LESSON 8

Passover's Protection

Sin's Death Sentence Must Be Paid

   The Scriptures tells us to look for the month of green barley ears, for in that month the year begins. The first month brings the time of Passover, which begins the first of the three harvest festivals. Passover as a type has been fulfilled twice. It will continue to be important as it will be held in the future in a new way, according to Yahshua.

   There has been much written about Passover. In this lesson, we will look at the Passover event itself, as well as why it originated, what it meant for the nation of Israel, and exactly what it means for True Believers today. Let's look at Passover from the beginning.

A People to Serve Yahweh

   Israel had been slaves in Egypt for hundreds of years. Their ranks had grown large and strong. Exodus 1:10 tells us that Israel had now grown to a vast multitude and the Egyptians feared they would join with their enemies during war. The Egyptians therefore set taskmasters and afflicted their Israelite slaves with building cities for Pharaoh. However, the more their tasks increased, the more Israel multiplied and grew stronger.

   In Exodus 2:24 we read, "And Elohim heard their groanings and Elohim remembered His Covenant with Abraham with Isaac and with Jacob." Here we have a very important revelation. It is the key to why the first Passover was instituted.

   Because of Abraham's implicit faith, Yahweh promised to make from Abraham a favored nation--Israel. When the children of Israel were afflicted in the land of Egypt the stage was set for Yahweh to demonstrate to the entire world then (and recorded for those today who will read His Word and believe), that He alone is the Mighty One of heaven and earth.

   The first Passover is recorded in Exodus 12. After it became known he had killed an Egyptian, Moses fled from Pharaoh and found refuge in the land of Midian. There he also found a wife who bore him a son. It was during this time that the Angel of Yahweh appeared to Moses at Mount Horeb.

   Yahweh miraculously appeared to Moses in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush that burned, yet was not consumed. For over 400 years prior to this encounter with the Angel of Yahweh, no record exists that Israel had any direct dealings with the Creator.

   Here on the mountain Yahweh proclaimed to Moses, "I am He, Yahweh, the Elohim of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." He went on to proclaim that He would use Moses to lead the children of Israel out of captivity. Upon his return to Egypt, Moses and his brother Aaron asked Pharaoh to let the children of Israel go. For what? That they might serve Yahweh their Elohim in the wilderness.

   This is of extreme importance because Yahweh had raised up Israel to serve Him.  Yahweh since creation has wanted man to serve Him and to worship Him.

   But man in his natural environment has always rebelled against Yahweh and His way of life, ignoring His plan for mankind.

   Pharaoh's heart was hardened and he would not let the children of Israel go that they might serve Yahweh. Yahweh's plan of deliverance consisted of 10 plagues. Each would increase the hardness of Pharaoh's heart.

   It should be noted that Yahweh did not literally harden Pharaoh's heart, but brought about conditions that showed Pharaoh's true character. He allowed Pharaoh's heart to be hardened. On the other hand, the plagues would show not only Egypt but also Israel that Yahweh's hand was ever-present, ever-powerful and able to deliver Israel from anything or any nation.

Obstinance of man, like Pharaoh's unwillingness to let Israel leave Egypt, led to the Passover. Our unwillingness to let go of sin requires Yahshua's Passover sacrifice to free us from the penalty of death.

Passover Blood to Protect

   The final plague Yahweh instituted to free the children of Israel from bondage was the death angel's coming into the land of Egypt. All firstborn of both man and beast were killed. It was at this time that Yahweh instructed Moses about the ordinance of the Passover.

   On the tenth day of the first month every man was to take a lamb according to the number or size of the family. They were to keep the lamb until the 14th day of the same month when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel would kill it in the evening.

   The lamb had to be perfect and without blemish, a male of the first year. Not only were they to kill the lamb, but to take its blood and put it on the two sideposts and on the lintel over the door of the houses where they were eating that night.

   Moses instructed Israel to eat the flesh of the lamb in that night, roasted with fire. It was to be eaten along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. They were forbidden to eat it raw or soaked with water. The entire animal had to be roasted with fire.

   They were to leave nothing remaining until morning That which was not consumed by morning was to be burned Israel was to eat the Passover with their clothes on, shoes on their feet, staffs at hand, ready to leave Egypt.

   In Exodus 12:12-13 Yahweh says, "For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the deities of Egypt will I execute judgment: I am Yahweh.  And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt."

   We should make special note that Yahweh ordained that the blood would be a token or sign upon the houses and would cause the death angel to pass over.

   This word "passover" is "pesah," from No. 6452 in Strong's Concordance Hebrew Dictionary. It is the root of the word "passover," which we normally read in the Scriptures and can refer to the Passover meal, the festival or the sacrifice.

   Yahweh had ordained that it was by blood that He would save His people and deliver them from the land of Egypt. The death angel's passing through Egypt at midnight destroying all the firstborn was the final blow to Pharaoh and the Egyptians and caused them to release Yahweh's people.

   In the New Covenant Yahshua the Messiah, as an unblemished Lamb became our perfect sacrifice for sin. His blood, just as the blood on the doorposts, protects anyone under it from everlasting death, 1 Corinthians 5:7; Isaiah 53:7-8.

   His death was one of the most horrible a person could undergo. He was brutally beaten, whipped by leather thongs containing bits of metal, stuck all around His head with a ring of thorns, then yanked to a post and impaled with nails in the wrists and feet. As he hung in agony, a soldier thrust a sword through His side, seeing blood gushing from His battered and nearly unrecognizable body, Isaiah 52:14.

   He did all of this voluntarily, so that we might have a chance for everlasting life, Psalm 103:2-3; Isaiah 53:5; and 1 Peter 2:24. Yahweh could not have sent a more precious, valuable sacrifice in all of creation. That is how much He loves you and wants you to repent and turn form your sins! And Yahshua was willing to undergo all of it--for you!

   Egypt represents more than just a geographical country. In allegory, Egypt represents the world of sophisticated pagan worship of a multiplicity of pagan deities. It represents the society into which we were born and are presently living. Even as Yahweh's people Israel became slaves and servants of Pharaoh, we also have become slaves and servants to this worldly system.

Now, Click on "Questions" for More Studying!