Car Ride

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Exodus 12:31 (NRSV)

Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron in the night, and said, “Rise up, go away from my people, both you and the Israelites! Go, worship the LORD, as you said.

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She says, let's go

"Let's Go" written by Rick Ocasek and recorded by The Cars from "Candy-O" (1979)

There are very few commands that are as easy to discern as "Get out." There are even fewer responses more apt than "Let's go."

Ever have to wait for an airplane to take off? It's considered an on-time departure if the plane rolls away from the gate at the assigned time, and if it stays on the tarmac for hours, it's still an on-time departure. Waiting becomes a way of life on the tarmac.

Perhaps the greatest trial of the Exodus was how long it took before Pharaoh let the Israelites go. There were the pleas and the plagues. Exodus devotes six chapters of text to the trial Pharaoh put the Israelites through--and the plagues God put the Egyptians through--before the command to be gone was given. Even then, they were hardly ready.

It was said that the people had to leave with kneading bowls wrapped on their shoulders because the dough had yet to rise for bread.The people ate the Passover meal with their staffs in their hands, their sandals on their feet, and their robes girded about their loins. They ate hurriedly and left nothing. They knew they had to get going, they just didn't know when departure time was.

During the Passover, the nation had been rolled away from the gate, but they were still in line on the runway for takeoff. Then they were cleared by the tower for take off, they heard those words, “Rise up, go away from my people."

So don't just get ready, be ready. Lent is about to begin, the time is coming, and we need to be ready.