SIX THOUGHTS ON (PASSOVER)

THE WORD PASSOVER

THE WORD PASSOVER IS FOUND '76' TIMES IN THE HOLY BIBLE. IT IS FIRST FOUND IN EXODUS 12: 11 AND THE LAST TIME IT IS MENTIONED IS FOUND IN HEBREWS 11: 28.

THE HEBREW WORD FOR PASSOVER IS 'PESACH', WHICH ACTUALLY MEANS TO 'PASS OVER IN MERCY'.

HERE ARE SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT 'PESACH'.

P - PARDON

DURING THE FIRST PESACH THE LORD OFFERED PARDON TO THE HEBREW CHILDREN AND ALSO TO THE EGYPTIANS IF THEY WOULD ONLY OBEY THE COMMANDMENTS THAT THE LORD HIMSELF GAVE UNTO MOSES TO SHARE WITH THEM, ON THE NIGHT THAT THE DESTROYER WOULD COME UPON ALL THE HOUSES IN EGYPT, BY APPLYING THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB UPON THEIR DOORS.

E - EXTENDED

THE LORD'S MERCY EXTENDED NOT ONLY TO THE JEWISH PEOPLE BUT ALSO TO ANY GENTILE THAT WOULD COME UNDER THE BLOOD THAT FATEFUL NIGHT WHEN THE FIRSTBORN OF EVERY HOME WOULD BE DESTROYED. APPARENTLY, MOST OF THE HEBREW CHILDREN WERE OBEDIENT, BUT ALSO ABOUT 600,000 EGYPTIANS BOWED THEIR HEART TO THE GOD OF JACOB THAT EVENING, THEY ARE REFERRED TO IN SCRIPTURE AS THE MIXED MULTITUDE.

S - SACRIFICE

THE SACRIFICE THAT WAS REQUIRED WAS A LAMB OF ONE YEAR OF AGE WITHOUT SPOT OR BLEMISH, TAKEN ON THE 10TH DAY OF NISAN AND OBSERVED FOR FOUR DAYS, THEN, ON THE 14TH DAY OF THE SAME MONTH, THE LAMB'S LIFE WAS TO BE GIVEN AS A RANSOM FOR THOSE THAT WERE FOUND IN THE HOUSES, AND OF COURSE IT'S BLOOD NEEDED TO BE APPLIED UPON THE UPPER LINTEL AND THE TWO SIDE POSTS OF EACH HOUSE, THUS THE SACRIFICE WOULD BE ACCEPTABLE TO THE LORD GOD.

A - ATONEMENT

THIS BLESSED ATONEMENT IS A BEAUTIFUL PICTURE AND SYMBOL OF THE ONE WHICH WOULD COME TO THIS EARTH APPROXIMATELY 1,450 AFTER THE ORIGINAL PESACH IN THE DAYS OF MOSES. THIS INDIVIDUAL THAT CAME ALMOST 2,000 YEARS AGO IS REFERRED TO 'AS THE LAMB OF GOD' WHICH TAKETH AWAY THE SIN OF THE WORLD, AND THIS IS Y'SHUA HA-MASSHIACH ADONAI (THE LORD JESUS CHRIST). THIS GLORIOUS ATONEMENT UNLIKE THE FIRST THAT TOOK PLACE WITH THE DEATH OF AN ACTUAL LAMB THAT COVERED THE HEBREW CHILDREN AND COMMANDED THEM TO OBSERVE AND REMEMBER YEARLY, IS NOW CALLED 'CHAG HA-MATZAH', THE FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD. THE TOTALITY OF THE ATONEMENT THAT THE LORD Y'SHUA WOULD PROVIDE TO ALL WHO WOULD BELIEVE AND RECEIVE HIM AS THEIR ATONEMENT WAS FOR TIME AND ETERNITY, A ONE TIME ATONEMENT.

C - CLEANSING

THE CLEANSING BY A BLOOD SACRIFICE IS THE ULTIMATE PAYMENT FOR SIN. IN THE DAYS OF MOSES THIS CLEANSING OR FORGIVENESS WAS TEMPORAL, BUT THE CLEANSING THAT HAS BEEN ALREADY PROVIDED BY THE MESSIAH OF ISRAEL IS INDEED 'ETERNAL' NEVER TO BE REPEATED AGAIN. THUS, BOTH JEWISH AND GENTILE INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE RELYING ON THE SACRIFICE OF THE LAMB OF GOD CAN REJOICE AND REMEMBER WITH MUCH JOY THAT ALL OF OUR SINS ARE FORGIVEN AND FORGOTTEN BY THE WONDER OF WONDERS, THE DEATH, BURIAL AND RESURRECTION OF THE ETERNAL GOD-MAN IN JERUSALEM, ISRAEL, LONG AGO AND STILL EFFECTIVE TODAY TO ALL WHO WILL RECEIVE HIM AS THE LAMB OF GOD.

H - HOLINESS

THE LAST THOUGHT ON PESACH IS HOLINESS. IN HEBREW THE WORD IS KODESH WHICH SIMPLY MEANS THE STATE OF BEING SEPARATED FROM SIN AND JOINED TO OUR BLESSED CHRIST AND SAVIOUR, BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH. WHAT A NES GADOL HAYAH SHAM, 'A GREAT MIRACLE HAPPENED THERE', IN THE LAND OF ISRAEL WHEN Y'SHUA AS THE LAMB OF GOD COMPLETED THE ETERNAL SACRIFICE FOR THE SINS OF THE WORLD. NOW YOU AND I CAN BE JOYFUL IN HOLINESS BEFORE HIM UNTIL THAT TIME WHEN HE CALLS US HOME TO HA-SHAMAYIM (THE HEAVENS) WHERE OUR BLESSED LORD ABIDES.