Shalom! By the time you receive this letter, the celebration of Passover ( Pesach), beginning on the 15th of Nissan (March 30) will have already begun. Pesach is derived from the Hebrew root words Pei-Samekh-Cheit  , meaning to pass through, to pass over, to exempt or to spare. For 7 days (8 outside of Israel), Jewish people will commemorate their deliverance from 430 years (Exodus 12:40) of Egyptian slavery. Concurrently, Messianic Jews and Christians will celebrate their deliverance from sin through the atoning death of our Savior and Messiah, Yeshua. The following thoughts may give you a new perspective on this wondrous, holy event. |
As the sun rose over the hills and valleys of Goshen, it seemed to be just another day of forced labor and back breaking tasks for the children of Israel under Egyptian slavery. After 430 years of captivity, they had no reason to believe that one day could make any difference in their situation. Moses, the Midianite shepherd, and his brother Aaron had been meeting with the Israelite elders. They were promising them that they were about to be set free from their bondage. But when the elders asked them who sent them and by what authority they would gain their freedom, Moses would only say that the “I am” had sent him and that the “I am” would set them free.
Things had been very unsettling over the last few weeks. Moses had gone to Pharaoh nine times and demanded that he allow the Israelites to go into the wilderness and worship their god, Yahweh. Pharaoh would agree and then renege. He knew that once they left Egypt, they would not return to bondage. Each time Pharaoh reneged, Moses would pronounce a plague on the Egyptians, including frogs, lice, flies, and boils. The water in Egypt turned to blood at one point. There had been no record of this kind of Divine intervention among the Israelites for more than ten generations.
The tenth and final plague was to take place at midnight tonight. After Moses had pronounced the ninth plague, three days of total darkness throughout Egypt, Pharaoh angrily agreed that the Israelites could go out and worship their god, but their livestock must remain. Moses insisted that their animals must go too so that they will have animals to sacrifice. In a rage, he refused to let them go and told Moses not to come back before him because if he did, it would be the last time he would see Pharaoh’s face. Moses left and confirmed that this would be the last time he would see Pharaoh’s face.
For the next few hours, the Israelites became very busy. It was a time of hasty packing of clothing and belongings. Moses told them to go to their Egyptian neighbors and ask them to lend them their jewelry and other valuables. Miraculously, they did as was asked of them. They were also to take a clean and spotless year old lamb or goat and sacrifice it, roast it and eat it that same day. They were to eat it “…with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD's Passover.” (Exodus 12:11, KJV)
The blood of the lamb was then to be painted on the side posts and top posts of their doors. Exodus 12:13 tells us that “…the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye 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.” (KJV)
That night the celebration of the Passover was established: “And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. (Exodus 12:14, KJV)
Like an epic Hollywood movie, at midnight, the LORD sent out His angel across the land and it took the life of every first born child and beast. The wailing cries of the Egyptian people pierced the night in a tearful lament of pain and despair. Israelites that painted the doorposts of their homes with the Blood of the Lamb were spared the awful judgment rained on Pharaoh and his equally stiff-necked people. At that midnight hour, with the echoes of their enemies’ pain, sorrow, and despair ringing in their ears, the joyous miracle of freedom and a new life began for once captive Israel. |
Pesach 5770 (2010) should be a joyous celebration for those of us that have painted the doorposts of our hearts with the redeeming Blood of the Lamb. Yeshua has become our sacrificial lamb. His atoning death has spared us from the sword of the death angel. The angel has seen Yeshua’s blood upon our lives and has passed over us. We have become heirs and joint heirs with Him. He has presented us to the Father as His little children, complete and clean in His righteousness. Unlike the Israelites, we do not have to borrow earthly jewels and wealth. We have crowns of righteousness and treasures beyond description laid to our Heavenly account because of Messiah. Hallelujah, hallelujah!
Many times, people get upset because they have been passed over for a promotion or some other special occasion or recognition. In the flesh, this can be traumatic and disappointing. But, to have our sins passed over, cleansed, forgotten, and separated from us as far as the East is from the West is too wonderful. We can stand in the presence of God and have Yeshua be our righteousness. The filthy rags of our unrighteous old lives, like the centuries of Israel’s Egyptian slavery are taken away. Our lives have been passed over in the positive sense in that what was sure death for sinners without Yeshua’s blood, is an eternal blessing for those of us that have His blood painted on the doorposts of our lives.
This is the Gospel that we preach by the Word and our humanitarian actions as we minister to the bodies and souls of Jewish and non-Jewish people. You have partnered with us in prayer or financial support to make it possible to do God’s work in Israel, Russia, Poland, and many other countries.
Your stewardship does not go unnoticed in God’s record books. Many Jewish people felt passed over as they suffered in prison camps, work camps or other inhumane situations. God’s Grace International and its partner ministries have brought the love and mercy of Yeshua into the lives of thousands that might otherwise be passed over. This Pesach, may I ask you to consider giving a special offering to help us pass over a hot meal, a monthly food package, a helping hand to a sick or forgotten soul, or a warm hug to someone just needing loving fellowship? Your gift of any amount is always welcomed, but as you consider how God has passed over your life with forgiveness and left behind His blessing, please consider a special gift. You may use our secure online donation page by clicking here.
The bitter sweetness of Pesach is that it took the death of Egypt’s first born children to secure the Israelites release from slavery. Oh, that we would learn more easily, that we would keep our doorposts painted with the Blood of the Lamb and so escape the slavery of sin. |
Because of God’s Grace,
God’s Grace International
Michael William Becker
President |
