What is the root of Passover?
Published: Friday, May 13, 2011 at 10:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, May 12, 2011 at 3:59 p.m.
From a historical perspective on an understanding why we should celebrate the festival of Passover; first, we must search the scriptures to find the mind and wisdom of God to validate the accuracy of this great truth.
A close analysis and inspection of the books Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers in the Old Testament tells how God delivered the Hebrew people from Egyptian bondage after 430 years.
In Exodus, Chapter 12, God gives Moses some specific instructions beginning in the third verse: “Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying. In the 10th day of this month (Abib/Nisan) they shall take a lamb, according to the house of their fathers. A lamb for a house.”
In the sixth verse, he gives further instructions, “And ye shall keep it until the 14th day of the same month. And the whole assembly of the congregation of Isreal shall kill it in the evening.”
In paraphrasing the following scriptures, Moses was to instruct the families to put the blood of the lamb on the two side posts and the upper door post of the houses, and they were to eat in haste. It is the Lord’s passover.
God said he was going to pass through the land of Egypt that night and will smite the first born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast to execute judgment. And the blood of the lamb shall be a sign upon the houses where you are when he sees the blood he will pass over you, and the plague shall not destroy you.
In Exodus 12:14, God makes a profound statement that should not be misunderstood, taken lightly or out of context. God says, “And this day (14th of Abib) shall be unto you 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.”
God says that this day would be a memorial — 14th of Abib — unto you. A memorial is something that keeps alive the memory of a person or event.
This was a very significant event in the lives of the Israelites. Also, God says this is an ordinance forever. An ordinance is an authoritative decree or order given by someone in authority. Tell me what human being would have the audacity to change or modify God’s law or word that governs the Feast of Passover.
The Jewish people have every right annually to celebrate, be jubilant, joyous and grateful for their supernatural deliverance from Egypt by YHWH, Yahweh, the almighty God.
The Lord emphasizes in the 16th verse of this chapter that this day should be a holy convocation, a day set apart, sanctified and a day of rest.
One of the meanings of convocation deals with the word rehearsal.
All these Feasts of Passover beginning in Egypt to the time of Jesus were approximately 1,500. Can you imagine all these rehearsals or practice sessions killing all those lambs and when the real or true lamb came the Jewish people missed their day of visitation.
John the Baptist declared in John 1:29, “Behold the lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.”
Please be reminded that those natural lambs that died in Egypt brought a natural deliverance from bondage for the Hebrew people. But the Bible tells us that the Old Testament is written in types and shadows.
In essence, the natural lamb that died was a type of Christ. Jesus in his earthly ministry overcame satan and his demonic spirits and gave us spiritual deliverance and total victory over all the power of the enemy.
All those Christians that have been redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus, the true lamb of God should celebrate the Feast of Passover according to the word of God. God requires that we honor, respect and obey the word of God, and not the traditions and customs of men.
Bishop Arthur V. Verrett Jr. is pastor of Faith+Dominion and Power Ministries, 129 Samuel St., Houma. He can be reached at 868-2328, 856-0867 or email@example.com. Columns represent the opinions of the writer, not necessarily this newspaper.
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