At the Passover Seder there are fours cups of wine poured throughout the evening. Each of the four cups teach an important lesson. These cups represent the four promises given in Exodus 6:6-7.
Cup One - The Cup of Sanctification - “I am the Lord your God and I will bring you out...” When the Israelites were brought out, they were sanctified and set apart for holy use. Therefore, this cup appropriately sets the evening apart.
Cup Two - The Cup of Plaques - “I will free you...” The Lord used the ten plaques to “convince” the Pharaoh to let God’s people go.
Cup Three - The Cup of Redemption - “...will redeem you with an outstretched arm...” This cup is a memorial cup in the traditional Seder. This cups reminds the Israelites of the physical redemption from Egypt. However, for those of us that are believers in Jesus--we know that we are the redeemed. And it was two outstretched arms that paid the price for our redemption.
Cup Four - The Cup of Praise - This cup ends the Seder. A fitting closing. Praise God for He has sanctified, delivered and redeemed us!
I am so sorry that I went MIA on the blog for several days. Remember the discussion about pruning away the things in our lives that do not bear fruit? Well, I was feeling like this was possibly an area that needed to be pruned. But, I can see that several of you are logging on and using the blog. So if it touches just one of you than it is worth it.
I am going to finish the Passover discussion in the next post. I am focusing on the four cups of wine.
A couple of prayer requests-
Brenda K. needs prayer for her health.
Ann Kunkle’s mother passed away last week. Her sister still needs our prayer. See previous post.
Kelly Pursel has a cold.
I am directing the Purim play at my synagogue. I am pretty clueless about directing plays. Pray for divine knowledge PLEASE!
Pray for the Homeless Shelter in Jacksonville. The are having a financially trying time.
Unsigned - A family member coming to stay with them.
Nanci Anderton - Healing after surgery on Friday, January 22, 2008.
Sylvia Lauton - Feet are giving her pain. She is seeing a podiatrist.
Unsigned - Pray for Joy, Tom, Tommy, Mollie.
Ann Kunkel’s sister-Jane Selman-pray for her surgery on March 3. Pray for her fear. She is concerned about the possibility of cancer. She is also scared of being put to sleep. Also pray for Ann’s travel on March 2 to be with her sister.
Recovery and comfort for Steve, Nannie, and Mary.
Keri’s grandmother Ruth for a fast recovery after surgery. Also, a safe return for her husband, Ben.
Leah - self-sustaining job.
Maryann - Recovery after surgery.
Rachel.
Sylvia’s family.
Unspoken
Beth’s teaching throughout last week was perfect timing for me. My sister spoke to me the day before Beth began the teaching. She shared with me the story of several women that were able to visit Uganda with Compassion. She told me that she was so moved by their stories that she had to sponsor a child. This is my darling younger sister that is in no situation to sponsor a child. It is a HUGE sacrifice for her family. She has four children under six. Her husband is in seminary full-time. Boy, she convicted me. If she could make the sacrifice, I surely could. She’s such an inspiration to me. Thank you Lord for my sweet baby sister. Instead of a steel magnolia, she’s my IRON MAGNOLIA. Iron sharpens iron!
I pray that this video MOVES you with COMPASSION. Every pun intended! To move requires action and well just look at the Compassion website.
We left off last post with the Afikomen. I hope you remember what that means. If not, scroll down and review the last post.
Today, I am going to talk about the Passover lamb and the Messianic Significance. It is traditional to have a lamb shankbone on the Seder table. This bone is symbolic of the lamb sacrifice.
In Exodus 12, the Lord gives Moses the exact specifications for a Passover lamb. The lamb was to be unblemished. The lamb was to be a male in its first year. The lamb was to be taken on the tenth of Nisan and set aside for four days. The lamb was to be slaughtered in the afternoon. The lamb’s bones were not to be broken. The blood of the lamb was to be applied to the door post in order to provide protection from the Angel of Death.
You are probably already seeing the connection with our Messiah:
Jesus was examined and found without blemish (see Matthew 21; Luke 3; John 11)
Jesus was the firstborn Son of God
Jesus was on public display for four days before his crucifixion after he entered Jerusalem
Jesus died in the seventh hour, 3:00 P.M. (see Mark 15)
Jesus’ bones were not broken (see John 19:31-36)
Jesus’ shedding of blood protects us from death, hell and the grave
Another tradition at the Passover Seder is singing the song, Dayenu. This traditional Passover song is over a thousand years old. The Hebrew lyrics mean that if He (God) had only brought us out of Egypt it would have been sufficient. The second verse adds that if He had only given the Torah of Truth, it would have been sufficient. In many Messianic congregations, a third verse is added. If He had only given us Yeshua (Jesus), it would have been sufficient.
That speaks---Yeshua is sufficient. If He had never given us another thing, Yeshua is sufficient. Everyday, I thank my Heavenly Father for Yeshua. Dayenu!
Beth introduced the first of the three pilgrimage feasts this past week. I shared a few things during the discussion portion. I thought I would share a few more interesting facts with you.
The Hebrew word for Passover is Pesach which means “to spring, jump or pass over.” This refers to the Angel of Death passing over the homes with blood on the door posts prior to Pharaoh releasing the Israelites (refer to Exodus 12 and Leviticus 23.)
On Passover, Jews worldwide remember this historical occasion filled with wondrous miracles. These same traditions are still observed today and have Messianic significance. Jesus, our Messiah, is the spotless Pesach lamb.
Prior to the celebration of Passover, The Torah (first five books of the Bible) commands that all leaven be removed from one’s home.
Exodus 12:15 For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel.
This is a remembrance of the the first Passover when the Israelites were to be ready to leave at anytime. There was no time to wait for bread to rise. Whenever I read this I find myself asking, “Are you ready to go at anytime? Do you have the leaven (remember leaven is symbolic of sin) out of your house? “
The center of the Passover holy day is the Seder. Seder means “order” of service. This is a very orderly meal. These orders come right out of Exodus 12. The Lord said that we are to eat lamb, matzah (unleavened bread) and bitter herbs as a remembrance of the Passover.
During the meal three pieces of matzah are placed in a special linen pouch, known as matzah tash.
Each piece is placed in a different section. The three pieces are symbolic of unity. For Jews that do not know Yeshua (Jesus)--the symbolism is lost. But for those of us who know, we can easily see the symbolism of the unity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Interestingly enough, the center matzah is removed and broke in half. One half is placed back in the pouch and the other half is wrapped in a linen napkin and hidden somewhere in the room. This hidden portion is called the afikomen. This is a Greek word that means “that which comes after” or “dessert.” Can you see the lovely story of our Savior in this age-old tradition? The middle matzah--the Son. Broken--our dear Savior. Hidden away in a linen cloth--Precious Lamb of God. And the best--Our Afikomen--that which comes after. He will be back to get us girls! Be looking for Him.
I am going to end this entry on that sweet note. But I will add entries over the next few days about more Passover traditions that are relevant to us today.
I trust that you are all deep into this week’s homework. I have quickly noticed something...God loves to give me opportunities to practice the new concepts that He is teaching me. I thought that I was going to just ascend. Oh no, my loving Father is giving me opportunity to practice breathing ( as in breath and slowly count to ten 1,2,3....) in a higher altitude. I have noted several times this week that I am running into situations that I normally react to in the flesh. And the fleshly response to these situations isn’t really anything too big but it isn’t the HIGH ROAD. Confession--I have taken the high road in some of the situations and not in others. So I quickly confess and ask for forgiveness. I rejoice that He is opening my eyes. Amazing the things we can see when we fix our eyes on Him. “For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.” Isaiah 50:7
I don’t know about you ladies, but I had the most wonderful time with you all tonight. I feel like singing. I actually feel compelled to sing after hearing Beth’s teaching. I don’t want us to miss a thing that the Lord has in store for us. I think we must begin with song. The Word states, “We are to enter His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise” Psalm 100:4--I just can’t imagine that without singing thanksgiving and praise. When studying this scripture a few years ago, I had a revelation. I was reading it like this, when I enter into the gates of the Lord I should have a song of thanksgiving on my tongue and when I enter into His courts I should have a song of praise on my tongue. Then the Lord showed me something completely different. If I want to enter into His gates--the key is thanksgiving. When I approach Him with a thankful heart He grants me entrance into His gates. When I want to come even closer, praise will open the entry to His courts. My thanksgiving and praise make a pathway to the presence of Our King. So let’s rejoice in all He has given us today.
Have a great time doing your homework. I know you ladies are going to have so much insight to share.
Welcome to the Beth Moore Bible Study - Stepping Up, presented at First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, NC. This blog will be used to pass on thoughts from all the attendees and information from the facilitator, Micha.
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Ray Pitzen (the other, but not necessarily better, half)
At the Passover Seder there are fours cups of wine poured throughout the evening. Each of the four cups teach an important lesson. These cups represent the four promises given in Exodus 6:6-7.
