It was an eventful and dangerous night. The children of Israel had begun to shake off their bondage in Egypt. The defenseless multitude went out with neither goodwill behind them nor much hope before them. Yet that very night of destiny, decision, and lonely courage, ‘It was a night of watching by the Lord.’
There is never a lonely vigil, never a brave decision, never the faintest, honest cry for help that escapes Your loving and watchful concern. On that night of all nights for Your children in Egypt, it was Your watching that gave them courage and they dared to do the right thing, even the impossible thing. Help me to realize, Lord, that amid loneliness, there is Your caring Presence; amid temptati0n, there is Your enabling grace; amid the troubled waters, there are the depths of Your peace.
There is never a night that I may not be able to say, this is a night of watching by the Lord. For this unslumbering care, for this unceasing protection, for this unfailing love, Oh God, I thank You.
In Your Son's holy and blessed name. Amen.
Moving On In The Life of Prayer
Prayer takes on a new dimension when we realize that on any night or during any day, God is near. In times of joy or sorrow, when Heaven seems to smile or when troubles have stolen the glow from every facet of life and there are no easy solutions, God is watching and listening and caring. He is watching all the time.
