Title Passover and Liberation Day
Contents
1. Words that begin
There is a big house with a large playground that provides free food and shelter, free necessities, free exercise alone or with many colleagues, free education and training, and no one wants to live there. Prison. It shows the importance of freedom.
Yesterday was the 64th anniversary of liberation, so I prepared a sermon under the theme of “Passover and Liberation Day.” As we well know, the Passover is a festival to commemorate the liberation of Israel by God's grace after being enslaved in Egypt for more than 400 years, repenting and crying out in prayer. Liberation Day is a holiday to commemorate the day that Japan was liberated from 36 years of oppression that committed all kinds of crimes and atrocities in a mass of armed aggression. Although the fact that it is a national holiday freed from slavery in a foreign country is the same, there is a marked difference in the observance of the festival. Therefore, we must keep the true meaning of the Liberation Day through God's word about the Passover.
2. Observation of Passover and Liberation Day after the Babylonian Exile
Israel, liberated following the death of all firstborns in Egypt, was also called the Feast of Unleavened Bread because of God's command to eat unleavened bread made without yeast for 7 days to commemorate that event. In the beginning, the head of the family insisted on the Passover celebration, but as it progressed, it was observed as a holiday for a week starting from the 14th day of the month of Nisan (April) in the Jewish calendar. During this Passover, Jewish males over 12 years of age who were within 24 km of Jerusalem were obliged to go up to Jerusalem.
Although Israel kept the Passover to commemorate their liberation from slavery in Egypt, it repeated the history of disgrace, which was destroyed by Babylon again. It was the result of forgetting God's saving grace and warnings by focusing on religious forms and idolatry. The capable Jews, including King Jehoiachin and the royal family, were taken captive and taken to Babylon, leaving only the poor Jews. Zedekiah, king of Judah, founded by the king of Babylon, betrayed the king of Babylon and was again invaded by Babylon. Defeated King Zedekiah saw his sons murdered before his eyes, his eyes were plucked out, and he was taken to Babylon with chains. The able Jews were taken away, leaving only the poor Jews to rule or farm the vineyards. God gave grace to develop an independent nation through the Exodus, but Israel was destroyed without being able to achieve a prosperous nation due to idolatry and legalism.
After about 70 years of Babylonian captivity, God had Cyrus, king of Perusia, conquer Babylon and send the Israelites back to their homeland.
Israel, who returned to their homeland, and Israel who kept their faith without being polluted by Babylon in their homeland, celebrated the Passover on a large scale along with the priests and Levites. In particular, this Passover was kept more meaningful and enjoyable because it was after liberation from the Babylonian captivity and after the dedication of the temple in Jerusalem, which had been destroyed, was rebuilt.
During the Passover, the Israelites had a new experience of being saved, both personally and nationally, from slavery in Egypt and becoming free people while performing the Passover ceremony with a rite. On the night of the Passover celebration, the Israelites asked, “What is liberty and liberation, what is slavery, are we free now or are we slaves?” They wrestle all night long while asking questions.
It is not necessary to memorize the 14 rites of the Passover ceremony, but it is worth listening to once.
The gist of these 14 rituals is to remember the suffering and humiliation of slavery in Egypt no matter what. It is to reflect and praise God for the saving grace of God who has wiped out the history of many tears of blood and tears today. This is not a history of shame, but rather a history of glory as God's people. To do this, we must not forget from generation to generation. It is a history of shame that we really do not want to remember, but it is a historical event that we must never forget. The gist of this is not to swear again and again to hate and curse Egypt. Hatred and cursed vows do not help each other, but only ruin.
Seobang Kim and Seobang Lee lived in the same neighborhood. Since when did the two of them become enemies? One day, an angel came to Kim Seobang and said, “Tell me, I will grant your wish. However, that wish will surely come true twice as much for this West.” From that day on, Kim Seobang was in trouble. I have a lot of wishes, but I think that this ugly West will receive it in double. If you ask for 1 billion won, this West will get 2 billion won, and if you ask to live in an apartment of 60 pyong, this West will live in an apartment of 120 pyong. Finally, Seobang Kim made a wish to the angel. “Please take out one of my eyes.”
It is by no means intended to give new meaning to Liberation Day in this way. Anyway, if we look at the Passover celebration, it is in stark contrast to the Liberation Day celebrations we have experienced. Not to mention the ceremonies held by each citizen, there were not many Taegeukgi hanging in the house yesterday. It's just a one-time event for the government-led event. It is also an event to adjust the water level while watching the Japanese slowly. We are a nation with the characteristic of forgetting things that should not be forgotten. The more I live on this land, the more I am surprised and often upset that the proverb “I never think of a frog as a tadpole, I only think of a frog” is true.
Forgetting the history of suffering and humiliation in the past, we do not know what to do, how to liquidate, how to reconcile, what to do to receive an apology, and how to forgive. . Therefore, the pro-Japanese faction, who are traitors to the nation, Japanese minions, and their descendants can oppress the people and their descendants who were engaged in the independence movement as they did under the Japanese colonial rule while sitting in important positions in the government and at all levels of society.
3. Conclusion
Forgetting the unfortunate history is repeating the same history. Even today, free-spirited loyalists are shunned everywhere, while renegade flatters are on the rise. Moreover, the economic or cultural enslavement of Japan cannot be said to have been resolved. The way to prevent an unfortunate history from reoccurring is to not forget that history and to reflect on it over and over again. We should all remember and thank God for the grace of God who liberated our country with the help of the UN forces, led by the US military. In addition, while walking with God, we must achieve prosperity and prosperity that contributes to mankind.
(Poongseong Methodist Church. Book: Complete Commentary on 27 New Testament Books/ Interpretation of Difficult Scriptures I, II/ Salvation Before Jesus Came/Paul’s Understanding of Man/ Prosperity Prayer/ Seasonal Sermonbooks/ Sermonbook 18. -3051)