During their ‘slavery period’ in Egypt, the sacrifice was of prime importance for the Israelites. What were the symbolic values of the burnt offerings for the Israelites ? * They wanted to show that God was the master of all creation (Ps.24:1) * They had in mind that a sacrifice was an Act of Thanksgiving, they reasoned out that the whole of creation was a gift to humanity, so they rendered back what was God’s, as we find in Ps.116, “What shall I render to the Lord for all He has given me ?” * A sacrifice could mean a ’pact’ an ‘agreement’ a ‘contract’ or an ‘oath’ taken before God. * A sacrifice could be a visible sign of repentance for all the sins they had committed. Partaking in the sacrifice would mean a declaration, admitting their guilt and repentance, that they deserve to be punished. The sacrifice of the animal meant that the burnt animal would be taking their place to make up for their sins. But the sacrifice of the Israelites was that which they celebrated on their Easter to commemorate their deliverance from the Egyptian slavery. Remember it was God Himself who had ordered that every Israelite family had to kill a year-old lamb, which had to be without blemish, without breaking any bones, and with its blood to smear the door post of every household.. That same night they had to eat the whole lamb. The first-born of every family that followed this precept, order, would be freed from death. Those who did not follow this order, had his first-born killed, including the first-born of their cattle. From this we can conclude that the ‘lamb’ which they had slain and eaten, by means of its blood, they were saved from the night’s calamity. It served as a ransom for them. So the lamb took the place of the first-born. Their easter was a celebration to commemorate their ‘ransom; from death. These first-born were even declared as ‘a priestly kingdom and a holy nation’ (Exd.19:6). They were asked to celebrate this day as a remembrance, every year. They were even given the explanation of this rite which they had to pass on to their children. This memorial meal is called ‘The Seder”. Seder means doing things in order, one after the other. It is celebrated by all the Jews all round the world, though it varies from one place to the other because modern dishes are included in the meal. As we can see this is leading us to the Lord’s Meal, to the Sacrifice of the Mass in which we participate fully and even partake of the food…but ‘food for the soul’ the Holy communion. …./4
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