Yesterday began the Passover celebration. Passover is a Jewish holy day and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt. Passover begins on the 15th day of the month of "Nisan", which is spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and is celebrated for seven or eight days. It is one of the most widely observed Jewish holidays.
In Exodus, God helped the Children of Israel escape slavery in Egypt by inflicting ten plagues upon the Egyptians before Pharaoh would release his Israelite slaves. Plague #10 was the worst: Death of the Firstborn. Moses told the king that every firstborn would be killed. Everyone from the Pharaoh's son to the slave woman's son would die. God instructed Moses to tell his people to make sure every household had a lamb, a one-year-old male without any defects. On the given day, they were to slaughter, cook and eat the animal and put its blood on their doorposts. The angel of death would see the blood when he came to kill the firstborn and would "pass over" when he saw the blood. All of the firstborn of people and animals of the Egyptians died that night and Pharaoh freed the Israelites.
When Pharaoh freed the Israelites, they left in such a hurry that they could not wait for bread to rise. In commemoration, for the duration of Passover no leavened bread is eaten, for which reason it is called "The Festival of the Unleavened Bread". Matzo (flat unleavened bread) is the primary symbol of the holiday.
These days, only Jewish people celebrate this but I think that is such a shame. We should ALL be observing this! This is our heritage! But not only is it our history, it is symbolic and a prophecy of Christ. He is our Passover Lamb! He is the spotless lamb whose blood is shed on the door posts of our souls saving us from the Angel of Death! He came to save us and offer us an escape from our slavery and a way into the promised land. Praise God for this awesome foreshadowing of the cross! So... tell me again why we don't celebrate Passover? We are missing out.
In Exodus, God helped the Children of Israel escape slavery in Egypt by inflicting ten plagues upon the Egyptians before Pharaoh would release his Israelite slaves. Plague #10 was the worst: Death of the Firstborn. Moses told the king that every firstborn would be killed. Everyone from the Pharaoh's son to the slave woman's son would die. God instructed Moses to tell his people to make sure every household had a lamb, a one-year-old male without any defects. On the given day, they were to slaughter, cook and eat the animal and put its blood on their doorposts. The angel of death would see the blood when he came to kill the firstborn and would "pass over" when he saw the blood. All of the firstborn of people and animals of the Egyptians died that night and Pharaoh freed the Israelites.
When Pharaoh freed the Israelites, they left in such a hurry that they could not wait for bread to rise. In commemoration, for the duration of Passover no leavened bread is eaten, for which reason it is called "The Festival of the Unleavened Bread". Matzo (flat unleavened bread) is the primary symbol of the holiday.
These days, only Jewish people celebrate this but I think that is such a shame. We should ALL be observing this! This is our heritage! But not only is it our history, it is symbolic and a prophecy of Christ. He is our Passover Lamb! He is the spotless lamb whose blood is shed on the door posts of our souls saving us from the Angel of Death! He came to save us and offer us an escape from our slavery and a way into the promised land. Praise God for this awesome foreshadowing of the cross! So... tell me again why we don't celebrate Passover? We are missing out.
|
Post a Comment