27
��� The Pastor's Class
God's Passover Protection
Exodus
12�
After
nine plagues Pharaoh's heart was still hardened. The tenth and final plague
would be worse than anything they had ever seen before. The firstborn in all of
Exodus 12: 1-5
The LORD said to Moses
and Aaron in
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1.�
Why is the Jewish calendar different from ours?
God commanded that the month in which the Israelites were freed
would be their first month.
The Jewish calendar is primarily lunar, with each month beginning
on the new moon.� The problem with
strictly lunar calendars is that there are approximately 12.4 lunar months in
every solar year, so a 12 month lunar calendar loses about 11 days each year.
The months on such a calendar "drift" relative to the solar year.
This is corrected by occasionally adding a 13th month to the Jewish calendar.
The first month on the Jewish calendar is called Nissan and falls
between March and April of the Solar Year.
This difference in the lunar and solar calendar helps us
understand why Jewish holidays do not fall on the same date each year.
Since Easter is linked to Passover and Passover is linked to the
Jewish calendar, Easter can fall anywhere from the last Sunday in March to the
third Sunday in April.
2.��
Why did God state that a lamb should be slaughtered?
Even here God is laying the framework for what would become the
greatest event in all history. All the way back in the garden of Eden we learned
that there was no sufficient covering for sin without the shedding of blood.
Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. This is a central
theme throughout the whole bible.
A lamb's wool was white. White is the color of purity. The
sacrifical lamb had to be without spot or blemish. The irony�� is��
no such animal existed. That is, of course until the Lamb of God.
Exodus 12: 6 - 11
�6 Take care of them until the fourteenth day of
the month, when all the people of the community of
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The
lamb that was selected was taken into the home and kept from the 10th until the
14th day. During this time it was determined that the lamb was suitable for
sacrifice. Also during this time it would become like a family pet. Thus when
the animal was killed the family felt the loss.
In
primitive times there were superstitions associated with doors. People would
sometimes place ornaments on the door to ward off evil. Even today you might
occasionally see a door with a horse shoe over it.
3.�
Why did God instruct the people to place the blood of the slain animal
on the doorposts of their homes?
The blood was a visible sign that the people who lived in that dwelling
had received, understood and obeyed the word of the Lord.
The blood was a visible sign that the sacrifice had been made and
that the people inside were to be "passed over" that is protected
from the tenth and final plague.
Exodus 12: 12 - 13
�
12 �On that same night I
will pass through
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4.�
What is the purpose of this tenth plague?
The purpose is to bring judgment upon the gods of
Exodus 12: 14 - 20
14 �This is a day you are
to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival
to the LORD�a lasting ordinance.� 15 For
seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the
yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the
first day through the seventh must be cut off from
17 �Celebrate the Feast
of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your
divisions out of
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5.�
Why did God instruct the Israelites to establish this passover as a
lasting festival?
It is said that the Seder is celebrated especially for the
children. It is important for Jewish children to be and feel involved in the
celebration of Passover. Much of the ceremony is based on the commandment in
the Bible that says, "And thou shalt tell thy son"
At the Seder the Haggadah, the Book of Exodus, is read and the
history celebrated with its stories, songs and prayers
Why? Why? Why?
Why is this night different ?
Why do we eat such unusual foods as Matzoh, the unleavened bread,
and Maror, the bitter herbs?
Why do we dip green herbs in salt water?
Why do we open doors?
Why do we hide and then eat the Afikomen?
Why? Why? Why?
At the Seder it is the youngest child at the table that answers
the 4 questions asked at Passover.
Remembering what God has done is always an act of worship.
The two major holidays on the Christian calendar is Easter and
Christmas. These holidays are about remembering what God has done.
When Jesus met with his disciples on their last Passover meal
together. Jesus said to them "As often as you do this do it in remembrance
of me."
6.�
Why was Yeast not permitted as a part of the Passover festival?
" Yeast represents a connection with their past life in
�1 Corinthians 5:6-8
"Your boasting is not good. Don't you know that a little yeast works
through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a
new batch without yeast--as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has
been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast,
the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of
sincerity and truth."
Exodus 12: 21 - 30
21 Then Moses summoned
all the elders of
24 �Obey these
instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants.� 25 When you enter the land that the LORD will
give you as he promised, observe this ceremony.�
26 And when your children ask you, �What does this ceremony mean to you?�� 27 then tell them, �It is the Passover
sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt
and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.�� Then the people bowed
down and worshiped.� 28 The Israelites
did just what the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron.
29 At midnight the LORD struck
down all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the
throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the
firstborn of all the livestock as well.�
30 Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the
night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without
someone dead.
The New International
Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House) 1984.
Terms associated with Jewish Passover
Pesach (PAY-sahkh or
PEH-sahkh) - meaning "passing over" or "Protection"
Seger - Passover Meal
Matzohs (MAHTZ-uh) - unleavened crackers
Chametz (KHUH-mitz)- Food containing Yeast
Haggadeh (huh-GAH-duh)- The book of Exodus
Maror - Bitter Herbs
�
Seder Meal
�
Symbols of the Passover
�*Three whole Matzos (unleavened bread).
A reminder
that the Israelites did not have time to wait for the yeast bread to rise
because they had to be ready to move when God said. A piece of the middle one is
hidden for a child to find.
�(New Testament represents the Body of Jesus
Christ broken for our sins. As Christians it is a reminder to live so that we
are always "ready to go" when Jesus returns. Also yeast sometimes
represents the evil in the world. God wants His people to be pure.)
*A roasted lamb ~ placed to the host's
right ~
�in
memory of the lamb sacrificed by Israelites the night before their flight from
(Jesus is our final perfect Lamb
sacrificed for us.)
*A roasted egg ~ to the left ~
�in
mourning for destroyed temple.
(Symbol of the free-will offering that was
given with the lamb. This represents giving more to God than just what is
demanded. This is a gift of love. Jesus is God's ultimate gift. God's law
demanded justice, but with the gift of Jesus, God gives us more than justice;
He gives us mercy, love and forgiveness.)
* Maror (bitter herbs) ~ placed
in the middle
A reminder of the bitterness of slavery in
(As Christians we remember that many
suffered so that we may know the joy of the good news of Jesus.)
*Charoseth
(chopped almonds, apple, wine, sugar and
cinnamon)~
Symbolizes the mortar which the Jews had
to mix in making bricks for the king of
*Salt water ~
to signify the
(Represents the tears of all of God's
Saints)
Karpar (celery, parsley,
greens)-
The Hebrew word means 600,000 the recorded
number who left
(These plants stay green all year and
represent the everlasting life because of Jesus Christ's Resurrection.)
Wine or grape juice ~ Wine represents JOY.
As the service proceeds, as each plaque is
mentioned, each person sips a little of the wine. This means that until we were
totally free and out of bondage, joy was incomplete.
(At the Last Supper Jesus said that the
wine represented His own life's blood, poured out for us. He had to die so that
we could know the total joy of freedom and forgiveness.)
*Elijah's cup ~ usually a treasured
one filled with wine ~
is placed on the table to await the
arrival of the Messiah.
(Jesus said in Matthew 11:14 that John the
Baptist was the promised Elijah who was to announce the Messiah's coming. For
Christians this cup does not remain untouched. It is shared by everyone at the
table in the joy that our hope had come true. The Messiah has come to us and is
alive to give our lives eternal joy.
7.�
In what way(s) are the Passover and the Lord's Supper alike? How are
they different?
Many Jews still observe the Passover just as it was observed in
biblical times. However, Christians follow Jesus' example when he gave new
significance to this ancient tradition. The breaking of the bread is symbolic
of the brokenness of Christ and the wine�
represents the shed blood and the new covenant in Christ. The only thing
Jesus said as to when to observe this ordinance was that it should be an
occasion of remembrance. The worst thing that can happen is to allow the Lord's
Supper to become just another ritual.
8.�
Why did God allow his judgment to fall upon innocent people and
livestock?
This is a question that has been asked countless times in one form
or another. Why do bad things happen to good people? Why does God allow children
to suffer and die? Answers to these questions are never easy. However, here
some things to consider.
1. Sin and Evil is the source of all misery.
2. Sin came into the world through Man's disobedience.
3. God's is righteous and cannot condone sin.
4. God showed grace and mercy on those affected by sin by offering
his Son as the wages of Sin.
5. Sin's greatest weapon is death and God has demonstrated his
power over death by raising his Son from the dead.
6. Almost always our sin has an affect on others. God has promised
a greater condemnation on those who cause the innocent to suffer.
Exodus 12: 31 - 36
31 During the night
Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, �Up! Leave my people, you and the
Israelites! Go, worship the LORD as you have requested.� 32 Take your flocks and herds, as you have
said, and go. And also bless me.�
33 The Egyptians urged
the people to hurry and leave the country. �For otherwise,� they said, �we will
all die!�� 34 So the people took their
dough before the yeast was added, and carried it on their shoulders in kneading
troughs wrapped in clothing.� 35 The
Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of
silver and gold and for clothing.� 36 The
LORD had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave
them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians.
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