Sunday, April 20, 2008

Passover in Israel

Saturday evening, April 19th, was Passover Night when Jews around the world are commanded to remember God's deliverance from Eqyptian bondage. Passover comes from the 10th plague described in Exodus 12. ‘For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. Now 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 the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. ‘So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD throughout your generations. Exodus 12:12-14. Below is our copy of the Haggada which we would use tonight. A Haggada describes the order of the service. In Hebrew, order is "seder". This year we were invited to a "seder" in Modi'in halfway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

Those of us who know the Lord Jesus as our saviour know that the Passover night described in Exodus 12 is a preview of His sacrifice for us. Just as we are saved by the blood of the Lord Jesus, that night in Eqypt, the Jews were saved also saved by the blood of the lamb. For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you. Exodus 12:23. Below is our row of English speakers at the seder. Everyone else spoke Hebrew. One of the sisters of our hostess interpretted the seder as we went along. Our Haggada was both Hebrew and English, so sometimes it was just a matter of making sure we knew what was being read.

The night before the crucifixion, the Lord Jesus and His disciples celebrated a Passover Seder. Mark record portions of a seder. “It is one of the Twelve,” he replied, “one who dips bread into the bowl with me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.” While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.” Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, and they all drank from it. “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them. “I tell you the truth, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God.” When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Mark 14:20-26 Below our seder started this evening with a little worship and praise.

Before the seder started.

As the leader explained the seder, we followed along in our Haggadas. There were both Jews and Gentiles present that know the Lord Jesus. For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”Romans 19:12-13.

Just to make sure all the leaven was purged from the house, we all wrote a "piece of leaven" in our life that needed to be purged. That leaven was burned. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. Exodus 12:15. There were also some Jewish friends of the hosts who do not the Lord Jesus as they saviour. Pray that there many questions at the end of the seder will be answered shortly to the glory of the Lord Jesus.

Our "sins" produced a small bonfire.

As the seder went along, several songs were fun to sing. One song had thirteen short stanzas to it. As each stanza was added, all the other stanzas had to be repeated. Similar to singing the Christmas carole "Partridge in a pear tree". However, this song was sung very fast and picked up speed as your went along. There was a lot of laughter when the end was reached (below).

The apostle Paul referred to the Lord Jesus as our Passover Lamb and also mentions purging the "leaven". 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 (leaven), the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth. 1st Corinthians 5:7-8: Like the Lord Jesus 2000 years ago, our seder also concluded with some beautiful praised and worship.

Some beauty in Modi'in before Shabbat ends.

On our way to Modi'in, I took a wrong turn and we were headed in the opposite direction just like Jonah. Below is a very sturdy-looking prison near Ramalah.

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