Preparation for Passover

In a few days we shall have a special meeting to remember that Last Supper Jesus had with his disciple. He knew what was coming though they did not. They all thought they had prepared themselves for 15-22 Nisan, the Passover week festival.

They all knew that God had asked His people to always remember the night the Elohim Most High Lord over all things had punished the Pharaoh who did not want the People of God go. They also remembered how that Divine Creator of everything had demanded that they would prepare for that remembrance day.

In the spring of the year 1513 before are present or common era, in the month of Abib or Aviv, later called Nisan. Jehovah God told them to start preparing on Nisan 10 for an event that would happen at sunset on Nisan 14.
They had to prepare themselves to go the way God wanted them to go, leaving their houses and Egypt. The Elohim asked them to have a meal in the family of roasted lamb along with unleavened bread and some herbs and to have a male sheep (or goat) slaughtered and some of its blood splashed on the doorframe of the home.

God told them to have that day to serve as a memorial for them which they had to celebrate it as a festival to Jehovah throughout their generations as a statute to time indefinite they and all lovers of God should celebrate it.

After the Passover celebration on Nisan 14-15, the Israelites and certain Christians would also celebrate a seven-day festival called the Festival of Unfermented Cakes. Together, these eight days also can be called the Passover.

Exodus 12:1-20 The Scriptures 1998+ (1) And יהוה {Jehovha} spoke to Mosheh and to Aharon in the land of Mitsrayim, saying, (2) “This month is the beginning of months for you, it is the first month of the year for you. (3) “Speak to all the congregation of Yisra’el, saying, ‘On the tenth day of this month each one of them is to take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. (4) ‘And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next to his house take it according to the number of the beings, according to each man’s need you make your count for the lamb. (5) ‘Let the lamb be a perfect one, a year old male. Take it from the sheep or from the goats. (6) ‘And you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then all the assembly of the congregation of Yisra’el shall kill it between the evenings. (7) ‘And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. (8) ‘And they shall eat the flesh on that night, roasted in fire – with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. (9) ‘Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire, its head with its legs and its inward parts. (10) ‘And do not leave of it until morning, and what remains of it until morning you are to burn with fire. (11) ‘And this is how you eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Passover of יהוה (12) . ‘And I shall pass through the land of Mitsrayim on that night, and shall smite all the first-born in the land of Mitsrayim, both man and beast. And on all the mighty ones of Mitsrayim I shall execute judgment. I am יהוה (13) . ‘And the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I shall pass over you, and let the plague not come on you to destroy you when I smite the land of Mitsrayim. (14) ‘And this day shall become to you a remembrance. And you shall observe it as a festival to יהוה throughout your generations – observe it as a festival, an everlasting law. (15) ‘Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. Indeed on the first day you cause leaven to cease from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that being shall be cut off from Yisra’el. (16) ‘And on the first day is a set-apart gathering, and on the seventh day you have a set-apart gathering. No work at all is done on them, only that which is eaten by every being, that alone is prepared by you. (17) ‘And you shall guard the Festival of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I brought your divisions out of the land of Mitsrayim. And you shall guard this day throughout your generations, an everlasting law. (18) ‘In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, in the evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month in the evening. (19) ‘For seven days no leaven is to be found in your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, that same being shall be cut off from the congregation of Yisra’el, whether sojourner or native of the land. (20) ‘Do not eat that which is leavened – in all your dwellings you are to eat unleavened bread.’ ”

Luke 22:1 The Scriptures 1998+ (1) And the Festival of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover.

It was a period people had to take care not becoming defiled and having themselves in line with Torah and the commandments of God.

John 18:28 The Scriptures 1998+ (28) Then they led יהושע from Qayapha to the palace, and it was early. And they themselves did not go into the palace, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover.

2 Chronicles 8:13 The Scriptures 1998+ (13) even as the duty of every day required, offering according to the command of Mosheh, for the Sabbaths, and for the New Moons, and for the appointed times three times a year: the Festival of Unleavened Bread, and the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Booths.

We too, as lovers of God, coming closer to the Passover, one of the festivals, or “anniversaries,” that the Israelites were commanded to celebrate each year, we should remember the exodus from Egypt but also the coming together of Jesus in the upper room.

We should know that by Christ Jesus we received an other liberation, far greater than the slaves in Egypt received, because now it is about the liberation of the curse of death.

English: Some foods prepared for a Passover Se... — English: Some foods prepared for a Passover Seder: (clockwise from top) unleavened bread, parsley, horseradish, charoset עברית: מאכלי ליל הסדר (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As the Jews had to prepare them for that celebration day we as Christians also should prepare ourselves. We should remember that by taking up the symbols of bread and wine Jesus gave us the signs of the Blood-covenant, whereby sanctification is that process whereby the redeemed are increasingly set apart for the purposes, use, and glory of God. The resurrection of Christ and the power of that resurrection are interwoven into that entire process.

Like the apostles we should count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Master teacher or rabbi whose words we want to follow. We should know the “the excelling value” of knowing Jesus Christ and his ransom offer. Too many Christians do not want to believe how great that offer really was and therefore claim no man could ever such thing and therefore Jesus could not be a man but had to be God. They diminish the act of Jesus. They downgrade the sacrificial offer to a charade the God, Who man can do nothing and Who can not die, faking His death on a cross. But it was not a circus act. Jesus really did not do his own will, what he would have done when he would be God, and really died.

We were dead in our sins, but Jesus made a Sin Offering whereby the relationship between the Most High became restored.

Therefore we should take Jesus offering himself up to God as a Lamb of God a precious act. We should now wonder what we can render unto Jehovah for all His benefits toward us. Like Jesus asked his disciples to remember what he did and to take up the cup of wine as a remembrance we too should take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Most High God of gods, for grace to help, paying our vows unto the Most High Elohim.

Psalms 116:12-19 The Scriptures 1998+ (12) What shall I return to יהוה All His bounties are upon me. (13) I lift up the cup of deliverance, And call upon the Name of הוה (14) . I pay my vows to יהוה Now in the presence of all His people. (15) Precious in the eyes of ???? Is the death of His kind ones. (16) O יהוה, I am truly Your servant, I am Your servant, the son of Your female servant; You have loosed my bonds. (17) I bring You a slaughtering of thanksgiving, And call upon the Name of יהוה (18) . I pay my vows to יהוה In the presence of all His people, (19) In the courts of the House of יהוה, In your midst, O Yerushalayim. Praise Yah!

Like God’s People had to remember the Divine call and had to gather the chosen ones, we too have to come together with all those who love Jehovah. As united under Christ we should come together unto the heavenly Father of Jesus, the Only One true God, the God of Israel.
Coming up to the memorial day we have to show to God that we are the ones who are willing to belong to those who have made a covenant with Him by sacrifice.

Psalms 50:4-6 The Scriptures 1998+ (4) He calls to the heavens from above, And to the earth, to rightly rule His people:

(5) “Gather My kind ones together to Me, Those who have made a covenant with Me by slaughtering.” (6) Then the heavens declared His righteousness, For Elohim Himself is Judge. Selah.

It are days that we really should not only show to God that we are His, but also to those around us. We should make it clear that we are not children of God who would like to be associated with pagan rites and pagan festivals. We should show the world that there is no place for those heathen events of hiding chocolate eggs and bunnies in the garden or in our house. Our house should be made clean as a temple for God, with no symbols of idols or pagan gods.

We should make it clear that we resolve that by the Lord’s assisting grace we will today, as a saint of God, fulfil our vows, continuing the work of sacrificing the flesh and its interests, that we may attain to the heavenly inheritance in joint-heirship with our redeemer.

Please, therefore let us

strive to be simple and sincere toward all
seek not to please and honour self, but Jehovah God
be careful to honour the Most High not only with our lips, that my words may be unctuous and blessed to all, but also with our acts.

Those who love God should know that it is important that they proof their love for God by their acts of faith. Without works faith is death. Being faithful to Jehovah, the God Most High, we should stay in the Truth, and be faithful to the brethren and all with whom we have to do, not only in great matters, but also in the little things of life.

Trusting ourself to Divine care and the Providential overruling of all our interests for our highest welfare, we will seek not only to be pure in heart, but to repel all anxiety, all discontent, all discouragement.

When we remember what Jesus had to endure there is no reason at all for us to complain or murmur. Thanks to the offering of Jesus we are cleared and can have the hope of a better and new life.

With our faith firmly trust Jesus’ heavenly Father, we daily will remember at the Throne of Heavenly Grace the general interests of the harvest work, and particularly the share which we ourself are privileged to enjoy in that work, and the dear co-labourers everywhere.

We should vow to still more carefully, if possible, scrutinize our thoughts and words and doings, to the intent that we may be the better enabled to serve Jehovah, and the flock or body of Christ. In the most important period of the year we should also vow to God that we will be on the alert to resist everything akin to Spiritism, Occultism, and to Idolatry or worship of false gods.

At all times and in all places, conduct yourself toward those of the opposite sex in private exactly as we would should do with them in public — in the presence of a congregation of the Lord’s people.
At all times, also on the internet use the right words, worthy of a Christian, though some might want you to believe it is all right and common to use those words on internet. As a Christian you should be a Spiritual Israelite. Spiritual Israelites … are to live a daily and hourly life of nearness to the High Priest.

When on April 10, this years 14 Nisan we shall come together to have our memorial meal, let us all be cleansed of bad thoughts and wrong doings, in the knowledge that the blood of the dear Redeemer is to be continually invoked for the cleansing of the slightest defilement of conscience, that thus the wedding garment of our Lord’s imputed righteousness may not become draggled, but that the slightest spot being removed, we may have it