Value of time- Too often today history is portrayed as a meaningless list of names and dates to remember for a test and then we promptly forgot them. My mother was a genealogist who studied the family history. It wasn’t simply an exercise to prove we were descendants from the Pilgrims so she could join the Mayflower Society, but a real interest in our family’s history. She didn’t just rack up a list of names and dates but took a real interest in who they were and what they did. The family history was the story of our family, the struggles they went through, the obstacles they overcame, and the tragedies they endured. However, it was much more. We can learn from the mistakes and successes of the past. There is an old saying that he who does not remember the past is destined to repeat its mistakes. God showed how He valued history when He ordained three celebrations that the Israelites were to celebrate forever, not just for a while. Each celebration was designed to teach important aspects of the faith and had three aspects. It had a past physical event that explained an important part of the faith and was to be remembered. It also had a present to celebrate it which reenacted the event. It reminded everyone of its meaning in order to teach the children, and to remind the adults. At each celebration, the oldest boy or girl would stand and ask why they were celebrating it. The father would then explain the past event and its meaning. The celebration would also remind them of a future physical event. The event would fulfill a spiritual promise that God had made. (see the lesson on the celebrations in the course “Basic Christian Beliefs”) Had the Jews remembered what the celebrations meant and what the prophets had foretold, they would have recognized what Christ was doing as He carried out what was predicted in the Passover meal.