Passover
6. March 2009 by Bernice Davis.
Hello:
Today I want to discuss the Passover. We have often heard in church tradition that Jesus was the Passover lamb. During the next few weeks leading up to history, I will be teaching a lot of history concerning this period and how it relates to the things that Jesus will be going through.
Let’s look at the origin of Passover. The word is first mentioned in Exodus. The context is when the children of
Israel were under Pharaoh’s bondage and the Lord sent plagues upon the Egyptians in order to force Pharaoh to let the people go.
The last plague would be the killing of the first born.
The Israelites were instructed to do the following so that the Lord would “pass over” their households and not kill the first born of their house.
Here is the story.
Exodus 12: 1 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in
Egypt,
2 ”This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year.
3 Tell the whole community of
Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household.
4 If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat.
5 The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats.
6 Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of
Israel must slaughter them at twilight.
7 Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs.
8 That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast.
9 Do not eat the meat raw or cooked in water, but roast it over the fire–head, legs and inner parts.
10 Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it.
11 This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover.
12 ”On that same night I will pass through
Egypt and strike down every firstborn–both men and animals–and I will bring judgment on all the gods of
Egypt. I am the Lord.
13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike
Egypt.
14 ”This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord–a lasting ordinance.
15 For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from
Israel.
16 On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do no work at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat–that is all you may do.
17 ”Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of
Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come.
18 In the first month you are to eat bread made without yeast, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day.
19 For seven days no yeast is to be found in your houses. And whoever eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off from the community of
Israel, whether he is an alien or native-born.
20 Eat nothing made with yeast. Wherever you live, you must eat unleavened bread.”
Okay, I know it was rather lengthy but let’s pull out some facts. The Passover meal consisted of roasted lamb without defects, bitter herbs and unleavened bread. Another name for the Passover is called “Feast of the Unleavened Bread.”
They were to eat the meal with their clock tucked into their belt, with their sandals on their feet and their staff in their hand and they were to eat it in haste.
Together with the Pentecost and Tabernacles, Passover was one of the three Jewish celebrations that all Jews made a pilgrimage to
Jerusalem to honor this celebration.
Agriculturally, it represents the beginning of the harvest in
Israel.
Now, do you remember in our text on yesterday, the timing was the Passover season so in this “triumphant entry” into
Jerusalem that we are studying it took place when the city was flooded with crowds who had gathered for the Passover celebration.
How strategic is the timing of our God.
Such a plan.
Everyone have a great weekend. Again, I’m going to be doing a lot of history the next couple of weeks leaving up to the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord.
Stay encouraged!!!!!!!!
Don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.