Salty Tears

The Passover Seder consisted of a plate with 6 different foods placed on it, each one representing something of significance in their time in Egypt and their deliverance out of it. This meal was given as a remembrance to the children of Israel, so they would never forget where they had come from, and how God was a faithful Deliverer.

The ceremonial foods were served on either a silver plate, or a humble napkin, as the holder of these truths is not the point, but the foods themselves. Four cups of wine were poured, each representing the four promises of God - “I will bring you out, I will deliver, I will redeem, and I will take.” (Exodus 6:6,7)

The 3 matzah crackers (yeast free bread, representing their hurry out of Egypt, and our sinless Lamb).  The lamb’s bone (roasted over an open flame, representing the sacrificial Passover lamb provided so that the death angel would pass over.) A boiled egg, which represented the word “desire”, marking ‘this night’ as the night that God desired to redeem them. Bitter herbs, which speak of the bitterness of slavery.

A paste, made of pears, nuts, apples, and wine (representing the mortar and bricks they made under Pharaoh’s orders). And lastly, parsley, which represents the back breaking work they had done as slaves. To the side of the plate, they would place a bowl of salt water to dip their parsley in. This represented salty tears shed over years of bondage, longing for one who would set them free.

Friends, we too, remember our Passover Lamb. We take of the bread that speaks of His broken body for us, and we drink of the wine that reminds us that His perfect blood has washed away our sins and redeemed us unto Himself. Although we relate to the Children of Israel - being strangers in this land, weary under the load of injustice, and longing for our Deliverer to come, we have such a great Hope! Our Lord is coming again and will soon remove His children from the land of sin and bondage and take us Home. Those years of remembering our pain will be over. Those tears we shed in brokenness will be replaced with joy unspeakable! Rejoice-Our Lord is near, and the days of mourning are nearing their end.

(Devotional by Cheryl Hall-Laos)