Passover Haggadah The Seder is to be commenced after sundown as 14 Aviv (Nisan) is being ushered in. This is the time God established before the Israelites exodus from Egypt for the lamb to be slain, the blood placed on the doorways and the vigil of waiting to begin. The waiting culminated in the Israelites being freed from the bondage of slavery and their exodus from Egypt. We are commanded to observe this event throughout our generations. There was then a second exodus some fifteen hundred years later. This event was likewise marked by a freedom from bondage, this time from the slavery of sin and an exodus from the world system of Babylon. This second exodus was also marked by the shedding of blood. While not commanded by scripture to observe this second exodus, it is the more significant of the two events for those who name God as Father and His Son, Yeshua, as Messiah and Savior. This Haggadah then will attempt to memorialize the two events into an appropriately harmonious, God-honoring, spiritual experience. There are many symbolic similarities between the two events: a lamb, shed blood, bitter herbs, unleavened bread, the giving of Torah and the need to bring it forth twice (a resurrection) and, finally, the consequent establishment of a recognized people group resulting from covenant. These steps will each be memorialized in turn. Prayer of memorialization Father, we are gathered this evening to be obedient to Torah, your instructions, to memorialize those ancient events by which you sovereignly manifested yourself in the deliverance of your people from the bondage of slavery. We, further, celebrate the manifestation of yourself as Yeshua, the promised Messiah, the Anointed One, who provided the final solution to intimate, personal relationship with you. It is with a mixture of awe, humility, thanksgiving and celebration that we come into your presence at this appointed time. We each call our respective human spirit to the front and adjure it to ascend to your Holy Mountain that we might spend this time personally, intimately in your presence. Amen.
Each element: lamb, wine, herb and bread is presented with the following appropriate comment and prayer. It can all be conducted by one person or delegated as desired. The essence of Passover is simplicity and introspective contemplation. The choosing of the Lamb. A lamb without blemish was chosen and brought into each household even as Yeshua is likewise chosen and brought into our household. The choosing of the lamb is not of itself sufficient to salvation, but it is a preparation. Prayer for the Lamb Father, we thank you that we have brought the Lamb into our household. We thank you for the faithfulness of your provision, for the farsightedness of your provision. We thank you that salvation of our household begins with the unblemished lamb s presence. We thank you that long before we knew we had a need you were preparing to meet our need. We honor the Lamb, Yeshua, as it were, who came into the household of Israel, unblemished to become the vehicle of salvation. As we partake of the flesh of this lamb we partake of the flesh of the Lamb of God. Amen. Shedding of blood Was the shedding of the lamb s blood and the marking of the doorposts and lintel a symbolic representation of what was to come fifteen hundred years later? The sanctity of blood was made evident from the earliest days of creation as animal blood was shed to make skins to cover Adam and Eve s nakedness. Abel s shed blood cried out from the earth. The earliest injunctions were to not consume the blood as it was the life of the animal. Shed blood was to have an important part in the offering of sacrifices on the Temple altar in atoning for sin. Blood was also used in the preparation of Aaron to be High Priest. The blood of the lamb being applied to the doorposts and lintel are said to represent the Hebrew alphabet letter het. It looks somewhat like an upside down U. This Hebrew letter represents life. It is quite fitting then that the shed blood of the lamb applied to the entry way of the home should offer the promise of life. Certainly the shed blood of the Lamb of God, Yeshua, offers life to those who receive and apply it to their life; that it guards 2
the entry to their dwelling place. It is important that we pause, dwell and contemplate the shed blood of Yeshua. We tend to see the death of the lamb as the sacrifice. It was a sacrifice, but not the saving act. The shed blood was what saved. It is the shed blood of Yeshua that washes away our sin (John 1:5) not the death and resurrection of the Lamb of God. Yeshua s death resulted from our sin it was the death demanded by our sin that required the love of God to make His earthly appearance in the flesh. It was the love of God that permitted the blood from Yeshua, fully God, fully man, to be shed as a complete antidote to our sin. Prayer for the blood Dear, Father, as your Death Angel passes through the land, not only on this night, but continually, we thank you for the shed blood of Yeshua which forever marks our life for salvation. We thank you that all the gods of Egypt and of Babylon have been judged by you and that through the provision of the blood we are distinguished from those gods. We thank you that the blood that identifies us as yours is a closed door to the enemy and gives us eternal life with you. As we partake of this fruit of the vine we partake of the blood of the Lamb of God. Amen. The bitter herbs The Passover meal was to contain bitter herbs. There is no mention of why or exactly of what they were representative. Since it is a meal to be eaten in preparation for a hasty departure from Egypt perhaps it is symbolic of the stay in Egypt (the world) a bitter taste in the mouth. Our time spent in the world before our encounter with the shed blood is indeed, in hindsight, a bitter experience. Or, perhaps it was simply God preparing us to recognize the sign of that revelation of himself as Messiah. It is on the cross that Messiah is presented sour wine mixed with gall. Gall is akin to bile, a fat digester produced by the liver. Garlic is just such an herb. Was the meal of the second exodus prepared from the same menu as the meal of the first exodus? Was Yeshua s departure hasty, even though agonizing his bones were not broken as he died before that was necessary. In any event as we eat the bitter herb it jars us into the reality of the moment. Into the reality of the impending promise of liberation from slavery. 3
Prayer over bitter herbs Father, it is ironic that as we eat the bitter herbs and are jarred to a consciousness of our present condition and the pending, promised resolution to think we could ever come to a place of regret at having left this status of slavery, the allure of the world. Right now we cannot imagine we would desire the bitter herb again and feel deprived without it. Let our sin, the bitter herbs in our lives, continue to be bitter. Take from us any longing to return to the former condition of bondage. Keep our conscience attuned to the danger signals. Keep our spirits on the alert for ungodly thought life and relationships. Let us ever bear in our hearts the provision you have made through the blood for us to walk free from the bondage of sin. Amen. Unleavened Bread The bitter herbs act as sort of a demarcation between the lamb, its selection, death and shed blood, the essential story of Passover, to the post Passover experience. Unleavened bread is not ostensibly a part of the recognition process for exclusion from the sickle of death passing through the land. The preparation for being ready to leave in haste, underlined by the belt, staff and sandals is not lost. Unleavened bread though goes to life after deliverance. With only a mixing bowl and flour going with you as you leave the bondage of slavery there is a message communicated. Maybe there is no place for the leaven you re leaving behind to where you are going. The bitter herbs shocked you into your present reality. Now, leaving leaven behind is a further take-stock check. Let s change to first person. The blood has identified me as being exempt from being judged as part of the false gods-network of Egypt (the world system), but cutting free from leaven is my ongoing choice. It is not a for-the-moment decision. I ve agreed to this for seven days. Funny, seven is the number of completion, does that mean I am to maintain a leaven less life?--quite likely. If I am to leave leaven behind when I leave Egypt then leaven must represent Egypt and I am not to return again to bondage and slavery to the world system. Interestingly, Yeshua is the Bread of Life. Is that a double entendre? Is that a leaven less, blood bought life? Remember the blood on the doorway making the het symbol for life! And leaven being representative of sin and what s left behind when I leave Egypt 4
(Babylon) seems to complete the word picture that defines Yeshua. Likewise, defines my identification. Prayer over unleavened bread Father, as I eat this unleavened bread let its impression remain in my mouth. It is bland. Leaven of the world, sin, seems to offer something better to enjoy, but it will lead again to slavery and ultimately death. It is relatively easy to identify the physical leaven in the kitchen, but I must have an alert spirit to be aware of the leaven of this world. I embrace the seeming blandness of a leaven less lifestyle. The excitement is not in the pleasure of leaven, but in the excitement of an intimate relationship with Father through his son, Yeshua. I have experienced the Passover and I am now purchased with the shed blood of Yeshua on the doorposts of my life. I have the power and authority to say no to leaven and to embrace life. Show me the plan you have for me now that I am delivered from slavery. Heal me of the ravages of my time spent in slavery, both physical and spiritual. I embrace a leaven less life and look for satisfaction in the pursuit of a spirit filled life. The giving of Torah The initial instruction to observe Passover was given while the Israelites were still in Egypt in slavery and bondage. Before freedom had been experienced the instruction to make Passover a perpetual annual observance was given. Then when the freedom had been experienced and the Israelites were gathered at Sinai the instruction was given again. This second time it was given in conjunction with the giving of Torah. What was unusual about the giving of Torah, especially the giving of the commandments on the stone tablets? They had to be given twice. The first set was thrown down and broken. God faithfully produced a second set. Was this again prophetic of anything to come? Think of the Living Word as defined by Apostle John. Did Yeshua not come, was crucified, dead and buried, and was come again through resurrection? This second exodus, this time from bondage of sin, was again at a cross roads. The Lamb of God, the leaven less (sinless) Son of God whose shed blood purchased our exemption from the consequence of slavery to the false gods of Egypt (Babylon) was broken. But praise God he was also resurrected, raised to new life. The continuity of Father s plan is to his glory. 5
Prayer for Torah Again, Father, your continuity through the ages leaves your children with praise and thanksgiving. Thank you that the Lamb of God sacrificed for our freedom from slavery lives in your Word and in our lives. Thank you for spiritual awareness of the ever present leaven that would temp us and ensnare us and for the victory you have provided through the blood of Yourself for our redemption and deliverance. Amen. The establishment of a recognized people group We now come to the question of the chosen people of God. Let s see what the word says: Deuteronomy 7:6-8 For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the Lord loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. The theme set at Passover continues. It would seem from this scripture that the Lord is narrowly defining his chosen as a very small, defined group. We must remember that a mixed multitude left Egypt. There are estimates that a substantial portion of those exiting with the natural born Israelites were Egyptians and other slave groups. Early on, God instructs Moses that there is one law for the native born and for the alien and sojourner among them. Even the promise which God swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was of a multitude too numerous to count as their heritage. However, the end of the book (Revelation) tells us that the celestial city has twelve gates and that leaves no room for a Gentile entrance. How does God define his chosen people? Would it surprise you to know that God really counts only Hebrews, Israelites as chosen? It s all explained by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans and the Galatians. Under the unction of the Holy Spirit Paul called this new Israelite One New 6
Man. He explained how this could come about by the grafting in to the root stock of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob of both Jew (native born Israelite) and Greek (Gentile) through the blood of Yeshua. This mixed multitude also explains how the returning Northern Tribes (Ephraim) would be constituted. Technically and in God s eyes he sees only his chosen the composite New Man. As to which gate any given believer will enter, only God knows, but he does know and will have angels directing traffic! Prayer of thanksgiving for God s chosen Dear, Father, in the closing minutes of this Passover Seder we are so thankful and blessed for all Your provision and forsightedness. We thank You that as new definition Israelites we share the heritage, the awe and the beauty of Your plan beginning from creation and taking such defined shape at Passover. We especially thank you for our inclusion in the second exodus which forever marked us as chosen. Keep us ever mindful of the leaven of Egypt and Babylon, the world system, that would pull us away from the exciting life you have planned for us. Continue to mature and grow us in the image of Messiah Yeshua delivering and defending us through His shed blood from those forces that would plan our defeat. Amen. Kennedy Brown Gerizim Rev April 21, 2016 7