The Passover ExperienceParaugs

How He Loves Us

On Passover, the Jewish tradition is to read the Song of Solomon. Why? One connection is with the Song of the Sea that the Israelites sang after experiencing the parting of the sea. The Song of Solomon relates to the unbounding joy felt by the Israelites on that particular occasion, which caused them to burst into song. 

However, there is another connection between the reading and the holiday. The Song of Solomon is a book about love, and at its core, the story of Passover is a story of love. It's the love story of God and His people.

Even the name of the holiday points to the love element found in the Passover story. In Hebrew, the holiday is called Pesach, taken from the verse that speaks about how God passed over the homes of the Israelites when He carried out the plague that killed every Egyptian's firstborn son: "I will pass over you" (Exodus 12:13).

However, while Pesach is commonly defined as "pass over," a more accurate translation is that God would "skip over" or "leap over" the homes of the Israelites. The Jewish sages connect this to the verse from Song of Solomon, "The voice of my beloved. Behold, he comes, leaping over the mountains, bounding over the hills" (Song of Solomon 2:8, ESV)

The sages offer the following explanation: When Moses came to the Jewish people and said, "This month you will be redeemed," the people responded, "How can we leave when all of Egypt is filled with our idol worship?" Moses answered, "Since God desires to redeem you, He will not look at your idol worship. Rather, He is leaping over the mountains." 

Friends, the celebration of Passover is also the celebration of God's love for us.  His love is so great that He skips over our shortcomings and passes over strict judgment. The foundation of our relationship with God is unconditional love.

So many people falter in their walk with God because they feel unworthy or think that God is mad at them because of their sins. But the truth is that God's love for us is unwavering. We must be held accountable for our actions, but that doesn't diminish His love for us.

God desires us even when we act undesirably. He wants us even when we don't do what He wants. God loves us even when we turn away from Him. God loves us unconditionally. 

During this holy season for Christians and Jews, let's celebrate His love for us and love Him in return.