Last night my family and I celebrated a most blessed, joyous Passover in my little house. My daughter Christina and her 3 children (ages 9, 7 and 3), as well as my parents (84 and 85!) were with me. We began by watching the story of Moses leading the children of Israel through the Red Sea in the FIRST miraculous Exodus (in the movie "the Prince of Egypt") and we talked about how we may be of the generation that Yahweh delivers in the SECOND Exodus! We worshiped Yeshua, our Deliverer, in song and in dance. And then we enjoyed a wonderful Seder dinner, savoring the tastes and the smells, reading the ancient words of the Haggadah (which means "the telling"), and finding all the beautiful foreshadows of Messiah in the story.
I asked them if anyone knew how long God's people are commanded to keep the Passover feast, and my 9-year-old granddaughter correctly answered, "Forever!" Delighted, I replied, "Yes, forever! We are forever to roast the lamb and remember Yeshua's sacrifice, and eat the bitter herbs and the matzah, asking God to remove the leaven from our own hearts, and remembering the children of Israel being delivered from their slavery." With his brown eyes wide in amazement, my 7-year-old grandson, Jackson, said, "Nana, you mean we have to eat this stuff every day now, FOREVER??" What fun! I'm sure he had a frightening vision of having to eat unleavened bread and horseradish every night for dinner for the rest of his life! But we showed him in the Scriptures that the Passover comes once a year, in the spring, on the 14th day of the first month. This is GOD'S "new year's celebration" - the beginning of HIS new year, the beginning of His redemption of His people Israel, the sanctifying of His people through the days of Unleavened Bread, and the fulfillment of His Redemption through Messiah Yeshua's blood sacrifice and Firstfruits Resurrection from the dead! It was the evening (beginning) of the Passover Feast Day when He broke bread with His disciples and explained how He was about to renew Yahweh's Covenant with His people through His blood; and it was toward the end of the Passover Day (next afternoon) when He BECAME the Passover Lamb of God, redeeming you and me from our sins. Hallelujah!
"Nana, do you mean we have to eat this stuff every day now, FOREVER?" Well, Jackson, we don't have to eat parsley and horseradish every day forever; but whenever we gather together with family and brothers and sisters of God, we break bread and drink the Cup and remember what our Messiah did for us -- and EVERY DAY would be good to do that!
Be blessed as the Spirit shows you what "leaven" needs to be cleaned out of your heart this week; and rejoice in the One who offers grace and mercy.
Happy Passover - Hag Sameach!
I must admit I was getting a bit anxious because the experts promised rain and we only got a few miniscule drops.
ReplyDeleteI've had a bad habit of getting mad about this in the past and asked the lord for help not to fall into the same sin.
I had prayed and asked the Lord for rain as it is very dry here and fought off the feeling of being upset as the rain passed over once again.
Some pass overs are more preferable than others and the big picture of not being under God's wrath helps us to endure our slight troubles.
Well ,just as I ended reading your joyous Passover celebration the real rain began to fall and Jesus answered me in His time ,not mine.
What a blessed generation we are to see the fullfilment of what Jesus spoke and to see the end of man's vanity and the ushering in of Jesus' kingdom rule.
The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come.....
For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made. For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him: I hid me, and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart. I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners. I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the LORD; and I will heal him. But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.
Isaiah 57