"Your oldest son will die." These were the words Adonai (the Lord) told Moshe (Moses) and Aharon (Aaron) to speak to the Pharaoh of Egypt.
If I were Pharaoh, I would have chosen this moment to "cave-in". I would have said, "Your God has taken my water, filled my land with frogs, flies, gnats/lice; he's killed my cattle, put terrible sores all over my body, destroyed my crops – not my child! Take your God and go!"
God doesn't leave things incomplete though, He always finishes what He starts.
Egypt had a god that presided over animals, their health, children and fertility, the river, crops, life and even death. God was placing Himself higher than all of these gods with each plague He sent. He was also revealing His greatness to the Hebrews, Egyptians and all the nearby nations.
There was one plague left ... the death of the firstborn. With this final plague, God planned to show that He's the only God over life and death.
The final step in God's plan was set in motion. God called this last step Passover, "For I will 'pass over' the houses of anyone with the lamb's blood on their door-post".
Passover was to begin at sundown on the fourteenth night of the first month (on the Lunar Calendar) and last 24 hours.
This was a one day consecration feast. You read it right, only one day. Passover, which so many refer to as an eight night feast, truly only lasts from one evening to the next evening. The Feast of Unleavened Bread begins as Passover ends and lasts for the next 7 days.
For this feast each family was expected to keep a one year old male lamb in their home to make sure it was perfect, then sacrifice it to the Lord and spread it's blood on their door post. Though it may sound slightly strange, God told us later in Leviticus why this was. He said, "The life is in the blood". When an unblemished lamb is killed, God applies that justification to the human it dies for.
God's plan to save these firstborns laid a rich and intricate groundwork for the future. A few hundred years later God sent His Son Yeshua (Jesus) as the fulfillment of this prophesy.
Jesus came and dwelt among Israel. Just before Passover He moved into Jerusalem (the city where the Temple was built) along with the rest of Israel. Living in Jerusalem before Passover was like the lamb living in the family's house.
Once Jesus was found blameless, He became the slaughtered lamb. He chose, through sweating blood and fervent prayers, to be our Passover Lamb.
Jesus' death was the fulfillment of the original Passover night. His blood not only saves the first born son's life, but every person who trusts in Him. The Life, eternal life, is in Jesus' Blood.
God set apart this night as special. He created a celebration for every generation to enjoy from then through eternity. This celebration would remind us every year, on the fourteenth day of the first month of the Lunar calendar, that God is the One True God. He has set His followers apart from the rest of the world.
What a wonderful way to remember what God did in Egypt and in Jerusalem - many years later.
To celebrate this Feast of the Lord, here are a few tips:
1. Passover will be on Tuesday March 26th this year (2013)
2. Read
Exodus 1:1-13
These are the names of the sons of Israel (that is, Jacob) who moved to Egypt with their father, each with his family: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. In all, Jacob had seventy* descendants in Egypt, including Joseph, who was already there. In time, Joseph and all of his brothers died, ending that entire generation. But their descendants, the Israelites, had many children and grandchildren. In fact, they multiplied so greatly that they became extremely powerful and filled the land. Eventually, a new king came to power in Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph or what he had done. He said to his people, "Look, the people of Israel now outnumber us and are stronger than we are. We must make a plan to keep them from growing even more. If we don't, and if war breaks out, they will join our enemies and fight against us. Then they will escape from the country.*" So the Egyptians made the Israelites their slaves. They appointed brutal slave drivers over them, hoping to wear them down with crushing labor. They forced them to build the cities of Pithom and Rameses as supply centers for the king. But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more the Israelites multiplied and spread, and the more alarmed the Egyptians became. So the Egyptians worked the people of Israel without mercy.
OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt)
:2,
Leviticus 23:4-5
"In addition to the Sabbath, these are the LORD's appointed festivals, the official days for holy assembly that are to be celebrated at their proper times each year. "The LORD's Passover begins at sundown on the fourteenth day of the first month.*
OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt)
,
Numbers 9:1-14
A year after Israel's departure from Egypt, the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai. In the first month* of that year he said, "Tell the Israelites to celebrate the Passover at the prescribed time, at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month.* Be sure to follow all my decrees and regulations concerning this celebration." So Moses told the people to celebrate the Passover in the wilderness of Sinai as twilight fell on the fourteenth day of the month. And they celebrated the festival there, just as the LORD had commanded Moses. But some of the men had been ceremonially defiled by touching a dead body, so they could not celebrate the Passover that day. They came to Moses and Aaron that day and said, "We have become ceremonially unclean by touching a dead body. But why should we be prevented from presenting the LORD's offering at the proper time with the rest of the Israelites?" Moses answered, "Wait here until I have received instructions for you from the LORD." This was the LORD's reply to Moses. "Give the following instructions to the people of Israel: If any of the people now or in future generations are ceremonially unclean at Passover time because of touching a dead body, or if they are on a journey and cannot be present at the ceremony, they may still celebrate the LORD's Passover. They must offer the Passover sacrifice one month later, at twilight on the fourteenth day of the second month.* They must eat the Passover lamb at that time with bitter salad greens and bread made without yeast. They must not leave any of the lamb until the next morning, and they must not break any of its bones. They must follow all the normal regulations concerning the Passover. "But those who neglect to celebrate the Passover at the regular time, even though they are ceremonially clean and not away on a trip, will be cut off from the community of Israel. If they fail to present the LORD's offering at the proper time, they will suffer the consequences of their guilt. And if foreigners living among you want to celebrate the Passover to the LORD, they must follow these same decrees and regulations. The same laws apply both to native-born Israelites and to the foreigners living among you."
OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt)
&
John 12:1-17
Six days before the Passover celebration began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home of Lazarus—the man he had raised from the dead. A dinner was prepared in Jesus' honor. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those who ate* with him. Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar* of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus' feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance. But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said, "That perfume was worth a year's wages.* It should have been sold and the money given to the poor." Not that he cared for the poor—he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples' money, he often stole some for himself. Jesus replied, "Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me." When all the people* heard of Jesus' arrival, they flocked to see him and also to see Lazarus, the man Jesus had raised from the dead. Then the leading priests decided to kill Lazarus, too, for it was because of him that many of the people had deserted them* and believed in Jesus. The next day, the news that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city. A large crowd of Passover visitors took palm branches and went down the road to meet him. They shouted,"Praise God!*Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the LORD!Hail to the King of Israel!"* Jesus found a young donkey and rode on it, fulfilling the prophecy that said: "Don't be afraid, people of Jerusalem.*Look, your King is coming, riding on a donkey's colt."* His disciples didn't understand at the time that this was a fulfillment of prophecy. But after Jesus entered into his glory, they remembered what had happened and realized that these things had been written about him. Many in the crowd had seen Jesus call Lazarus from the tomb, raising him from the dead, and they were telling others* about it.
OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt)
:26
3. Read The Feasts of the Lord by: Kevin Howard & Marvin Rosenthal (specifically the chapter on Pesach - Passover)
4. Search out a Messianic Jewish family, Messianic Bible study or Messianic Synagogue in your area and ask if you can celebrate with them.
5. Borrow or Buy a Messianic Jewish Haggadah (Book of the meal order)
Enjoy your Passover! Chag Semeach (Happy Holiday) everyone!
Mia Kashat is a Messianic aka Completed Jew and grew up celebrating all of the Biblical Feasts. She lives in the wonderfully Southern state of Georgia. Her family has a Bible-study dedicated to repairing the way between Jews and Gentiles. She is a member of the Epic Faith community in Duluth. She also spends her time ministering to girls thru teaching the Bible & dance in a mentoring fashion.
