Exodus 12:11 “This is how you shall eat it:  your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste. It is the Passover of the LORD.”

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The original Passover meal was not one that was savored and enjoyed, but rather it was consumed as quickly as possible. Shoes on, coat zipped up, keys in hand, if you will. The meal had to be eaten quickly, Moses says in Exodus. Egypt had just gone through a series of plagues. And now, the final plague, the death of the first born has turned the tide. Egyptians are letting the Israelites go. They are fed up with this Israelite God. They have endured too much. Israel doesn’t get to enjoy the moment of their freedom, they must take advantage of the opening while they have it. Their salvation has finally come, but not without its problems. If you read on you will see, Pharaoh changes his mind and chases after the newly freed people.

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Contrast this salvation from the worldly oppression of slavery to the salvation of the world from sin which is described in Isaiah.

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In Isaiah 52, we have the so-called Suffering Servant passage (Isaiah 52:7 -53:12). It is the prophecy of the coming savior, our Lord Jesus Christ. In verse 12, we are told that those who are God’s people will “not go out in haste.”  There is no more rushing. There is no more adversary. There is no more problem. God has conquered. There is no nation hounding those who are God’s. We have a rear guard that has conquered.

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Our Lord Jesus has suffered and with that suffering death itself is no more. Mourning, crying, and pain are no more. All the afflictions, oppression, slavery of various kinds, have all been overcome. All the problems have been handled and we can bask and lollygag all we want. We can, quite literally, take an eternity to enjoy the gifts of God.

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In Christ all the efforts of God have come to fruition. Everything is accomplished. All things are completed. It is finished. Everything, that is, but the celebration, the feast that has no end. Remember that this year. When you're filling a plate with ham and deviled eggs, and enjoying the Easter feast, this, too, is all a part of God’s plan. That we should enjoy life, because all the work is done. We should take it easy. Easy like Sunday morning.