SEASONS - SPRING BEGINS WITH A FAMILY PASSOVER - (PART FIVE)

PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING

Had the Holy One, Blessed be He, not taken out our forefathers from Egypt, then we, our children, and our children’s children would still be enslaved to Pharaoh in Egypt.  Blessed is the Omnipresent, Blessed be He!  Blessed is He who gave the Torah to His people Israel.  Blessed be He!

 (Here the leader lifts his cup and says a sanctification blessing over the 2^nd Cup)

BLESSED ARE YOU, LORD OUR GOD, KING OF THE UNIVERSE, WHO CREATES THE FRUIT OF THE VINE.

The second cup is the cup of judgment.  When Jesus went to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane, He prayed, “Father, if Thou be willing remove this cup from me; nevertheless, not my will, but Thine be done.”  And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening Him, and being in agony he prayed more earnestly.  And His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. 

He did not want to drink of this Cup of Judgment, but did so because He knew the will of His Father was best.  Jesus had a Passover Seder the night before He died for our sins.  While drinking the second cup, Jesus said “For this is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”

Jesus drank from the Cup of Judgment so we will not have to. 

(EVERYONE DRANK THE SECOND CUP)

Luke 22:19 says “And he took bread, and gave thanks and broke it and gave unto them, saying “This is my body which is given for you:  this do in remembrance of me.”

BLESSED ARE YOU O LORD OUR GOD, KING OF THE UNIVERSE, WHO HAS SANCTIFIED US WITH HIS COMMANDMENTS AND COMMANDED US CONCERNING THE REMOVAL OF LEAVEN.

(Everyone took a piece of Matzoh and ate it)

BLESSED ARE YOU, O LORD OUR GOD, KING OF THE UNIVERSE, WHO HAS COMMANDED US TO EAT OF THE BITTER HERBS. 

This symbolizes of the bitterness of slavery and the bitterness of our sin.  The bitter vegetable should be eaten together with matzoh.  Let us also remember the bitterness of the crucifixion Jesus went through for our sins.

 

(Everyone takes a small piece of matzoh, dips it into the horseradish and eats it.)

Now we will eat the bitter herbs on the matzoh again, but this time with the Charoset.  The Charoset symbolizes the mortar used by the People of God in building during their slavery.  The mixture symbolizes how the sweetness of Jesus can overcome bitter sin.

BLESSED ARE YOU O LORD OUR GOD, KING OF THE UNIVERSE, WHO HAS ORDAINED THAT WE CELEBRATE THE PASSOVER.  HELP US, GOD TO REMEMBER THE TWO STORIES OF HOW YOU GIVE FREEDOM TO YOUR PEOPLE, FIRST THE FREEDOM FROM EGYPT, AND NOW OUR FREEDOM FROM SIN THROUGH YOUR PRECIOUS SON, JESUS. 

(Everyone makes the Hillel sandwich and eats).

At this point we pause for our full festive meal.

 

By this part of the service, everyone is hungry!
  

We are reminded there are still two more cups of wine and a few more things to finish up for the Seder after our meal is done, and that the Hebrew tradition is not to say grace until AFTER the meal is finished when you give thanks for it.

The food for this meal was kept very simple:

Matzoh

A Salad, A Main Dish, A Dessert

(No foods containing leaven)

If we are with our church congregation we enjoy a pause for fellowship.  If we are with other  friends we have a time to catch up on conversations and share our faith.  If we are with our family we often play music and discuss good family memories.  The actual meal is always an enjoyable time.  It is fun looking for special recipes each year.

After the meal there is the hunt for the Afikkoman.  Whoever finds the carefully hidden treasure hands it to the leader and receives a ransom prize.

GRACE AFTER THE MEAL AND THE THIRD CUP

THE CUP OF REDEMPTION

(Our leader pours the 3^rd cup)

 When Jesus ate the Passover meal as an obedient Jew, He drank from the first and second cups, however, He did not drink from the third cup.  While drinking the second cup, Jesus said, “Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.  But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s Kingdom”  The disciples drank the third cup; but Jesus could not because it represented redemption.  Jesus was willing to drink the second cup, the cup of wrath, but He excluded himself of the redemption by not drinking the third cup.  The next day, Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin for us and died in that sin to redeem us.

BLESSED ARE YOU, O LORD OUR GOD, KING OF THE UNIVERSE, WHO HAS GIVEN US THE CUP OF REDEMPTION.

(Everyone dranks the third cup)

(Continued in Part Six)

SEASONS - SPRING BEGINS WITH A FAMILY SEDER (PART FOUR)

Every year at the Passover Seder my husband recites the beautiful short story of Moses and the Exodus from Egypt.

“And it shall come to pass that your child will ask you, “What do you mean by this service?”  And you shall tell him:  “with a mighty hand, God took us out of Egypt...””

 The first section tells of

THE BIRTH OF MOSES

(Exodus 1:1-2:10)

The Second Section tells of

MOSES'  LIFE IN MIDIAN

AND HIS ENCOUNTER WITH THE BURNING BUSH 

(Exodus 2:11-4:17)

The Third Section tells of

MOSES RETURNING TO EGYPT TO TELL PHARAOH TO

"LET MY PEOPLE GO"

(Exodus 4:18-6:12)

We pause after the third section to sing a song.  It is the song that Louis Armstrong made famous called

“Go Down Moses.”   It tells of how the people left bondage and followed God.

Singing this song together, with Louis Armstrong carrying the tune for us, lifts our hearts and opens our ears to the rest of the story.

The Fourth Section tells of

THE 10 PLAGUES

(Exodus 6:28 – 11:10)

Moses told Pharaoh if he didn’t let the people go , great plagues would come upon Egypt.  Pharoah did not listen and God did send 10 horrible plagues. 

(We dip our fingers in the wine, putting a drop of wine on our napkins in our plates as each plague is recited)

We repeat the different plagues as we go:

1.      Blood

2.     Flies

3.     Hail

4.     Frogs

5.     Blight

6.     Locusts

7.     Lice

8.     Boils

9.     Darkness

10.                   Death of The Firstborn Son

The Fifth Section of the story is about

THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB AND THE LORD'S PASSOVER

(Exodus 12:1-30)

After nine of the ten plagues, God told Moses to tell all the Hebrew people that each man was to take a lamb for his family, one for each household.  These were very special lambs.  They had to be one year old males without any sickness, disabilities, or blemishes.  They were to kill the lambs and take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the door frames of the houses where they eat the lambs. That same night they were to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with their cloaks tucked into their belts, their sandals on their feet and a staff in their hand.  They were to eat in a hurry.  God said that on that night He would pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn – both men and animals.  When He saw the blood on the houses where His people were He would pass over them.  He promised He would not harm anyone who had the blood on the doorpost that night while He struck Egypt. That night death came to all of Egypt’s firstborn. 

The Sixth Section of The Story is about

THE EXODUS FROM EGYPT

(Exodus 12:31-13:16)

The sad and frightened Egyptians insisted that the Hebrew people hurry and leave the country.  “For otherwise” they said “we will all die.”  So the people took their dough before the yeast was added and carried it on their shoulders wrapped in clothing.  The sun baked it into hard bread called Matzah.  When Pharaoh let the people go, God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea.  The Israelites left Egypt.  By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.

The 7^th Section of the Story is about

CROSSING THE RED SEA

(Exodus 13:17 – 15:21)

Then God said to Moses “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.”  Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place.  The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and God swept them into the sea.  The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen and the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea.  Not one of them survived.

The 8^th Section of The Story tells about

THE JOURNEY FROM THE SEA TO MT. SINAI

(Exodus, Chapeter 16)

That day God saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians.   And when the Israelites saw the great power that God displayed against the Egyptians the people feared the LORD and put their trust in Him and followed Moses, his servant.  God said that Passover was a day to be celebrated for the generations to come.  He said it was to be a festival to God every year, to remember that our fathers were once slaves in Egypt, but now we are free.  Moses sang a song and Miriam lead the women in dancing!

  

At this point in the Seder we sing “The Song of Moses” along with Paul Wilbur.  

(Again, you can find this on You-Tube)

Can you see the symbolism of the first Passover and how it relates to Jesus being our Messiah?  When John the Baptist was baptizing people and He saw Jesus coming, he said, Behold!  The Lamb of God”  That was a very special thing to say. 

And so we learned once more that the answer to the questions are always the same no matter how many times we tell the story:  We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, but the LORD our God brought us out from there by a mighty and outstretched arm. 

Children of God, it is not enough to recall, in some abstract sense, the deliverance of the people in ancient Egypt, but each person is responsible to personally view Passover as a time to commemorate their own personal deliverance from the bondage of Pharaoh (sin).  Therefore the sages teach that in each generation an individual should look upon him or herself as if he or she personally had left Egypt.  

What has you in bondage?  

Where is your own personal Egypt? 

Who is your pharaoh? 

There is deliverance in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!”

(Continued later in Part Five)

SEASONS - SPRING BEGINS WITH A FAMILY PASSOVER SEDER - PART THREE

The Afikkoman ritual has been a part of the Passover ceremony since Second Temple times.  

It would have been included in the Passover services during the days that Jesus walked the earth.  

Can you think of Him as a very young boy participating with Joseph and Mary and his brothers and sisters? 

The Greek word aphikomenos means  “He is coming,”  and clearly suggests Messianic overtones. 

Three matzot, one of which is broken, is an image of the triune nature of God – with the focus on the broken middle piece of matzah, which is a picture of the Suffering Servant of the LORD. 

Consider that this piece is taken, 

wrapped up, 

carefully hidden from view, 

only to be discovered at the end of the Seder by little children.  

This is an image of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.  
He was taken, pierced and crucified: at His death His body was wrapped in white linen cloth:  He was hidden away in a grave in a cave; the next morning He was found by His disciples, those who had learned to come with the heart of a child before Him; He was found resurrected!

Only after partaking of the Lamb of God who was slain for our transgressions do we understand and take hold of the reward given to those who seek for Him with the heart of a child.

Even though all four of our children are now grown, they, have in the past, enjoyed looking for where the matzot has been hidden by their Father.  Soon we will have grandchildren old enough to do this!  What joy it will be to see them find and discover the mysteries of Christ!  We always give a prize to the winner.  I have come to see this act as symbolic of Our Father in Heaven giving rewards to His children when they have found Christ and are safely inside The Kingdom of God forever. 

Here I might add a word of caution to anyone planning a Passover Seder in this age and time.  The ways of the world are all around us now, and even the church is full of false worship and deception.  Mankind has made his own traditions.  Not everyone will relate to your tradition and you may often find it a struggle to carry on against so many other worldly traditions. Jesus never said following HIm would be easy.   I urge you to go prayerfully on and do what you believe, in spite of this, but do not be legalistic or try to force others to believe what only God can open up their eyes to.  A Passover celebration is only valid when people come with open hearts truly desiring to worship God in the way He has shown us through His Son Jesus Christ and His people, Israel.  If people don't understand this, just pray for them and keep living your life before them.  With many it takes time for the real truth to seep into their hearts and minds.  Often our children, even though we have taught them well, get distracted by the things of the world and do not make time for the things most precious to us.  When this happens I remind myself that it is nothing compared to what our Heavenly Father has experienced from His children for ages.    The world has quite a sway especially for young adults these days.  We are not legalistic and we accept our children's answers when they decide not to participate, yet we still hold out the invitation each year.  They seem to go through stages, like all young people do.  When they come, we welcome them with open arms and happy hearts, and often when we know the family will be small that year, we invite others who are looking for a good place to celebrate the Passover.  Last year we only had one of our children who was able to be with us, but we had a house full of other good friends who are passionate about the things of Christ.  I often think of it as another example of coming out of Egypt.  When Moses first announced the plan many were hesitant and had to consider a long time before deciding to move with God's people.  Some hesitated before sprinkling the blood over their door post.  We live in the same type of world where people are bound up in things that will not allow them to be free, yet see those things as a false form of freedom.  I pray patiently and give these things to God and we extend hospitality to anyone who wants to join us.  Usually our own family begins to think and remember what they know in their hearts and they return to rejoice the next time.  

Life is a journey.  

Life is a learning process.  

We are forever thankful for those who chose to walk along beside us on the way!

With our minds focused on “The Lamb of God” represented by the Motzah, 

we often watch a musical video presentation of “WATCH THE LAMB”, which was beautifully acted out, and sung by Ray Boltz.   You may find it on You-Tube.

I've included it in this blog for your viewing:

There is usually not a dry eye at the table after this video.  I think it is one of the most touching video presentations ever.  You can find any of the video presentations mentioned in this blog on You Tube. 

THE FOUR QUESTIONS

God commands that children are to learn from the Passover experience.  Even us "grown" children have things to learn....  

Every year a child will learn a little more of the truth.  Life is nothing but a long learning process, and we are all always learning!  

We tell our grown children:  

“This is a tradition that you will be able to pass down to your children one day, the tradition of The Asking of The Four Questions.”  It was stated in hopes that we will one day have so many grandchildren that we will have to buy a bigger table!

A child should ask each question before we begin the telling of the story.  At most of our celebrations we have let each of our grown children read one question each, being that they are four and there are exactly four questions:  One day their children will follow in their footsteps and take over their readings.

1.     Why do we eat only unleavened bread on this night when all other nights we eat either leavened bread or matzah?

2.     Why do we eat only bitter herbs on this night when all other nights we eat all kinds of vegetables?

3.    Why do we dip our vegetables twice on this night when we do not dip our vegetables even once all other nights?

4.    Why do we eat our meals reclining or leaning on this night, when on all other nights we eat our meals sitting?

 The answers to all of these questions are found in the telling of the story. 

 (We pour the Second Cup at this point, but do not drink it yet.)

(To be continued in Part Four)