Winter

Winter

Monday, April 14, 2014

Passover Begins Today

One of the things I have loved about this year is how Easter and Passover have lined up. Yesterday was Palm Sunday and today begins Passover. When I was a new believer, a wonderful family invited us to their home to share Passover with them. Being Christians, they shared Passover because as Completed Jews, (They were Jewish people who believed in Jesus as their Messiah) It was a wonderful gift to them. It was a life changing moment to me. I thought I would spend a bit of time sharing this.


God commanded in Exodus 12 that this day be kept. Passover is the celebration of God's delivering His people out of the slavery of the Pharaoh.  On this night God promised that He would visit every house to execute judgement and would take the life of the first-born son unless the family had marked the door of their house with the blood of a perfect lamb. Then he would passover that family and no one would die when he saw the blood on the lintel and the door posts.



At the Seder we attended we ate standing up. Only the Father seated at the head of the table, the dishes are by the father so he may begin passing the dishes. The oldest son begins by asking his father, " Why is this night different from all other nights?"  The oldest son asks 4 times that same question as the Father explains each food.

Matazoth---wafers of unleavened bread---To remind us of the fact that the Israelites did not have time to wait for yeast bread to rise to be ready to move when God said. (For the Christian this reminds us to live so that we are always "ready to go" When Jesus returns. Also yeast sometimes represented the evil in the world. God wants his people to be pure.)

Maror---bitter herbs, usually freshly grated horse-radish or other bitter herbs, pungent vegetable such as onion. These herbs are a reminder of the bitter suffering in Egyptian slavery. They are dipped in salt water to signify the tears of bitter suffering.  (For the Christian, this reminds us that many have suffered that we may know the joy of the good news of Jesus. So in our Celebration, we remember the great cost.)

Haroseth---A mixture of chopped apples, nuts, cinnamon, and wine. This represents the mortar with which the Israelites were force to make bricks to build Pharaoh's great cities. ( See Exodus 2:11-14 and 5:4-23)

The shank of bone of a lamb---This is the symbol of the lamb that was sacrificed for sins ( For the Christian, this represents Jesus, God's own gift of a perfect Lamb for the sins of all.


There are still the elements  of the roasted egg, parsley or watercress, wine or grape juice and Elijah's cup. Then of course, the empty tomb. For me I learned that so often  I look only the cross. I feel sad, but really I should focus on that empty tomb and see it not as a tragedy but a triumph. 

Thank you for reading along,
~Kim~

Most of this material is taken from the book " Lets Make a Memory" by Gloria Gaither and Shirley Dobson 1983 It is the best book on understanding The Passover and the completed meaning of the Seder Feasts.

20 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

i like the religious traditions.

Sue said...

Oh Kim, this is so beautiful! I so enjoyed you sharing of the passover. I had the privilege some years ago to visit the Holy land, and saw where the tomb was, I even got to walk inside, what an experience for me, the Bible became more real than ever.
Joyous greetings at this most Holy time of celebration.
Sue

Debbie said...

I enjoyed reading about this. Our son and his church are going to celebrate Passover tomorrow night where he is going to go through and teach each of these aspects you have written of here. It is one of those times I wish the church wasn't so far from us as I would LOVE to attend, but I have a feeling we won't as it would mean ending the day pretty early for my hubby in order to get there on time. I think it is RIGHT and WONDERFUL that us Christians would join together and celebrate these glorious God appointments with His chosen people. Enjoy your day!

Jacque. said...

Thank you so very much for sharing that, Kim. Most of it I never knew. Wow. So much meaning in simple foods and traditions. xo

Julia said...

You have explained it very well Kim. Thanks for this.
We have had Sader at our church but not every year.

Hugs
JB

Miss Debbie said...

We had a Seder at our church once many years ago...t was very interesting and meaningful. Thanks for the reminders!

Nellie said...

I loved reading this post, Kim! Our church will have a Seder meal on Wednesday night. I've never been to one, and I am anxious for the opportunity. There is to be someone at each table to explain each of the components of the meal, similar to what you have done, I imagine. Enjoy this day! xo Nellie

Beth said...

A wonderful post Kim! thank you!

Susan Kane said...

An excellent experience for both! How joyful to know Completed Jews!

Thistle Cove Farm said...

Kim, a great blog post; so many people have no idea what Easter, Passover, Paschal are all about. Well done!

12Paws said...

Thank you for sharing this post. A great truth from God's Holy
Word. How awesome is our God!

Kessie said...

Passover is so beautiful--every part of it! Someday I'd like to celebrate it properly. :-)

Debbie said...

i don't know the religious traditions, so i enjoyed reading about them. i have always had a difficult time with organized religion but consider myself to be a christian. your roses are so pretty!!

camp and cottage living said...

This was sure interesting, Kim.
It must have been a wonderful experience
to celebrate Passover with your Jewish friends.

Three Sheep Studio said...

I have the book, "Let's Make A Memory". It was well used as I raised my children. This is a wonderful explanation of the Seder and what it represents.
Rose

Buttons Thoughts said...

Oh what a perfect way to celebrate very interesting. It is nice to know more about different religions. Take care enjoy the nice weather. Hug B

Kathy ... aka Nana said...

We had a Seder at our church a few years back and it was certainly very interesting. I had forgotten a good bit of what you shared ... thanks for the reminder.

Gail said...

A wondrous celebration

Gloria said...

So encouraged to see people blogging about the true meaning of the Easter season! Thanks for sharing!! :)

Janettessage.blogspot.com said...

yes I agree, I love this time...and I wished I could do a Seder meal each year. Even when we can't we still read and study about the fulfillment of Christ in the Passover meal.
Thanks for sharing