Sunday, January 1, 2012

The Meaning of Passover

What does Exodus (or the Old Testament) have to do with Christianity? We look for Jesus in the OT.
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Exodus Chapter 11 (ESV except where indicated)
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Exodus 11:1 “The LORD said to Moses, “Yet one plague more I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will drive you away completely. 2 Speak now in the hearing of the people, that they ask, every man of his neighbor and every woman of her neighbor, for silver and gold jewelry.” 3 And the LORD gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians.”
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God gave the people (Jews) favor: grace-divine love and protection. He protected them from sin!
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How much does grace cost? (gift of God)
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Romans 3:23 “...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. “
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In scripture what does Egypt always represent? Egypt represents sin (deleavening represents cleansing from sin)
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1 Corinthians 5:6 (Speaking of Days of Unleavened Bread) “Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
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Sin-old leaven (malice and evil) Clean -Unleavened (sincerity and truth)
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Who was the Passover lamb? Jesus.
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Exodus 11:3b “Moreover, the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants and in the sight of the people.”
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Who is Moses a picture of? Jesus (He was an emissary of God-He delivered the people from sin)
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Exodus 11:4 “So Moses said, “Thus says the LORD: ‘About midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt, 5 and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the cattle.”
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Who does the firstborn represent? Jesus: Here all the firstborn died. With Jesus he died for all of us!
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Matthew 1:25 (KJV) “And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.”
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Colossians 1:13 “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. The Preeminence of Christ 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He (Jesus) is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.”
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Exodus 11:6 “There shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there has never been, nor ever will be again. 7 But not a dog shall growl against any of the people of Israel, either man or beast, that you may know that the LORD makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.”
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Why does God make a difference between Egypt and Israel? (Egypt represents sin. Israel redemption)
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Isaiah 44: The LORD Redeems Israel21 Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are my servant; I formed you; you are my servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me. “
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Exodus 11:8 “And all these your servants shall come down to me and bow down to me, saying, ‘Get out, you and all the people who follow you.’ And after that I will go out.” And he went out from Pharaoh in hot anger. 9 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen to you, that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.” 10 Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, and the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go out of his land.
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In the NT what were the “wonders” a picture of? (Miracles of Jesus-Moses as a picture of Jesus performed miracles as Jesus did)
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What does Pharoah represent? The anti-Christ (opposed to Christ, a representative of Satan) (Satan will be defeated by Jesus just as Moses (Christ's picture) defeats Pharoah.
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(Pharoah means “Great House”. Pharoah was a False God- who was worshiped as a god-His name has the same entymology as the Egyptian god “Horus”, a “Solar Diety”, the son of Osiras and Isis. Whereas, Jesus is the son of the true God, Horus was the son of a false god)
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What does the expression “(Pharoah) did not let the people of Israel go out of his land”? (Slavery to sin).
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We become servants to Pharoah, the emissary of Satan, who makes every attempt to retain us in bondage to sin. The Jews in Egypt represents “bondage to sin”.
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Exodus 12
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The Passover
Exodus 12:1 “The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2 “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you.
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The Jews believe the world began with the month of Tisri. Now signficance is put on the month of Abib.
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What was the significance of the Lord changing the month for the Jews?
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(A new beginning for the Jews, just as Christ's sacrifice was a new beginning for mankind).
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Exodus 12:3 “Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household.
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What does the lamb represent” (Jesus) John 1:36”and he (John) looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!””
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Exodus 12:4 “And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old.”
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What significance is “without blemish”? (Pure-without sin) Hebrews 4:15 “For we do not have a high priest (Jesus) who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”
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Exodus 12:5b “You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, 6 and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.”
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What is the signficance of twilight? (When the sun is over the horizon) Jesus was killed when the sun was out (3:00 pm), but it turned dark creating twilight conditions. The lifting of twilight means a new day. Jesus sacrifice created a New Covenant or a New Day.
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Exodus 12:7 “Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.”
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And the significance of blood? (Blood purifies-Jesus shed His blood for us) Hebrews 9:22 “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.”
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Hebrews 9:13 “For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”
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What does the two doorposts and lintel represent? (The doorpost was the doorjambs. The lintel is the top member which spans the door). The lintel would portrude beyond the doorposts making a sort of wooden cross. This was the door through which death would enter. The blood signified that the Jews (redeemed) were inside, so were to be saved (passed over) by God. They wouldn't suffer the penalty of death, just as those who believe of Jesus sacrifice on the cross will never suffer death. The cross of Jesus defeated spiritual death just as the doorposts proetected the Jews from physical death.
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Exodus 12:8 “They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs (hyssop) they shall eat it.”
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What does unleavened mean again? (Without sin-there is no yeast in it. Yeast is impure).
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What's the signficance of bitter herbs (hyssop in KJV)? It represents the crucifixion. Jesus was given hyssop (KJV-bitter herbs) along with his vinegar to drink at his crucifixion. Also, the Jews used hyssop (the bitter herb) as a means of sprinking the blood sacrifice. (See Deuteronomy).
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John 19:29 (KJV) “Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.”
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Exodus 12:9 “Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. 10 And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. 11 In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste.”
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This is the only place that the meal was to be eaten in haste. This represents the “Last Supper” which we “do in remembrance of Him”. To eat the blood of an animal was disrespectful to God. Likewise, to take the symbolic blood of Jesus with a wrong heart is disrespectful.
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1 Corinthians 11:29 (KJV) “For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.”
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Exodus 12:11b “It is the LORD's Passover. 12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. 13 The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.”
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The blood shall be a sign for you”. What does this mean about your own life? (Covered by the blood)
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Plague is death. What does it represent to us? (Spiritual death-We avoid spiritual death by the blood).
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I will pass over you” Any significance there for you? Since you're covered by the blood you will be passed over for eternal punishment.
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Exodus 12:17 “And you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt.”
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Brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt” Any thoughts? Delivered us (all) from sin.
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What's the entomology of “sin”? (Sin is one of the chief gods of Assyria and Babylon and as the moon god it's seat of worship was Ur, the birthplace of Abraham. He was the lord of calendar and wisdom. Obviously, if you disobeyed the true God you were in “Sin”).
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Exodus 12:19b If anyone eats what is leavened, that person will be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a sojourner or a native of the land. 20 You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwelling places you shall eat unleavened bread.”
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leavening means sin: Matthew 16:6Jesus said to them, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.””
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What was wrong with the Pharisees and Sadducees? Theirs was a false religion... not heartfelt, but one of works. There was little love nor grace.
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In the NT on what occasion do we eat unleavened bread? The Eucharist. What we call “Communion”.
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Matthew 26:26 (At the Last Supper). “Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” 27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you,”
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On what occasion was the “Last Supper”? The Feast of the Passover. The bread must be unleavened.
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Then, what significance is the meal at the Jewish Passover? It was a picture of the Lord Jesus' Last Supper.
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The Tenth Plague: Death of the Firstborn
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Exodus 12:29 “At midnight the LORD struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock. 30 And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians. And there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where someone was not dead. 31 Then he summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, “Up, go out from among my people, both you and the people of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as you have said. 32 Take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone, and bless me also!”
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What does the Lord striking down represent? Eternal punishment.
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1 Thessalonians 5:2 “For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.”
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The Exodus
Exodus 12:33 “The Egyptians were urgent with the people to send them out of the land in haste. For they said, “We shall all be dead.”
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What does the Exodus from Egypt represent? Salvation. Deliverance from sin (Egypt).
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Who saved the Jews? Jesus... He IS GOD!
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Jude 1:5 “Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.”
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Exodus 13
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Consecration of the Firstborn
Exodus 13:1 “The LORD said to Moses, 2 “Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine.”
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What does consecrate mean? (Set apart as sacred. This is the start of the OT Church the foreunner of the New Testamant Church.)
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Acts 20:28 “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.”
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The Feast of Unleavened Bread
Exodus 13:14 “And when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘By a strong hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery.”
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This is a picture of the NT:
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Who saves us? Jesus. What did he save us from? Our sins. We're slaves to sin.
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Galatians 1:4 “who (Jesus) gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father
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Pillars of Cloud and Fire
Exodus 13:21 “And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. 22 The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.”
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What is this a picture of in the NT? Jesus is the light!
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John 8:12 “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” “
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And lastly, what significance is “did not depart from before the people”? Jesus will always be there for you. Hebrews 13:5b “I (Jesus) will never leave you nor forsake you.





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