%20better%20crop.jpg)
Torah Portion for Sunday 10th April 2022 called “Pesach” meaning Passover from Exodus 12:21-51:
The Passover story is about bringing into remembrance our journey from enslavement from worldly entanglements into the freedom Christ offers and is part of our spiritual heritage. It is a story of deliverance, redemption, God’s provision, and obedience.
It is a time to remember – so let us remember The Passion of Christ.
Passover is an appointed time on God’s calendar when He invites us to join His table, and as a result of our obedience to accept His invitation, we will experience a release of great blessings.
The Passover story begins in Egypt but it is also our story. Joseph, the son of Jacob, was sold by his brothers to Egyptians somewhere between the 7th and 5th century B.C.
Joseph, though sold as a slave, prospered in the land under God’s provision and wisdom. He gained favor in the sight of Pharaoh. For generations, Joseph’s descendants—the Hebrews—thrived.
Over generations, the Egyptians found the presence of the Hebrews threatening. Hostility grew and Joseph’s favored position in the land was forgotten.
Many pharaohs came to power over the years, as one died, another took his place. Eventually, one pharaoh enslaved the Israelites. This enslavement carried over to future generations—lasting 400 years.
One Pharaoh ordered an edict to throw all firstborn sons into the Nile River. Moses was one of those firstborn sons whose fate should have been doomed. Miraculously, he was rescued by Pharaoh's daughter and adopted into the royal family.
As Moses grew, he became aware of his true identity as a Hebrew. Even though the Egyptians horribly mistreated the Hebrew people—the very people who were part of Moses' heritage and family, he was torn between the family who had raised him, and his new-found, true identity.
In time, Moses broke. He could no longer stand to see those who belonged to God brutally beaten and enslaved. He killed an Egyptian for his horrific treatment of a fellow Hebrew and fled the scene.
Through a series of events, the Lord shaped Moses’ character to prepare him to lead his people out of bondage and into freedom. God commanded Moses to return to Egypt and approach Pharaoh, telling him of 10 plagues that would be brought upon the land as a result of Pharaoh's hatred towards the Hebrews.
It was the last plague, the death of the firstborn, from which Passover was birthed. The Hebrew people followed God’s instruction to kill a lamb and smear its blood over the doorposts of their home—thus protecting those inside from the angel of death. Most understand that Jesus is referred to as the Passover Lamb.
Passover is a reminder of how God “passed over” each home that had the Passover lamb’s blood covering it—sparing the firstborn inside.
The Passover led to the Crossing of the Red Sea, and to Mount Sinai where Moses received the 10 Commandments.
Because of how God used the Israelites' obedience to follow His ordinances on this first night of Passover, it is clear that the Passover feast is unique among the biblical holidays. Passover is a time where the Jewish people cleanse their homes from all traces of yeast, representing our pride.
1 Corinthians 5:7-8 reads: “Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”—
John 1:29 “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ' Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’”—
But what is the covenant connection between the blood and Passover?
As a Believer, we are part of the most extraordinary covenant ever established. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob made a covenant with the people of Israel. This covenant included promises of freedom, protection, prosperity, and health. By the blood of the Passover Lamb, God protected the nation of Israel from being destroyed (see Exodus 12). We have been grafted into this covenant according to Romans 11:17, Galatians 3:29by the blood of Jesus, the Passover Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7).
A covenant relationship with the Lord allows Him to release power and purpose into our lives. This enables us to walk in the fullness of our salvation in Jesus.
This:
Deepens and strengthens our covenant relationship with the Lord
Increases our faith and trust in God
Magnifies the spiritual inheritance we have through Jesus
Equips us to receive our God-given purpose
These points empower us to glorify and honor God, furthering His Kingdom.
It is impossible to please God without faith. It is impossible to understand God without understanding the covenant relationship.
We are restored to the Father when we repent and accept Jesus as the Messiah, which means The Anointed One.
The fullness of the covenant is something that is revealed to us over time through the Holy Spirit and God’s Word.
As we seek to deepen your covenant relationship with the Lord, the Holy Spirit transforms our mindset to come into agreement with God’s heart.
In general, we tend to think of covenants as a set of rules, and not as a relationship.
In the Hebraic culture, a covenant relationship has a deeper meaning…
It means to give the best to each other.
It means there is a dedicated bond between each other.
It means there is a shared inheritance between each other.
It means there is an agreement on the promises to each other.
The blood of Jesus makes a way for a new life, restoring us to the Father. The blood allows us to enter into a covenant relationship.
The blood of Jesus…
Spares us from God’s wrath (Romans 5:9)
Heals us (1 Peter 2:24)
Restores and resurrects life (John 6:53)
Makes peace (Isaiah 53:5)
Reclaims what has been stolen (Ephesians 1:7)
There is power in the blood, there is grace, mercy, and forgiveness in the blood,
And the blood of Jesus gains us favor (Ephesians 1:6)
In Hebraic culture, the blood of an animal contained its life. Therefore, when the blood left a body, so did life.
God explained to Moses… Leviticus 17:11 “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.”
We renew our covenant every time we take communion. It is written “On the night He was betrayed, He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.’ Matthew 26:27-2 He said, “Do this in remembrance of Me”.
When we accept that the blood of Jesus covers our sin and gives us a new life, we are guaranteed a covenant relationship with God.
There is a theme of the blood being connected to covenants in the Bible mentioned in Genesis 15:17-18, 17:7-11, and Exodus 24:6-8.
Understanding the relationship between the blood and covenant brings depth, wisdom, knowledge, honor, breakthroughs, joy, peace, and authority. We begin to live in the fullness of our salvation.
Satan does not want us to proclaim the blood of Jesus over our lives, situations, struggles, or victories.
His desire is that we forget about the power of the blood, thus keeping us from walking in the fullness of our salvation, but the Bible says,
“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”—Revelation 12:11
Colossians 2:13-15“ Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it (at the cross).”—
“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace”—Ephesians 1:7
We see from God’s Word that Jesus’ blood has power. This power is what the enemy wants you to doubt. Therefore, this is all the more reason to trust the Lord and rejoice in the power of our covenant relationship with Him.
Jesus and Passover have an obvious connection in the Scriptures. Jesus is referred to as the Passover Lamb in 1 Corinthians 5:7 and the Lamb of God in John 1:29. Isaiah said Jesus would be led like a lamb to the slaughter (Isaiah 53:7).
Jesus and the Passover were connected long before His first appearance as a baby born in Bethlehem.
The faithful Israelites looked forward to the day when their Messiah and Passover would come together, fulfilling the promises that they had been given by their Covenant-Keeping God. It is written,
He would be pierced for their transgressions (Isaiah 53:5)
He would die among the wicked and be buried in a rich man’s tomb (Isaiah 53:9)
He would be resurrected from the grave (Psalm 16:10)
Many in the Church today have forgotten the significance of the Passover Lamb. They have been robbed of the spiritual inheritance of their faith for today. They have been deceived to think that the roots only go back 2000 years, when in fact, God established His plans from the beginning through Jesus (see John 1:1, 14)
However, God encourages us to accept the His invitation to come to His table at Passover with a humble and open heart, and we can expect to receive blessings.
Sadly, many in the Church are unaware of how these blessings and observances have been forgotten.
As a result, the Church has been disconnected from the Passover story and the blessings that come with observing the feast. They are:
1. A Promise of Divine Protection
2. Positioning and Alignment
3. Provides Protection from Your Enemies
4. A Commission of Divine Authority
5. Supernatural Health and Kingdom Prosperity
6. Covenant Protection for Multiplication and Longevity
7. A Godly Release of Fear and Respect from Your Enemies
8. The Driving Out of Your Enemies
9. Dominion and Increased Inheritance
10.Freedom from Corrupt Covenants
The Passover story involves drinking from 4 cups of wine, which reflect God’s 4 expressions of deliverance for the Hebrew people…
1. I will bring you out…
2. I will rescue you…
3. I will redeem you…
4. I will take you as My people…
The third cup, the Cup of Redemption, is what we associate with communion today.
Our Christian faith is deeply rooted in Jewish heritage. There are abundant blessings in understanding and knowing our spiritual heritage as those who are grafted-in through Christ. Yet often there is hesitation among Believers to celebrate Passover, but there doesn’t need to be. Instead, celebrating Passover as Believers is an opportunity to connect with our heritage and draw closer to the Father—experiencing our freedom in Christ.
The heart of the Passover story is to understand, as a grafted-in Believer, that this feast’s observance is part of our spiritual inheritance. The Father invites you to His table. It is a time of worship, praise, and intimate connection with the Lord.
He welcomes us to come to Him with all our cares and concerns. His arms are open, and He longs for us to come home. There, at His table, He pours His love upon us during this divine appointed time of Passover.
Shabbat Shalom,
Miriam
Notes from Pesach by Curt Landry
Please let me know if you no longer wish to receive the Torah portion of the week.