Passover
We like to have our celebrations on the biblical times. That’s why we use the Hebrew calendar. I know this calendar is changed too, but we’re not going to make it more complicated.
Leviticus 23 is our guide for the appointed times. These times are proclaimed holy convocations. We have in these times an appointment with Yahweh that should not be canceled.
Leviticus 23:2-8
“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord’s appointed times which you shall proclaim as holy convocations—My appointed times are these: ‘For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation. You shall not do any work; it is a sabbath to the Lord in all your dwellings. ‘These are the appointed times of the Lord, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at the times appointed for them. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight is the Lord’s Passover. Then on the fifteenth day of the same month there is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work. But for seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work.’ ”
The first month is Abib, also called Nissan. On 14th of Abib we celebrate Passover. On the Roman calendar this is everytime on a different date.
We have a meeting that starts at twilight.
We commemorate the liberation of Yahweh’s people from Egypt in ancient times. But we also celebrate our own liberation from the kingdom of the devil.
How to celebrate Passover:
Often lamb is eaten on this day, because Yeshua is our lamb. We don’t eat food with yeast in it. Yeast is forbidden and has to be out of our house. Many people eat pancakes (The ones without yeast) or matzes instead of bread. On this evening we eat sugar rich treats, fruit, nuts and chips. We make a joyful table with candle light. We eat together as family. We take the Holy Supper, sing appropriate songs and we listen to the stories and the explanations.
Text used on this day:
Exodus 6:1-7
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for under compulsion he will let them go, and under compulsion he will drive them out of his land.” Yahweh spoke further to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord; and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name, YHWH, I did not make Myself known to them. I also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they sojourned. Furthermore I have heard the groaning of the sons of Israel, because the Egyptians are holding them in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant. Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
Story of the 10 plagues:
Yahweh sent 10 plagues to show that He alone is God and that disobeying Him have big consequences for the pharaoh and the citizens of Egypt. Yahweh commanded the pharaoh to let His people go. Ten plagues were needed to convince the pharao.
Each plague occurs throughout the whole of Egypt, except the area where the Israelites live.
Water is turned into blood, a plague of frogs, the dust of Egypt became mosquitoes, swarms of gadflies infest in the land, the cattle of the Egyptians die, Humans and animals got ulcers, there was a very heavy hail, a plague of locusts and darkness covered the land. There was no change in the behavior of the pharaoh.
Then the tenth plagues came:
The death of all firstborn.
Yahweh ordered the Israelites this:
Exodus 12:3-13
Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers’ households, a lamb for each household. Now if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according to the number of persons in them; according to what each man should eat, you are to divide the lamb. Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight. Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the flesh that same night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather roasted with fire, both its head and its legs along with its entrails. And you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until morning, you shall burn with fire. Now you shall eat it in this manner: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste—it is the Lord’s Passover. For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
Exodus 12:29-41
Now it came about at midnight that the Lord struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of cattle. Pharaoh arose in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians, and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was no home where there was not someone dead. Then he called for Moses and Aaron at night and said, “Rise up, get out from among my people, both you and the sons of Israel; and go, worship the Lord, as you have said. Take both your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and go, and bless me also.” The Egyptians urged the people, to send them out of the land in haste, for they said, “We will all be dead.” So the people took their dough before it was leavened, with their kneading bowls bound up in the clothes on their shoulders. Now the sons of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, for they had requested from the Egyptians articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing; and the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have their request. Thus they plundered the Egyptians. Now the sons of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, aside from children. A mixed multitude also went up with them, along with flocks and herds, a very large number of livestock. They baked the dough which they had brought out of Egypt into cakes of unleavened bread. For it had not become leavened, since they were driven out of Egypt and could not delay, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves. Now the time that the sons of Israel lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. And at the end of four hundred and thirty years, to the very day, all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.
Exodus 14:5-10
When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his servants had a change of heart toward the people, and they said, “What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” So he made his chariot ready and took his people with him; and he took six hundred select chariots, and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he chased after the sons of Israel as the sons of Israel were going out boldly. Then the Egyptians chased after them with all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and they overtook them camping by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon. As Pharaoh drew near, the sons of Israel looked, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they became very frightened; so the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord.
Exodus 14:13-31
But Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward. As for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, and the sons of Israel shall go through the midst of the sea on dry land. As for Me, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them; and I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. Then the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord, when I am honored through Pharaoh, through his chariots and his horsemen.” The angel of God, who had been going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them. So it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel; and there was the cloud along with the darkness, yet it gave light at night. Thus the one did not come near the other all night. Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord swept the sea back by a strong east wind all night and turned the sea into dry land, so the waters were divided. The sons of Israel went through the midst of the sea on the dry land, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. Then the Egyptians took up the pursuit, and all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots and his horsemen went in after them into the midst of the sea. At the morning watch, the Lord looked down on the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud and brought the army of the Egyptians into confusion. He caused their chariot wheels to swerve, and He made them drive with difficulty; so the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from Israel, for the Lord is fighting for them against the Egyptians.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may come back over the Egyptians, over their chariots and their horsemen.” So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal state at daybreak, while the Egyptians were fleeing right into it; then the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen, even Pharaoh’s entire army that had gone into the sea after them; not even one of them remained. But the sons of Israel walked on dry land through the midst of the sea, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.
This is the story of the people of Yahweh saved by Yahweh from the Egypt In ancient times.
And now we have the question why we celebrate something that we’re not part of?
First of all. This is the moment that Yahweh started to have His nation. It’s the preparing of His Kingdom. Without this events, there would be no Kingdom of Yahweh. There would also not be a Messiah.
But there’s more:
Yeshua is our way out of the kingdom of the devil. When you don’t belong to the Kingdom of Yahweh, you automatically belong to the kingdom of this world.
Yeshua is our Passover Lamb. Thanks to His offer, our sins are forgiven. Thanks to His offer we got the new convenant. Thanks to His offer, we’re Yahweh’s people and are citizens of His Kingdom. The blood of Yeshua liberated us from our sinful life in the kingdom of this world. His blood liberated us from the curses that we got because of our sins. His blood restored the relationship between us and Yahweh. Without the offer of Yeshua, we would not have hope and would be lost forever.
John 1:29
The next day he saw Yeshua coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
Hebrews 10:10-17
By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Yeshua, the Messiah once for all. Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet. For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying, “This is the covenant that I will make with them After those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws upon their heart, And on their mind I will write them,” He then says, “And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
Like the Israelites we are liberated out of an evil kingdom and we’re on our way to the promised land. We’re on our way to the Kingdom of the Messiah. To the kingdom of Yahweh and the Messiah.
The crossing of the red sea is symbol of the death of our old sinful life. We started a new life with Yeshua and Yahweh and the Holy Spirit.
The desert is symbol of our life in this world. Yahweh provides everything we need, but the journey is not easy. We have to look all the time on Yahweh to overcome every challenge in this world.
The Israelites were a free nation now, but Egypt was still in them. It took a very long dessert journey to change their ways. To think as free people, with choices. The same is it with us. We are free people now, but we have our Egypt still in us and our way to change this is also a long way. We have now a choice. We live like Yahweh wants us to live and grow towards His standards or we turn our back to Him and go on doing what we are used to do and die in the dessert. It’s you who have to make this choices. Chose wisely….