During the celebration of the Passover, though, God made it clear to the people of Israel that they should eat unleavened bread “so that all the days of your life you may remember the time of your departure from Egypt” (Deuteronomy 16:3).

God knew how feeble human memory can be. I believe all humans have different levels of “selective memory.” That is why God instituted the Passover—for his people to remember.

REMEMBER—so you may remember as long as you live (Deuteronomy 16:3)

Memory is a tricky thing, but there are some things we should never forget. Among these are the sacrifices others have made on our behalf.

The Passover was supposed to be for the Israelites to remember and celebrate what God had done for them. For six days the Israelites were not to use leaven in their food preparation. God’s liberation of his people from Egypt was a historical event, it took place in history, and his people should remember it forever. It was supposed to be a “communal celebration” in memory of what God did for them. “Always remember what I did for you,” God is saying.

In the same way, we still use reminders to keep us from forgetting. HHuman beings need memorials to remind us of important events. Americans have important memorials such as Mount Rushmore, Ground Zero (9/11), and the Lincoln Memorial. We even have a day set aside as Memorial Day. Memorials remind us of who we are and where we came from. They remind us of those who came before us, and hopefully, will light our path toward the future. 

Here are some other memorials in Scripture.

1. After the flood, God established a memorial of his promise to never again destroy the earth with a flood. The rainbow is a visual reminder of God’s covenant with Noah (Genesis 9:8-17).

2. God established the memorial of circumcision with Abraham. This was a physical act that memorialized a spiritual reality (Genesis 17:9-14).

3. When the Israelites crossed the Jordan River into the promised land, God instructed the people to remove 12 stones from the Jordan and stack them in a pile on the shore. Why? Joshua 4:6, 7 says it was “to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.”

CELEBRATE—there shall be a solemn meeting in honor of the Lord (Deuteronomy 16:8)

On the seventh day, God expected the Israelites to abstain from any sort of work and instead to remember and celebrate what God had done for them. We have to be able to remember so we can celebrate. People usually are excellent at celebrating their own accomplishments, victories, and successes. Celebrating what other people have accomplished is more difficult. The apostle Paul said we should “rejoice with those who rejoice” (Romans 12:15). That is the idea I see here—the Israelites should celebrate together with each other what God had done for them.

There seem to be two periods in the Bible when one notices an abundance of miracles: at the foundation of the Hebrew nation and during the time of Jesus Christ’s life and the founding of Christianity. That is why the Passover was to be such a special occasion for the people of Israel. The times of the liberation from Egypt were to be remembered and celebrated as foundational for the people of Israel.

As a native of Brazil, I know a thing or two about celebrations (i.e., World Cup of soccer, Carnaval, etc.). The thing that makes celebrations really great is the spirit of the people participating in them. If there is no genuine happiness, if the mood is not festive, then the celebration means nothing.