The Lamb of God

The Land and Scripture in History

14 Aviv| Master is tried, executed on cross, and buried (Matthew 26:57-27:61)

15 Aviv | Barley sheaves harvested in evening (Leviticus 23:3)

15 Aviv / 21 Aviv | Meal of Messiah (Traditional)

The Lamb of God

In this, the beginning of months, we will have many opportunities for practically living out the words of the Scripture. We will be able to prepare for Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and to begin the counting of the omer. We are also able to recount the time when the Lamb of God was sent to take away the sin of the world.

As stated above, there is so much that could be written about the month of Nissan (a.k.a. Aviv, which literally means ripe and by extension springtime). This eRosh will speak mostly of one aspect of the Passover Seder meal. Specifically, the four "I will" statements that the Holy One made as recorded in Exodus 6:6-7 will be mentioned.

Remember, in the book of Exodus, the children of Israel had cried out to the Holy One because they had become slaves in Egypt. Not only were their freedoms taken from them, but they were being brutally mistreated and abused. This was the normality for the kingdom in which they were in forced servitude.

The account continues to describe that despite the horrid treatment the descendants of Jacob held to a hope in the promise of deliverance. They knew that God would not forsake his promise to the patriarchs. At the appointed time, the Holy One would deliver them. He told Moses to tell Israel the following, which are listed by the corresponding cups in the Seder meal.

First Cup - I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. Second Cup - I will deliver you from slavery to them. Third Cup - I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. Fourth Cup - I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians

Just as the Israelites were in bitter bondage to Egypt and its wicked king, we find ourselves enslaved to a more fiercely cruel tyrant and the world. This makes the redemption even sweeter and more rich. If we look at each of the cups, we can catch the beginning glimpse of what our atonement through Messiah has produced for our eternal lives.

Looking specifically at the fourth cup, we can see that the Holy One has done all to ensure a relationship with His people. To be certain, this is not just a casual relationship, but an intimate relationship as close as a husband and wife (Hosea 2:19-20). As such, the Holy One has called for us to live as called and brought out people.

So as you partake of the Passover Seder this month, may you call to remembrance the deliverances and great calling that Hashem has done on your behalf and may you be blessed in the grace and knowledge of our redemption through Messiah Yeshua, the Lamb of God that took away the sin of the world.

Finally, those in Messiah are blessed to join with John, the beloved, and offer praise "to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen" Revelation 1:5-6.

Chag Pesach Sameach!

[FFOZ] Shabbat Chol HaMoed of Passover

Parashat Hashavuah

Shabbat Chol HaMoed of Passover
Torah : Exodus 33:12-34:26
Haftarah : Ezekiel 37:1-14

Spiritual Matzah

Thought for the Week

Passover is an opportune time to break with our past and start over as new creatures in Messiah. Passover is an annual reminder that we must leave the old culture behind. Every Passover is a chance to start over. At Passover we remember that we have left our spiritual Egypt. We are free from the past, and we need to set aside those things in our lives that continue to enslave us. After all, starting over is what it means to be born again.

Commentary

The Torah explains the significance of unleavened matzah bread in that the children of Israel did not have time to let their bread rise before they had to leave Egypt. They were in such a hurry that they only had time to bake the dough before leaving. To commemorate the exodus, leaven is removed at Passover and unleavened matzah bread is eaten for seven days.

Matzah refers to a special type of flat, cracker-like bread. In order to be Passover matzah, the bread dough must be baked less than eighteen minutes after the flour is moistened with water. If the dough is not baked within eighteen minutes of being moistened, it begins to ferment from the naturally occurring leavening agents in the atmosphere.

In ancient times, there were only two ways to leaven bread dough. One way was to mix the flour with water and let it stand until it began to ferment naturally. More typically, a small batch of already leavened starter dough left over from the previous day's batch was tossed in with the flour and water. The old culture of leaven in the starter dough quickly spread through the new batch of dough. As the saying goes, "A little leaven leavens the whole lump" (1 Corinthians 5:6). By means of this method, a single culture of leaven was passed on from loaf to loaf to loaf, day to day. This is how sourdough bread is still made today.

The commandment to remove all leaven prior to the festival makes this second method of leavening impossible. The starter dough would have to be disposed of prior to the festival because it is already leavened. This is the imagery that the Apostle Paul is referring to when he says, "Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (1 Corinthians 5:7-8). The old starter-dough leaven represents our old way of life. It is sin, godlessness, bad company, bad habits and all the things that taint our lives. Like an old culture of leavened starter dough, those things continue to leaven our lives from day to day, conforming us to our past. Paul urges us to make a clean break with the old culture and to start over as a new batch, like unleavened bread.

When the children of Israel left Egypt, they were leaving behind their old culture. While in Egypt they had absorbed much of the wickedness and idolatry of Egyptian society. The unleavened bread symbolized a new beginning. They were starting over. 

Biblical Aviv Calendar for 5769-2009

Biblical Aviv Calendar 5769 - 2009

http://www.seedofabraham.net/06days.htm

1. March 27th
The Biblical New Year begins with the sighting of the new moon after sunset. It’s the First of Aviv (Ex. 12:2). This is not a Sabbath.

2. April 10th
The 14th of Aviv. In ancient times the Passover lamb was slain in the afternoon. This is not a Sabbath.

3. April 11th
The first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The 15th of Aviv. The first annual Sabbath (Lev. 23:7). The Passover Meal is eaten the evening before on Friday night the 10th of April.

4. April 12th
First Sheaf. This is not a Sabbath but the day that the High Priest waved the barley grain (Lev. 23:9-11), and the day of Yeshua’s ascension (Jn. 20:17).

5. April 17th
The 7th day of Unleavened Bread. The second annual Sabbath. The 21st of Aviv (Lev. 23:9).

6. May 31st
Shavuot (Feast of Weeks/Pentecost). The third annual Sabbath (Lev. 23:15-21; Acts 2).

7. September 21st
The Feast of Trumpets. The first day of the 7th month. The fourth annual Sabbath (Lev. 23:24).

8. September 30th
The Day of Atonement. The 10th day of the 7th month. The fifth annual Sabbath (Lev. 23:27-32).

9. October 5th
Sukote. The 15th day of the 7th month. The sixth annual Sabbath (Lev. 23:34-35).

10. October 12th
The Eighth Day. The 22nd day of the 7th month. The seventh annual Sabbath (Lev. 23:39).

We celebrate Hanuka and Purim at the same time that the traditional Jewish community does because both of these festivals aren’t holy days or times, but holidays. Therefore, there’s no biblical need to have their dates line up with the new moon sightings.